Thomann will adjust prices accordingly if you're ordering from outside the EU. In the EU you will pay german VAT which amounts to 19%, Outside you won't need to pay these taxes but will be subject to import taxes etc. of your country.
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Thomann will adjust prices accordingly if you're ordering from outside the EU. In the EU you will pay german VAT which amounts to 19%, Outside you won't need to pay these taxes but will be subject to import taxes etc. of your country.
In the thread re: music-themed coffee mugs, the OP has a Sadowsky NYC coffee mug in his collection. I’ve been looking for one of these for some time, checking the web occasionally to see if one will pop up, but so far, no luck.
Anyone here know where I might find one or if there is an extra hanging around the shop that I might purchase?
Thx.
Anyone here know where I might find one or if there is an extra hanging around the shop that I might purchase?
Thx.
Sounds awesome. Candy apple orange w/ matching headstock and rosewood board will be killer!
I glad I don’t use the last 3 or four frets, because I personally don’t care for the aesthetics of the 24-fret non-modern bass. They look kinda like the Fender “Boner” bass.
I didn't initially like the 24 fret model body shape. But it has grown on me. Honestly, I really only like it if it has the vintage look with paint and a pickguard and single coils.
The bass finally arrived safe and sound yesterday! Here she is, all strung up with some fresh DR Hi-Beams and ready roll (excuse my messy bench) ...
Overall, it's pretty much exactly what I was hoping it would be - the side-bitch to my number one.
With that said, I do have a list of pros and cons:
PROS:
CONS (Much of this is subjective and picky, but I'm being honest):
With all of that said (even the picky stuff), it was money well spent. Don't let my critical nitpicks scare you away. If you have always wanted a Sadowsky and couldn't ever make the jump, this is about as close as you'll ever get for nearly 1/3rd the cost of an NYC.
And Thomann packed the bass really, REALLY well. I had bad luck with them shipping an acoustic bass one time, but this was a terrific experience.
Now to start saving for that shell pink/tort NYC 5-21 with a mastergrade Brazilian rosewood board I've been dreaming of!
Hahaha!
Yes, I had to pay about $180 USD in taxes and brokerage fees. I have accounts set up through UPS, so I just received an email and paid online, but I believe they'll also call you first - and I think you can even pay COD or at your local UPS when you pick it up.
Overall, it's pretty much exactly what I was hoping it would be - the side-bitch to my number one.
With that said, I do have a list of pros and cons:
PROS:
- THE CONTROLS ARE WIRED LEFTY!!! Not only are they wired lefty, but they taper CORRECTLY!!! I am absolutely blown away by this. When I asked Roger about it one time, he immediately said, "No - we don't do that," without even skipping a beat. This might sound like a weird thing to you righty players and I am happy to explain in detail for anyone interested, but this is a huge win for lefties who appreciate this detail and understand why it matters.
- The weight is perfect at 8.96 lbs
- It pretty much feels identical and I love how my #1 feels (see cons for more on this)
- It sounds killer - really close to my #1, even though it's essentially a completely different bass.
- I was pretty much able to set it up exactly how I set up my NYC - and I am really picky about this.
- The preamp seems to sound and operate exactly the same, even though it's all MEC parts.
- The finish and overall construction is great - $2850 great? Maybe - there are some issues, so it depends on how picky you are. (See cons)
- It came with this really cool little COA with a picture of the bass and details about the construction, etc.
- Thomann was an absolute pleasure to deal with.
CONS (Much of this is subjective and picky, but I'm being honest):
- I do not like the "Just a Nut III." I used to own Warwicks and I didn't like the I or II either. I would just rather have a perfectly cut bone nut glued into the slot.
- The pickup covers have this weird rubbery texture that my #1 doesn't have - must be a Warwick thing - but they feel soft and spongy. It's strange.
- According to the manual that came with it, the neck is raw maple that has been waxed and needs to be maintained like Warwicks. I am not a fan of this. It feels like raw wood under my hands and I WAY prefer the look and feel of the vintage tinted satin nitro on the USA basses. I can only assume that certain chemicals for finishing in the US aren't legal in Europe, so that's why they use wax - but I might look into getting the neck finished. We'll see how it goes.
- The gig bag looks like a Sadowsky Portabag, but it's a joke. It's cheap and flimsy and basically garbage. I don't care that much about gig bags because I use Mono bags anyway, but for some people this might matter - especially when you consider that while this bass is not at the top of the food chain, it was still almost $3,000.
- I don't like the tuners - the chrome has that cheap warbly look and they feel really loose and sloppy. They stiffen up as more tension is added to the string, but they seem cheap to me. With that said, I'm not a fan of the Hipshot imports either. I LOVE the USA Hipshots and will likely look into swapping these out for USA tuners like I did on both of my NYC Satin Series basses.
- The Warwick straplock system is a terrible rip-off of the Schaller (sp?) Strap Lock system and I don't like them either. I'm a Dunlop Dual-Design guy, and swapped those out immediately. I mean, it's cool that it comes with strap locks at all, but they're not very good.
- The frets are different. I'm not certain of the exact details, but the overall fret-job wasn't the greatest - they seem similar in width, but the fret tops are flatter and the fret tangs are not visible like they are on my NYC basses. I'm assuming that both of these details are due to cost saving measures, but I thought I would mention it.
- I was really worried about how light the morado/pau ferro fingerboard would be, but it does look better in person. It needs some oil or something as it seems a bit ashy and dry, so I will take care of that and hope it darkens a bit more.
With all of that said (even the picky stuff), it was money well spent. Don't let my critical nitpicks scare you away. If you have always wanted a Sadowsky and couldn't ever make the jump, this is about as close as you'll ever get for nearly 1/3rd the cost of an NYC.
And Thomann packed the bass really, REALLY well. I had bad luck with them shipping an acoustic bass one time, but this was a terrific experience.
Now to start saving for that shell pink/tort NYC 5-21 with a mastergrade Brazilian rosewood board I've been dreaming of!
Hahaha!
Yes, I had to pay about $180 USD in taxes and brokerage fees. I have accounts set up through UPS, so I just received an email and paid online, but I believe they'll also call you first - and I think you can even pay COD or at your local UPS when you pick it up.
Heh, told you.
I came to realy like the adjustable nut. Being able to tweak the nut height to the absolut maximum (minimum?) makes a pleasent string action on the first few frets possible.
The christmas gift from myself to myself finally arrived. Delivery was scheduled for thursday before christmas, but alas. I got myself a Metroline Will Lee 5 string:
The guy at the shop restrung it with Markbass stainless steels, because they don't carry Sadowsky strings. I don't realy get along with these strings, but they'll suffice for now.
Fretwork is a slight tad below my Metroline 2021 limited: Fret edges are ever so slightly sharp. But I'm splitting hairs here. The remaining workmanship overall is rock solid.
The setup was of debatable quality however. The pickups (especially the neck pickup) nearly disappeared inside the body. Adjusting them to factory specs according to the manual led to a rather imbalanced sound. I'll tweak that further.
The string action was okay-ish, but could be lowered quite a bit across the board. Just as I said earlier: The just-a-nut is nice, as I could lower that one quite a bit too.
I'm not sold on the mid boost, but I mainly wanted the will lee model because of the nut width and natural wood aesthetics. It feels distinctly different than the regular nut width and pleases my small hands and stubby fingers.
Overall I'm liking my second Metroline so far. The sound is different enough to my Modern 5er that even my female noticed, so no need to discuss the finer points of why I needed the bass (I didn't
). The strings need to go, but thats a minor complaint.
Oh, and I did receive 15% discount, because the guy at the shop dinged the headstock while restringing. Its barely noticable and I'm pretty sure I'll ding it worse before the year is out.
The guy at the shop restrung it with Markbass stainless steels, because they don't carry Sadowsky strings. I don't realy get along with these strings, but they'll suffice for now.
Fretwork is a slight tad below my Metroline 2021 limited: Fret edges are ever so slightly sharp. But I'm splitting hairs here. The remaining workmanship overall is rock solid.
The setup was of debatable quality however. The pickups (especially the neck pickup) nearly disappeared inside the body. Adjusting them to factory specs according to the manual led to a rather imbalanced sound. I'll tweak that further.
The string action was okay-ish, but could be lowered quite a bit across the board. Just as I said earlier: The just-a-nut is nice, as I could lower that one quite a bit too.
I'm not sold on the mid boost, but I mainly wanted the will lee model because of the nut width and natural wood aesthetics. It feels distinctly different than the regular nut width and pleases my small hands and stubby fingers.
Overall I'm liking my second Metroline so far. The sound is different enough to my Modern 5er that even my female noticed, so no need to discuss the finer points of why I needed the bass (I didn't
). The strings need to go, but thats a minor complaint.Oh, and I did receive 15% discount, because the guy at the shop dinged the headstock while restringing. Its barely noticable and I'm pretty sure I'll ding it worse before the year is out.
Thanks for that! I am still a little up in the air on my purchase and I need to call my UPS people to get the lowdown!!
Enjoy that new bass!!
I am thinking of trying TI flats on my Will Lee metroline to get a little less modern and a little more vintage vibe. Curious as to others' experiences with these strings on a Sad please.
Looking to join if I may? Enjoying this Sadowsky MetroLine (Japan) Vintage RV4, courtesy Thomann. Not pictured, but currently strung with Sadowsky Blue Label Bright Nickel 45-105. Left handed, as you may have noticed 
I saw some posts from lefties about knob configuration. Except for volume, all operate as they would for a righty (clockwise=full-up/full-on). That's the way I prefer it. For some reason, the volume knob is reverse (counterclockwise = fullup)
I saw some posts from lefties about knob configuration. Except for volume, all operate as they would for a righty (clockwise=full-up/full-on). That's the way I prefer it. For some reason, the volume knob is reverse (counterclockwise = fullup)Attachments
FYI—Sadowsky new/refreshed stock page this morning! Btw, quite a few 1-3/4” 5’s available…
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Loving that black pearl super J!
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I'm totally diggin' this:
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