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Are Sadowsky basses over rated?

#241
You gotta play them to figure out what you like.

I personally love modern active Jazz basses. I still own 3 passive Fender Jazz basses and have played Jazz basses for almost 30 years but prefer my Valenti with Nordy single coil PU/pre for most gigs.

I used to own 3 Sadowskys (2 Metros and a NYC) and they were all great basses and I preferred them to any Passive Fender or active American Deluxe I have owned/played.

I personally really love Valenti basses as they are similar to Sadowsky (you can even order Sadowsky PU and pre) and an American made model with lots of options costs less than a Metro.
 
#242
I seriously dont think they are overrated. Its a bass that is extremely easy too get a nice sound with in live situations, and the overall fit and finish is superb. I do belive Sadowskys owe alot too their preamps tough, that thing is really amazing, its not like it has 2x the playability of a fender just because its twice as exensive, but the quality of wood, tone, fretwork etc surpas fender still. and the neck stability of mine is superb compared too other basses ive owned.
 
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#246
I have been researching sadowsky basses lately.
just last weekend I A/B'ed a sadowsky metro MV5 against a fender MIA jazz V; I ran the fender through a sadowsky preamp DI pedal to even out the score. I thought both basses were nearly equal. in passive mode, I gave the fender a nod for the better B string; however, when the preamps were engaged, the sadowsky bass had the edge.

in Canada, a new metro is around 4k taxes in. they are very nice. one could find a new fender USA jazz V + sad pedal and be around half the price and have an almost good axe. the fender gets the nod for me because of the adjustable spacing at the bridge. there isn't a 2k difference IMO.

I have decided to get a sadowsky preamp pedal and make all my passive basses sound phenomenal for little money.
 
#247
Batmensch said:
No, they're not.
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mmbongo said:
Fender basses are pretty much the definition of 'overrated', so I guess it all depends on how you look at it.
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I used to believe that but it isn't true-
fender is making some great basses but they are pricing themselves out of the market; in Canada now, a new fender USA jazz V deluxe is about 2500+ taxes in. for a few hundred more, people may hold out and order boutiques like sadowskies.
 
#248
There are also subtle differences too like string spacing. The Fender is a little tighter than the Sad@19mm. The Fender ADV (especially used) is a good value, especially since used Sads hold their value pretty well and cost almost $1000 more. (Used market) I think Fender has closed the distance significantly, compound radius necks with slim profiles and pretty decent fretwork. I played a Sad Will Lee MV5 and thought it was flat out awesome but now we're talking what $3275 plus tax? In the end if money doesn't matter it comes down to the finer points. Bassists today are in total gear heaven, great choices.
 
#249
I guess that I'm one of the few that prefers to play his Sadowsky in passive mode, 95% of the time anyway, so the preamp isn't that big of a deals for me. However, the VTC is the bee's knees for my money and the build quality is miles above any Fender I've seen or played, period. I agree with the others that it's not altogether fair to compare an NYC Sadowsky to anything but a Masterbuilt Fender, though I think that Sadowsky had more freedom to experiment whereas Fender may be a little locked into their own mold. The only reason that I'm currently debating selling my Sadowsky (#2788) is because I got it used from Roger and would then turn around and get an NYC built to my specs and dreams. Overrated? Not if you want what only a Sadowsky can offer.
 
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#252
I've played my Sadowsky jazz passive only once live, when I forgot to replace the battery. It was a different tone to be sure, but I still liked it a lot. Much prefer the active tone. On my Sadowsky PJ, I often use it passive, but usually with a duo/trio or other small group. The pre is a large part of what I like about Sadowskys, but the construction and fretwork is what always pulls me to them. My Fneders get very little time outside the house.
 
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#253
joebar said:
I have been researching sadowsky basses lately.
just last weekend I A/B'ed a sadowsky metro MV5 against a fender MIA jazz V; I ran the fender through a sadowsky preamp DI pedal to even out the score. I thought both basses were nearly equal. in passive mode, I gave the fender a nod for the better B string; however, when the preamps were engaged, the sadowsky bass had the edge.

in Canada, a new metro is around 4k taxes in. they are very nice. one could find a new fender USA jazz V + sad pedal and be around half the price and have an almost good axe. the fender gets the nod for me because of the adjustable spacing at the bridge. there isn't a 2k difference IMO.

I have decided to get a sadowsky preamp pedal and make all my passive basses sound phenomenal for little money.
Click to expand...

Don't underestimate the impact of Sadowsky strings on his basses sound, especially those tight B strings. I just put some Sadowsky Blue Label round wounds on my Squier VM Precision V, and the tightness and clarity of the B string improved dramatically.
 
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#254
Kevan Campbell said:
I guess that I'm one of the few that prefers to play his Sadowsky in passive mode, 95% of the time anyway, so the preamp isn't that big of a deals for me. However, the VTC is the bee's knees for my money and the build quality is miles above any Fender I've seen or played, period. I agree with the others that it's not altogether fair to compare an NYC Sadowsky to anything but a Masterbuilt Fender, though I think that Sadowsky had more freedom to experiment whereas Fender may be a little locked into their own mold. The only reason that I'm currently debating selling my Sadowsky (#2788) is because I got it used from Roger and would then turn around and get an NYC built to my specs and dreams. Overrated? Not if you want what only a Sadowsky can offer.
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agree with much of this except that I think Fender will "whore" out the bass design a lot more than Roger from what I can see.. he has his mind set on certain things and so he won't (for example) give you flame or birdseye maple neckwood... or an ebony fretboard.. two things that I did on my Masterbuilt Jazz.. Another area I disagree (Though this is purely a personal preference thing) is I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the pre-amp.. I even made them install it into my Fender! ;)

IMG_3733.JPG
 
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#255
SamJ said:
agree with much of this except that I think Fender will "whore" out the bass design a lot more than Roger from what I can see.. he has his mind set on certain things and so he won't (for example) give you flame or birdseye maple neckwood... or an ebony fretboard.. two things that I did on my Masterbuilt Jazz.. Another area I disagree (Though this is purely a personal preference thing) is I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the pre-amp.. I even made them install it into my Fender! ;)

View attachment 576621
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I don't know how it sounds, but that looks sweet! drool
 
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#258
SamJ said:
agree with much of this except that I think Fender will "whore" out the bass design a lot more than Roger from what I can see.. he has his mind set on certain things and so he won't (for example) give you flame or birdseye maple neckwood... or an ebony fretboard.. two things that I did on my Masterbuilt Jazz.. Another area I disagree (Though this is purely a personal preference thing) is I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the pre-amp.. I even made them install it into my Fender! ;)

View attachment 576621
Click to expand...

Roger refused to do birdseye maple necks for structural reasons for many years. I wanted my first Sadowsky to have it and he explained his reasons for not offering it. He lifted that restriction when roasted birdseye lumber became available for guitar building by way of the flooring industry.
 
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#259
20db pad said:
Roger refused to do birdseye maple necks for structural reasons for many years. I wanted my first Sadowsky to have it and he explained his reasons for not offering it. He lifted that restriction when roasted birdseye lumber became available for guitar building by way of the flooring industry.
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Yeah, I wanted AAA flame and Dennis (my builder at Fender) threw a fit.. said no way, not with his name on the neck... so we spent some time looking for the perfect compromise.. took him about a month then he send me these pics and we moved forward..

169313328-1.jpg
 
#260
SamJ said:
Yeah, I wanted AAA flame and Dennis (my builder at Fender) threw a fit.. said no way, not with his name on the neck... so we spent some time looking for the perfect compromise.. took him about a month then he send me these pics and we moved forward..

View attachment 576642
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Years ago some teenager read me the riot act online somewhere because I mentioned that the birdseye maple neck Stingray 5 I had was basically a useless noodle because of the inherent stability of that wood. Apparently, Sterling Ball told him that the warpage and inability to retain a setup wasn't possible. I had already known that Sadowsky wasn't behind birdseye necks but I got the bass for song.
 

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