Sadowsky Electronics: Upgrades for Electric Basses
In the early eighties, Roger Sadowsky specialized in upgrading classic electric bass designs with innovative features. As it happens, this has changed the world of low-end forever! Especially Roger's electronics modifications and an active preamp developed by him equipped bassists such as Marcus Miller, Verdine White, and many more since then with an enormously versatile tonal range. The legendary 'Sadowsky Sound' was born and soon picked up by musicians of most different styles – from Jazz, Fusion, Funk, Soul, Hip-Hop and Pop to Rock, Prog, or Metal.
Today, the same circuits as back in the day are defining the powerful and flexibly adjustable sound of Sadowsky basses. For DIYers and guitar repair shops, Roger's modern upgrades, which in the meantime have become classics themselves, are nowseparately available with all the original components:
Onboard Bass Preamp - 4-Knob System for J-Style Basses
This completely prewired active Sadowsky preamp can be used for J-Style basses with passive pickups and a traditional metal control plate. It comes with four knobs for extended tone control: Master Volume, Pickup Balance, as well as Treble and Bass in a stacked pot with up to +18 dB boost each. Thanks to a push/pull function in the Vintage Tone Control knob, the preamp can also be bypassed. In active mode, up to 870 hours of battery life are possible.
Vintage Tone Control Retrofit Kit – 1 Pot Turns Into 2
A perfect upgrade for older Sadowsky models without Vintage Tone Control (VTC) and stacked potentiometer. Includes a tandem potentiometer for treble and bass, a push/pull potentiometer, as well as all necessary assembly parts. Using the passive VTC control offers a flat EQ in the maximum setting. Turning it down increasingly attenuates the high end in the signal – right up to booming Motown and flatwound sounds.
