ianrendall

Pic of the Sadowsky please! 😁😁😁

Some people lay down serious cash for an instrument because they believe, and so they should, that they are getting a bass of the highest quality. 

For others it can be a form of hero worship. They see or hear it for the first time in the hands of some bass lord and that’s it. GAS. I fall into this category and I blame Walter Becker and Will Lee for my Sadowsky GAS.

The first time I knowingly heard a Ken Smith though, was just a few weeks ago, and I could hear the quality just oozing from my headphones. It was quite an eye opener. But I know that if I got a Smith, my Sadowsky GAS would remain. It is an itch I have to scratch. 

Regarding Sadowsky, there is an $1800 disparity between the NYC Satins starting at $2900 and the proper NYCs starting at $4700. This difference can be explained in a few ways. The first is obviously the gloss finish and the satin finish. That’ll save a few bucks sure. The others I actually emailed Roger and asked him to explain, as I was looking to order one. He said (my question in italics)

‘The website states that the bridge and tuners on the Satin are the same as on the MetroLine series. How do these differ from the NYC range?

The only difference is they are made in Korea and not in the USA.

The website also mentions that the Satins use a prewired preamp, whereas the NYC basses are hand wired. Do the two preamps differ in function?

The preamps are identical.  The preamp in the Satins is the same one we sell on our webstore. 

We could just as easily use this on our NYC Custom Built, but we feel for $5000+, the customer deserves a hand wired control cavity.

What enables us to make the Satins at a significantly lower price is the lack of custom options.  We do sell additional pickguards for $75.’

So is that lot worth an extra $1800?

Boss ME50b?

Yes I’m definitely looking at the whammy. Also the Zoom MS60b and the Boss GT stuff. 

How ‘clean’ are the frets meant to be on these RW basses? I got my 2014 made bass second hand earlier this year and the frets do have some tarnish on them. Are they shipped with shiny untarnished frets? Thought I’d ask before giving them a polish. 

11 hours ago, BassTractor said:

Thanks! Couldn't report back earlier, but my black metal band Morhn Tormentum now start together, stop together, and smile together.

Success! 😉

Starting and stopping together is great. It’s the notes in between I struggle with! 🤣

10 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

I do a lot of deps, mainly for function and wedding bands, and what I've came to realise is that the general public really dont care what the bassist does most of the time.  

Absolutely agree. Other cliquey musicians on the other hand....felt I was getting sneered at because I wasn’t the usual player. Uncomfortable. 

Yes I have and it’s horrible. 

I used to dep on bass for my far more experienced and professionally in-the-loop friend on pit work and stuff for years. I always knew that I only got the call from the MD because he wasn’t available, and that made me feel second best. I really felt the disappointment from the other cliquey musicians when I walked in. It was real pressure trying to perform. It all stopped abruptly one day when I was mistakenly CC’d in an email exchange between said friend and an MD looking for a bass player. My friend mentioned to this MD in the email that another MD has said he wasn’t all that impressed with me last time. This was in reference to a show I was asked to play at very, very short notice. Short notice enough that I didn’t get to see the score for a show I had never seen or heard until 30 mins before curtain up on opening night! My friend, bless him, tried to cover as best he could (it wasn’t his fault, he was just the messenger, we are still friends), but the damage was done and I told him not to put me forward for any more shows. 

Hi loves

I’m not normally one for any FX of any kind, but I’ve been thinking that for certain songs and situations it may be of some benefit, but I only have limited needs. 

All I really want is a pitch shifter capable of shifting in semitones, a wah, and a synth of some sort. An expression pedal would be a bonus. I’d rather stay away from multiple single pedals as I like as much simplicity as possible in my rig, and I don’t want amp or speaker simulation as I know I would be endlessly fiddling and it would be a distraction. Any ideas?

3 hours ago, The59Sound said:

I would say SD Antiquity if you're desperate for a pup swap. Entwistle's would be too modern IMO. 

I have decided to take heed of the majority and stick with stock. They do sound great. I am going to experiment with a 47 Orange Drop though. A cheap mod and easy to undo should I not find favour with the tone. 

2 hours ago, ped said:

Freddie Washington playing a Smith for Donald Fagen. Always loved the Smith sound, this is a good example

 

Interested to hear other people's faves...

So THAT’S what a Smith sounds like.. 

Thrown my long-time Sadowsky GAS into a right kilter that has. 

Here’s one of my faves from the Dan. Tom Barney playing a ‘Ray 5. 

2 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

You have a decent set up there with a 50s RW p bass and 700RB. What cab(s) are you running the RB through, if it's a 4x10, then 2x15 would be a natural progression to give more punch, although some 4x10s can be very punchy. I'm guessing you are looking to be heard more in the mix, but if you don't have a sound or tone in mind, changing pickups doesn't seem a good way to find the tone you want. Different strings will have a greater impact on your sound than changing the pickup.

The value of the capacitor will make a greater difference than the brand. Orange Drop are good caps, a 0.1 cap cuts a lot of high end, leaving lots of punchy low end, the standard 0.047 cap sits in the middle, has less low end than the 0.1 cap and more high end, or a 0.022 cap (which is essentially a guitar cap) lets lots of high end through, and less low end.

Having a light touch may be the issue with you needing more punch, so a hotter pickup (something around 14k) would be a good way to go to, the obvious suggestion would be a Seymour Duncan Quater Pounder (SPB-3).

I really am completely out of the loop when it comes to stuff like this as you can tell! 

I’m running through a Gen 1 BF Midget, which will have to be prised from my cold, dead hands, but I am looking to add another cab. Possibly another Midget, but also perhaps a 210 or 115. 410s and 215s are just simply too big for my present storage capacity and daft hairdressers car.

Im not having any problems being heard in the mix, but, y’know, I like new toys.

After some thought, I don’t think I want to mess with the classic P tone, and something like the Entwistle will be too much. I guess what I am looking for in a pickup is P Bass authenticity. Fender CS ‘62 maybe? How does that compare to the SPB3 and my current RW stock?

And @discreet can you explain a little more about the floppy TIs? I will be coming from D’addario nickel 45s. How does the tension compare?

It’s all quite exciting to me, as I’ve realised this bass is a keeper, so I want to make it the best it can be. Before this bass I’d always been a bit puzzled when people mention about how a ‘bass is great, if only the neck was X width or Y radius’ - I’d always just adjusted to different necks quite easily and said no more about it - but the neck on this P is by some margin noticeably for comfortable and fluid and now my benchmark for splendid neckage. Now I need some cheese and some beer. 

19 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

I see, well, there are a few ways to get more punch, boost the mids on your GK amp will be quick and simple. The TI flats would be the wrong option, they are more mellow sounding and wouldn't give the punch you are looking for. Either Chromes or Fender flats would be better suited as they are higher tension than the TI's and will give a more dynamic and punchy sound.

The 0.1 cap in the 50s RW is ideal, so I wouldn't change that. I have a Yamaha RBX260 with stock Fender MIM pickups and loom with a 0.1 cap, with cheap flats and it is a monster with regards to punch - in fact I think it's too punchy and I had to lower the pickups significantly to reduce the punch. The pickups are hot, around 14k, and along with the 0.1 cap and flatwounds, it is the Mike Tyson of any p bass I've ever played.

Also, playing with a pick will give more punch too.

Oh don’t worry, I’m having great fun with those fabled GK mids on my 700RB, along with the magic Boost control! 

My trouble is, I don’t know what sound I want until I’ve got it, so it might be that the TIs give me the sound I like, and that may well be mellow. I know they are known to be floppy but I do have quite a light touch. 

I will definitely look into the Sprague Orange Drop cap. Are they crunchy with a soft centre or do you have to suck them?

8 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

The PBX's would be a downgrade on the stock pickups in your 50's RW P bass. Both PBX and PBXN's would give a more "modern" sound.

What is it exactly you don't like about the sound from the RW bass? If you're looking for a "brighter" - more modern sound, simply changing the capacitor from the stock 0.1 cap to a modern 0.047 cap would help boost the high end, would cost you no more than £1.

There’s nothing I really dislike from the stock pup. I suppose a little more punch really. But then, if I’m getting flats then a more modern pickup would be a bit contradictory. 

The low price of the Ents makes me want to experiment, so if I didn’t like the result, it’s not a great loss. 

I’ll try the flats with the stock pup first and go from there  I might get the punch I want from the flats.

I would like to hear more about other capacitor options though 😁

I’m looking to pimp my 50s RW P bass with an Entwistle pup but can’t decide which to get. I am pleased with the sound I get from the stock pups, but I’ve heard many good things about the Ents, so want to give them a try. 

I I have a set of TI flats on the way and play through GK amps. My band plays swing music, big band stuff, Mickey Bubbles etc, although I’m not too worried about having a style-correct tone.

From what I can ascertain, the PBXNs neo magnets are very hot and aggressive, so I am gearing towards the PBXs at the moment. Could the neo aggression be dialled out if necessary with the tone control perhaps though?

I cannot find any vids of the Entwistle P pups, let alone a comparison between the two. 

Any pointers would be great. 

Love you bye x

I hit the wall some time ago. I just sat down and leant against it with a pint. We are friends now, me and the wall, comfortable in each other’s company. 

My lovely 2014 Fiesta Red RW, the best P I’ve ever played, and I’ve played 2, maybe 3. 

8 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

Which is kinda what RMS is supposed to do...

I know. I was just desperate to get that anology in somewhere!

7 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

Much as the knob twiddling is interesting - I tend to use a bit of tone and a bit of eq on the bass to balance for the room/song, but keep the amp flat. In fact, with a DI pedal I set and forget. 

Bass playing bliss. 

For illustrative purposes, here is a map of the bass journey, tounge in cheek you understand. 

My bass journey has returned me to a 4 string P bass and the simple but effective world of GK amps, the combination of which has finally allowed me to nail my holy grail P tone (albeit flats to come later!) The lack of knob fiddling options has boosted my playing confidence and allowed me to concentrate on the charts and the music. Going to undo it all soon with a Sadowsky.

I like to compare peak amp output to the Bugatti Veyron; yes, it WILL reach its claimed maximum speed of 253mph, but will only last 5 mins until the tank runs dry. I’d like to see amp manufacturers perhaps use - back to the motoring analogy - a sustainable cruising speed rating.

Now, before I go any further, I must explain that I have absolutely no intention of doing this whatsoever!

What would happen if you took 2 bass amps. Plug bass into amp 1, take speaker output from amp 1 and plug it into instrument input of amp 2, connect amp 2 to bass cab?

Just curious really. I would imagine smoke and fire would occur?

On 09/11/2018 at 23:27, Sparky Mark said:

Strangely enough, the loudest watts I've come across are the 300 or so that reside within my Bugera BVV3000I all valve head.

I suppose I was waxing satirical on how Trace always seemed to under rate their wattage, whereas some modern manufacturers like to use marketing nonsense to muddy the waters with their peak RMS ratings. Or summat like that 😁