Sadowsky/Warwick Announcement Video

[Ronnie Pudding]

I could have picked up a couple of Sadowsky Tokyo basses. I passed on them because I was told that the bodies are bigger. That just seems odd to me. Maybe I was given incorrect information?

While they do make the full-size body like a vintage Fender, they also make the compact "Dinky" body style that you would associate with a typical Sadowsky.

I have no affiliation with Ikebe, just sharing the link for info:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Ampeg SVT]

So...I wonder about the effect on the TYO line? Will it be no more?

Yoshi Kikuchi has/had been Roger's partner in Japan for the last 30 years and worked alongside Roger in NYC before setting up the Sadowsky Tokyo shop.

This might induce a serious case of Tokyo G.A.S.

I was doing a bit of digging on twitter and came across some posts from Teppei Kawasaki, he's a session player in Japan who has/had a signature model with TYO. From what I can gather all of the Japanese lines are no more including the TYO line. Here's one of the posts in question:

If you want a TYO bass then you may want to jump on one now before they're all snatched up.

What I want to know is if the UV60/70 and the HPJ are still going to be made.

 

[Ronnie Pudding]

I was doing a bit of digging on twitter and came across some posts from Teppei Kawasaki, he's a session player in Japan who has/had a signature model with TYO. From what I can gather all of the Japanese lines are no more including the TYO line. Here's one of the posts in question:

If you want a TYO bass then you may want to jump on one now before they're all snatched up.

What I want to know is if the UV60/70 and the HPJ are still going to be made.

Thanks for the intel.

Hard to say from only the video we have, but purely speculating, I'd guess UV60/70 and HPJ will be NYC custom order for now.

I could see that once Warwick has their legs under them with the line, maybe we could see more models added.

 

[Ronnie Pudding]

My snarky side also hopes quality control is better than that curtain they hung.

 

[monkeyland]

My snarky side also hopes quality control is better than that curtain they hung.

Yeah. Being in the Event production business that curtain was making me twitchy from the start.

 

[mmon77]

When did I say that?

A factory in China is perfectly capable of making basses as nice as the old Japanese Metros? The Sadowsky Tokyo shop? I don't think so, and, I don't think Roger thinks so.

 

[baxter_x]

Chinese people are able to build a bass with a quality of any other builder, is just matter of paying the price.

That!!!
Quality in the end is a matter of price. Anyone can make bad or great things. It all depends on the investment we are will to put in. Great input.

 

[Mastodon2]

If I could have gotten a Sadowsky for around a grand in my early twenties while I was waiting tables, I would have jumped on it. Sadowsky was the Unicorn brand I dreamed about. A US Fender was more more in reach.

The thing is though, if you lusted after a Sadowsky, you were dreaming of those custom shop basses. Buying a Chinese bass from a mass production line with "Sadowsky" on the headstock isn't the same thing.

If you want a Ken Smith bass, then a Ken Smith design wont cut it, for example. These new Sadowsky basses are a dilution of the brand and it's totally Roger's right to do that. However, everyone getting excited at the prospect of owning a "$1000 Sadowsky" should probably temper their excitement and remember that it's not the same thing as the true object of their desire, the real Sadowsky basses, as made by Roger in his shop.

There are varying levels of brand dilution. The cheaper you go on production and final sale RRP, the lower the standards of workmanship and materials used. The Japanese basses were themselves a dilution, just nowhere near as extreme as this Chinese venture with Warwick.

 

[marjzx]

any idea regarding the price point of the masterbuilt lines?

 

[StayLow]

I like that Roger is totally straightforward in his presentation - no BS, just being really honest about what's happening with this new deal with Warwick. Others mentioned his "selling out" as he "retires". My impression is that he just wants to go back to a small one man shop, as he was in the beginning, as he slowly winds down. Sounds, to me, like he is looking foward to the "simpler days" of his youth, in that regard. Good for him, I say.

I believe that is his goal. He's 70, and just wants to have fun now, perhaps.

Think about CLF in his later years, tinkering in his office at G&L. But in Roger's case, he will be building high quality custom instruments at a more relaxed pace than he previously has been.

He could have done all that and totally left Warwick, and even the Tokyo shop, out of it. No more Metros, no more satins, no more whatever he doesn't want to do.

He might end up with a very long waiting list, but why would he care if it's truly just about slowing down?

Rhetorical questions, not directed at your specifically just riffing off what you wrote.

 

[StayLow]

So...I wonder about the effect on the TYO line? Will it be no more?

Yoshi Kikuchi has/had been Roger's partner in Japan for the last 30 years and worked alongside Roger in NYC before setting up the Sadowsky Tokyo shop.

This might induce a serious case of Tokyo G.A.S.

The Tokyo models are done. That's already been well established, and confirmed by Roger.

Best place to ask specific questions is in the main Sadowsky thread.

 

[mmon77]

He could have done all that and totally left Warwick, and even the Tokyo shop, out of it. No more Metros, no more satins, no more whatever he doesn't want to do.

He might end up with a very long waiting list, but why would he care if it's truly just about slowing down?

Rhetorical questions, not directed at your specifically just riffing off what you wrote.

Perhaps he could have done that, but building solely custom NYC basses, at the rate he wishes to build them now could not be done from a profit standpoint.

These other lines probably exist to provide a steady income stream, so he can afford to continue to enjoy his "hobby" of building really nice custom basses, with a crazy amount of attention to detail.

 

[StayLow]

Or, conversely, and to your point depending on how they 'stick the landing', the lower-price models will deliver that unique-to-Sadowsky sound in a mix (really is a 'thing') and the lower-price model will encourage the customer to one-day step up to a higher-end model.

That's what happened with me.

One Metro on a trade back when they first came out, and now I'm two NYC's deep, and those basses aren't going anywhere.

Still wish they'd have the VTC.
Between pickup blend and the VTC, I have everything I need on a gig. Works every time.

It's very easy to install a passive tone knob, or to have someone do it. That's all the "VTC" is; fancy marketing speak for "passive tone knob".

 

[Nenor]

Dude, we are talking about basses no rockets. Chinese people are able to build a bass with a quality of any other builder, is just matter of paying the price. There are several example of Chinese art to prove it.

Dude, it's like you didn't pay attention to what I said. I wasn't talking about the Chinese people abilities. Read again. If you decide to respond, please make sure you understand what you're responding to.
The same goes to @mmon77

 

[mmon77]

Dude, it's like you didn't pay attention to what I said. I wasn't talking about the Chinese people abilities. Read again. If you decide to respond, please make sure you understand what you're responding to.
The same goes to @mmon77

I've read your posts. I even quoted your post. Perhaps you should learn to explain your thoughts better in written form.

 

[Nenor]

I've read your posts. I even quoted your post. Perhaps you should learn to explain your thoughts better in written form.

That's what I wrote:

"China the country you mean..?
A factory in China is perfectly capable of making basses as nice as the old Japanese Metros? The Sadowsky Tokyo shop? I don't think so, and, I don't think Roger thinks so."

That was your respond:

"They can and they have. Bias held by people like you though, probably played a part in Roger's decision making process.

Do you really think that in a country with written history dating back around 4000 years, there is no one capable of making a nice bass guitar?"

The first part about "people like me" I ignore. That is nonsense.
The second part - did I say anywhere, anytime that in a country with written history... bla bla there is no one capable of making a nice bass guitar?

Although I'm not a native English speaker, I think I was clear enough. I was referring specifically to a factory in china vs the Tokyo custom shop. Then you come up with 4000 years of written history... give me a break.

You're welcome to continue, enjoy it. I'm not going to respond to this any more.

 

[steelbed45]

I'm not going to respond to this any more.

Thank you.

 

[PRS-Man23]

Here’s an interview taken just after the reveal:

 

[mmon77]

Although I'm not a native English speaker, I think I was clear enough. I was referring specifically to a factory in china vs the Tokyo custom shop. Then you come up with 4000 years of written history... give me a break.

You're welcome to continue, enjoy it. I'm not going to respond to this any more.

I think maybe you are arguing semantics, calling Warwick's production in China a "Chinese factory", and the shop that Sadowsky had contracted to build their Metro line Japan the "Japan custom shop".

FWIW, I apologize for my remark about explaining your thoughts better in written form. I can assure you that your written, and probably spoken, English is far better than I could do in your native language.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Here’s an interview taken just after the reveal:

It would be nice if they had allowed closeups of the prototypes, especially the budget basses. The other thing that crossed my mind is just how fast life passes by. I totally identify with Roger Sadowsky changing his business model and slowing down. I wish him well. As for the basses, it goes without saying that the budget basses will be budget. In these days of CNC, I know really nice and playable basses can be built at quite low price points. I also know once the Warwick transition is made, there will be even more used higher Sadowsky’s than there are now. It should easier than ever , in the future, to get a really nice used Sadowsky. That said, kids in college and even retirement are on the near horizon for me. I am comfortable with the idea of buying budget Sadowsky instead of a Sire, but if I can, maybe I will find a nice used Pre-Warwick or find a good deal on a new Sadowsky in a few years because I should have more leisure time myself.