What makes a Sadowsky better than a Music Man or a Modulus?

[Fuzzbass]

I don't see a white bass there....

Aside:
If you want MusicMan tone, and "regular" 5 string spacing, Nordstrand have such a thing now.

Thanks, Chef... fixed.

And yeah, I'd love to try a Nordy MM-style fiver. They have a retro 2-band MM-style preamp which should be the icing on the cake.

 

[Chef]

From guys that "know the diff," they seem to say the Nord two band nails it.

Now that your pic is up, I remeber that Sadowsky/MM. Nice.

 

[kraigo]

For me it just felt great to play a Sadowsky. When you have one in your hands you can immediately just feel that there's something about it. At least I could. Is it worth $3000? I'm not a good enough player to have earned it and I don't buy terribly expensive instruments. I can think of a lot of bass player friends of mine that I would love to have a Sadowsky for their own sake. I can't justify it for my own needs.

In short, I think they're worth $3000. My playing isn't.

KO

 

[Chef]

"I'm not a good enough player."

Doesn't matter, IMO.
If you have the coin, and you'd enjoy the bass, there's no other good reason to have/not have any particular this or that.

 

[MikeBass]

I watched the video posted earlier in it's entirety. I have a renewed respect for the man. I agree with his assessments and how he builds his basses. That being said, I still wouldn't pay 5 grand for one. I could build something equal in quality for less than 1/4 the price. I realize I'm in the minority though. I still don't see anything worth (essentially) triple the price of a MM.

No you can't. Because if you could, why not do it?
Any excuse you come up with, don't feel like it, don't have time etc....is pointless.
Sadowsky and Co. has DECADES of experience doing it. You, based on your profile.....have nothing.
I can't tell you how many times I've read those kind of statements when people reference Sadowsky.
And I always counter with do it. And no one does.

Listen, I'm not flaming you per-say, but really, comments like that make me do this >

I LOVE MM basses. Love love love them.
They are totally top shelf for an extremely mass produced (by comparison) bass.
I have a hard time FINDING flaws on them. And I've looked.
It's like anything else and I'll sum it up like this:
Tiger Woods wins a tournament. Really it's 72 holes of golf (after the cut).
Take the guy who finished 30th and there is what, a 10-12 shot difference?
Over 72 holes.
#30 is an AWESOME golfer. But he's not making $$$$$$
It's that last 10-15% that makes the difference between winning a few million $$ and 30th which is something like $12,000- maybe. For the most part, he was tied with Woods except for about 12-14 holes.

Is a $5000 bass THAT much better than a $1800 bass.
Not really. But it's that last little bit that can have the biggest difference at times.

That's what you pay for.
IMO naturally......

 

[Fuzzbass]

For me it just felt great to play a Sadowsky. When you have one in your hands you can immediately just feel that there's something about it. At least I could. Is it worth $3000? I'm not a good enough player to have earned it and I don't buy terribly expensive instruments. I can think of a lot of bass player friends of mine that I would love to have a Sadowsky for their own sake. I can't justify it for my own needs.

In short, I think they're worth $3000. My playing isn't.

KO

Hey Kraig, I hear you loud and clear. I used to own a fancy spalted-top MTD 535, but sold it for the same reason: I'm not a chops guy, I'm just a blue-collar support player. But that's one reason I love Sadowsky! The ones I own are painted, no fancy figured tops, so I refer to them as my "stealth boutiques".

Here at TalkBass, most of us are familiar with Sadowsky, Fodera, MTD. Out in the "real world", I'm constantly amazed at the number of musicians who aren't familiar with Sadowsky. A couple of comments I've received from bassists: "Sadowsky? Never heard of it!" "I thought you were playing a Fender".

So, get yourself a Sadowsky (Metro or NYC) and don't sweat it. You don't have to tell anyone how much you paid for it... I don't.

 

[WoodyG3]

"I'm not a good enough player."

Doesn't matter, IMO.
If you have the coin, and you'd enjoy the bass, there's no other good reason to have/not have any particular this or that.

Yep. Otherwise I'd be playing a rubber band stretched between two nails.

That said, I've never felt I had enough in the bank to feel right about buying a Sadowsky or any similar instrument. I'm not complaining, I chose a career that I knew would be high in personal satisfaction and low in pay. That's why so much of this discussion is subjective, though. Nobody can decide what something is worth to anyone else. Insisting that a particular instrument is or is not "worth it" is just silly.

Now, excuse me while I go buy a lottery ticket.

 

[RickC]

For me it just felt great to play a Sadowsky. When you have one in your hands you can immediately just feel that there's something about it.

That's the essence of it for me. I've been playing for over 40 years and had my hands on everything at one time or another. Yeah, including Moduli and Musicmen. I got my first Sadowsky early last year, and there was something about the feel and response of that instrument that was special. The more I owned and played it, the more that specialness revealed itself. I sold that bass after about half a year because the neck was a bit too wide for my tastes, bought a second Sadowsky (narrower neck) and there it was again. This bass feels like no other, responds like no other, and that quality gets better the more I play and come to know it.

I attribute the qualities I find and like in my bass to the sum of Roger and company doing many, many little things right. He's been at this a long time, there's a lot of learning and experience behind his builds, and it shows in subtle but very real ways. I can say without hesitation that for me, Sadowsky is the finest electric bass I've ever put my hands on.

/rick

 

[LeonD]

IMO, there are three components to bass selection.

1. How does it sound? Do you like the way a bass sounds and it inspires you to play or do you hate the tone and want to take up banjo.

2. How does it feel? It the bass too heavy / too light? Are the strings spaced too narrow / too wide?

3. The intangibles.

• Do you love / hate the color?
  
• Would that wood look better on a coffee table?
  
• Some folks like to play cheap basses ("Look at the cool tone I get on a $150 bass.) while other will only play expensive basses (This carbon fiber covered, titanium bridge was a $3,000 up charge but it was worth it.").
  
• The fact that I can buy my bass from Guitar Center vs. if I call up the company, the owner picks up the phone (and talks with me till all my questions are answered).
  
• Etc.

I think the first two components are pretty obvious and can be decided easily enough. The third component is a little harder to determine. It involves personalities, past experiences and current situations.

I will say that all three components are completely valid and go into the purchase of any instrument. So walk thru the three components with your own personal perspective and you'll be able to decide if the extra $3,000 is worth it (to you).

[For the record, I personally own and play both Sadowsky and MusicMan basses. ]

 

[maurilio]

That's the essence of it for me. I've been playing for over 40 years and had my hands on everything at one time or another. Yeah, including Moduli and Musicmen. I got my first Sadowsky early last year, and there was something about the feel and response of that instrument that was special. The more I owned and played it, the more that specialness revealed itself. I sold that bass after about half a year because the neck was a bit too wide for my tastes, bought a second Sadowsky (narrower neck) and there it was again. This bass feels like no other, responds like no other, and that quality gets better the more I play and come to know it.

I attribute the qualities I find and like in my bass to the sum of Roger and company doing many, many little things right. He's been at this a long time, there's a lot of learning and experience behind his builds, and it shows in subtle but very real ways. I can say without hesitation that for me, Sadowsky is the finest electric bass I've ever put my hands on.

/rick

+1 and don't forget the CS, Roger has made an example for everyone!

 

[hibass]

Completely different basses.Both very versatile and top quality so you can use them any genre of music.
I use jazz basses but often miss that growly,balsy MM sounds and feel.Again it really depends on individual preferences.....i'd beat my hesitation with having them both (if i had balls to rob a bank haha)

 

[Chef]

Nordstrand do quite well at this too!

+1 and don't forget the CS, Roger has made an example for everyone!

 

[willsellout]

No you can't. Because if you could, why not do it?
Any excuse you come up with, don't feel like it, don't have time etc....is pointless.
Sadowsky and Co. has DECADES of experience doing it. You, based on your profile.....have nothing.

Based on my anonymous internet profile?

I can't tell you how many times I've read those kind of statements when people reference Sadowsky.
And I always counter with do it. And no one does.

Listen, I'm not flaming you per-say, but really, comments like that make me do this > :roll no:

and it's posts like this that make me
Invalid Link Removed

 

[maurilio]

Nordstrand do quite well at this too!

indeed!

 

[MikeBass]

Based on my anonymous internet profile?



and it's posts like this that make me
Invalid Link Removed

Yawn.......

 

[Lucky Strike]

Brand equity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[StuartV]

No you can't. Because if you could, why not do it?
Any excuse you come up with, don't feel like it, don't have time etc....is pointless.
Sadowsky and Co. has DECADES of experience doing it. You, based on your profile.....have nothing.
I can't tell you how many times I've read those kind of statements when people reference Sadowsky.
And I always counter with do it. And no one does.

I gotta chime in with a ba*cough*loney on this one.

Plenty of people have done this. Let me describe one hypothetical, but based on reality, example:

I buy a Warmoth body that is finished exactly how I want, using wood that I like, and is very light.

I buy some Sadowsky pickups and preamp.

I buy a neck that is just what I want (Allparts, Warmoth, USACG or whatever).

I buy top shelf tuners, output jack, knobs, pickguard, etc..

I put it all together. Then I send it to somebody who really knows what they're doing (say, johnk_10 - or maybe I just buy the whole thing from him in the first place). He strips the neck, reshapes it, and refinishes it with an awesome nitro satin finish. He levels the board and does everything one could ask for to the frets. Then puts it all back together and sets it up.

When I'm done, I have a bass that, correct me if you think I'm wrong, has equal (at least) quality to an NYC Sadowsky. And I've got a shload less than $5K in it.

To say "no you can't" build your own that is equal quality to an NYC Sadowsky is to say that there are no other builders/luthiers in the world (that I can employ for custom work) that do as good work as Roger Sadowsky and Co..

 

[ctbass]

I own many basses: Ken Smith, MM SR5, Fender P and Jazz, and several others. Without getting technical; (because I am not) I always come back to my Sadowsky. It's tone, fidelity and the ability to coax whatever tone; bite, growl, round/smooth simply makes it my go to bass (oops)for almost every musical situation.

 

[madbassplaya]

I gotta chime in with a ba*cough*loney on this one.

Plenty of people have done this. Let me describe one hypothetical, but based on reality, example:

I buy a Warmoth body that is finished exactly how I want, using wood that I like, and is very light.

I buy some Sadowsky pickups and preamp.

I buy a neck that is just what I want (Allparts, Warmoth, USACG or whatever).

I buy top shelf tuners, output jack, knobs, pickguard, etc..

I put it all together. Then I send it to somebody who really knows what they're doing (say, johnk_10 - or maybe I just buy the whole thing from him in the first place). He strips the neck, reshapes it, and refinishes it with an awesome nitro satin finish. He levels the board and does everything one could ask for to the frets. Then puts it all back together and sets it up.

When I'm done, I have a bass that, correct me if you think I'm wrong, has equal (at least) quality to an NYC Sadowsky. And I've got a shload less than $5K in it.

To say "no you can't" build your own that is equal quality to an NYC Sadowsky is to say that there are no other builders/luthiers in the world (that I can employ for custom work) that do as good work as Roger Sadowsky and Co..

Completely agree here.

I'm not knocking a Sadowsky at all and I'd be lucky to own one . However, if you know what you're doing you can build a bass that will be equal to a Sadowsky and if you don't you can hire someone to and do it without the $5000.00 price tag.

Roger builds great basses because he has experience in his field. His strings and electronics he sells are top notch.

You can buy:

Sadowsky strings: $30.00
Sadowsky Pickups: $200.00
Sadowsky Preamp: $200.00

Put them in a quality body with a quality neck and hipshot or schaller tuners and a brass bridge and you've got the winning formula.

When you buy a Sadowsky you are buying a great bass, but like a Fender, you are also buying a name. Roger does a great job of not cheapening his name. IMO.

 

[nostatic]

I buy a Warmoth body that is finished exactly how I want, using wood that I like, and is very light.

I buy some Sadowsky pickups and preamp.

I buy a neck that is just what I want (Allparts, Warmoth, USACG or whatever).

I buy top shelf tuners, output jack, knobs, pickguard, etc..

I put it all together. Then I send it to somebody who really knows what they're doing (say, johnk_10 - or maybe I just buy the whole thing from him in the first place). He strips the neck, reshapes it, and refinishes it with an awesome nitro satin finish. He levels the board and does everything one could ask for to the frets. Then puts it all back together and sets it up.

When I'm done, I have a bass that, correct me if you think I'm wrong, has equal (at least) quality to an NYC Sadowsky. And I've got a shload less than $5K in it.

And when you go to sell it, you'll get even a bigger shload less than $5K back out of it

The "brand" is worth something. As are the people behind the brand. People's reputation and customer service have value. At least to some people. Others don't care and that is fine too.