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Tried a Sadowsky - again

#61
I keep being amazed by how much bass boost you guys all use on the Sadowsky's. I seriously hardly ever turn the bass up at all on mine unless I am looking for an old school reggae, thumpy, deep sound.

I do have a P/J, and am often on the P side of that, while most of you probably have the J's or 24 fret 5's, which would make a big difference, especially if you aren't sitting more on the neck pickup.

I get so much bottom out of my P, it's scary - very tight and defined, but very bottom heavy. I can't even imagine using much bass boost except in a room that was sucking up all the bass for some reason.
 
#62
lamarjones said:
I have been to indoor storm and played those basses. The rig you played it through is ok, but I was able to hear what I wanted to.

The one with soap bars did nothing for me, just had no idea where that sound was going. The 5 with single coils was pretty sweet, but you gotta be into that particular kind of tone. Just like a great feeling souped up jazz bass.

There is a 4 string NYC at Conn-signment music downtown Raleigh, if NC is where you are. Also a couple of other good basses, Mike knows a good bit about sweet bass gear, unlike most of the other shops in town. Indoor storm pretty much ditched the bass lineup, I don't know who goes there as a bass player except possibly to try a Sadowsky.

I thought they were setup decent. The 5 with single coils played pretty good actually.
Click to expand...

Lamar,

As soon as I read this I went to Conn-signment. Unfortunately, the Sadowsky had been sold and was no longer available. I'm still going to keep trying to find other Sadowskys to try, though.

In the meantime, I picked up this Alembic Essence. It's absolutely beautiful, and man, does it sound great. So simple to use - pan, volume, Q and that's it. It has an outstanding neck, and the action is low, low, low. I couldn't believe how comfortable it felt - like my '73 Jazz. For the price I couldn't beat it, and it's a 9/10 cosmetically. And that birds eye maple is stunning.

I really appreciate all the feedback here. There are a bunch of great suggestions I'm taking to heart, and hopefully I'll find a Sadowsky that suits me. If not, well, as many have noted, there are lots of other choices (some of which I already own) that I'll be happy with.

BTW, I'm in Fayetteville.

Thanks again to everyone,

Alan
 
#64
abngourmet said:
Well, I went to Indoor Storm today and tried two Sadowskys - both Metros (an R5 and MS4). Here's how it went:

Both were tested using a Genz Benz GBE 400 head and a Genz Benz GB 210TT cabinet. Controls were set flat.

Both basses appeared to have Sadowsky nickel wound strings on them, standard gauge.

Each bass was played approximately 1/2 hour. I played fingerstyle, used a pick, slap and pop, and tapping (I'm a lousy tapper, though!). I also did some harmonic stuff, but I'm not that great at that either!

A 10 foot Lava Cable was used to connect each bass to the amp. No effects were used.

Pickups were tried together, individually, and blended to varying degrees, favoring either the bridge or neck pickup accordingly.

The bass knob on each bass was full up, and the treble knob adjusted to achieve different tones.

Both basses were tried both passive and active.

Before anyone asks, I couldn't try them either live or in a studio - it just wasn't possible (I don't think the dealer would loan me a $2K Sadowsky just so I could try it on a gig - God help me if some drunk knocked it off a stand and cracked the headstock or something!).

Before reading the following, please read the following disclaimer: I'M NOT BASHING SADOWSKYS.

Again, I came away less than impressed. And I desperately want to be. There is no denying the build quality and attention to detail - it is second to none. The fretwork is flawless, as is the fit and finish. The woods are beautiful, and the instruments I tried (R5 was alder/rosewood, MS4 was swamp ash/maple) were both light and very comfortable. And they both played wonderfully (I'd have preferred a lower action on the MS4, but that's just me). The tone just didn't do anything for me, though the R5 was more appealing than the MS4 for some reason (the R5 had soap bars).

Sadowsky owners, is there something I'm doing wrong when testing one? Should I take my rig (or part of it anyway) with me next time (I severely doubt the dealer will let me take one home as I live over an hour away from the store)? I just can't seem to get the tones out of them that Sadowsky owners here say they get. Again, I really want to like them, but I'm just not getting the tone I'm looking for (Jaco-esque with overtones of Geddy and John Paul Jones thrown in, if you can imagine that). Suggestions?

Thanks,

Alan
Click to expand...

Greetings

I've tried em and they're good stuff, but I've played a Lull for 5-6 years now and it's every bit as good for at least 25% less.

Paying for the name and the high cost of living in New York.

BTW I A/Beed a the Bart pre-amp in my Lull with Lindy Franlin humbucking single coil jazz against the Sadowsky pre-amp.

Hands Down the Bart 2 band pre-amp and Lindy's together have more head room, deeper lows, great mids, clearer highs than the Sad. IMO FWIW.
 
#66
Stu Rose said:
Greetings

I've tried em and they're good stuff, but I've played a Lull for 5-6 years now and it's every bit as good for at least 25% less.

Paying for the name and the high cost of living in New York.

BTW I A/Beed a the Bart pre-amp in my Lull with Lindy Franlin humbucking single coil jazz against the Sadowsky pre-amp.

Hands Down the Bart 2 band pre-amp and Lindy's together have more head room, deeper lows, great mids, clearer highs than the Sad. IMO FWIW.
Click to expand...

The difference in tone that you hear here might be the reason why others (with different perceptions) prefer to pay 25% more for a Sadowsky. The value of a bass (or anything) is a subjetive thing and saying that X-brand is everything as good as Y-brand and 25% less expensive is just your point of view and doesn't offer anw value to the TalkBasser that started the thread.
 
#67
abngourmet said:
Well, I went to Indoor Storm today and tried two Sadowskys - both Metros (an R5 and MS4). Here's how it went:

Both were tested using a Genz Benz GBE 400 head and a Genz Benz GB 210TT cabinet. Controls were set flat.

Both basses appeared to have Sadowsky nickel wound strings on them, standard gauge.

Each bass was played approximately 1/2 hour. I played fingerstyle, used a pick, slap and pop, and tapping (I'm a lousy tapper, though!). I also did some harmonic stuff, but I'm not that great at that either!

A 10 foot Lava Cable was used to connect each bass to the amp. No effects were used.

Pickups were tried together, individually, and blended to varying degrees, favoring either the bridge or neck pickup accordingly.

The bass knob on each bass was full up, and the treble knob adjusted to achieve different tones.

Both basses were tried both passive and active.

Before anyone asks, I couldn't try them either live or in a studio - it just wasn't possible (I don't think the dealer would loan me a $2K Sadowsky just so I could try it on a gig - God help me if some drunk knocked it off a stand and cracked the headstock or something!).

Before reading the following, please read the following disclaimer: I'M NOT BASHING SADOWSKYS.

Again, I came away less than impressed. And I desperately want to be. There is no denying the build quality and attention to detail - it is second to none. The fretwork is flawless, as is the fit and finish. The woods are beautiful, and the instruments I tried (R5 was alder/rosewood, MS4 was swamp ash/maple) were both light and very comfortable. And they both played wonderfully (I'd have preferred a lower action on the MS4, but that's just me). The tone just didn't do anything for me, though the R5 was more appealing than the MS4 for some reason (the R5 had soap bars).

Sadowsky owners, is there something I'm doing wrong when testing one? Should I take my rig (or part of it anyway) with me next time (I severely doubt the dealer will let me take one home as I live over an hour away from the store)? I just can't seem to get the tones out of them that Sadowsky owners here say they get. Again, I really want to like them, but I'm just not getting the tone I'm looking for (Jaco-esque with overtones of Geddy and John Paul Jones thrown in, if you can imagine that). Suggestions?

Thanks,

Alan
Click to expand...

I haven't read through all the posts but here's my take (after owning 4 Sadowskys for the better part of the last 10 years).
The issue I have with it is the pre-amp is boost only. IME with the pre is to start with it turned all the way off and maybe boost the bass 10% or so at a time.
Starting with the bass knob turned all the way up is boosting 40HZ at about 12db!!!
That alone even at low volumes is not letting the bass speak really much at all. The lows on the Sadowsky pre can be kinda cartoon-ish. And the high end is pretty hot as well.
Mind you, not in a bad way, but IMO you killed whatever chance the bass had from the get go.

Again, this may have been said as I didn't read evey post, but try it again with the bass running flat first, only boosting a little bit if needed. Remember, when it's all the way counter-clock wise it's flat (where most are when in the center detent position).
 
#68
Sadowsky said:
Cheap shot, IMHO
Click to expand...
About the ONLY thing that's cheap in New York ;)

I agree, though, that's a cheap shot. The city of origin doesn't even enter into it. People charge what they think their product is worth, and if people buy it, then it's a fair price. People buy Sadowskys and seem more than happy to do so, so it's a fair price.
 
#69
HI

I had an artist deal with Lull a while back. I found the bass to be better than average, thats it. Pre was ok, fit and finish pretty good.

My Sadowsky's are much better. I dont mind paying more. Not to mention, the Lull's I received were very inexpensive because of my deal. I pay full pop for my Sadowsky's. Worth the extra $, IMO.

Rob
 
#70
Sadowsky said:
Cheap shot, IMHO
Click to expand...

+1

Sales, marketing, profit, fixed costs and so on are all part of running any business. Any business successfully that is.

All that aside when the value to the customer exceeds the price being asked then they will buy. Simple. That value is very much a personal thing and choice.

I chose to own a Sadowsky. I'd like that to have another 's' on it. I had perfectly acceptable basses but the value of a Sadowky to me exceeded the price being asked.
 
#71
Steve Clark said:
+1

Sales, marketing, profit, fixed costs and so on are all part of running any business. Any business successfully that is.

All that aside when the value to the customer exceeds the price being asked then they will buy. Simple. That value is very much a personal thing and choice.

I chose to own a Sadowsky. I'd like that to have another 's' on it. I had perfectly acceptable basses but the value of a Sadowky to me exceeded the price being asked.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, Steve. My whole intent in starting this thread was to figure out what, if anything, I was doing wrong. The loyal Sadowsky owners here all chimed in with very helpful comments and tips. Next time I get my hands on one (I'm still looking ... I really want to try a NYC model with the VTC) I'm going to follow all of the advice I've been given.

And you're right on the value thing. There are some here who believe Alembic charges way too much for their instruments (and trust me, they charge a lot!), but I don't agree. You get what you pay for, and tone aside (Alembics, like Sadowskys, aren't for everyone) it's the most highly crafted and built instrument I've ever owned. Sadowskys impress me for that same reason - the build quality is absolutely phenomenal. Roger cares about what he does and it shows. My problem is I haven't been able to get the tone I like out of one, and until I do I can't justify the cost of one to myself. Hopefully, after following the advice I've received here I'll be able to do that.

Great insights, and thanks,

Alan
 
#72
Sadowsky said:
Cheap shot, IMHO
Click to expand...

Dear Mr. Sadowsky,

No disrepect intended! :)

New York salary's and overhead expenses tend to be quite a few percentage points higher than many other parts of the country.

Overhead usually finds it's way to the consumer in all businesses not just basses, it's simple economics.

I'm not knocking you personally for that, and as I mentioned in my 1st post you're basses are good stuff.
 
#73
frandiaz said:
The difference in tone that you hear here might be the reason why others (with different perceptions) prefer to pay 25% more for a Sadowsky. The value of a bass (or anything) is a subjetive thing and saying that X-brand is everything as good as Y-brand and 25% less expensive is just your point of view and doesn't offer anw value to the TalkBasser that started the thread.
Click to expand...


Greetings

Your're correct I was speaking about my taste not yours.
 
#74
abngourmet said:
In the meantime, I picked up this Alembic Essence. It's absolutely beautiful, and man, does it sound great. So simple to use - pan, volume, Q and that's it. It has an outstanding neck, and the action is low, low, low. I couldn't believe how comfortable it felt - like my '73 Jazz. For the price I couldn't beat it, and it's a 9/10 cosmetically. And that birds eye maple is stunning.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like you're an Alembic man, nothing wrong with that. Did I see your photo on the Bass Central web site?
 
#76
For some reason, I'm a little frightened by all of the knobs and switches on really high end Alembics, hence why I love the Spoiler I recently received so much.

It gets that really throaty mid-range that Jaco had on his jazz but it sounds so... I don't know how to describe it.

Recordings are soon to follow to convey what I'm trying to say though!

Plus it has that really nasty Clarke slap.

Yum...
 
#78
marcusalan said:
For some reason, I'm a little frightened by all of the knobs and switches on really high end Alembics, hence why I love the Spoiler I recently received so much.

It gets that really throaty mid-range that Jaco had on his jazz but it sounds so... I don't know how to describe it.

Recordings are soon to follow to convey what I'm trying to say though!

Plus it has that really nasty Clarke slap.

Yum...
Click to expand...


I too fear the massive amounts of knobs.

Off topic: Can't you pick someone else from naruto for your icon besides naruto? i HATE that kid...believe it! :p
 
#79
Stu Rose said:
Dear Mr. Sadowsky,

No disrepect intended! :)

New York salary's and overhead expenses tend to be quite a few percentage points higher than many other parts of the country.

Overhead usually finds it's way to the consumer in all businesses not just basses, it's simple economics.

I'm not knocking you personally for that, and as I mentioned in my 1st post you're basses are good stuff.
Click to expand...

>>> What was perceived as a cheap shot, although perhaps clumsily stated, may not have been wholly unreasonable, as the Metros, which are not made in NYC, tend to have pricing which can be up to $1000 less. The Metro series also enjoys rave reviews here, and there is no objective data to suggest that they are of any lesser quality. The lower price point for the Metros must have some rational explanation; likely a function of a lower priced inputs of parts and labor resulting in a significantly lower COGS.
 

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