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Tried a Sadowsky - again

#81
slugworth said:
>>> What was perceived as a cheap shot, although perhaps clumsily stated, may not have been wholly unreasonable, as the Metros, which are not made in NYC, tend to have pricing which can be up to $1000 less. The Metro series also enjoys rave reviews here, and there is no objective data to suggest that they are of any lesser quality. The lower price point for the Metros must have some rational explanation; likely a function of a lower priced inputs of parts and labor resulting in a significantly lower COGS.
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Yeah, but they're still not as top-notch as the NY Sadowskys. NY's have better looking grains and more "customization," for lack of a better term. So that's where some of the price reduction lies. American Sadowskys would be the same price whether they were made in NY or Arkansas.
 
#82
Let's see if we can wrench this back onto topic and maybe conclude the thread on a helpful note.

Here's what we've learned:

1. The Sadowsky pre is boost-only and, as such, one should start with the bass and treble off/flat.

2. Bringing your own rig with basses whose sounds you know intimately will aid in the comparison.

3. Tone is many things, and subjective is one of them.

I suppose I could add a fourth point, 'people like to argue,' but it seemed less germane.

Try it out again; see what you think. There's no wrong answer here. I say 'Sadowsky' and you say 'Alembic,' etc. etc.

G'night.
J.
 
#83
JimmyM said:
Yeah, but they're still not as top-notch as the NY Sadowskys. NY's have better looking grains and more "customization," for lack of a better term. So that's where some of the price reduction lies. American Sadowskys would be the same price whether they were made in NY or Arkansas.
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>>> $1000 worth of grains and customization? Following your logic, the Metros would have no reason to be made overseas, unless there was an economic reason to do so.
 
#85
slugworth said:
>>> $1000 worth of grains and customization? Following your logic, the Metros would have no reason to be made overseas, unless there was an economic reason to do so.
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Greetings,

Nicely put, sorry for my inability to express myself properly.

I have two very close friends in the guitar/bass business one is a from a BIG International Japanese based firm (who is Japanese) the other is a small builder who basically gets his stuff manufactured in Korea and markets all by himself.

I have owned my share of boutique basses and they both laugh at me for paying those prices, because the prices for the raw materials are not very much $$.

The costs are in the overhead and salaries esspecially in US based hand made products (No different from any other Industry)

I totally agree with everyone here if you like it and you can afford it it's worth every penny, because I spent the $$ just like the others who perfer these instruments.

It's 100% true the Koreans, Japanese, can build a similar quality product (if they wanted to) for alot less and the only reason for that is economic based.
 
#86
I own a NYC and a Metro, admittedly the NYC was purchased used. I see NO DIFFERENCE in the quality of workmanship, the fret work, the fit and finish on both instruments is flawless. The NYC has a prettier top, and Gold Hardware. Roger states that unless you want a "deluxe top" or "figured fingerboard" or some other custom feature that isn't to regular spec their is no difference and I believe him. The biggest cost savings in the Metros is standardization, Your choices are limited to the options available. The metros are still a hand finished CNC instrument like the NYC's. I would assume the NYC's due to their custom "one of a kind" nature get a little more TLC. But I would still put the quality of a Metro higher or as high as the Fender Custom shop for instance.
 
#87
slugworth said:
>>> $1000 worth of grains and customization? Following your logic, the Metros would have no reason to be made overseas, unless there was an economic reason to do so.
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Maybe the cost of manufacture between a Metro and a NYC bass is not $1000 for the company, but maybe it can make a difference for the player. Several examples:

- NYC basses are always lighter than Metros, which means that the selected wood blanks might be a little more expensive, let's say $50 per body, This doesn't add much to the $1000 diference in price, but I'm sure that this fact adds a lot of value to most players.

- IMO the customer support you can expect from Sadowsky is like the insurance of your house. I might not need Roger to fix my bass ever, and then is $0 cost for him, but I sleep much better knowing that if anything goes wrong with my bass he'll be there for me and I consider this 'insurance' as part of the price I payed for my bass.

- Regarding the grain, I'm a 'natural ash-aholic' and for me the fact that I can select the raw body that it's going to be used for my bass is very important, not $1000 worth, but it sure adds to the final value I give to the instrument. I'm not a fan of exotic tops, but I find the exotic tops used in Sadowsky basses to be always, ALWAYS, a beauty.

- I've never heard about 'bad years' for Sadowsky basses, which means that I can buy his basses sight unseen and that's important when the place where you live doesn't have any high-end stores around.

Last, Roger has been selling basses for a lot of years, and his customers think that they are worth the price. Fashion items fall out of fassion pretty fast. Sads are here to stay.
 
#88
Besides what's already been discussed about the ability to make NYCs the way I want them, NYCs are chambered, and that makes a difference when I'm pulling four sets 10-2.

Also, I believe the VTC is an option on Metros that you must pay for, which takes up about $150 of that grand. (All NYCs come with VTC.)

Even so, if there was a Metro exactly the way I wanted it, I would get a Metro.
 
#90
If I were going to play a J bass, it would almost certainly be a Sadowsky. That said, I confess that the first time I picked one up, my expectations were so high that they couldn't possibly be met. Moreover, my expectations were inappropriate. From all the hype, I was expecting a J-bass taken "to the next level" - to offer something in the feel and construction that was fundamentally elevated from that of a Fender J. What I got, of course, was a bass that felt in most ways the exact, familiar J-bass way. Nothing wrong with the bass, just my expectation.

I'm sure plenty of folks would pick up my basses I love and come away underwhelmed... it's good that there are different choices for different tastes. :)
 
#91
abngourmet said:
Before (potentially) a Sadowsky owner takes this the wrong way, let me say this: my intent in starting this thread was not to create a "bash Sadowsky" parade. My intent is to learn if there is something I don't know about Sadowskys or something I'm doing wrong when playing them in order to coax the sound I'm looking for out of them. Yes, it's OK not to prefer a Sadowsky bass, but I really like the feel and quality, and want to justify (to myself only) picking one up. The way to do this is to get what I'm looking for out if it. In order to cover all the bases, I'm asking Sadowsky owners for their input so I can try everything (short of a live use or studio use which, unfortunately, isn't possible for me at the moment) before I make the ultimate decision.

I say all of this because the last time I said something about a Sadowsky, I got flamed big time. Not that that bothers me much. It's just that I'd rather spend the time learning about what I'm potentially doing wrong so I can make an informed decision on whether to buy one or not.

Thanks,

Alan
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It has taking some time for me to adjust my ears to the tone of my MS5,but the more I play it the more I like,but even with the hum cancelling pups,it still has a modern tone to it,so if you are a player who prefers real good low/high mids, then the Sadowsky proably wouldn't do it for u.I've even tried the Vintage 70's Metro and it was the same tone and feel. I've since been in negotiations with a guy with a Moon Jazz bass 5,and I just put down some money on a Fender Amercian Deluxe 5....the Fender has the mids that I like,and so does the Moon bass,but I will keep the Sad because it is different. :cool:
 
#93
marcusalan said:
Sorry to threadjack, but I guess this is kind of on topic...

I happen to think that you've been spoiled by playing Alembics.

I just received an Alembic Spoiler today and man... while it's not the most sophisticated, I had never played an Alembic until today.

Sorry all, but you cannot compare bass X to an Alembic, even a relatively low-end one.
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Unless of course you don't like Alembic's playability or tone. . .

:rollno:

Let me also say, ~and I haven't finished reading the thread so this is probably stated numerous times -- I'll say it again if that's the case~ Sadowsky basses really shine in the live or studio setting. To be fair, I don't think you're going to get a realistic idea of how you like the tone until you can try it in one of these contexts. I recently spoke to Kevin at Roger's shop about this and he made the comment that many people seem to think they're going to walk into a store and be blown away by this magical sound as soon as they plug one in. I'm not suggesting that this was your assumption going in, but that seems to be a common preconception. They just have a very well-voiced pre and sit very well in the mix, not to mention great playability.
 

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