It's been a while since I posted this. It also addresses the Fender vs Originality questions. Here it is again for Mark and any other newbies on Talkbass!:
1) Several people have posted and commented that Sadowsky uses Warmoth parts. I would like to address this for what I hope will be the last time. I did use some Warmoth parts during the 80's and have ordered an occasional neck from them for some of our repair customers during the years. However, Sadowsky has not used any Warmoth necks or bodies on their basses for at least the last 10 years.
2) Regarding subcontractors....Many instrument companies use subcontractors. It is very difficult to balance quality and maintain costs. If we were making every body by "hand" (which no one really does), costs would be absurdly high and consistancy would be very low. The average cost of a CNC machine (a computerized carving machine), with software, is about $125,000.00. Because that is beyond the means of most of us "smaller" guys, there are companies that own these machines who make parts for the "rest of us". Sadowsky, Lakland, Lull, Turner and lots more of us use various subcontractors. I know this takes some of the "romanticism" out of the process for you, but that is the way it is.
Regarding our electronics---when you go through hundreds of circuits a year, you don't hand wire each one by hand. You design the circuit, make the prototype, and then you outsource it to a shop than just makes circuit boards!
I had to make an important decision about 20 years ago. I could set up shop where I could do all the woodworking by myself. This would have meant locating where there are very few professional players. Instead, I chose to locate in the middle of Manhattan, where the top players could easily get to my shop. As long as I had good subcontractors I could depend on, I felt it more important to have the one-on-one and the indespensible feedback from the top players. This was also motivated by the fact that I still do a lot of repair and restoration work. I have never regretted this decision. It is hard to make a "working musician's" instrument if you don't have many working musicians to interact with.
I build a Fender style instrument because that is what my clientele demands of me. 20 years ago, it was almost impossible to walk into a studio in NYC with anything other than a Fender. In fact the Union directory had two bass listings: Upright Bass and Fender Bass! All electric basses were referred to as Fender bass. There was a great deal of pressure on the bassists to only bring a Fender to a session.
If I had a couple of million dollars, I could set up my own manufacturing facility outside of the city, but I can only be in one place at one time so it works just as well to use the subcontractors.
Keep the following in mind: We purchase all of our wood directly. We hand build all of the "prototypes" that get sent to the subcontractor. We own all of the fixturing and programming. We continuously monitor the quality of our parts to be sure they are worthy of the Sadowsky name.
The bodies come into our shop unsanded. We do all of the edge contouring, finish sanding and hand fit every neck pocket to get a perfect fit to our necks. Many of our bodies get additional routing and shaping done in our shop.
The necks come in unsanded. We true each fingerboard one at a time, fret the necks, dress the frets, finish sand the necks, and spray the necks. On custom orders, we hand shape the neck too.
Our assembly process is impeccable with regard to the quality of our components and workmanship.
So I hope you can see that we definetly are a "hands-on" shop. I could not have achieved the reputation I have if I were simply buying a neck and body and "screwing them together". I think anyone who has had the opportunity to play a Sadowsky can appreciate the quality of the instrument. That doesn't mean they are for everyone---instrument choice is very subjective. What is nice is that all of us....Sadowsky, Lakland, Mike Tobias, Spector, Fodera, etc....all have lots of players that think we make the best instrument in the world! It's kind of perfect that way---don't you think? You don't have to disparage the other builders just because you prefer someone else's instruments.
Lastly, many people speculate on this forum about issues related to Sadowsky without ever bothering to email me directly with their question. I am here and I am happy to answer all of your emails individually.
Hope this clears things up for some of you.
Sincerely,
Roger
