Club Sadowsky!!!

[Fran Diaz]

I have not tried the new Sadowsky flats but the old ones are my favs by far.
EDIT: I mean compared to the other brands... I'll try the new Sad flats eventually.

I’m a flats guy, tried them all, and I prefer the Sadowsky as my fav overall flatwound string.

There are guys who are Gaga over TIs or Chromes, or EB Cobalts. They each have their voice and quirks. The Sadowsky has best balance of tension and tone in my experience.

 

[J.Wolf]

An expensive experiment at $70, but I suppose thats about right.

 

[ElMon]

I’m a flats guy, tried them all, and I prefer the Sadowsky as my fav overall flatwound string.

There are guys who are Gaga over TIs or Chromes, or EB Cobalts. They each have their voice and quirks. The Sadowsky has best balance of tension and tone in my experience.

I need to revisit Sadowsky Flats. D'Addario Chromes, IMO/IME, have the most taut, pitch-focused B-string, and my PJ5 in particular is going on 4 years with the same set on.

 

[Sadowsky]

Also, FWIW, the black label rounds I bought from the TB store had a horribly dead/warbly B string. Had to replace it with a XL B string i had laying around. Kind of a bummer considering the price, and I could have brought it to TB or Sadowsky's attention, but just didnt get around to it.

Sorry about the bad string....all you had to do was email or us and we would have sent a replacement immediately.
Roger

 

[J.Wolf]

Thanks so much Roger. I probably shouldnt have posted about here without the due diligence of contacting your or the retailer first (I give people a hard time for doing just that). And I dont hold it against the company, bad strings happen.

edit: upon basic reflection, post deleted.

 

[Holdsg]

An expensive experiment at $70, but I suppose thats about right.

cheaper than a new bass...just sayin.

 

[J.Wolf]

I'm not planning on getting rid of it any time soon. Its a monster. Plays amazing. I was thinking it would be voiced a little differently than it is, but now that I'm used to it, and have accepted it for what it excels at majorly, just wanting to lean into it.

 

[kevk]

I’m a flats guy, tried them all, and I prefer the Sadowsky as my fav overall flatwound string.

There are guys who are Gaga over TIs or Chromes, or EB Cobalts. They each have their voice and quirks. The Sadowsky [flats] have best balance of tension and tone in my experience.

^^^^^ this! ...and, I would add fantastic feel!

I’ve been using Sad blue flats (on my Sad 5s) for years...the current version sound great right out of the package. They’re very even string to string, with really nice mids! Highly recommend...

 

[J.Wolf]

Ordered a set of chromes and some open box Sadowsky flats that BestBassGear had. That'll be a fun shootout.

 

[J.Wolf]

How do you know whether they're the newer/vs older blue label flats? Not sure if these were left over or new, from BBG. thx

 

[Holdsg]

I always used the black label flats (older version) which had grey silks.
The blue label flats, not sure.

 

[DaveAceofBass]

I am a huge Sadowsky fan, so this is just my personal opinion. I didn’t care for the Blue Label Flats when I tried them. Roger and team were awesome about sending me a replacement string for one that was dead out of pack, but I still didn’t have good results. That said I always loved the old Black Label flats and wish they were still available. Nowadays I’m using LaBella 760FL and love them. I also really love the Sadowsky Blue Label Nickels and Steels on my NYC 5/24.

 

[bassicsax]

I am really liking the Labella Deep talking flats I put on mine... I’ve never tried th Sadowsky strings but I like the Labellas over the chromes and Dunlop flats...

 

[mmbass21]

I love the blue label nickels, best strings right out of the package that I've ever had. They're still perfect after about 3 months now of daily play and a few gigs on them. EB cobalts are nice flats, I need to try the Sadowsky flats to compare. I have a Fender blacktop P that came with the cobalts on it and I've been quite impressed with its midrange. That bass has super hot pickups so it might be taming it a bit.

 

[J.Wolf]

I also am a fan of the Labella FL set. They sit nicely between low and medium tension, and are really musical. If the Chromes and the Sadowsky blue flats dont quite work, that'll be my next step.

 

[Dave Hill]

Curiosity: I have been playing this nice Limited Edition Metro (ash with pau ferro) and new WL single coils. Originally I thought it would be a good modern jazz bass sound, with edge for slap and Marcus'y vibe, but its proven to sound really thick and meaty and is much better suited for pure fingerstyle. I have a Skyline DJ 5 with Nord HC's that is much better for the "Marcus slice".

I'm wondering about putting some flats on the Sad, since it seems to really excel in the mids and low mids/lows, and can sound a little aggressive in the upper mids and lower treble. I have been using the Sadowsky black nickels which seem like a great match for rounds. Wondering if the Sadowsky flats are the way to go, or if people have found flats they prefer with their sadowsky, based on the feel and tone matching up with the preamp/native sound of the Sadowsky's.

thx

You'd probably get that snap with a maple fingerboard.
Having had an ash/maple metro 5, and having an ash/maple BN5 as my main 5er, I ordered an alder/rosewood NYC PJ 4, and it is exactly what I wanted...more meaty and less snappy, less fb noise.
I just put a set of Labella 760 FL on my 70 P bass and they're great!
It's got me thinking what they would sound like on the NYC...

 

[kevk]

How do you know whether they're the newer/vs older blue label flats? Not sure if these were left over or new, from BBG. thx

Difficult to describe...but at the end of each string (at the tuners), the current version has less blue thread “thickness” around the string. Feels/looks more “ribbed” than the previous version. I don’t have a pic of the older blue flats, but here’s what the current version looks like...

 

[jrex]

View attachment 3482839 View attachment 3482841 View attachment 3482842

Saw Earth, Wind & Fire last night, and Verdine White definitely still has it! He played his sig model—with a hole worn in the top from his thumb!—and a red P/J. Sadly, none of the pictures came out very well...

Speaking of Satins, just wondering for those who have been really gigging with there satins, how is the finish wearing. Does it become shinny in spots where your arm rests? Has anyone worn thru the finish like Verdine has where his thumb always rests? Just curious I'm a future Satin owner just waiting for the assembly process.

 

[TedH]

I love seeing all of these green Sadowskys!

 

[Tieiririyi]

Speaking of Satins, just wondering for those who have been really gigging with there satins, how is the finish wearing. Does it become shinny in spots where your arm rests? Has anyone worn thru the finish like Verdine has where his thumb always rests? Just curious I'm a future Satin owner just waiting for the assembly process.

I have had mine for a year, been bringing it to 2 hours band practice 3 times a month plus some gigs and worships. It doesn’t look that shiny to me.