Sadowsky onboard 4 knob system preamp

[Phil_bassman]

Hello all

Im looking to replace my preamp in my Fender Jazz Elite. Although i find nothing particular wrong with the fender preamp i just find that it lacks some kick that most onboard preamps out there.

One i was looking i was looking at was the Sadowsky onboard 4 knob system preamp. Anybody got any experiences with this preamp. It sounds great to what i hear on youtube and demos etc.... The Vintage tone control, does this only work for when the bass is in passive i presume? I also would I be able to connect another battery to this preamp for more headroom or is one battery sufficient?

Another preamp i was looking at was the EMG BQC system although i would have to change the pick ups to EMG aswell, if i were to do that i would probably go for EMG JVX Jazz pickups.

Anybody got any thoughts and experience on these two preamp systems.

Any help would be most appreciated 

[Doctor J]

I installed a Sadowsky in an old Blade B4, replacing the original, rather quirky pre-amp. I needed to create a new hole to facilitate 4 knobs but I had a Metro many years ago so knew what I was getting and didn't see it as a risk or anything I'd ever want to undo. It's a 9V system, not designed to take two batteries, ever.

 

The bass and treble are boost only, they do not cut. The VTC is on all the time. It's in the circuit whether running active or passive. It's a very musical preamp provided you don't overdo it. The low boost is at 40Hz, IIRC, so loads and loads of boost will do more harm than good. I love them, but the bass has to sound decent without it. It's a pleasant colouring of the tone rather than a radical overhaul.

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by Doctor J

[krzysztof]

Agree with Doc J

Have one in my Lull.

Vintage tone control is on all the time, active and passive.  Bass and treble are boost only, however paired with the VTC loads of tonal options available.

Ilove the sound of my bass passive especially when recording and the VTC is great there ,  but live when I do need a little extra kick stick it it active and just a little boost goes a long way with this preamp - no need to go to 18V

 

Very musical preamp thats adds that subtle but might Sadowsky colour.  Definately a winner

 

Not play the EMG so cannot comment

[Phil_bassman]

Thank you for both for your comments 

 

out this post in talk bass and everyone says the same so looks like the sadowsky preamp is a winner 

 

The elite jazz in at the moment has both cut and boost and mid but tbh even though when playing solo I can get a decent unique sound I find myself not using the cut or mid controls….ever when either playing with a band or sitting in the mix of a song which is why also I am opting to change it 

[Owen]

I have never, ever cut bass on an active preamp.

[BlueMoon]

I did the same thing as Doctor J. Together with some Sadowsky-branded (Dimarzio) pickups, my Levinson Blade came alive. I find the on-board Sadowsky preamp to be quite musical, and the VTC allows you to cool things down if you need to do some retro sounding numbers. One thing to be aware of, the pickup blend control is wired by default the opposite to most other blend controls. So turning the pan knob clockwise prefers the bridge pickup and vice versa. You can mess with it if needed, but I soon got used to it.

 

Go for it, you'll be happy.

[Doctor J]

I wired mine up the "normal" way. It annoyed me on the Metro I had, especially as I have other basses with pan knobs and one working the opposite of the others would be a head-wreck, but I understand the logic of why Sadowsky do it that way. Either way, it's a two-minute soldering job to set it up whichever way you like.

 

Anyway, I just remembered I used the Sadowsky'd Blade on one of the Monthly Challenges a while back. Better to hear it than look at pictures and guess. As I recall, this is both pickups full, in active mode with a small bass boost and some treble rolled off via the VTC, all played quite hard with a plec. I was never able to get anything like this with the original preamp.
 

https://m.soundcloud.com/doctor_j_bass/im-not-so-big