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NBD - Sadowsky Metroline Modern LTD 5

#42
Bass Viking said:
This is my second Modern and the first one had a great B string too. Sadowsky (as well as Ken Smith and Warwick) is proof that a 34” B string can be excellent.
Click to expand...

As intriguing as I find Dingwalls, I look at Sadowsky and I say “why bother” having to adjust to fanned frets. I would also add Music Man as another brand with excellent 34” B strings too.

Personally, 35” B strings are fine with me too. I have enjoyed playing basses like Modulus, MTD, and Peavey.
 
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#44
Dr. Cheese said:
As intriguing as I find Dingwalls, I look at Sadowsky and I say “why bother” having to adjust to fanned frets. I would also add Music Man as another brand with excellent 34” B strings too.

Personally, 35” B strings are fine with me too. I have enjoyed playing basses like Modulus, MTD, and Peavey.
Click to expand...
Yup. And my Fbass is 34.5" and it is also great.
 
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#45
Bass Viking said:
This is my second Modern and the first one had a great B string too. Sadowsky (as well as Ken Smith and Warwick) is proof that a 34” B string can be excellent.
Click to expand...

Dr. Cheese said:
As intriguing as I find Dingwalls, I look at Sadowsky and I say “why bother” having to adjust to fanned frets. I would also add Music Man as another brand with excellent 34” B strings too.

Personally, 35” B strings are fine with me too. I have enjoyed playing basses like Modulus, MTD, and Peavey.
Click to expand...

Jugghaid said:
Yup. And my Fbass is 34.5" and it is also great.
Click to expand...
You guys should hear the low B on my
32 scale Bacci 5 . Life changing !!!

Sandberg low B 34 scale is also fabulous . And yes , so is EBMM StingRay5.
 
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#47
The B string on a Sadowsky Metroline/NYC Modern is better than any Smith I've played. I've had 5 or 6 Smith's over the years.

The Sadowsky Modern is my favorite bass of all I've owned over the years. So good.

I love the Koa top the OP posted. So nice. Amazing actually.

Here's mine.

1777404765713.png
 
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#49
Dr. Cheese said:
As intriguing as I find Dingwalls, I look at Sadowsky and I say “why bother” having to adjust to fanned frets.
Click to expand...
Exactly. When I owned a Dingwall Afterburner the biggest adjustment was the finger stretch required on the first few positions of the B string. It was uncomfortable and IMO not worth it so I eventually traded the bass. And the Sadowsky sounds better IMO.
 
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#50
scubaduba said:
The B string on a Sadowsky Metroline/NYC Modern is better than any Smith I've played. I've had 5 or 6 Smith's over the years.

The Sadowsky Modern is my favorite bass of all I've owned over the years. So good.

I love the Koa top the OP posted. So nice. Amazing actually.

Here's mine.

View attachment 7484176
Click to expand...
Thanks and it's only a 3A top. Your bass looks fantastic.
 
#51
Bass Viking said:
I got this bass last week and wanted to let a few days go by before postings my observations. This is a limited edition, number 62 out of 135 built. Chambered swamp ash body, 3A koa top, roasted maple neck and a tigerstripe ebony board. First of all, this is a very well constructed instrument. The woods are beautiful, especially the koa top, and the fingerboard is smooth and polished. It's satin finished so no finger drag anywhere. I checked the fret work with my fret rocker and didn't find any high spots. The control cavity is very neat and clean. The neck joint is tight with no gaps. It weighs only 8 lbs 3 oz.

The sound is just magnificent, clear and meaty with excellent sustain. I brought it to the last couple of band practices and it worked really well. They want me to bring it all the time! As we all know, Sadowskys are designed to work in a mix. They cut and blend just right. Check out my video below.

The neck is quite wide. No surprise there as I previously owned a Japanese Metro Modern. If you have small hands you may want to look elsewhere. The fret ends are nicely rounded.
There is neck dive, mostly while seated but less so when standing. A good strap helps.

The tuners: I've seen some complaints about the Sadowsky tuners being sticky. Yes, they could be smoother but they're not terrible and they seem to hold tuning well. I see no reason to switch them unless I was looking for something lighter.

When I got the bass I needed to adjust the relief and action, which is normal. I noticed that the truss rod spoke wheel was a bit loose and had some play in it. After a bit of internet research I removed the neck and tightened the Allen screw in the center of the spoke wheel. That fixed the issue. Putting this here for future reference and in case anyone else has the same problem.

The bass arrived in a Sadowsky gig bag, same as my Metro Express. Nice bag! I really like that Warwick has added their own touches to an already great design - invisible fret technology, the quick access control cavity cover, and the adjustable nut.

Any questions, just ask!

View attachment 7481589View attachment 7481590View attachment 7481591View attachment 7481592View attachment 7481593View attachment 7481594

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I took a look finally into the electronics cavity of my MX Hybrid today, changed the battery (no idea how long the off-brand battery that came with bass had been in there). My cavity looks quite a bit different than the one in your ML Modern. I know the one in yours has the VTC, but they also shielded them differently, not sure why? Here's mine.
 

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#52
BassicJazzy said:
I took a look finally into the electronics cavity of my MX Hybrid today, changed the battery (no idea how long the off-brand battery that came with bass had been in there). My cavity looks quite a bit different than the one in your ML Modern. I know the one in yours has the VTC, but they also shielded them differently, not sure why? Here's mine.
Click to expand...
My MX Modern also has copper foil shielding.
 
#53
scubaduba said:
The B string on a Sadowsky Metroline/NYC Modern is better than any Smith I've played. I've had 5 or 6 Smith's over the years.

The Sadowsky Modern is my favorite bass of all I've owned over the years. So good.

I love the Koa top the OP posted. So nice. Amazing actually.

Here's mine.

View attachment 7484176
Click to expand...

Beautiful! If I find one that pretty, I might end up with two Moderns after all!
 
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#55
Bass Viking said:
"Stomp" by The Brothers Johnson:

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Great song choice! I've only played two Moderns but the B strings on both were remarkably good. It must have a lot to do with the pickup placement because none of the five string Sadowsky Jazzes I've played had Bs that were particularly impressive to me.
 
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#57
bass12 said:
Great song choice! I've only played two Moderns but the B strings on both were remarkably good. It must have a lot to do with the pickup placement because none of the five string Sadowsky Jazzes I've played had Bs that were particularly impressive to me.
Click to expand...

I have never played any Sadowsky that didn’t have a particularly good B string. But yes, the Modern model is particularly good.
 
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