Club Sadowsky!!!

[bucephylus]

Can’t comment either way about the HRS strings; but, I’ve recently switched over to the LaBella RX Steels, and have been completely amazed by them so far.

Following up on this post, I must say that I’m finding the LaBella RX Steels to be a bit too bright for my NYC J4. They are AWESOME strings on my solid bodied Fendowsky conversions. But, it seems maybe too much of a good thing with the chambered NYC instrument. Back to the drawing board on this one.

 

[Addison]

What’s worse …

Waiting 6 days for your dream bass to arrive or waiting another 12-24 hours after you accept delivery to open it because it dropped back below freezing for the first time in several weeks?

I mean, the box … it’s sitting there and staring at me … like the old man’s vulture eye in The Tell Tale Heart …



I think I need a glass of bourbon.

 

[Addison]

Wow, Addison. That didn't take long. It's beautiful.

I see you went with the mid control.

Did you go with singles or humbucking pickups?

Thank you - I went with both!

One switch is for the new single/dual coil option and, yes, other is for the WL mid boost option.

This bass took quite a while longer than some deliveries I’ve seen, but I ordered a nitro finish outside the standard options and that held things up for a while - I don’t know for sure, but I got the feeling they went with one of the best for nitro and there was a backlog.

Regardless, after being a lefty and having to order pretty much everything as a custom order and having to wait, I’ve almost gotten used to it over the years.

Almost.

 

[pb9717]

Found a Hipshot Aluminum A style, used in the classifieds. Initially intended to install it on the in process metro express project, but thought….hmm….the modern could use a little diet plan…..now it’s 8lbs 14oz. Under 9. Lookin slimmer already. I highly recommend these aluminum A Styles. Excellent option. The stock bridge was over 1/2lb.

 

[mikezimmerman]

Did the screw holes line up, or did you have to drill new holes for the Hipshot?

View attachment 5393046
Found a Hipshot Aluminum A style, used in the classifieds. Initially intended to install it on the in process metro express project, but thought….hmm….the modern could use a little diet plan…..now it’s 8lbs 14oz. Under 9. Lookin slimmer already. I highly recommend these aluminum A Styles. Excellent option. The stock bridge was over 1/2lb.

 

[pb9717]

Did the screw holes line up, or did you have to drill new holes for the Hipshot?

New holes. I find when I change manufacturers new holes are required. Only when a replacement bridge is designed to match “fender hole spacing” is there a quick swap. The Sadowsky has 7 screws, the Hipshot has 4.

 

[George Himmel]

Kinda wanna make a new thread, but it seems like a waste, and everybody’s eyes are here anyway… Sadowsky is known for prioritizing light weight, but my beloved Metro is pretty dense—who here has the heaviest Saddy? I’m very curious. Mine is 10 lbs. 6 oz. (Or 4.7 kg)!

 

[HeavyJazz]

Sadowsky 5-stringers specifically -

MIJ: 9.26 lbs (solid)
MIJ: 9.82 lbs (solid)
NYC: 8.29 lbs (chambered)

 

[bucephylus]

View attachment 5393046
Found a Hipshot Aluminum A style, used in the classifieds. Initially intended to install it on the in process metro express project, but thought….hmm….the modern could use a little diet plan…..now it’s 8lbs 14oz. Under 9. Lookin slimmer already. I highly recommend these aluminum A Styles. Excellent option. The stock bridge was over 1/2lb.

FWIW….
I had converted several of my Fendowsky basses (NOT my NYC) over to the HipShot brass A type bridges. But, one of them was a bit hefty; so, I first converted to the A aluminum bridge. That was fine, but still a bit heftier than I wanted. Now, I was chasing oz’s. So, I tried the B style aluminum, which is something like 2.5 oz lighter than the A style. I then discovered that the B style bridges, which don’t visually appear to be as carefully engineered, are not only lighter, but actually make the bass feel more open and resonant. I was seriously hooked. So, I’ve been systematically working my way through those basses now replacing A aluminum bridges with B aluminum bridges.

My wife thinks I’m insane. She might be right.

My NYC is already way light enough. I don’t see any reason to change that bridge. So, maybe there is hope.

 

[pb9717]

I can understand why the B bridges are so light. There’s really nothing to them mechanically. For a 2 oz difference I prefer the look of the polished A bridges, but I understand your logic. Also the B bridges do not offer adjustable spacing, which is a nice feature if you like to tweak that.

 

[tombowlus]

Our review of the 4-21 Super P/J is FINALLY done! This bass received a very rare "perfect score," both on the in-hand and the technical reviews. Really can't think of anyway to make this bass better.

Sadowsky Custom 4-21 Super P/J

 

[Jerry J]

Our review of the 4-21 Super P/J is FINALLY done! This bass received a very rare "perfect score," both on the in-hand and the technical reviews. Really can't think of anyway to make this bass better.

Sadowsky Custom 4-21 Super P/J

You should send it to me for further testing and review. But I must warn you that I am VERY thorough so it might be with me for a while. Let me know when I can expect it.

 

[bucephylus]

Following up on this post, I must say that I’m finding the LaBella RX Steels to be a bit too bright for my NYC J4. They are AWESOME strings on my solid bodied Fendowsky conversions. But, it seems maybe too much of a good thing with the chambered NYC instrument. Back to the drawing board on this one.

A bit more info.

I did a few string swaps to try to track down what was going on; particularly with the E string on my NYC, which just sounded “tinny” with the RX Steels on my NYC. First I just put an older Hi Beams E on, which restored the NYC’s low end dignity in short order. Then, I put the misbehaved RX E string on my Fendowsky 4; and suddenly that string sounded quite normal. Finally, I put the RX E, which came off the Fendowsky 4 on the NYC. Which then sounded fantastic.

So, what happened?

I’m kind of guessing; but, my supposition is that the hex core strings are somewhat less tolerant of any twist during installation. The RX E string I had originally installed on the NYC may have been ever so slightly twisted. No real way to know; but, that’s my guess. I’ll keep forging ahead with the hex cores, which sound fantastic and seem to have much longer life. If I can correctly install them.

 

[MOSCOWBASS]

A bit more info.

I did a few string swaps to try to track down what was going on; particularly with the E string on my NYC, which just sounded “tinny” with the RX Steels on my NYC. First I just put an older Hi Beams E on, which restored the NYC’s low end dignity in short order. Then, I put the misbehaved RX E string on my Fendowsky 4; and suddenly that string sounded quite normal. Finally, I put the RX E, which came off the Fendowsky 4 on the NYC. Which then sounded fantastic.

So, what happened?

I’m kind of guessing; but, my supposition is that the hex core strings are somewhat less tolerant of any twist during installation. The RX E string I had originally installed on the NYC may have been ever so slightly twisted. No real way to know; but, that’s my guess. I’ll keep forging ahead with the hex cores, which sound fantastic and seem to have much longer life. If I can correctly install them.

Yep, sounds like lateral twist. Something to be very careful about.

 

[Joeykun]

Rockin’ my NYC Standard 4 at last nights show at The Cabot Theater, Beverly, MA.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

These solid body Metrolines look good. I am guessing they should be cheaper.

 

[rowsi]

Let's talk about the Will Lee MetroLine bass for a second.

I was under the impression that the Will Lee model always comes with single coils. While it is not explicitly stated on the product data sheet (only says "passive Sadowsky J-Style pickup"), the difference to the regular J/J MetroLine basses made this assumption plausible (data sheet says "passive Sadowsky hum-cancelling J-Style pickup").

So, here I am changing pickups on my Will Lee 5 stringer, as I'm not satisfied with the string to string balance. The E and A string were always too weak and the G and D string too present. Turns out my Will Lee is equipped with noiseless split-coil pickups instead of single-coils! I actually wondered sometimes how my single-coiled bass stays so silent under heavy handed application of distortion and fuzz. Duh.

These PUs came in my bass:

Sadowsky J-Style Bass Pickups (Alnico V / Alnico III), Noise-Cancelling, Split Coil, 5-String

And I swapped those for Nordstrand big J-blades in "clean and clear":

Big J-Blade 5

String balance is much improved! For any balance outside of 50/50 neck/bridge I've got hum now, obviously. Looks are also quite sleek:

 

[HeavyJazz]

Which build is your WL? Japanese or German?

 

[rowsi]

Which build is your WL? Japanese or German?

German MetroLine

 

[SJLee]

Here’s my MIJ RV5 Metro with pao ferro board in Sherwood Green.