WAY COOL!
So you say it's your first, but is it also the first Sadowsky you will have ever played when you get it, or have you at least played some before? If you have played some, which ones, and what was it about the M5-24 that took it to the top of the list?
I'm assuming you're talking about this one (or if their web pic isn't the exact one, it'll be an identical one)
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I believe that is the one. I called, and asked if they still had it. They said yes, and I just responded "I'll take it".
I played one locally before placing the order. I would have bought the local one, but it was black. Even though having the instant gratification would have been nice, I didn't want a solid black bass. I debated between ordering a bass from either the local dealer or direct...and then did a search of Sadowsky dealers to see who had what.
Playing the M5-24 locally gave me a very special experience. I have now played two bass guitars that surpassed the feel and sound of my current main bass. The other one was a Nordy VJ5 at Scott Pazera's shop. The evenness of sound across the board, tightness of strings (feel wise, I thought it was tuned E-C at first), and just the sound.
I walked in skeptical, thinking that it would be good, but that it wouldn't blow me away by any stretch. I've been playing a Modern Sounding maple boarded bass made by a great company for seven years now as my main electric...how different could it be? How much better could it be? How could it make me think "I have to have this"? Well, the variety of sounds were awesome...even without knowing exactly which knob did what (I figured out blend, bass/treb, and the VTC fooled me), I got the sounds that I have heard on numerous albums.
The neck shape and string spacing felt very familiar-didn't stumble over strings. The radius felt quite a bit more flat, but not uncomfortably so.
I have had that experience one time in the double bass world with my New Standard Cleveland, so I feel that the Metro M5-24 will make a nice companion to it. Maybe add a NYC fretless sometime down the road, or if they start offering Fretless Metros?
My reasoning behind the M5-24 was influenced heavily by musical theatre players. Most of the Union guys that I have talked to, play some type of Sadowsky with a maple board for their live bass (good chunk being M5-24s). I play on the local Non-Equity/Non-Union scene, with aspirations of playing Union gigs in the future.
The older I got, the more I realized it was just a matter of time before I took the plunge for my first Sadowsky. I decided now was the time, since I'm earning roughly as much from gigs as I am from my day job. Yeah, I know, I'm only 24. I've been a member of this site nearly the entire time that I have played bass, and read every review I could find of any bass that I had even a passing interest in.
I'd rather make the jump to this level of bass now, and start a relationship with the instruments during this teeth cutting stage. E.g. the gigs that I am getting now are much different than what I was getting five years ago, and my focus is getting more and more defined.
I did the whole NYC vs. Metro thing for awhile. It took seeing Roger put on the site, (paraphrased badly) "If you don't need fancy tops, special options, or chambering-get a Metro". I could care less about fancy tops, am fine with chrome/nickel hardware, and have been playing a 10.5 pound bass for the past seven years...and play mostly sitting down.
I feel a bit guilty about buying what amounts to a replacement to an old friend. I know every nick, scratch, and ding on the Ray5. Seven years-from my better years of high school playing through conservatory, and the first two years of my "professional" career. I will now own two killer modern sounding fives.
The final straw was that I couldn't get the bass out of my head on my jog. Even though I was battling wind gusts (peaks of about 50 mph here), and was by a very tranquil lakefront...I kept thinking "I have to buy one, I'm sunk."
I'll post a review after I get it. It will probably also be a novel like this.
