Sadowsky guitar-preamp - retrofit ?

[gitman]

having read so much about and also listened to the famous Sadowsky strat(s) with the built-in preamp i was wondering whether these electronic could be retrofitted into my Suhr strat...? on Sadowsky's webshop site only the bass preamps are listed, no mention of the guitar version.... i love my Suhr (with the silent circuit built in) and cannot afford another boutique strat but could really use the versatility that preamp obviously affords. any info here ?

 

[Jim S]

Good question. Ask Roger.

 

[gitman]

waiting for him to chime in ...

 

[Jim S]

I think this was brought up before and it's not a retrofit or aftermarket product. That's my recollection at 4:50 am so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[gitman]

hmmmm.... is there a comparable unit out there that can be retrofitted ? i have never looked into active pickups etc. but the idea of having an adjustable mid-boost onboard to thicken up the rather wiry strat tone for the more jazzy tunes during the dinner sets is very appealing .... what can you suggest ?

 

[sadowsky]

having read so much about and also listened to the famous Sadowsky strat(s) with the built-in preamp i was wondering whether these electronic could be retrofitted into my Suhr strat...? on Sadowsky's webshop site only the bass preamps are listed, no mention of the guitar version.... i love my Suhr (with the silent circuit built in) and cannot afford another boutique strat but could really use the versatility that preamp obviously affords. any info here ?

I do not offer our guitar preamp as a retrofit because it is a very complicated install----even for an experienced guitar tech. In fact, we have redesigned all of our guitar bodies to have a rear control cavity, just to accommodate the circuit board and have access to the trim pots.

Roger

 

[Jim S]

Maybe the Demeter onboard unit? Or a pedal perhaps the Fulltone Fatboost? Dare I say Klon?

 

[gitman]

i will look into the demeter piece , thanks for the tip ! i know about the Fat Boost pedal etc but i really would prefer to have the control at my fingertips instead of another pedal...

 

[basvossen]

is there a schematic of the Sadowsky bass-preamp somewhere on the net? Looking for that a long time. They are said to be FET-based.

 

[Route234]

Scott Walker uses some cool pre-amps and boosters. He has a pretty cool site with some interesting mods. Never tried them but some good stuff:

http://guitarmodder.com/beta/

 

[treeofpain]

The EMG systems have the mid-boost thing. Pretty effective actually.

 

[pass it]

+1 on the Demeter

Tyler guitars use a custom version of their on board fat control/midboost.

 

[Droptop]

I wonder if Aguilar makes a guitar pre-amp?

 

[Bobby D]

the Demeter is cool but it's not the Sadowsky. I had a swamp ash, maple S style sadowsky with factory barden pickups and the preamp that was quite literally the most versatile guitar I have ever owned. never should have let go of that one....

 

[arnie65]

I think the retrofit question is a mute one. Roger does not sell his guitar preamp's to anyone, even if you own a Sadowsky guitar. I had very good luck with a very similar guitar preamp made by a company out west called Starr Labs. I've had at least 3 of those installed in guitars over the last 15 years. Just like the Sadowsky, they have a separate pot that controls the levels of Mid/Gain and a three way switch for mid/gain/off. You can email [email protected] or call 858-560-0334. I own a Sadowsky tele and this is very, very similar.


Cheers,
Arnie..