Sadowsky Flat Question

bass-shy · #1 12-14-2005, 05:37 PM

I picked up a set of Sadowsky Flatwounds ( 40-100) the other day and strung up my Martin ABG with them. I was initially very impressed with their tone and feel, but after playing them for a while, I noticed that the second string had an unnatural brightness to it. This brightness obnoxiously contrasts with the smooth, warm tone of the other strings. The other strings are bright compared to a lot of other flats, IME, but this second string is almost like having a stainless roundwound amidst three flats. Have any of you noticed this discrepancy? I hope I just got a bad set, because I really like these strings on this bass. Should I pop for another set? Should I contact Sadowsky? What would you do?

jimriz · #2 12-14-2005, 07:07 PM

Definitely contact Sadowsky. I had recently installed a new set of Stainless Steel roundwounds that had a dead D string. I sent an e-mail explaining just that and received a new string via Priority Mail in 3 days! Not only does Roger provide superior customer service to his instrument clients(of which I am one), but he truly cares about seeing that even his string-buying customers are taken care of. Go to the Sadowsky website, click on "contact", and send an e-mail explaining your problem, they'll make good on it.

DavePlaysBass · #3 12-14-2005, 08:51 PM

Sounds like you guys may have gotten strings swapped ;-).

Dave

pickles · #4 12-15-2005, 07:58 AM

I've found that flatwound sets can be like that ... its hard to get them all to sound exactly the same at first. Some playing time should dull it out ... but you could ask roger to send out a replacement. On the set I had, 'G' was extra bright, but it settled in.

bass-shy · #5 12-15-2005, 05:00 PM

I think I might wait a few days to see if it mellows out. If it doesn't get better, I'll shoot Roger an e-mail. I'm glad to hear that Sadowsky is a company that will stand behind what they sell. Thanks for all of your input. I'll post back with whatever happens.

bass-shy · #6 12-21-2005, 06:07 PM

Well, I called Sadowsky a few days ago and left a voice message explaining my problem, but I haven't heard back from them. I had to call instead of sending e-mail because the contact link on their site won't work for me. Does anyone know an e-mail address that I could use? I would appreciate any help, as I am anxious to play a set of these strings as they are supposed to be. Thanks.

bass-shy · #7 01-01-2006, 11:31 PM

This is a little follow up to my above stated issue. I finally got to speak to someone at Sadowsky, and I explained my problem to them. They suggested that I return them to the store that I bought them at, so I did. Once I got home with the replacement set and strung them up, I realized that I had the same problem. The same unnatural brightness was occurring on the same string. I don't know if I will try to replace this set too, or just suck up my loss and try something else. The only certainty in all of this is that I am going through a lot of gasoline to get a set that sounds even. I may try to swap them one more time (if the store is willing) but I don't think I'll be buying any more of these. I hope this helps some of you.