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Yeah, love it.
Since getting it, I've basically been "monogamous" with it. Maybe spent 5 min each with my NYC Satin and MV5E.
Another version of 21 LTD appeared - the one with JB pickups. Very tempting.
Wow, does this bass sound amazing! The Sadowsky flats are settling in... or maybe I'm just appreciating them more. Alder/Brazilian wonderfulness. The Cali just adds some warmth and girth; I have lots of dry signal blended in.
Strange, I compared the ballends of the TI flats on my other bass to the ballends on my Sadowsky and they barely look different in size. Maybe TI had much smaller ballends back then?
While waiting for replies I googled some more and found a thread from 2019 where someone had TI flats on his NYC Sadowsky, so maybe more recent versions of these will work.
Yes, indeed! The b-string was so stupid thick before the ballend, that I couldn't slide it from the hole for quick releasing the string into the "regular" hole for holding the string. I'll be trying the blue label nickels next, as the SS rounds are too zingy for my taste.
Ooooooh, where did you find these?
The newer TI B definitely had a larger ball end than the older. I may have been an early adopter of their 5-string set.
And yeah, as someone else said it can be tricky to get a fat B through the bridge because the saddle gets in the way (isn't just a problem with Sadowskys). I recall adjusting the saddle so it was farther from the bridge, then re-intonating once I got the string through (a good idea regardless).
i think you should also be able to just flip the saddle up on its side, install the string, then pull the string up just enough to flip the saddle back down.
If that 5-string had a 1 3/4" nut width, I'd be in trouble! Luckily, I appear to be safe.
Can't answer this, but am curious to find out too. It is a very thin finish, but definitely finished.
Really cool / interesting texture as you can feel the grain through it, but it is very smooth.
No idea if you'll get wear spots over years of use. Presumably.
I've played a lot of hours with mine over the past couple months (mid-June) and absolutely no wear of any sort yet....but that's a very short timeline so far.
I would not worry about the finish on the Metroline LTD. It is very cool to look at and feel and feels durable.
Well looks like I never checked lol you are right push/pull passive mode on the vtc.. I believe my love for this instrument just extended.. one step closer to a proposal
oh and for the record, they pulled another three basses off the shelf, same buzzing.. so I might be getting a pickup replacement and some shielding free of charge.. prob saved them a lot of customer related problems, the rep won’t be happy though
Well I got the bass back from the store today.. problem solved?.. well.. yes.. no not really. I plugged the bass in to the amp as per usual and set the pickup position to balanced but as soon as I engaged the vtc, buzzing again.. but here’s the weird bit, I disengaged the preamp and nothing, quiet as a church mouse.. even with vtc on full, and any position selected on the pickup knob.. nothing.. no buzz whatsoever. So stop me if I’m wrong (and I might be) but isn’t the purpose of noiseless pickups to be ‘noiseless’ when the preamp is engaged, and maybe make some hum or buzz when in passive mode? It’s pretty confusing from my end, and it looks like they addressed the shielding according to the tech job list, which might explain the quiet passive mode.. but what is going on with that preamp?
Anyone have any insight into this? Is this just something to be expected with the new metrolines?
Sorry to read about noise/ buzzing issues. This does not give me an warm fuzzy feeling about the German made Metrolines. My Japan made Metroexpress is dead quiet and is an exceptional bass by any measure.
My next Sadowsky will be either a NYC or I will simply pay the price of admission and order a NYC from Roger while still can.
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From everything I’ve read, Roger has addressed this issue personally when there were a few similar issues on the first batch coming out of Germany, and i generally trust Warwick to do a good job in terms of build etc, but its a relatively new venture, and given how supplies are I’m not entirely convinced this bass isn’t one of those initial ‘problem child’ models released by Warwick. If it comes right down to it, there’s always the serial number to identify the issue. I wouldn’t care as much if I didn’t like the damn thing.. dammit lol
Strings are becoming the bane of my existence. Just need to vent a tiny tad.
I mentioned somewhere above that I'd like to change to Sadowsky nickel strings, as the ss rounds are too zingy for my taste. Ordered a set at, received it two days ago and wanted to change strings yesterday.
Well don't you know: The set had two .105 strings and lacked the .085 string. Now, most likely some other poor sod will receive two .085 strings and no .105 string with his string set.
Thomann already sent a replacement set on its way, but that was realy unexpected.
I mentioned somewhere above that I'd like to change to Sadowsky nickel strings, as the ss rounds are too zingy for my taste. Ordered a set at, received it two days ago and wanted to change strings yesterday.
Well don't you know: The set had two .105 strings and lacked the .085 string. Now, most likely some other poor sod will receive two .085 strings and no .105 string with his string set.
Thomann already sent a replacement set on its way, but that was realy unexpected.
If you have not done so, try the instrument in a different home or building. This could be an AC Power ground loop somewhere in your home. That would explain why the store/shop thinks its fixed, because their power supply has no ground loop.
The pickups should be noiseless whether the preamp is on or off. There’s no noise canceling feature in the preamp. This sounds to me like a wiring/grounding issue.
