TJ Spicer

This is great, and a pretty simple but effective setup too! Can I ask what you used to send the signals to the iPad and stream? I'm definitely going to give this a go when it's possible.

(Hate to say this but...) The lack of solid playing/technique and tuning probably aren't helping either! 😥

Nooooo! That’s the AG5 I’ve had since 2018! I’m playing it a few hours every day right now, it’s really opening up, and sounding great. I wish the music I played wasn’t so commercial and traditional in terms of aesthetics, in a way, as I’m not sure I can get away with my AG5 on most country gigs, nor does every engineer enjoy the prospect of anything that isn’t “fender like”. For anything else though, I don’t think it’s a problem and always gets compliments. I will say, every MTD going up in the for sale section has me thinking! The Lynn Keller looks like it would be great for those ‘bass in the seat next to you’ short hops to European festivals (as it’ll squeeze into guitar gig bag!). Then again, whenever I’m not gigging GAS is heightened, and it’s also a very bad time to make calls on gear. I’d like to make the MTD my go-to where I can when this resumes, but that Sadowsky is just such a reliable workhorse that’s never disappointed. I can’t complain, both phenomenal tools that keep me, and the people I work with, happy!

I've experience with the Starbass II Masterbuilt which I love with flats. The improvements Lee has made to the Sklar over the Starbass are pretty much exactly the things I would change about my Starbass, so I don't think you can lose with one of them. Those pickups have a really wide range of tones available, despite their simplicity, and no bass I have is quite as reactive to right hand placement as my SB. I don't quite understand how that's really possible, but that's how it feels. T

Indeed, just from the availability perspective on those listed. The Midas preamps are nice - agreed!

Sub'd!

My channel is full of reviews, with new ones every Tuesday! www.youtube.com/channel/UCKlchGxzkwPM-nG9Awh47tQ?sub_confirmation=1

No problem! In that case (Windows) i’d stick to the Zoom. The Jam is really good quality, but it is simple. I think it’s easier to be routing everything through one device if you’re in windows, whereas Mac is a little more fluid with its audio routing, which is another point for the zoom! T

If you can find a second hand Apogee Jam, do that! Out of these: the Zoom, no question. T

Nice! It seems most of the recognised MTD artists boost all of the EQ all the way up. That's led me to push the eq more than I ever have on any other bass, but I'm really satisfied with the tones. Bass and treble for everything pretty much live at 70-80%. I'm finding a a big mid boost for finger style at 250 (bottom pos.), same boost but at 400hz in a rockier context and then a big cut at 1k for anything slappy seem to do it for me. I'm also playing through a 751 and 2xSL112 so -6db pad is always in when I pickup the MTD. In contrast, I find that treble roll off to be too much to the extent that it makes the tone a bit lifeless, but at the same time if it's fully boosted, the treble seems to grate. Funny how the same electronics package gets treated so differently, but probably a testament to its versatility. What's the wood combination on your 534?

I haven't put my AG5 down since the start of lockdown, and this thread was certainly part of that! How are you liking it now @funkyjimbob? What are your favourite EQ positions/combos? I've been really digging into the EQ and, post a restring, all my doubts from my earlier post have been allayed! I've very much remembered why I thought this was the one 2 years ago and sold a good chunk of my armoury for it!

This is Lee Sklar's 'producer switch' concept to the max!

Indeed! I like my action pretty high by most players standards, so the saddles were fairly “up in the air” compared to how I imagine most players would have it, which I doubt helped. I also probably made a habit of playing very fast Jaco lines very close to the bridge (as it was when I was studying that I owned the BBNE) and that no doubt exacerbated my perception. I think once I knew it could happen, I’d perceive any time it happened as much worse. My TRB6PII had the same bridge saddles, but they sat lower and I never had that problem, so it probably was the height. But I didn’t like the NE2 super low for the styles I played on it in general. I did play a TRB6JPII the Nathan has played at Ronnie Scott’s and he likes his action super low, as in, I’d never played anything quite that low. That probably enhances the fact that the BBNE2 just wasn’t really the bass for me! You’re right, I really dug that 735A and was amazed at the value it offered - all in the hands, and subsequently the ears!

You’re ready to move onto a Sadowsky now, so you won’t have too long to be driven crazy by it 😉 To be honest, I just assumed it was a me problem given I’ve got seen anything else on it online, but I’m ready to be proved wrong! 🙏🏻

A few factors in moving it on! 1) There’s a lot of finish on the bass and I had a yin yang standard at the same time which was a satin type finish, and I loved the feel and resonance of that bass. The BBNE2 didn’t have that same feel. 2) The bridge drove me nuts, I don’t know if I was just setting it up badly, but I found if I played near enough to the bridge the individual saddles would move and cause the note to choke. 3) There was a top end that I struggled to control in a way that I found satisfactory. 4) I just discovered that through neck construction just doesn’t work for me. I learnt a lot from the BBNE2 in terms of what I really did and didn’t like from and instrument. It was my go-to bass for most of two years and it was as versatile as it needs to be. It always punched through a mix, and never got buried. Plenty of solid bass and definition. But, it was never quite my sound, and I’d always bought it as a place holder for my “session 5” whilst I searched for a PJ5 Sadowsky in Olympic white. If it had been a more organic finish on the neck, a different bridge system, and had a passive tone option, I think it would still be with me. I’ve always wondered how I would have felt if I’d put Aguilar electronics in it, but a bass of that price just needs to go to someone else who’s happier with it, rather than me start trying to tweak it. If I remember, both it, and the Fodera, were the basses that made way for my MTD AG5, which fills the role of both and combines many of their attributes (and removes the features I disliked of both basses) into one that I’m much, much happier with! Finally - totally agree on the not tweaking too much. The thing I often get told after shows on Dep gigs is “sounds like bass should sound”, and “fat and warm sounding”. That’s normally a bass boost of whatever EQ is on the bass, and then tweaking treble or tone control as needed. The rest is just right hand position and a little shift of front pickup to back pickup blend depending on style. That was longer than intended! 😅😂

I thought I’d just jump back in on this as the previous owner of the Krow BBNE2: I found I really struggled with the sound of the bass without the scoop EQ engaged. Even just having it turned on, but not dialled all the way up seemed to work for me, whereas without it, I felt the pickups had a LOT of hi-mid, to the extend that it just sounded too harsh. Without the EQ and with Dunlop super bright strings, the BBNE2 is a very mid heavy bass, especially for a jazz! T

It was after going to the shop to choose these for a custom build, just before the shop had to close for the virus. Whether this build will now happen, and if so, when, remains to be seen! 😢

Have you had the FB friend add? I felt almost like I’d been knighted within the realms of Sadowskydom when that friend request popped up! 🙇🏼‍♂️🗡

This move from Yammy to Sadowsky is becoming very trendy round these parts 😉

There were 5+ years of searching involved in the acquisition of this Sadowsky, in this colour way, mind, so that rarity value must be accounted for 😉 I’m not sure what’s wrong with this one! They’ve had it for about 3+ years - at one point I was resigned to buying it and getting it refinished as sunburst just totally isn’t me. 😅

Gotta say JJ5s don’t really do it for me! I think it’s just quite widely done and I always like to be a little different. I always dig that bit of extra low-mid you get from the P in a PJ, even when they’re equally balanced. My second 5 is an MTD AG5 USA which has rocketed up in my estimations since lockdown - hence the PJ Saratoga GAS 😅. Those asymmetrical necks are phenomenally comfortable.

Haha! I am slightly GASing over the MTD Saratoga 5 at bass direct at the minute, and I do only have a 1 5 string PJ policy. However I think engineers at the studios I record for might shoot me if I sold my PJ5. But, it’s all in the fingers, right? 😅

No problem! Happy to hear it worked for you!