I was told by someone whose opinion I value and respect that Sadowsky onboard preamps (with VTC) are basically Aguilar OBP-3's with the Sadowsky badge on them. I swear I could hear a difference between them, but what the hell do I know. Anyone with knowledge concerning this matter? Thanks !
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Sadowsky / Aguilar Onboard Preamps
- Thread starter InnerBass
- Start date
Not even close by a 100miles!
They don't sound the same and the specs are totally different!
Even if we compare the OBP1 to the Sadowsky's, they are different and definitely sound different (I did tons of testing and comparisons)
Thanks for your input. I mean I really respect this person and I am definitely not a tech kinda guy, but my ears told me the Sadowsky was way more "neutral" sounding. It doesn't add a lot of color, whereas the Aguilar sounded really aggressive. It also seemed to have way more tonal variation than the Aguilar. It seems like the Aguilar does one thing well. The Sadowsky preamp lets the bass shine through. For someone who wouldn't know a circuit from circumlocution, that's what I hear. I'm really glad you all confirming what my ears were telling me. Thanks !
Everything I have read, including Roger Sadowsky's interviews indicated the pre is FET. Are you sure you're right?
Not even close by a 100miles!
They don't sound the same and the specs are totally different!
This. The Aguilar has a higher treble frequency setting on the OBP-3 and is a more aggressive boost on both lows and highs. Without touching the midrange, it can be a recipe for a much bigger and more evident dip across the middle set of frequencies.
Lonnybass
Thanks for the input Lonnybass!
I really like the "neutral" way the Sadowsky preamp boosts the highs and lows without coloring the tone of the bass too much. I can do the rest with my amp(s).
I think this is why the Sadowsky is a go-to for a lot of session players in particular. The preamp seems to add just the right amount of fullness to a mix in just the right spot.
Lonnybass
Hmm. I just checked the website, and the PCB looks totally different than what I last saw, a few years ago. I can't find a picture of an opamp based bass preamp, but page two of this pdf does show an opamp on their guitar preamp. https://www.sadowsky.com/stock/misc_media/controls/guitar_controls.pdf I could have sworn that they had a bass preamp with a DIP8 package opamp in the middle, but it's possible that I am confusing the guitar preamp for the bass preamp. Maybe Roger will chime in.
In any case, the preamps are still entirely different.
Roger did say that Aguilar helped design the original preamps.
And yeah, the OBP-1 is the closest in "appearance", if you will (2 band boost only).
I've had both and they are both great preamps, either way.
And yeah, the OBP-1 is the closest in "appearance", if you will (2 band boost only).
I've had both and they are both great preamps, either way.
Your friend probably made the assumption based on the fact that Aguilar designed the Sadowsky preamp. Which is understandable but as others have pointed out, is not the case.
Even if they are the same (I'm not saying either way, as it's been years since I've had either on my bench), there are quite a few variables when you make such a simple design. Many years ago, before the potting was used, I had a look at Roger's preamp. I didn't bother writing down the circuit because it was so simple - a scaled fender tone stack (with a fixed resistor for the mid control), between two fet common source preamps. (Well that's my memory of it, but I'm happy to be proven otherwise - it was maybe 20 years ago!). I won't lie, I have used (and evolved) this idea myself and love the sound of these type of circuits. But the fets themselves have a huge variance even within the same batch. And when a filter is controlled with audio taper pots, there will be quite some variation, again, even when the pots are from the same source.
This is correct. Sadowskys sound huge in a mix without being muddy at all.