HOW TO: UPGRADE YOUR BASS with a SADOWSKY PREAMP! | Pt.2: Vintage Style MetroExpress

In this video Roger Sadowsky shows you step by step how to retrofit a "Vintage Style"* Sadowsky MetroExpress bass with the Sadowsky Preamp found in the MetroLine and MasterBuilt series basses. This video is intended to both, give you detailed instructions on the installation of a Sadowsky Preamp, but also for you to see if you can do this at home by yourself or rather let a professional guitar tech do the retrofitting for you.
* In contrast to a "Modern Style" Sadowsky bass, a "Vintage Style" Sadowsky features a pickguard and a metal plate surrounding the control knobs.
The video on how to install the Sadowsky Preamp into a "Modern Style" Sadowsky MetroExpress bass can be found here: • HOW TO: UPGRADE YOUR B...
Order your Sadowsky Preamp here: shop.warwick.d...
The Sadowsky Onboard Bass Preamp (4-Knob System) is a completely prewired system offering the same controls and the same legendary active preamp as all Sadowsky basses. This preamp is designed for installation on most J-style basses with a metal control plate. On newer active J-style basses with a side jack and a battery compartment, usually no modification is required. On passive basses, the only required modification is to move the output jack to the side of the instrument and to make room for a battery. The controls are: Volume - Pan (Balance) - VTC (Vintage Tone Control) - Treble / Bass. The treble and bass controls are boost only - flat response is with the controls at their complete counterclockwise position. The VTC control is passive, the maximum setting is a flat EQ. The further you turn the control down, the more the high end in the signal will be attenuated. The preamp can be installed either with the included control plate or mounted through a rear control cavity in either a 4-in-line or diamond pattern. This system is not compatible with active pickups requiring anything else than a 250K or 500K volume or balance pot.
Prewired onboard bass preamp for J-style basses with metal control plate
Active preamp for passive pickups
4 knob layout with controls for Master Volume / Balance / Vintage Tone Control (P/P) / Treble and Bass (stacked)
Push/pull function at VTC knob for preamp bypass
Can be installed either with the included control plate or mounted through a rear control cavity
Frequency response 5 Hz - 50 kHz
Bass control offers +18 dB boost at 40 Hz
Treble control offers +18 dB boost at 4 kHz
Total harmonic distortion (THD) 0.18% at 1 kHz
Power supply via one 9V battery
Current draw 9 mA
Up to 870 hours battery life
Input impedance 1 Mohm
Output impedance 1 kohm
sadowskybass.com
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[@cedlarue]

18 ans de vie commune avec une jazz bass ultra vintage 70 mb5 (made in japan ) Une merveille encore toute d'origine et qui sonne de mieux en mieux ! Bravo Mr Sadowsky .

[@walterpineda2092]

I’m can tell why these bass are high quality, Roger is amazing Luthier, The best Jazz bass 👌🏻

[@danielfmyers]

For left handed players like myself, having counterclockwise blend to neck pickup is intuitive. For upgrading metro express, don’t insist on putting grounds back on volume pot as they were on original, because the blend pot is taller on new preamp and easier to solder on 👍

[@Mariodupree]

I just purchased my Metro Express 5 string about a month ago and I love it!

[@Fenris81]

Thanks Roger!!

[@Hi-xs7wm]

Thanks Roger !

[@droppinlikefliesBand]

I didn’t think that the electronics are anywhere near as good as the NYC bass electronics. But as per the Horses mouth they’re just as good.

[@jjguitar3055]

Got my VTC preamp today and installed it in my MX following this video. Got no sound from the bridge pickup so I resoldered the connection. Still nothing, and after removing some extra solder from the horseshoe-shaped connection point I noticed the solder wont stick to it anymore. I think the connection point got damaged. So do I need a new blend pot (where do I get one?) or can I solder the pickup-wire to somewhere else? Thankful for some help.

[@SadowskyInstrumentsOfficial]

Hi, thank you for your interest in our products. Please send us an E-Mail at [e-mail]. We will be happy to help you resolve the issue.

[@jjguitar3055]

Thank you, I will send you an e-mail.

[@mattrudybass]

I followed these instructions, but I am getting no sound at all.

[@SadowskyInstrumentsOfficial]

Hi Matt! We're really sorry for that negative experience! In that case it is a too complex matter to determine what exactly went wrong. The best advice we can give you at this point is to repeat the entire process and follow the steps shown in the video meticulously and if it still won't work after that, please consult a local guitar shop or professional guitar tech and have the installation done for you. Please let us know if the issue could be fixed. For further advice you can also contact our team at "[e-mail]".

[@mattrudybass]

@@SadowskyInstrumentsOfficial Definitely not a negative experience and its all good now! Ashley at Framus/Warwick USA helped me diagnose the problem. The pickups to my bass shipped with 3 wires each and on the neck pickup there were 2 yellow wires, so I couldn't tell which was hot and which was ground. Just had to swap the two yellow wires and it worked. Sounds great! Used it practice last night and all bandmates complimented on how good the bass sounded. Thank you!

[@stephenleejp]

@@mattrudybassthanks for this update. My Metro is the same kind, 3 cables coming out of each respective pickup routing, a total of 6 cables. I have no sound but your comment tells me I just need to swap cables around. If I get it working I'll comment which cables from which routing are the hot ones. Cheers!

[@walterkern5507]

Hab vor kurzem den Sadowsky preamp eingebaut. Klang ist gut, Sorry aber die Potis sind nicht empfehlennswert. Schlechteste China Qualität kratzen und laufen hakelig in der Achse

[@dodonkbass6208]

Dimane mok mbeli nye eh uyuh kitak nin, byk cengkonek