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Not sure exactly what you mean by that. There's a few Japan Metro 4 strings available at around $2K. Mostly, they are maple fretboards. The Pau Ferro Fretboard models seem more rare and also seem to fetch a few $100 more from what I have seen lately.
It's my opinion (Only 1 guys take on it) that the MIJ Metros are going to continue to go up in value even if the Warwick Sadowskys are welcomed equally.
I would not Take less than $2750 for my Yoshi Era Metroline with Pau Ferro. That's because I know I could not replace it with any other metro that I would consider on par with it.
TLDR; Jump on the $2k Metro's while you have the chance. Pay a little more for Pau Ferro unless you like Maple boards better.
Like I said before, it's a matter of perspective. I once knew a judge, in my former town, who had a small sticker pasted on the back of his office door, with the words: "There are things you think are best, until the day you find better things.".
As I had the chance to deal with a lot of stuff, basses, strings, preamps, pickups. From the entry-level to the "big game stuff". It gave me experience to know what works best for me, and what doesn't.
After all, it's no use getting a "big name" bass or accessories or equipment that won't work for what you're looking for in terms of tone/sound. After throwing away a lot of money with renowned equipment without reaching the desired result, this can be very frustrating, but on the other hand, it doesn't mean I'm having a low opinion about the brand or the quality of its products.
To make a long story short, I heard about a guy who owned several Fodera and Ken Smith. Someone asked him what was his view about both makers, and then he wrote the following:
"About Fodera and Smith:
Smith basses have a Smith signature tone - they are very similar in their sound and the production quality is consistently VERY high. If you get a Smith (neck through of course) you will get a Smith tone - outstanding, unique, wonderful mids cutting through EVERY mix and a smooth treble bite, full of attack or growly - just as you want it.
The Foderas I played so far told me a different story. Every Emperor Deluxe or Elite I played was... mainstream.
Outstanding and very flexible - no doubt - but no character tonewise. On the other hand I recently bought 2 Monarchs with EMGs which are quasi "exploding" in my hands. Unbelievable ! And surprising ! As I never liked the EMG tone in other basses. This is bass heaven - played through a Epifani UL rig.
Nevertheless: The production quality at Fodera seems to be much more towards a range between very high and... quite poor! I have seen noisy circuits and repairs bad done by Fodera. For every time I think about that I can't believe that Foderas are so expensive..."
Who would believe there's someone out there saying such harsh words about Fodera? Well, we can't deny that the guy has all the credentials to speak his mind about these basses, don't you think?
Maybe Roger's preamp works good for many players, but there are a lot of people who may not share the same opinion, not about QUALITY, which is undeniable that Sadowsky has, but some "recipes" are not for everyone.
Just to get myself informed correctly: What is the preamp fitting these RSD basses? Is it the very same Sadowsky from Japanese/German line?
It's a FSO, it's .750 spacing, looks nice and affordable. Speaking about the RSD's, of course. The rest of specs won't bother me.
If you can point out another FSO bass with .750 string spacing, with affordable tag price ( and supposedly well built for an affordable ), please let me know...
The preamp on the RSD does not have the vintage tone control, but it is still a four knob configuration so the American/German preamp should drop in easily.
It’s the preamp used for Roger Sadowsky Design bass and it is essentially the same preamp Sadowsky used before the VTC. That makes it a Sadowsky preamp, IMO.
quick question... seems odd to me you don't even have the bass yet and you're already talking about swapping out the preamp before you've even tried it out? or did i get that wrong? if i'm right, that just seems very unusual to me.
IF it is a Sadowsky preamp, then I'll assume it will be Sadowsky's baked tone. Isn't that right?
Few years ago I received an American Deluxe Jazz Bass from a friend, who asked me to replace the OEM preamp with the John East J-Retro Deluxe... Bass was brand-new. Seems unusual?
Not to mention later he came to me with a pair of SCN pickups, removed from another American Deluxe ( the short body version ) to put into his brand-new AMDLX.
Can someone blame him for doing such thing? I don't think so...
In case you're doubting....
the critical question is, did he make that choice before he even gave the stock equipment a chance, or, did he actually play it a little bit first and then decide? swapping before even trying is the part that seems odd to me. swapping out fairly early in an instrument's life if it had actually been tested first does not seem odd to me.
see what i mean?
don't get me wrong, i'm not poking at you... it just seems odd to me someone would want to swap things out before trying things out first.
EDIT: maybe i should have asked a different question first... have you played Sadowsky J basses before and you already know you want a different sound? if that's the case, then i understand, and that doesn't seem very odd.
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He tried other basses before with the East preamps, same goes for the Audere ( which he's also a fan ), so he thought it would be nice to add some features absent from original preamp. In fact, I was inclined to try the Audere preamps due to his previous experience with them. Before that, I just heard about them, never had a chance to try one with my basses, and I'm glad I did it.
Let me tell a story... One day I was playing my bass ( from the signature, EMG JAX and Audere ) and figured out the strings were almost giving up its tone ( since 2018 I kept using the Darco 9750 or the GHS Boomers ).
Then I took some new strings ( Stainless Steel from Dunlop, the Super Bright ), install them and... Meh!
My bass was unrecognizable, the tone was just too bright with no low-end from the B-string, but I kept using it for a week or so, hoping it was just a matter of "break-in" period and strings would work properly... Didn't work. One could say it was a "bad batch", strings just came defective, and so it goes...
Removed them, put the old strings back, and to avoid throwing them into trash ( the famous peace of mind ), picked another bass, this time a 5-string Fox with EMG's ( same brand, but traditional J's ) and it just came alive... bass was fantastic with them, even the Low B came clear and strong, all the fundamentals were there...
And few months later, took the strings out again from my Bass Collection, and new I threw the SR2000 Will Lee Signature strings... Man... What was that? The bass was phenomenal, clear and growling, the strings worked flawlessly...
The lesson learned for me was that not all gear or accessories will work the way you expect, the way you've heard it on another bass, with another bass player. Each instrument reacts differently to strings, pickups, preamps, bridges, and especially the player. Even a good setup with ultra low action may not sit well with many, as sometimes higher action setup will fit just nice.
Being to the point: Do I love Sadowsky Bass? Absolutely! Do I want to have one Sadowsky, specially the high-end ones? If I could, course I do!
"But hey, why are you bashing/dissing the Sadowsky tone?"
Because its NOT what I'm after RIGHT NOW. But the instrument itself will serve me plenty, not a doubt about it. So why changing the preamp seems odd for you? Got my point?
And I'm not offended by your questioning, don't worry about it. I'm a peaceful guy, with just a different vision from yours. Trust me.
It's not a FSO, AFAIK... Besides, I love them and they're great basses. Yamaha is great, to be fair.
Just to recall what was my main question... Does the RSD worth the money? Say yes or no, talk about the good and bad, and that's will be much appreciated.
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i agree 100%, but this also could be a good reason to try the bass as is before you consider change (even if change still happens, at least you know), right?
for example, what if you found out the audere didn't do exactly what you hoped for or expected in the Sadowsky, even though you'd had great luck with it in other basses?
just to make sure we're on the same page, i never meant to suggest you're bashing it. i think that would be rude of me, so i apologize if i came off that way. i'm only asking why change if you don't (yet) know what you're changing.
this is the core of my question. i'm not sure if you answered me on this yet... have you actually played one as it is and that's how you know this, or, otherwise, how do you know it isn't what you're after (without at least playing it first)? this is what i'm curious about.
for the record, i'm a terrible gear freak, and have LOTS of basses, many are high end. there have been times i've changed componentry from time to time, but i have never done that until i first play the instrument as it is, giving it a good test, before i consider change. just fyi.
good! because i'm just curious about your methods, not critical.
EDIT: just FYI, I don't have any direct experience with the RSD. I've only owned/played USA and Japanese Sadowsky basses, and played German ones at NAMM.
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i agree 100%, but this also could be a good reason to try the bass as is before you consider change (even if change still happens, at least you know), right?
for example, what if you found out the audere didn't do exactly what you hoped for or expected in the Sadowsky, even though you'd had great luck with it in other basses?
just to make sure we're on the same page, i never meant to suggest you're bashing it. i think that would be rude of me, so i apologize if i came off that way. i'm only asking why change if you don't (yet) know what you're changing.
this is the core of my question. i'm not sure if you answered me on this yet... have you actually played one as it is and that's how you know this, or, otherwise, how do you know it isn't what you're after (without at least playing it first)? this is what i'm curious about.
for the record, i'm a terrible gear freak, and have LOTS of basses, many are high end. there have been times i've changed componentry from time to time, but i have never done that until i first play the instrument as it is, giving it a good test, before i consider change. just fyi.
good! because i'm just curious about your methods, not critical.
EDIT: just FYI, I don't have any direct experience with the RSD. I've only owned/played USA and Japanese Sadowsky basses, and played German ones at NAMM.
As I said before, I got your point. No hurt feelings.
Regarding you question, the answer is yes, I've played Sadowskys before ( Metro, NYC, UV70, RV5, Modern )
The other question is about playing a RSD? No, never had... That's why I'm here, to know about that specific model, what's about and IF it is worthy enough for the price.
So my answer is not related to "going to like or not", maybe I will. But I want a 4-band preamp like the ones I already have, because I'm used with them, trust and like them, and so far haven't found a reason to step back from them. That's the reason: I just want a PLATFORM, not a fully ready-to-go bass.
My requirements: Being an affordable FSO bass ( not the likes of Squier or Sire ), at least good construction & QC, and above all having the .750 string spacing.
At first, being familiar with the KSD Proto-J, I was trying to find one in good shape, but I found nothing so far. And that's a 35" bass with the desired string spacing!
The preamp, Sadowsky or not, would be replaced by the 4-band anyway, regardless how good it can be for a 2-band preamp.
It's like you're going to buy a car and next day you're swapping the wheels and tires for something bigger or more eye-catching.
And, at the end of the day, I could pick the RSD preamp and do what I like most, throw it into another cheap bass to play around, transform it into a "beater", sell it to someone else, who knows? Would be better than left it sit inside a room locker.
Another thing to mention: I can't stand for single coils anymore, I mean no "hum-cancelling" pickups. That's another reason.
All my basses are fitted with EMG's or MEC's, all active pickups. OTOH, I have a pair of Delano's JC5 HE/M2 right here, wanting a "host" to show its capabilities. Since they're the same ones featured on most of Maruszczyk basses, when they get paired with the Audere, I think they will sound absolutely superb.
All my basses are fitted with EMG's or MEC's, all active pickups. OTOH, I have a pair of Delano's JC5 HE/M2 right here, wanting a "host" to show its capabilities. Since they're the same ones featured on most of Maruszczyk basses, when they get paired with the Audere, I think they will sound absolutely superb.
