2023 or 2024, I believe. It was one of the newer ones when they first came out with the roasted maple necks, but not part of the 2025 updates that came out at this year's NAMM.
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2023 or 2024, I believe. It was one of the newer ones when they first came out with the roasted maple necks, but not part of the 2025 updates that came out at this year's NAMM.
Is your SMX from the 2023 update or after? Good to know its working for you. Is the wheel relatively easy to turn?
Good Q.
Warwick has responsibility; but, Roger checks his PM’s on TB. I believe he still has interest in things like that not happening. Possibly not.
It says at the bottom of his posts not to use PM, send an email instead. In any case, I found an address in Germany where to send inquiries about Sadowsky.
Here's a closeup of my bass. You'll notice there's a gap between the spoke wheel and the body. It's as if the spoke wheel needs to be longer so as to clear the threaded portion of the truss rod. Then the adjustment tool could be inserted all the way through.
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I don't know if this is relevant or not, as I have one of the really early ME's made in Japan with the full preamp, but I'm pretty sure my ME is not like that. I can stick the drill blank all the way through... the rod is not visible in the middle like that.
I emailed Sadowsky in Germany and got a reply from Nicolas Wilfer. I'll post his response soon.
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
One thing I will say is that regardless of the problem, Sadowsky (whether it's Roger directly, or perhaps a Warwick rep) will take care of you. 15+ years ago my original Sadowsky Outboard Preamp (the belt clip one from the late 90s) had a pot that started going bad. I wrote to Roger and asked about buying a new pot from the shop so I could have a local tech install it - a friend of mine who worked at Moog Music at the time. He sent me one free of charge, no questions asked. They'll get it sorted somehow I'm sure.
Here is my email conversation with Nicolas Wilfer at Warwick/Sadowsky. I haven't yet received a response to my follow up question.
Hi,
I have a new Sadowsky Metro Express Modern 4 string. The truss rod is very difficult to turn and I actually bent the tool while I was tightening the truss rod. I've noticed the spoke wheel is sitting on the threaded part of the rod so I can only insert the tool into one hole (not all the way through). Is this normal?
Thank you
Peter
Dear Peter,
Thank you for reaching out, and I’m sorry to hear you’ve been having trouble with the truss rod.
I completely understand how frustrating this must be, and I appreciate your patience as we work through it together.
The stiffness you’re experiencing is often due to the high density of the roasted maple—this is normal, and while it can make adjustments feel tight,
rest assured we’ve never encountered a truss rod breaking from this. You’re safe to apply steady pressure when turning it.
We’ve actually identified that our current truss rod tool isn’t quite robust enough for some scenarios, and we’ve already redesigned a reinforced version to address this.
Unfortunately, the new tools aren’t in stock yet (otherwise, I’d send one your way immediately!).
In the meantime, many customers have had success using a screwdriver with a similar diameter—this often provides better leverage.
For the issue with the spoke wheel sitting on the threaded part, the most effective solution would be to:
I know this isn’t the simplest fix, and I truly apologize for the inconvenience.
If you’d prefer not to tackle this yourself, a local luthier or tech should be able to handle it quickly.
Either way, don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like further guidance or if there’s anything else we can do to assist.
We’re here to help, and your satisfaction means everything to us. Thanks again for your understanding—let me know how it goes!
With best regards.
Hi,
I have a new Sadowsky Metro Express Modern 4 string. The truss rod is very difficult to turn and I actually bent the tool while I was tightening the truss rod. I've noticed the spoke wheel is sitting on the threaded part of the rod so I can only insert the tool into one hole (not all the way through). Is this normal?
Thank you
Peter
Dear Peter,
Thank you for reaching out, and I’m sorry to hear you’ve been having trouble with the truss rod.
I completely understand how frustrating this must be, and I appreciate your patience as we work through it together.
The stiffness you’re experiencing is often due to the high density of the roasted maple—this is normal, and while it can make adjustments feel tight,
rest assured we’ve never encountered a truss rod breaking from this. You’re safe to apply steady pressure when turning it.
We’ve actually identified that our current truss rod tool isn’t quite robust enough for some scenarios, and we’ve already redesigned a reinforced version to address this.
Unfortunately, the new tools aren’t in stock yet (otherwise, I’d send one your way immediately!).
In the meantime, many customers have had success using a screwdriver with a similar diameter—this often provides better leverage.
For the issue with the spoke wheel sitting on the threaded part, the most effective solution would be to:
- Carefully remove the neck (if you’re comfortable doing so).
- Dismount the spoke wheel and slightly enlarge the hole—this will allow the truss rod tool to insert fully and engage properly.
I know this isn’t the simplest fix, and I truly apologize for the inconvenience.
If you’d prefer not to tackle this yourself, a local luthier or tech should be able to handle it quickly.
Either way, don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like further guidance or if there’s anything else we can do to assist.
We’re here to help, and your satisfaction means everything to us. Thanks again for your understanding—let me know how it goes!
With best regards.
| Warwick GmbH & Co. Music Equipment KG Nicolas Wilfer CEO Hi Nicolas, Thank you for the quick reply. I’m not sure I explained the situation clearly. I am able to insert the tool into the hole no problem but it doesn’t come through the hole on the opposite side of the spoke wheel because the rod is in the way. I’m wondering if it’s designed this way deliberately? Other Metro Express owners have said their truss rods are not like this. In any case, I have the bass set up the way I want and it plays great! Thank you Peter |
Way to go, Bass Viking! Thanks for sharing this info.
Bass Viking, I have a different brand of bass with a spoke wheel and a roasted neck, and I find this very interesting/helpful, as I also felt like adjustments on that bass felt a bit too tight. Now I'm not worried about it anymore.
That said, I do not recommend using a screwdriver. The reason they include a drill blank as an adjuster, is because that's hardened steel and it won't bend under that pressure. A screwdriver that small, unless it's a fairly expensive one, might.
What I recommend instead, is to get a piece of dowel rod, chop off a chunk of it and drill a hole in one end that's as deep as about 1/2-1/3 of that drill blank, and slightly smaller. Then, get a plastic hammer and bang that drill blank into the end of it and use THAT as your new tool. If you want to spend the extra time, feel free to round off/shape and finish/oil that dowel rod, but that's optional.
In the case of my other bass, it actually came with a tool specific to this function... plastic handle and a hardened steel shaft with a slightly rounded end on it. I now use that for all my spoke wheel basses, but making your own from your existing drill blank should work fantastically.
my .02.
Or... heck, just get a drill bit, drill it into the dowel rod, and then un-chuck it and leave it there. lol
I'm in contact with Sweetwater on this issue, who have been super helpful, and just got a response that the threaded piece in the middle is normal for this model and that the tool does not go all the way through. I'm very interested to hear what Warwick's response is to your latest follow up.
Here's the follow up to my post above:
Hi Nicolas,
Thank you for the quick reply. I’m not sure I explained the situation clearly. I am able to insert the tool into the hole no problem but it doesn’t come through the hole on the opposite side of the spoke wheel because the rod is in the way. I’m wondering if it’s designed this way deliberately? Other Metro Express owners have said their truss rods are not like this.
In any case, I have the bass set up the way I want and it plays great!
Thank you
Peter
Dear Peter,
Thats exactly how i also understood it and the explanation below is how you could fix that.
But if everything is working and you were able to set up the neck as needed than all is fine, glad to hear.
Wish you lot of joy with your Sadowsky bass.
Best regards
Hi Nicolas,
Thank you for the quick reply. I’m not sure I explained the situation clearly. I am able to insert the tool into the hole no problem but it doesn’t come through the hole on the opposite side of the spoke wheel because the rod is in the way. I’m wondering if it’s designed this way deliberately? Other Metro Express owners have said their truss rods are not like this.
In any case, I have the bass set up the way I want and it plays great!
Thank you
Peter
Dear Peter,
Thats exactly how i also understood it and the explanation below is how you could fix that.
But if everything is working and you were able to set up the neck as needed than all is fine, glad to hear.
Wish you lot of joy with your Sadowsky bass.
Best regards
| Warwick GmbH & Co. Music Equipment KG Nicolas Wilfer CEO |
