Sire V7 w/Sadowsky guts

[ilan]

I met a friend yesterday and he had an interesting bass.

He likes boutique basses and has owned several Sadowskys (as well as Smith, Fodera and F-Basses) in the past. He wanted to see if he can get close to a Sadowsky for a fraction of the price.

So he bought a $499 Sire V7 - that's the 4-string J variant with a bound rosewood board and block inlays - and replaced the stock pickups and preamp with Sadowsky units. He had about $850 into the bass in total.

The result, I'd say 90% Sadowsky. The sound is unmistakably Sadowsky. The bass itself is nice and lightweight, plays very well and is getting soon a new nut and bridge to make it almost perfect. I liked the glossy neck but he doesn't and is going to have the back of the neck de-glossed.

Really not bad for $850.

We were lucky to try it out with an awesome vintage SVT with its two cabinets.

Sorry no pics because I'm stupid and didn't take any. But imagine a stock Sire V7 in sunburst with 4 knobs instead of 5.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Early Marcus Miller Signatures are already like that. Fender copied the Sadowsky preamp very closely.

[Dave W]

I can see how you could get 90% of the Sadowsky sound. Doubtful that the feel would be duplicated. I had one on loan for a few weeks about 15 years ago, courtesy of a member of the Pit. There was something about it that was superior to any other J I've played. Hard to describe.

[ilan]

I can see how you could get 90% of the Sadowsky sound. Doubtful that the feel would be duplicated. I had one on loan for a few weeks about 15 years ago, courtesy of a member of the Pit. There was something about it that was superior to any other J I've played. Hard to describe.

Yes. Just the sound. Everything else felt like a good J, but not Sadowsky good. He really can make a bass that almost plays itself and that has a price tag.