It’s new bass day!! This is a Sadowsky Will Lee Signature 5-string. It has a roasted alder body with a figured ziricote top. The neck is roasted flame maple with an amazon rosewood fingerboard.
The pickups are Sadowsky soapbars in the 60s position. The preamp is the wonderful Sadowsky pre. But the Will Lee version has an interesting mid-boost switch with the option of boosting at either 500 or 800 MHz in either a narrow or wide configuration. Not being a guy who knows a lot about frequencies, I can’t explain it any further than that. I just know it sounds unlike any Sadowsky I’ve ever heard when the mid-boost is engaged. You can get a nice Jaco tone on the bridge pickup and the 500mhz narrow engaged. Oof!
The bass itself is masterfully crafted. It really is perfect. It’s lightweight at only 8.25lb. And it plays like a dream.
I purchased this bass direct from Sadowsky. Before buying, I called and spoke with Roger. He’s very accessible for such a busy guy. He took the time to discuss the bass in detail and answer all my questions. He even told me all his basses have a 7-day review period. He wants to ensure that the owners of his basses are 100% pleased with their purchase.
So far, I think I am. The soapbars are a little different for me, as is the mid-boost. There’s a small learning curve, figuring out all this bass can do. The real test for me is how it sounds when the EQ is set flat. This bass sounds warm and articulate. A slight tweak in the active pre gives it that classic Marcus Miller bite. A roll back on the Vintage Tone Control, and it sound like a classic thumpy bass from back in the day.
I guess my overall take is that this is a really well made, gorgeous bass that is much more versatile than I was anticipating. Basically, I dig it!
(I’m open to any eq tweaks you Sadowsky owners might care to share)
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