• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

sadowsky and lakland

SunneyBoy

SunneyBoy

Dec 15, 2005
239
3
45
Johannesburg : South Africa
#1
Now i have seen lots of sadowsky fans and lakland fans on this forum.

and without starting a fight wondering if all you lads out there would like to take part in a civil debate comparing the two companies.

i own a lakland and coulnt imagine playing anything else but that said i have never touched a sadowsky and really dont know if there is actually anyone in south africa who does play one. but i have heard great things about them .
 
#2
SunneyBoy said:
Now i have seen lots of sadowsky fans and lakland fans on this forum.

and without starting a fight wondering if all you lads out there would like to take part in a civil debate comparing the two companies.

i own a lakland and coulnt imagine playing anything else but that said i have never touched a sadowsky and really dont know if there is actually anyone in south africa who does play one. but i have heard great things about them .
Click to expand...


Lakland is good stuff. I just prefer the Sadowsky neck feel, tone, quality and lightwieght more. Also, I play one 5er's and prefer a 34" scale neck.
 
#3
Yeah, I always kind of wondered what people thought in comparing the high end fender copies... specifically Sadowsky, Lakland, and Celinder, none of which have I heard anything but the highest praise for.
 
#5
They are both great basses from great companies.
In terms of quality of construction, playability, and tone you can't go wrong with either. The difference is in the details, and personal preferences. For comparison purposes, I'll exclude Lakland's non-Fender-like models like the 44-02.

- Sadowskys have some sweet preamps, and the vintage tone control comes in handy. Only Sadowsky makes em. Lakland comes passive as standard, and you can add a J-retro preamp as an option.

- Sadowsky has their own brand of pickups, whereas Lakland uses Lindy Fralin pickups.

- Lakland Skylines come in a limited number of finish options (2-3).

- The Lakland Skylines are the cheapest compared to Lakland US, Sadowsky NYC, and Sadowsky Metro.

- Sadowsky Metros and Lakland Skylines have flatsawn necks. Lakland US and Sadowsky NYC have quartsawn necks.

- Sadowsky NYC and Lakland US have graphite reinforced necks. 5 string Lakland Skylines have reinforcement, but the 4 do not.

- Lakland uses small vintage frets, while Sadowsky uses medium frets as standard.

- Sadowsky NYC has a chambered body
 
#7
jive1 said:
They are both great basses from great companies.
In terms of quality of construction, playability, and tone you can't go wrong with either. The difference is in the details, and personal preferences. For comparison purposes, I'll exclude Lakland's non-Fender-like models like the 44-02.

- Sadowskys have some sweet preamps, and the vintage tone control comes in handy. Only Sadowsky makes em. Lakland comes passive as standard, and you can add a J-retro preamp as an option.

- Sadowsky has their own brand of pickups, whereas Lakland uses Lindy Fralin pickups.

- Lakland Skylines come in a limited number of finish options (2-3).

- The Lakland Skylines are the cheapest compared to Lakland US, Sadowsky NYC, and Sadowsky Metro.

- Sadowsky Metros and Lakland Skylines have flatsawn necks. Lakland US and Sadowsky NYC have quartsawn necks.

- Sadowsky NYC and Lakland US have graphite reinforced necks. 5 string Lakland Skylines have reinforcement, but the 4 do not.

- Lakland uses small vintage frets, while Sadowsky uses medium frets as standard.

- Sadowsky NYC has a chambered body
Click to expand...

Nice comparison and summary....

A couple additions.... regarding pickups, the DJ model uses Aeros single coils... awesome sounding bass. Also, for the NYC's, you can request either standard hum cancelling or single coil Sadowsky pickups... nice option.

Chambered bodies for NYC's... from my understanding, Roger only chambers the Alder bodies to hold down weight. The ash he uses is light enough to not need the chambering. However, I think this only because Roger only mentions Alder for routing on his 'whats new' page... I could be wrong. I can say for sure thought that the routing for the Alder basses is a wonderful thing.... those basses just 'float' they are so light.
 
#8
KJung said:
Nice comparison and summary....

A couple additions.... regarding pickups, the DJ model uses Aeros single coils... awesome sounding bass. Also, for the NYC's, you can request either standard hum cancelling or single coil Sadowsky pickups... nice option.

Chambered bodies for NYC's... from my understanding, Roger only chambers the Alder bodies to hold down weight. The ash he uses is light enough to not need the chambering. However, I think this only because Roger only mentions Alder for routing on his 'whats new' page... I could be wrong. I can say for sure thought that the routing for the Alder basses is a wonderful thing.... those basses just 'float' they are so light.
Click to expand...


Yep, this baby is only 8.5 lbs.

Link Removed
 
#9
I like Laklands because they play like silk. . . so effortlessly.

Even if you accidentaly get a cut in one of your fingers, you could still play a half-decent riff with only one of your other plucking fingers.

Try that with a Sadowsky. . . Not nearly as easy, my friend.
 
#10
lefty007 said:
I like Laklands because they play like silk. . . so effortlessly.

Even if you accidentaly get a cut in one of your fingers, you could still play a half-decent riff with only one of your other plucking fingers.

Try that with a Sadowsky. . . Not nearly as easy, my friend.
Click to expand...


I've owned and played a number of each brand of bass, and don't quite know what you mean. I find the playability of the 55-94 basses superb, but find the Lakland J style basses far 'chunkier' in neck profile, etc. versus the Sadowsky.... especially in the 5 string version.

That's not necessarily a negative, but I would put playability dead even for the fours, and hands down to the Sadowsky's for the 5 string J models... of course, IMO.


And... as I've said before... if you are looking for a late 70's 'J Bass on steroids' thing... get ye a Celinder Update!
 
#11
lefty007 said:
I like Laklands because they play like silk. . . so effortlessly.

Even if you accidentaly get a cut in one of your fingers, you could still play a half-decent riff with only one of your other plucking fingers.

Try that with a Sadowsky. . . Not nearly as easy, my friend.
Click to expand...

What Ken said. I have no idea what you are talking about. Both are some of the best playing basses on the planet.
 
#12
KJung said:
Nice comparison and summary....

...Chambered bodies for NYC's... from my understanding, Roger only chambers the Alder bodies to hold down weight. The ash he uses is light enough to not need the chambering. However, I think this only because Roger only mentions Alder for routing on his 'whats new' page... I could be wrong. I can say for sure thought that the routing for the Alder basses is a wonderful thing.... those basses just 'float' they are so light.
Click to expand...

Kevin at Sadowsky just informed me both ash and alder NYC
Sadowskys are now chambered.

I own 2 skylines: a 55-01 (deluxe) and a 44-01. Very very nice necks,
and my sound guy loves 'em way more than my Jazz with Lindy Fralin
split-coils. Go figure...:hmm:

An alder NYC Sadowsky P/J vintage 4-string is on order. I can't wait!

-Dr. Jim
 
#14
Jim Carr said:
Kevin at Sadowsky just informed me both ash and alder NYC
Sadowskys are now chambered.

I own 2 skylines: a 55-01 (deluxe) and a 44-01. Very very nice necks,
and my sound guy loves 'em way more than my Jazz with Lindy Fralin
split-coils. Go figure...:hmm:

An alder NYC Sadowsky P/J vintage 4-string is on order. I can't wait!

-Dr. Jim
Click to expand...

Very cool! Thanks for the info. I always was curious... especially since I have an ash body NCY Modern 5 or order.

K
 
#15
The hard part for me is getting the chance to play them. I rarely see them in stores even used. i recently played a Lakland Skyline Bob Glaub model and was disappointed. It was a real nice bass for the money, but it sure wasn't like my old '65 PBass in feel.

Sad's I would really like to check out especially the 5-string. Interesting Sad chambers all the bodies??? On guitar chambers are usually for a fuller sound more resonance. But to hear you all talk he only does it for weight. The chamber aren't making for a fuller sound?
 
#16
lefty007 said:
I like Laklands because they play like silk. . . so effortlessly.

Even if you accidentaly get a cut in one of your fingers, you could still play a half-decent riff with only one of your other plucking fingers.

Try that with a Sadowsky. . . Not nearly as easy, my friend.
Click to expand...

cheezewiz and KJung -- He's making a joking reference to BigMikeW's thread on samples of his two Sadowsky PJ's. In it, MikeBass mentioned that he recorded the samples after cutting his finger, so they're "a little sloppy". (He coulda fooled us, though--they sound great to me!)

Mike
 
#17
steveb98 said:
The hard part for me is getting the chance to play them. I rarely see them in stores even used. i recently played a Lakland Skyline Bob Glaub model and was disappointed. It was a real nice bass for the money, but it sure wasn't like my old '65 PBass in feel.

Sad's I would really like to check out especially the 5-string. Interesting Sad chambers all the bodies??? On guitar chambers are usually for a fuller sound more resonance. But to hear you all talk he only does it for weight. The chamber aren't making for a fuller sound?
Click to expand...

From what I understand, he does it for weight. There is a picture on the website... not chambers in the classic sense, like the Rob Allen, for example. It looks like small strips of wood are routed out all over the body to remove some 'mass', and then a top is glued on. They really are lightweight, but plenty 'full sounding'. My NYC RV5 does not sound 'chambered' at all.. which IMO is a good thing.. it sounds just like the Metro version. So, if weight (or fancy top woods, etc.) aren't a big deal, the Metro's are great. However, the lighter weight was worth the extra cash to me... just wonderful... and the neck is as stiff as any I've experienced (I assume at least partially due to the graphite rods and quarter sawn maple of the NYC's).. totally stable and a great sounding low B (and 34" scale!). I also love the very wide bridge string spacing (I believe .19). That wide spacing combined with the shorter scale just feels great to me in the 5 string version.
 
#18
mikezimmerman said:
cheezewiz and KJung -- He's making a joking reference to MikeBass's thread on samples of his two Sadowsky PJ's. In it, MikeBass mentioned that he recorded the samples after cutting his finger, so they're "a little sloppy". (He coulda fooled us, though--they sound great to me!)

Mike
Click to expand...

Ha! He had me 'hook line and sinker'... I didn't know what he was talking about:o Thanks for 'spilling the beans':D
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back