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If Only One Bass, Fender or Sadowsky?
- Thread starter jnammy
- Start date
Agreed. I'd have to go with the Lull. Otherwise...between the Fender and the Sadowsky I'd have to go with Fender.
What about Nash?
Agreed on Lull - in my search for the perfect "SuperJazz", Mike Lull fit my tone, sonic, & ergonomic needs to a T.
...but strictly between the two listed in the original post, I'd have to go with a Sadowsky M5-24, Alder body with a Spalted Maple top and matching headstock, Birdseye Maple fretboard, and Nordstrand Big Single pickups. If there were any way to weasle my way into 2, the second would be the above but with a lined fretless 'board.
Line up 20 different Fenders of different years and line up any 20 Sadowsky basses.
Consistency?
Variety of sound?
Quality?
For me, I go with Sadowsky. Completely different league.
Consistency?
Variety of sound?
Quality?
For me, I go with Sadowsky. Completely different league.
I'd say my Sadowsky PJ5, but it's been modified so it technically doesn't count. However, before it was modified it could still beat any 5 string Fender by a mile (sorry, if it's one bass for life, It's gotta be a 5 at least...some genres just need that sound and I hate using D-tuners):
*Clearer sounding B
*Very comfortable neck
*Preamp voiced better to blend well with the band AND sounds great passive
*Love the Preamp AND Tone Knob working together
*At 8.15 lbs, a joy to play on gigs. Body/Neck balance is perfect
With the mod it's just not fair really. So my vote would be a Sadowsky NYC Will Lee 5 String.
*Clearer sounding B
*Very comfortable neck
*Preamp voiced better to blend well with the band AND sounds great passive
*Love the Preamp AND Tone Knob working together
*At 8.15 lbs, a joy to play on gigs. Body/Neck balance is perfect
With the mod it's just not fair really. So my vote would be a Sadowsky NYC Will Lee 5 String.
I've owned a couple of Sadowskys and three Fenders (and currently own one of each). I love them both for different reasons. The Sadowsky is flawless in its construction while the Fender is very good. Both sound fantastic in their own ways. The Fender sounds "like a Fender" and the Sadowsky sounds like a very clean and punchy hi-fi J bass. The Sadowsky is much more impressive to look at. Comfort-wise I find the Fender to be more to my liking (I think this is due to both the body size and the fingerboard radius). I consider my Sadowsky a "one of a kind" instrument while I see my Fender as being, more or less, another Fender (although I tried quite a few Fenders in my search and liked the sound of this one best). So I don't know. I'll keep them both, and continue to spend most of my time on my MTD! 
I should have just copied this post. This sums it up exactly. It doesn't mean I don't love my three Fenders. As a working bass player, for the reasons listed above, the Sadowsky delivers so much more.
... for much more money!!!
IMHO, Fender is the clear winner here regardless of the poll. the "bang for buck" favors the Fender Standards by a mile. case in point,..
my $1100 AV62RI blows away the average $2.5-3k Sadowsky's that i've played.
was i surprized? hell yeah!!! i wanted to love the Sad, if not for all the hooplah, then for that famous tone. BUT,... it was not as playable as any of my Fenders from MIM to MIA.
YMMV
"Blows away"? Have you actually played a Sadowsky or are you just trolling?... for much more money!!!
IMHO, Fender is the clear winner here regardless of the poll. the "bang for buck" favors the Fender Standards by a mile. case in point,..
my $1100 AV62RI blows away the average $2.5-3k Sadowsky's that i've played.
was i surprized? hell yeah!!! i wanted to love the Sad, if not for all the hooplah, then for that famous tone. BUT,... it was not as playable as any of my Fenders from MIM to MIA.
A MIM Fender blows away a Sadowsky in terms of playability?
Really?
You can say that with a straight face?
That's an interesting assessment.
Really?
You can say that with a straight face?
That's an interesting assessment.
... for much more money!!!
IMHO, Fender is the clear winner here regardless of the poll. the "bang for buck" favors the Fender Standards by a mile. case in point,..
my $1100 AV62RI blows away the average $2.5-3k Sadowsky's that i've played.
was i surprized? hell yeah!!! i wanted to love the Sad, if not for all the hooplah, then for that famous tone. BUT,... it was not as playable as any of my Fenders from MIM to MIA.
The OP wasn't looking for bank for buck. If it was that, I would agree with you. The AV62RI is a great bass. I really impressive bass for the money.
But, in response to the OP's question of only one bass, with money being no consideration, and not asking you about your personal basses, this being a Fender vs Sadowsky, they're different.
And, I think it's valid to recognize that we each have our own motivations for certain types. On the basis of collectability, I'll take my old fretless P. But, as a working assist who looks at basses as my tools of the trade, the Sadowsky, to me, is more of a Swiss army knife and consistently so.
If fender and sadowsky is the only options, Sadowsky 5 string. Probably the modern model. I respect fender for creating the benchmark of bass design but to me the sadowsky is a million times better than a fender in every way.
This question has proven the proposition that opinions are as numerous as the people of whom they are requested, and nothing more.
Mine would be that as great a man and builder as Sadowski is reported to be, he is less for having built that reputation on the back of the Fender original design. I appreciate that there are original designs with his name affixed, but, simply put, why would I pick a copy of the Mona Lisa over the original if given the choice? I would have greater respect for the Sadowski choice if they walked away from building copies of a Fender, and even more if he/they had never built a Fender design variant.
For less money than the cost of an original 427 Cobra, one can build a replica which outperforms the original work in every respect BUT originality. Park the two together and let me choose, I'll take the original every time simply because it is that, original; warts and all.
My Squier is a Fender, copy of the original though it may be. It is the one guitar I've found which I can afford that lets me feel the joy my '65 Jazz gave me "in the day". I could never imagine that from a Sado at any price.
iJazz
Mine would be that as great a man and builder as Sadowski is reported to be, he is less for having built that reputation on the back of the Fender original design. I appreciate that there are original designs with his name affixed, but, simply put, why would I pick a copy of the Mona Lisa over the original if given the choice? I would have greater respect for the Sadowski choice if they walked away from building copies of a Fender, and even more if he/they had never built a Fender design variant.
For less money than the cost of an original 427 Cobra, one can build a replica which outperforms the original work in every respect BUT originality. Park the two together and let me choose, I'll take the original every time simply because it is that, original; warts and all.
My Squier is a Fender, copy of the original though it may be. It is the one guitar I've found which I can afford that lets me feel the joy my '65 Jazz gave me "in the day". I could never imagine that from a Sado at any price.
iJazz
I wonder if you know the story behind why Roger chose the original design he did. I also wonder how you feel about acoustic guitar designs and the lack of originality inherent in practically every acoustic guitar available on the market (or any orchestral instrument, for that matter...).
bass12 said:
Please, point me to the holy book of Roger that I might be enthralled in the goodness.
iJazz
iJazz...why are you so cynical?
Do you really feel so strongly about your opinion that you feel EVERYONE should feel the same as you?
Do you really feel so strongly about your opinion that you feel EVERYONE should feel the same as you?
