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Sadowsky Chambered Bodies
- Thread starter Sadowsky
- Start date
That is Roger's point! Buy a metro! (as a metro owner, I do love my bass, but will alway still wish I could have an NYC)
But why? Is it purely a weight issue for you? Or does owning an NYC bring added cachet?
Threads with the same question pop up frequently with Spectors and US vs Euro models. Some claim there is little to no difference and US-made Spectors can't claim a weight advantage!
I have to admit buying locally made has its appeal.
I think it is more of a cachet thing than anything else. I really don't need a super light bass. That, and I believe that the US made will have a slightly higher build quality. I have some gripes with the Metro bass I have:
1. Loose pots.
2. The battery cover screws directly into the wood. How many battery changes until the threads are stripped out?
3. The input jack fell apart on me during a gig, it literally came unscrewed.
These are minor, minor points, and they haven't taken away my love of this bass at all, but I feel that with a US, they won't exist.
With this years tax return, I am really struggling over this really amazing 74 J bass that is locally for sale, or a new NYC Sadowsky. (the 74 J weighs 9.2 Lbs, perfect!)
If I were to order a Sadowsky, I would ask for a solid body, and as long as it is under 10 lbs, I don't care about the weight that much. After reading this thread, I am convinced that weight is the issue as Kjung says, and I don't want or need a 7lb bass.
The other big difference between a metro and an NYC is the NYC have graphite rods in the neck. I believe this also contributes to a more hi-fi tone and sustain vs the metro.
I like to "build my own" from the larger NYC menu: more colors, woods, models, options. That said, I really wish a 5-string Metro P-bass was offered. The closest available is a PJ with J-style body, but I'm fussy about body shape and that doesn't work for me.
If your interest in the '74 J has anything to do w/ vintage value - GO WITH THE "SAD" bro ! IMO the CBS period Fenders are overrated. I've had a couple & wasn't impressed w/ reliability & build. But - all said - I'm not the one assessing the one you're looking at.
All the best.
There is the chambering, and the graphite rods in the necks of the NYC basses, but I assume the cost difference has more to do with the cost of building a guitar in the USA vs Japan. Plus it costs less man hours to build limited models / options (as they do in Tokyo) than offer the wide custom shop menu of NYC.
Reminder that for decades, Sadowsky basses from NYC had no chambering or graphite and many players swooned over them. Two of my four Sadowsky's basses are from that era.
I can't compare/contrast them because they are apples to oranges basses:
OLD: J bass with standard pickups and a PJ4
NEW: NYC J bass with soapbar pickups and a Modern 4-24 with soapbars
.
.
I can't compare/contrast them because they are apples to oranges basses:
OLD: J bass with standard pickups and a PJ4
NEW: NYC J bass with soapbar pickups and a Modern 4-24 with soapbars
.
.
Again, remember, the only reason that Roger started to chamber (according to his posts on the subject) was not to change anything, but actually to keep things the same. The type of chambering (very subtle) is only meant to keep the newer, heavier wood stock at the same weight as the older, lighter wood stock.
Chambering in and of itself should have no tonal impact (which Roger states is pretty much the case). However.... I've played some chambered Sadowsky basses that started out as really light pieces of wood (I had a chambered Modern that was under 8 pounds). It did have that very open, airy tone that seems to be the hallmark of uber lightweight instruments. That isn't 'good or bad', but I again prefer the 8.5+ weight spec (chambered or not).
Edit: Also, the graphite is not meant to have any impact on the general tone or neck stiffness, but rather to attempt to reduce dead spots that are inherent in any wooden neck bass, and I guess even more inherent in a flat sawn 34" maple neck. Not sure if it works or not... I've played recent NYC basses with significant deadspots, and have played non-graphite necked Metro's with very minor deadspots.
There is no magic cure for deadspots on a 34" bolt on neck 4 string. I began using graphite and a thicker headstock so I could go to bed at night knowing I had done everything possible to reduce deadspots. I sleep well....
Roger
+1 I would assume, on average, that the NYC basses have less of a deadspot issue than the Metro's (which also, due to the well executed neck pocket and high quality, screened and selected wood, probably have less deadspot issues than a lower end 34" flatsawn maple neck instrument that is 'factory made').
MikeBass
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- Nov 4, 2003
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A bit OT, well a LOT OT, but it tickles me when guys who change their strings pretty much only when one breaks/once a year complain about dead spots........
Back to topic.
It's something to me like golf. I LOVE my Nike SlingShot irons.
They are kind big, have a nice look, makes me feel like I can hit anything. Even a golf ball!
Now, really, almost any club, I would play the same, but it's a mental thing.
Just like with chambering. I can feel a bit of a difference. Is it really enough to matter in the end? Not really I guess.
But when I'm playing a solid body, something just makes me feel a bit better about the whole thing.
Now, back to my golf game. Same thing with my clubs. Just something about them. And the older Callaway Bertha irons with the larger top line. They just make it "feel" better.
I'm an OK golfer and an OK bass player. So either isn't gonna help me play like Will Lee and Tiger Woods!
I will say though, I have a better shot at getting the chicks that Tiger had than I ever will at getting his golf game!!!!!
And I can buy a bass exactly like Will's and play "Copacabana" all night, but not get his vibe!
I am a HUGE fan of the chambered Sadowsky's, the opening of the voice in the resonance of the instrument is just beautiful.
Interesting... I hear no impact of the chambers when you roughly weight match a chambered model with a non chambered one.
IMO, you are attributing the tonal impact of a lighterweight body (sweeter and more open/resonant) to the very minor, subtle 'weight reduction chambering'.
Without a doubt I hear and feel a distinctive difference in the resonance in my 2 chambered Sadowsky's compared to the non chambered ones I have had in the past. I love them !
