Why buy a Sadowsky?

[Nebadon2000]

This is probably the right way to think of it. I'd rather have one very expensive bass that'll always give me what I want until the end of my days. Than several racks of 400 to 1200$ basses where I look at it daily and say "what will do today's job." Marcus had that one bass he carried around NYC for 25 years. That's it for me. If you have the one you always grab for DECADES, that's well worth a price tag.

Fortunate for me that 25 year Bass [1975 to 2000] was a '75 $275.00 Fender Precision BUT 2 years ago I did spring for $2500.00 for a Stingray Special and would give a 6 -8K Sadowsky a shot but even with a good level of self-deception haven't been able to justify it

 

[brianrost]

IF the EVER get the Far East ones straightened out, maybe. And they need to get those squared away once and for all before it starts bringing the whole line down.

Can you say Steinberger, Tobias, Kramer...I hope Warwick does a better job than Gibson has.

 

[brianrost]

No way to shield before 79? Rubbish, just ask Alembic and EMG, let alone several decades of basic electronics before that.

Starting with Danelectro in the 1950s. Introduced at a NAMM show, with Vinnie Bell demonstrating Danelectros while sitting next to a glowing neon sign. They were dead quiet, while another brand guitar lacking the shielding hummed. Anyone who has ever heard a Telecaster guitar player standing near a neon sign knows what that sounds like.

Roger is correct that most manufacturers were not bothering to properly shield.

EMG gets the prize for developing pickups that don't require the strings to be grounded.

 

[baxter_x]

Marketing fluff and mythology.

Lol!
Roger Sadowsky is famous that, you're right....

 

[baxter_x]

I hope Warwick does a better job than Gibson has.

They are already doing a great job. I have tried some German made that were just as good as the NYC Model that I own.

 

[crazycloud]

Roger Sadowsky is famous that, you're right.

It came out of his own mouth.

 

[BargeOn]

But the real thing is actually not as good as a Sadowsky. IMO and IME

That's how Rodger (and others at the time, Alembic, Pedulla, etc.) got started.70s. Fender, like Detroit, was cranking out product at the time without much concern for quality control. Sadowsky got tired of guys bringing in their Fenders to be fixed, customized, or improved with quality upgrades or just made playable, so he started building better versions of the basses he was constantly fixing. The boutique bass was born.

It took Fender a while to catch on. But they did improve after their fashion. And the Custom Shop was born.

Well, that was a long time ago. Fender got out-Fendered, Sadowky got out-boutiqued. Enter Fodera.

So a result we all have a lot pretty nice bass guitars to choose from with a reasonable degree of quality and an unending opportunity to beat the subject to death.

 

[Geri O]

Fortunate for me that 25 year Bass [1975 to 2000] was a '75 $275.00 Fender Precision BUT 2 years ago I did spring for $2500.00 for a Stingray Special and would give a 6 -8K Sadowsky a shot but even with a good level of self-deception haven't been able to justify it

I just sold a nice bass that I bought for $3750 in 2018. That instrument is now right at 6K. As much as I liked it, I was able to sell it and get my new Stingray Special.

I can’t justify the expensive basses for my own use anymore. But I’ll champion them and the folks that buy them.

All day long.

 

[Ric Vice]

Fender builds different “versions” their basses for a target markets so the Custom Shop master built basses are “built with premium wood” , better quality hardware, and premium pickups. With all those upgrades it’s still a passive Precision or Jazz Bass. Sadowsky, Lakland, and Lull are several levels of quality higher than a passive Fender. Just my take however “different strokes for different folks”

 

[brianrost]

Fender got out-Fendered, Sadowky got out-boutiqued. Enter Fodera.

I think of Sadowsky as very diferent than Alembic, Fodera, Carl Thompson, Pedulla, Steinberger, etc. because he was focused on FSOs. Now the entire industry is, including many boutiques. Nobody goes to Nash or Moolon asking for an EB3 copy, eh? The guitar side is also swamped with various takes on the Tele, Strat and Les Paul. It wasn’t like that 50 years ago, every brand was noticeably different from the rest.

What’s interesting to me is the companies that stuck to their guns with their own designs…Rickenbacker, Gretsch, Hofner, even Ibanez to some extent starting in the late 70s when they moved away from copies. Seems like when I go out to a show these days, it’s not until I can clearly see the headstock that I can tell if that P or J is an actual Fender.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I just sold a nice bass that I bought for $3750 in 2018. That instrument is now right at 6K. As much as I liked it, I was able to sell it and get my new Stingray Special.

I can’t justify the expensive basses for my own use anymore. But I’ll champion them and the folks that buy them.

All day long.

A Stingray Special is not exactly a poor man’s bass. It was not that long ago that one could buy a Sadowsky or Lull for the price of a Special and Ball Family Reserve basses cost the same as many Sadowsky Metroline basses.

 

[BargeOn]

I think of Sadowsky as very diferent than Alembic, Fodera, Carl Thompson, Pedulla, Steinberger, etc. because he was focused on FSOs. Now the entire industry is, including many boutiques. Nobody goes to Nash or Moolon asking for an EB3 copy, eh? The guitar side is also swamped with various takes on the Tele, Strat and Les Paul. It wasn’t like that 50 years ago, every brand was noticeably different from the rest.

What’s interesting to me is the companies that stuck to their guns with their own designs…Rickenbacker, Gretsch, Hofner, even Ibanez to some extent starting in the late 70s when they moved away from copies. Seems like when I go out to a show these days, it’s not until I can clearly see the headstock that I can tell if that P or J is an actual Fender.

Nobody goes to Nash or Moolon asking for an EB3 copy, eh?

Good point.

 

[fishdude101101]

IF the EVER get the Far East ones straightened out, maybe. Otherwise, for the coin the Warwick and NYC builds demand, you have a LOT of other choices.

And they need to get those squared away once and for all before it starts bringing the whole line down.

I think they should have went with the Indonesian option.

 

[fishdude101101]

For the price of the German made Sadowsky's you might as well buy a NYC made Sadowsky!!!!

3.5k vs 6k? Warwick makes great basses and the one I played used at GC was phenomenal.

 

[Nebadon2000]

Good point.

Lull and Dingwall along with many non boutique types do Honor the Thunderbird

 

[Dr. Cheese]

3.5k vs 6k? Warwick makes great basses and the one I played used at GC was phenomenal.

Depending on the specs, Metrolines can get very expensive. Sweetwater has a Metroline Modern 5 for $6.9k and a Custom Shop Modern for $10k

 

[fishdude101101]

Depending on the specs, Metrolines can get very expensive. Sweetwater has a Metroline Modern 5 for $6.9k and a Custom Shop Modern for $10k

Good point, I guess I only think about those ones in the mid 3's for somereason. Probably because I want one of the MM/J 5 strings.

 

[baxter_x]

Depending on the specs, Metrolines can get very expensive. Sweetwater has a Metroline Modern 5 for $6.9k and a Custom Shop Modern for $10k

True, high end Metrolines can cost as much as a NYC model.

 

[rmayer]

Depending on the specs, Metrolines can get very expensive. Sweetwater has a Metroline Modern 5 for $6.9k and a Custom Shop Modern for $10k

I can understand the price point of the standard Metroline basses. While I’m sure Warwick is making some very nice limited edition basses, I absolutely don’t get the appeal of a close to $7K Metroline when you can get an NYC by Roger for a little more. And the custom shop price has me totally baffled.
I’ve owned Japan Metros, Metro Expresses, German MetroLines, and many NYCs. Just my opinion.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I can understand the price point of the standard Metroline basses. While I’m sure Warwick is making some very nice limited edition basses, I absolutely don’t get the appeal of a close to $7K Metroline when you can get an NYC by Roger for a little more. And the custom shop price has me totally baffled.
I’ve owned Japan Metros, Metro Expresses, German MetroLines, and many NYCs. Just my opinion.

That is just the reality of what German labor costs. The other reality is that Roger Sadowsky is in his seventies, I suspect that there will be a time when all Sadowsky construction will be in Germany.