Vic, I don't see it as MTD vs Sadowsky either. I LOVE the sound of my Sadowskys and I honestly wish that I felt more comfortable on the 5 than I do. But more and more I've been aware that I resist taking it to my gigs (although I still gig my Standard 4) because I know I won't feel "at home" on it. Furthermore, when I'm playing my MTD (especially the ash/wenge) I never "miss" anything (as in "I love this bass, but I wish it slapped more like my...").
This makes absolutely perfect sense.
I typically only object when folks start saying stuff like getting lost in the mix and such. Not referring to you on this, but I've heard it before. The only problem there is the mismatch between the woods and the player, IMHO. Case in point, the tulip/wenge combo for me. Just did not work at all for me, and yeah, I did have problems getting the presence I needed in a mix. However, with the wood combos I have now, a complete and total 180. None, no such, nada, zilch, zero, goose egg, never, a problem getting the presence I crave. Never. You know who solved that problem for me? Mike. Recommended something I NEVER would have imagined to choose on my own, but boy was it ever what I was looking for... for me, anyway, which is, again, the whole point I'm getting to here.
Mike's basses are SO SO SO dependent on the wood regarding what they do (or don't do), it's absolutely critical each player finds the right one. On the other hand, Roger goes for a more consistent tone base, so pretty much anybody that gets a Sadowsky is going to be at at least 90% of what they expect regardless of the woods, and with that little variation, people typically know enough to just get the right one the first time.
So I guess one big characteristic diff is Mike's basses are a lot more dependent on the personal fit than Roger's, which speaks directly to each one's business goals. It's also the reason, any time anyone asks me my opinion about MTDs, I very very very strongly urge them to also talk directly to Mike and/or a few other "wood/player matchmakers" and be VERY detailed about what they like/dislike and the music they play. I guess you could view this as either a positive or a negative. For me, it was a positive... part of the quest/adventure, and at least in my case, the holy grail definitely lay at the end, and I drink from that cup very happily every single time.
and man, that was COOL. They had enough power that, for probably most gigs, you wouldn't even need the outboard preamp to get the rest of the juice from them. What that meant was, all you needed was a Bass, a cord, and an IP. It was so cool to just literally plug the bass into the back of the IP and simply use the EQ controls on the bass for everything. Amazing!
