Club Sadowsky!!!

[R&B]

Appreciate the spirited defense and confidence in the future direction. The fierce loyalty of Sadowsky customers speaks to the strength of the brand and the ethos of its founder. As I said earlier, we have confidence in Roger. On that it seems we all can agree.

 

[Vic]

personally, i think it boils down to customer experience.

because as far as quality goes, at least IMHO, Warwick has always been great at that. their designs aren't really my thing, but i think they're excellent for what they are, and i firmly believe that same excellence will carry through to the Sadowsky line. at least i am not at all concerned about that.

where i think the proof is yet to be seen is customer experience. Roger sets the bar DAMN high there, and we've seen mixed comments about Warwick, though i've personally had good experiences with them, FWIW.

time will tell, but i remain fully optimistic.

 

[Joeykun]

Warwick is an unknown quantity to me. The fact that they are doing their little Warwick-y things like Schaller strap locks does little to convince me that they will build to Sadowsky standards.

Comedy Gold!

 

[StayLow]

I know that the Tokyo MetroLines are no more, but can anyone educate me a little about the shop and the processes that made these basses?
I’m aware that Yoshi Kikuchi came to NYC and worked at Roger’s side for a year to learn “the Sadowsky way” of building basses, then returned to Tokyo and opened the Sadowsky Tokyo shop.
My question regards the operation of this shop (I’ve seen nothing written or any pics of the operation). Did it operate pretty much like Roger’s shop in NYC, a small number of craftsmen hand-building basses one at a time, or was it more automated? Based on the serial numbers, it appears they made ~1000 basses a year (about 4/day give or take with holidays, etc), so I’m guessing it was more like Roger’s shop than not, minus all of the custom stuff that Roger offers out of the NYC operation.
Any insight, links to stories or pics would be appreciated. Just acquired a 2015 MetroLine RV4 so am interested in the people and process that built it.
Thx!

There's no more "hand building" of a NYC Sadowsky than there is of a MIA, or probably even MIM, Fender. Probably less, and certainly less done in-house.

I'm not suggesting that what is done is of the same quality.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fender+factory+tour

 

[cxcxcx]

I know that the Tokyo MetroLines are no more, but can anyone educate me a little about the shop and the processes that made these basses?
I’m aware that Yoshi Kikuchi came to NYC and worked at Roger’s side for a year to learn “the Sadowsky way” of building basses, then returned to Tokyo and opened the Sadowsky Tokyo shop.
My question regards the operation of this shop (I’ve seen nothing written or any pics of the operation). Did it operate pretty much like Roger’s shop in NYC, a small number of craftsmen hand-building basses one at a time, or was it more automated? Based on the serial numbers, it appears they made ~1000 basses a year (about 4/day give or take with holidays, etc), so I’m guessing it was more like Roger’s shop than not, minus all of the custom stuff that Roger offers out of the NYC operation.
Any insight, links to stories or pics would be appreciated. Just acquired a 2015 MetroLine RV4 so am interested in the people and process that built it.
Thx!

I was under the impression that Japanese Metros were not fully CNC, or possibly not CNC at all -

Club Sadowsky!!!

 

[Vic]

There's no more "hand building" of a NYC Sadowsky than there is of a MIA, or probably even MIM, Fender. Probably less, and certainly less done in-house.

Roger can chime in as need, but I believe there's a LOT more "hands on" work in an NYC Sadowsky than any of those you cited. What Roger's shop does is probably a lot more like the Fender Custom Shop, not their production lines.

 

[davidak]

"Hands on" is much more important in wood selection, assembly, setup, quality control, customer care.. this is where I see added value of Sadowsky.

I personally do not care at all if they use CNC - at least it assures consistency, bass geometry is then exactly as I expect to be.

 

[StayLow]

Roger can chime in as need, but I believe there's a LOT more "hands on" work in an NYC Sadowsky than any of those you cited. What Roger's shop does is probably a lot more like the Fender Custom Shop, not their production lines.

The person I quoted used the phrase "hand made".

What parts, if any, are hand made, much less made in-house?

As I recall, the wiring, final finish of the neck, and fret work is done in the shop.

Fender MIA, and MIM and probably Squier, have virtually every part made in-house, and a lot more done by hand than I would've imagined. Watch the vids.

Same is true of most major brands including those that cost less than a couple hundred dollars made in China. It really comes down to cost of labor, skill of that labor, and attention to detail.

For me it doesn't matter at all, other than for the sake of accuracy.

 

[TimothyGroovy]

Echo to @staccatogrowl

I never feel worry about the quality with the German made Sadowsky even before I saw the prototype at NAMM, went straight ahead order stocks for my shop and 2 customshop basses for myself, planning on the 4th and 5th.

After years of playing a Sadowsky and in the MI business, I definitely trust this man, his decision and all the people he chose to work with. They are top notch in the business, period.

 

[TimothyGroovy]

Regards the modern guitar production process, it is only about the how many % of "hands on" invloved in the whole process, nothing is 100% machine/CNC made, nothing is 100% handmade as well (parts, pot, etc), personally I only care about the outcome in terms of both sound and feel of an instrument, if a "handmade" instrument sound crap and feel bad, i rather pick something else to play. My 2 cents.

 

[gigetto]

Ciao,
new Metroline are already available in Italy...
For instance, there are two PJ Metroline by Warwick available in a store in Naples... (unless you were referring to Metroline Express made in China).

Is interesting the difference between chinese one and warwick one....

 

[RNG1]

When this topic arises as it does from time to time, my first thought is that my only Sadowsky (at the moment) is what I guess is considered the “most affordable” model that exists, being a mij Metroexpress. Out of the several basses I have and 2 being vintage Fenders, there is no question that the feel, playability and consistency up and down the neck and versatility of tone makes so enjoyable to play and the bass I reach for first and taking monetary stuff out of it would be the one that if I only was able to have one would be it. There’s just something about it that is really inspiring to play and I find myself coming up with stuff that just feels fresh when it’s in my hands. I do believe it somehow makes me a better player and I’ve been at it for 40+ years. Would anyone else know in the audience etc? Probably not but my thought is that even when I was at the shop and played several off the wall they all had this same “spark” just in different flavors. I guess I believe that spark must be in every instrument with a Sadowsky logo on it due to design, build technique, and good choices. I have no reason to believe otherwise that this will continue regardless where they are made if he’s the man behind it all. Has anyone here ever played a “bad” Sadowsky? Serious question.

 

[Tjluke]

Is interesting the difference between chinese one and warwick one....

What do you mean?

 

[gigetto]

The difference between Metroline and new metroExpress made in china.

 

[Loepie]

The difference between Metroline and new metroline made in china.

Metroline is build in Germany, MetroExpress in China.

 

[gigetto]

Ok sorry...The difference between metroline and MetroExpress....

 

[Bassdudeman]

I think it's the body wood.

 

[Loepie]

I think it's the body wood.

MetroLine has the Sadowsky preamp with VTC, MetroExpress has the Sadowsky preamp without VTC.
MetroLine has the Sadowsky humcancelling pickups, MetroExpress has not. Fretwork will probably be not the same, German vs Chinese. And others. You might look at the specs on the Warwick site.

 

[ShawnG]

The person I quoted used the phrase "hand made".

I did not say “hand made”, I very specifically said “hand-built”, which is a very different thing.

I have seen the videos of the craftsmen at Sadowsky NYC painstakingly sanding each neck and neck pocket to “hand-build” a bass from previously CNC’d blanks to make the fit perfect. This is what I am talking about, not some guy going out into the wilds of NYC, chopping down a tree and “hand-making” the bass from a board of wood.

if you are going to attribute my posts to make your point, please ensure you are doing so accurately. Thx.

SPG

 

[bucephylus]

There's no more "hand building" of a NYC Sadowsky than there is of a MIA, or probably even MIM, Fender. Probably less, and certainly less done in-house.

I'm not suggesting that what is done is of the same quality.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fender+factory+tour

First, have you ever played an NYC Sadowsky?

Second, Roger certainly uses CNC fabricated parts; but, there is quite a lot of hand work that goes into the assembly of each bass. Here is a video, well worth your time to view, which gives some sense of what goes into each instrument.


Perhaps, I’m not sure what you mean by your use of the term “quality.” I think of “quality” as denoting the post production, specification compliance checks. In any case, the construction of the instruments most certainly requires a certain amount of hands on time from skilled artisans. Mike Tobias uses essentially the same approach that Roger is using; and I don’t think most players familiar with Mike’s work would consider his instruments in the same construction class as Fender. Drawing a line between “hand made” and production has become somewhat blurred, in terms of the tooling that gets used. The distinction is in the results. My $0.019.