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Club Sadowsky!!!

If a 5-string Sadowsky is made for 18mm spacing, does the neck width stay the same as 19mm, or is the neck narrowed to accommodate the tighter string spacing?

I don’t know. I’ve had both 18mm and 19mm (and 20, if you count 4-string basses) Sadowsky basses and I didn’t care to measure the necks. In retrospect, if there’s a difference, I probably didn’t notice any. I do notice 18 vs 19 and 19 vs 20mm spacing on 4- and 5-string basses respectively, as well as different nut widths. I haven’t had a WL4, but people who do or did seem to notice the .05” difference at the nut. I suppose it’s the same neck, and if it isn’t, it’s beautifully made (IMO) to seem like it is. YMMV
 
I just gotta say that I put some LaBella flats on my Metro RV-5 PJ and I'm loving it. It takes some of the brightness out, which is what I was looking for. I run mine 99.9% of the time with only the split coil, tone control at about 1/3 way up, and zero bass or treble boost.
Almost like my Precision w/flats, but a just enough of a difference.
 
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If a 5-string Sadowsky is made for 18mm spacing, does the neck width stay the same as 19mm, or is the neck narrowed to accommodate the tighter string spacing?
I dont think so, 1 mm difference at the bridge comes with very tiny difference at the neck - and if the bridge have been changed larger space later, it would caused problems at the neck.
But maybe the man himself will answer this.
 
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If a 5-string Sadowsky is made for 18mm spacing, does the neck width stay the same as 19mm, or is the neck narrowed to accommodate the tighter string spacing?
Roger uses the same neck profile for either bridge. Which means that there is a fair amount of extra fingerboard on the edges for the 18 mm bridge. On a 5 string, the difference between the 18mm width and the 19mm bridge is 4mm, or nearly 1/2 cm at the bridge; and just a bit less at a 24th fret.

So, neck tapers for 19mm and 18mm instruments have a distinctly different feel to them when the taper is optimized for the specific bridge spacing. I adore Roger’s instruments, but will not gig the 5’s for this reason. I actually don’t care about the actual string spacing either way; just don’t care for the feel of the wider 19mm neck taper. YMMV.
 
Roger uses the same neck profile for either bridge. Which means that there is a fair amount of extra fingerboard on the edges for the 18 mm bridge. On a 5 string, the difference between the 18mm width and the 19mm bridge is 4mm, or nearly 1/2 cm at the bridge; and just a bit less at a 24th fret.

So, neck tapers for 19mm and 18mm instruments have a distinctly different feel to them when the taper is optimized for the specific bridge spacing. I adore Roger’s instruments, but will not gig the 5’s for this reason. I actually don’t care about the actual string spacing either way; just don’t care for the feel of the wider 19mm neck taper. YMMV.

Moving to a WL-5, or even the Ultra Vintage 5 I have that's got a nut width that's just a bit wider than 1.75" (but not near the 1.875" normal width of a 5) was where I found the special sauce. Still fans out to accommodate the 19mm spacing, but the taper down to 1.75" makes all the difference in the world to me down in the meat and potatoes zone.

I did attempt to get an 18mm bridge from the shop, as I really wanted to try that out coming from some recent Roscoes and EBMM basses, but I got the strong impression they weren't too keen on that idea. Fair enough, no biggie - I've adapted just fine back to 19mm spacing over the years.
 
Hey guys, I have a warwick made Sadowsky metroline 5, which I've owned for about 6 months now but ever since I got it there has been this buzzing/hum in active mode that is more apparent when I turn up the tone control. I figured it might be endemic of the pickups, as most jazz basses produce a 60 cycle hum, but I'm pretty sure these are meant to be noiseless from everything I have read. I have taken it back to my local supplier who looked it over and said the hum they detected is normal for these instruments, granted these guys haven't had much experience with Sadowsky's, but can anyone back me up on this? I'm not imagining things, and occasionally the hum does go away briefly. I've even tried standing in different areas of the house or at the practice room, but it's still there. I'm still within the warranty period so I'm thinking I should go back and push them further, but I might need a bit of backup. Should I contact warwick or sadowsky directly? Has anyone else had an issue with these first gen german metrolines?
 
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Hey guys, I have a warwick made Sadowsky metroline 5, which I've owned for about 6 months now but ever since I got it there has been this buzzing/hum in active mode that is more apparent when I turn up the tone control. I figured it might be endemic of the pickups, as most jazz basses produce a 60 cycle hum, but I'm pretty sure these are meant to be noiseless from everything I have read. I have taken it back to my local supplier who looked it over and said the hum they detected is normal for these instruments, granted these guys haven't had much experience with Sadowsky's, but can anyone back me up on this? I'm not imagining things, and occasionally the hum does go away briefly. I've even tried standing in different areas of the house or at the practice room, but it's still there. I'm still within the warranty period so I'm thinking I should go back and push them further, but I might need a bit of backup. Should I contact warwick or sadowsky directly? Has anyone else had an issue with these first gen german metrolines?

Just sent you a PM. Give me a call and maybe I can help.
 
Hey guys, I have a warwick made Sadowsky metroline 5, which I've owned for about 6 months now but ever since I got it there has been this buzzing/hum in active mode that is more apparent when I turn up the tone control. ... Has anyone else had an issue with these first gen german metrolines?
I recall a similar problem discussed on here within the last month or two. The issue was related to a wire in the control cavity that needed to be moved. A photo of the culprit wire was posted here and the owner solved the problem pretty easily.
 
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I recall a similar problem discussed on here within the last month or two. The issue was related to a wire in the control cavity that needed to be moved. A photo of the culprit wire was posted here and the owner solved the problem pretty easily.

haha that issue was mine, as it turns out it was a temporary fix, the hum came back, I’ve been in touch with another club member (Oh, hai Mark) and it looks like it’s related to the preamp, especially the vintage tone control. And I explained when you remove the preamp entirely by taking out the battery, it’s dead quiet in passive. Even touching a terminal to the battery creates a hum. Going to take it back to the music store and have them sort it out, hopefully they will contact Warwick this time.
 
Hey guys, I have a warwick made Sadowsky metroline 5, which I've owned for about 6 months now but ever since I got it there has been this buzzing/hum in active mode that is more apparent when I turn up the tone control. I figured it might be endemic of the pickups, as most jazz basses produce a 60 cycle hum, but I'm pretty sure these are meant to be noiseless from everything I have read. I have taken it back to my local supplier who looked it over and said the hum they detected is normal for these instruments, granted these guys haven't had much experience with Sadowsky's, but can anyone back me up on this? I'm not imagining things, and occasionally the hum does go away briefly. I've even tried standing in different areas of the house or at the practice room, but it's still there. I'm still within the warranty period so I'm thinking I should go back and push them further, but I might need a bit of backup. Should I contact warwick or sadowsky directly? Has anyone else had an issue with these first gen german metrolines?
Yes, it was a screening issue, and also wires from the pickups running near the preamp. All fixed now. Pickups were fine.