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Club Sadowsky!!!

#55,221
New Member. My first Sadowsky arrived recently. Just got the pickguard today from Pickguard Planet.
Metroline RV5-PJ Made in Japan. Love the bass. Feels, sounds great. Beautiful fretboard imho. Hard to put down. I am second owner. It was purchased new late 2020. Serial around M10800. Last year on the Sadowsky site list...2017 M9517 – M10142 So this made 2018 maybe 2019. I guess doesnt really matter. Gas cured.
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#55,227
Fuzzbass said:
Bora blue burst over quilt has become my favorite. Here's a couple of pics I've hung on to for years. Love the geometric top on 5964, and the roasted neck below.

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HeavyJazz said:
Sadowsky soapbar question - When did Roger switch to this most recent version and what made it different from its predecessor aside from being a bit slimmer?
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Thanks for asking this, @HeavyJazz -- I too was wondering about this.
 
#55,228
Bergerman said:
Hey all...I’ve been trying different pick guards on my transparent blue MV-5 lately and haven’t settled on any that I really like. I’ve always been drawn to the “naked” jazz bass look, so I found some black pan head screws the correct size and just put them in the holes and went completely guard free. I have a clear guard for it as well, but frankly did not care for how it looked, as weird as that sounds.

I’d love to hear some thoughts or opinions as I’m totally on the fence here...

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Me personally I like 3 ply black/white/black guard on your bass but that is just me, have you thought about going with a see-thru plexi-guard on your bass. I've seen that a lot on the Sadowsky site in the gallery section and actually looks pretty cool!!!!
 
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#55,232
gwangi said:
Me personally I like 3 ply black/white/black guard on your bass but that is just me, have you thought about going with a see-thru plexi-guard on your bass. I've seen that a lot on the Sadowsky site in the gallery section and actually looks pretty cool!!!!
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Gwangi, I actually have a clear guard for it, but didn’t care for the look...can’t really explain why...go figure. I also have a satin black/white/black that looks pretty nice as well. Heres a pic of the satin black last time I had it on. Decisions, decisions, lol!

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#55,233
Bergerman said:
Gwangi, I actually have a clear guard for it, but didn’t care for the look...can’t really explain why...go figure. I also have a satin black/white/black that looks pretty nice as well. Heres a pic of the satin black last time I had it on. Decisions, decisions, lol!

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OH YEA!!!! BABY!!!! That's it!!!!
 
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#55,234
Bergerman said:
Gwangi, I actually have a clear guard for it, but didn’t care for the look...can’t really explain why...go figure. I also have a satin black/white/black that looks pretty nice as well. Heres a pic of the satin black last time I had it on. Decisions, decisions, lol!

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Black PG is the winner for sure ,,,,,,,,try the black screws.
 
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#55,235
Robert Darby said:
Yea it should be interesting. I have had 5 Sadowskys and haven't had one that I didn't love. Maybe I am pushing my luck.
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Well I received my RSD 5 PJ Yesterday. I got a good deal on Presidents Day a shop had them 15% off. First impression was these basses are really nicer than the pics would you to beliefe. Just to give you a little back ground I have owned 5 Sadowskys previously.
2 NYC Satins
2 Metros (Japan)
1 Metro Express (Japan)
So this is just my opinion others may have different experiences. All my previous Sadowskys I would rate as 10s. I always do a little research before a purchase. I was aware of some hum issues with these RSDs. So here are my pros and cons.
Pros:
  • Paint job is excellent
  • Hardware quality is nice
  • Gig bag was better than expected
  • Little to no hum from the pickups
Cons:
  • I miss my VTC!
  • Action on the high side with the saddles almost on the deck
  • Hard to get it to fit into the mix which is the opposite of every other Sadowsky I have owned
Am I disappointed no not really. I have the tools and the ability to make some changes. I had some Sadowsky flats handy and I already decided it needed a shim in the neck. So I stripped her down and took the neck off. After getting the neck off I was a little surprised to see so much paint in the neck pocket and it looked like the guy that drilled the holes for the neck screws was having a bad day and was a little off on one hole. I am also wondering if the big B on the neck means it should have been a B stock. The dealer didn't list it as a B stock though. So I did some sanding in the pocket to at least get it smooth and flat. So I installed a stewmac .025 shim. I didn't realize I only had four string shims. I will order the right one today. I will order one of the blanks and drill the holes myself. The holes in the shim for some reason barely lined up. I did notice when putting the neck back on I had to do a little wiggling to get that holes to line up. The neck lined up fine though as far as the strings. Played it again today with the flats on. Again I am not sure about that pre-amp. It just has a more modern tone to it. It just sounds kind of thin to me. It is like the bass is out of tune if that is possible. There is a shop in Indiana that sells these and they offer to upgrade them with a drop in pre-amp with the VTC. The VTC unit alone is 100 the whole drop in unit is 200. They said they had a hard time with just the VTC unit alone and recommended the 200 dollar setup. I think I may upgrade to the 200 setup. I may just check out if I could get a Audre pre-amp. I have a Warmoth with an Audre pre-amp and it just sounds killer. I will include some pics of the bass and neck pocket. So after all this I picked up my Sadowsky Metro (Japan) 5 string (thanks chef) I got a little awhile back and the Metro Japan just blew it out of the water. It reminded me of what it must have felt like when that first mid-size battle ship ran into the Bismark. Again I am not bashing the RSDs. It was 800 dollars. I learned years ago that there is a magical price point that you get all you need. If you spend anymore the return for the money is hard to justify. I believe after 2000 dollars you have reached that price point with basses. I am thinking though with a few man hours and another 200 dollars this just might be a killer bass. So I guess the bottom line if the other Sadowskys are out of your price range go for one of these. I will followup after I make the upgrades to the RSD. Bass On!
 

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#55,237
Bergerman said:
Gwangi, I actually have a clear guard for it, but didn’t care for the look...can’t really explain why...go figure. I also have a satin black/white/black that looks pretty nice as well. Heres a pic of the satin black last time I had it on. Decisions, decisions, lol!

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Having multiple pick guards is great, you can change them when you get tired of one. I have a parchment and a tort for my NYV4PJ.

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