Sadowsky SBP-2 Bass Preamp V2

Does its job

Simple and straightforward preamp, I use it with passive basses (J bass and other), it gives that extra woomph!

Best

One of the best preamps on the market

Perfect pre amp; its fire !!

Subtle yet strong enough to light with other pedals or outboard compressors etc.

Sadowsky tone for your passive Jazz

I already have a Sadowsky onboard preamp on a high end Jazz and wanted my passive J to get in the same ball park when needed. This pedal does a great job of it and means I can set and forget and have it when I want it. It’s about 2/3 the cost of the onboard preamp which is a bonus too.

For the cost of the onboard preamp you can also get the bigger SPB1 pedal which has the same sound shaping capabilities as the SBP2 but also has a footswitch for mute/silent tuner out and a DI output as well if you want those and are prepared to pay for those features.

The pedal is extremely durable looking and feeling and is obviously designed for a life of earning its keep. Everything seems really solid and well made.

Tone wise this is lacking a mid control but the Sadowsky onboard doesn’t have that either. What this does do is add that super hi-fi sounding top end and rich bottom end to your sound. The tone controls are boost only.

The volume control is a little different in that I found it to match my passive Jazz at 12 o’clock or thereabouts, so by cutting the volume a little and boosting the bass and treble a bit I was able to go from bypassed and passive sounds straight to the Super J hi-fi slap tone by simply stepping on the pedal. And the tone control on my passive bass naturally responds in much the same way as the VTC vintage tone control on the onboard preamp.

I am aware there are better appointed preamps out there with more controls, tone shaping and routing/output options but this for me, has a sound I really like and adds so much to my passive Jazz bass.

Highly recommended!