WL5 Weight.jpg
Status
This ad has been closed.

Details

This is a 'mint' as you can get. Bought this bass on a whim ... my endless quest for 'modern' bass tone for 'those' gigs when my NYC PJ5 with flats is 'my sound' 99% of the time ... and have only played it in the practice rooms.

ZERO GIGS. Maybe 2 hours tops on this thing. Brand-spanking new. I essentially rented it a while.

Not looking for any trades that don't have $3k heading my way, not going to accept low-ball offers. #blessed to say that I'm at a place in life where I don't need to drop a price down low just to free up some cash.

I can wait.

Specs here, but real important for those familiar with this model:

This has a 1.875" nut ... NOT the 1-3/4" nut that is standard for a WL5.

One of the reasons I wanted it.

So why sell?

Well ... as I said, I have my main player, and after some soul-searching, I'm working towards a custom NYC that is essentially Roger's take on a 19MM StingRay 5, but of course with that 'Roger' thing going.



Links:

https://www.sadowsky.com/product/7235-maui_blue-vintage-5-string-will-lee/


Pics from website, but more to come later this evening.

WL5 Weight.jpg
WL5 UP Close Body.jpg
WL5 UP Close.jpg
Sadowsky WL5.PNG

Comments

ElMon

Supporting Member
May 30, 2004
7,364
6,345
44
Oklahoma City, OK
I see the weight discrepancy and Will clear that up later. Pun intended ... Will as in ... nevermind.

It feels like the 8.93. Right in the middle of lightweight/average weight based off of a LOT of Sadowsky experience.
 

TREYontheBASS

Supporting Member
Aug 10, 2014
583
1,189
35
Nashville, TN
I have never wanted a bass more in my life... lol that’s a stunner, glwts! Someday I’ll be able to afford something like this.
 

ElMon

Supporting Member
May 30, 2004
7,364
6,345
44
Oklahoma City, OK
I have never wanted a bass more in my life... lol that’s a stunner, glwts! Someday I’ll be able to afford something like this.

They're a game changer. I would be just fine on a decent Sire 5'er, but when you hear that Sadowsky sound coming out of your speakers ... when you (trust me) see your fellow musicians making 'O' faces at you ... and when previously taciturn sound folks are slapping you on the back and throwing thumbs-up at you ... you'll know what 'it' is.

I lean more towards the 'P' end of the spectrum, but had to give this one a shot.

Wanted to add that with the mid-switch and blending the bridge pickup, you can get the most 'Jaco-iest' of Jaco sounds ever.
 

TREYontheBASS

Supporting Member
Aug 10, 2014
583
1,189
35
Nashville, TN
They're a game changer. I would be just fine on a decent Sire 5'er, but when you hear that Sadowsky sound coming out of your speakers ... when you (trust me) see your fellow musicians making 'O' faces at you ... and when previously taciturn sound folks are slapping you on the back and throwing thumbs-up at you ... you'll know what 'it' is.

I lean more towards the 'P' end of the spectrum, but had to give this one a shot.

Wanted to add that with the mid-switch and blending the bridge pickup, you can get the most 'Jaco-iest' of Jaco sounds ever.

That's what they tell me haha. I've tried some out at shops here in Nashville but unfortunately never gotten the chance to use one in a mix. It's on my list! If I get one though I'd like to order a custom.. I'm happy with my Laklands until that day comes.
 

ElMon

Supporting Member
May 30, 2004
7,364
6,345
44
Oklahoma City, OK
That's what they tell me haha. I've tried some out at shops here in Nashville but unfortunately never gotten the chance to use one in a mix. It's on my list! If I get one though I'd like to order a custom.. I'm happy with my Laklands until that day comes.


Here’s one of ElMon’s hyperbolic ‘hot takes’ about Sadowsky basses:

Have you ever had the following happen in the studio?

You bring in your cool passive Fender, and after plugging it into the studios killer hi-end tube pres, limiters, soft-kneed compressors and cross-eyed Maries, you get this wonderful, textured, fat sound with more girth and presence while at the same time achieving this crystal clarity that fits into the mix just perfectly?

If you’re like me, after hearing that sound, you begin chasing that ‘coming out of the studio monitors/headphones’ tone for YEARS.

  • Hybrid Tube/SS amps
  • Full range speakers
  • All Tube Amps/Pres
  • Basses from multiple builders with multiple configurations
Thing is ...

Roger has baked all of that into the sound of the pre/construction of the woods that you get all of that tone ... thousands of dollars of studio pres/bits and baubles combined with the experience of a top-notch engineer ... right out of the output jack.

My experience of course.

I like Laklands too. Guy in Norman I know had one in ash/brazilian RW (edit: USA/Chi-Town Custom) and I must’ve heard him dozens of times in small clubs/no PA. It always had a similar, cut-through-the-mix-in-a-special-way tone.
 
Last edited:

ElMon

Supporting Member
May 30, 2004
7,364
6,345
44
Oklahoma City, OK
Going to work on some clips, but for now, here’s my own, ‘he obviously took these’ pics:

F7A04C1F-7986-4A75-A849-7CD566A2A6A7.jpeg
F344FCDB-1DE1-4D43-A0C0-A717AF927570.jpeg
65C9A443-FFB7-4D1C-B5C5-DB191B51B853.jpeg
4B101596-0CBB-481F-8CDD-80444593CAC4.jpeg
5632E3AB-3D3E-49ED-83CD-C94CB1FE23E2.jpeg
8DA51FF0-4DF7-447F-8724-3A8674F8809E.jpeg
48E7273C-D8AB-4EBF-83C4-B4E8F7915A73.jpeg
6680927D-6DFC-493D-9494-2407D8B54A2C.jpeg
67981D8D-1C17-44DD-89B8-992533E54C9C.jpeg
1D25E8BD-1FBC-40CC-A47B-CDD4536AD645.jpeg
A09C3E1A-1748-4A08-96D7-EAAED6B77CC1.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • A4044940-CE65-42FD-961F-DDAA41A1B4B1.jpeg
    A4044940-CE65-42FD-961F-DDAA41A1B4B1.jpeg
    1 MB · Views: 126
  • 60E88146-1FAA-4B3D-9CB5-8FD59BA065EC.jpeg
    60E88146-1FAA-4B3D-9CB5-8FD59BA065EC.jpeg
    1,021.5 KB · Views: 130
  • 6423D719-F943-4E93-AAFC-4C38B7DE1C2A.jpeg
    6423D719-F943-4E93-AAFC-4C38B7DE1C2A.jpeg
    920.5 KB · Views: 132

ElMon

Supporting Member
May 30, 2004
7,364
6,345
44
Oklahoma City, OK
All the sweet case candy in place.

I’ll leave this for you to discover, because I’m literally sending the instrument along as you would get it from the shop, minus the plastic on the pickguard/control plate, but Roger goes all out on the documentation. Every piece of paper is of high quality, and the certs have this beautiful heavy-weight paper that is designed so that some kid a hundred years from now will find Great Gran-Pappy’s ‘old bass’ in an attic someday, and out of the indominable, unbeatable Port-a-Bag they will not only pull out the bass but these old papers and they will seem important and weighty. Magna Carta and/or Declaration of Independence.

There’s also a few personal touches/surprises that Roger sends along that I’ll leave for you as a surprise. And no, it’s not a spider. I only did that the once.
 

ElMon

Supporting Member
May 30, 2004
7,364
6,345
44
Oklahoma City, OK
Oh, also:

The 8.93 lbs is correct. I can just feel that it is, and I promise you that there was a typo in the website description, and not in Roger’s scales. I’m imaginging he has ISO9001/AS9100 level attention to detail and that the scale in shop is frequently-calibrated using lab-grade SS weights going from 1kg up to 5grams.
 

ElMon

Supporting Member
May 30, 2004
7,364
6,345
44
Oklahoma City, OK
Something about the spread of the low notes on alder that really makes a difference. My Ash/Braz RW hits like a grand piano on the last 4 notes of the B-string to open B, which to me are what separates $1000 from $6000 in basses (IME/IMO), but alder hits like a calf-skin concert bass drum with a cotton beater. Add in the snap of Amazon RW in the 6k region ... really something.

I want this dream build of a Musicman-style Sadowsky more, and my PJ5 isn't going anywhere ... like ever ever ... but still, really a unique, and 'do-it-all' type of instrument. It has that classic J thing going, just a bit wider on each note in the way it hits.

Never gigged it. 3-hours tops on this instrument, so 'brand new' aside from some plastic on the pick guard. I'm being told that Roger's secret is that he lends each and every NYC build to a bass player from local thrash metal bands in NYC, to break in the acoustic movement of the various woods. It's wiped back down and freshened up and the end-user never knows. I also just completely made that up because I woke up in the middle of the night, all befuddled.

Good night.
 

ElMon

Supporting Member
May 30, 2004
7,364
6,345
44
Oklahoma City, OK
One more before I attempt the second sleep ...

I really don't like normal J-bass bodies. One of the many reasons I'm a committed 'P' man. If you're like me in that regard, a Sadowsky and the WL5 model in particular is a good compromise. It's down-sized and extremely comfortable and ergonomic on the strap, particularly if you're a low-slung strap wearer like me. For that type of feller/fellerina, the lower 'hump' on a J-bass hits your leg in a weird way. Yes, I'm speaking for legions of people I've never met. I played QB at the hyper-bole.

Still, throwing that out there. Talk amongst yourselves. Topics include 'how is J-Lo's low body fat percentage spread so evenly for a woman her age?' and/or 'how are bank-robbers supposed to perform their task now that everyone is wearing a mask over their face'.
 

TimBosby

Somewhere in middle America
Gold Supporting Member
Dec 19, 2004
11,931
10,241
47
Omaha, NE, USA
Maui blue. I love the color description and it's almost as beautiful as actual Maui!
 

Classified ad information

Posted by
ElMon
Feedback score
+129 /0 /-0
Category
For Sale: Bass Guitars
Views
3,886

More from ElMon