molan

That’s a really kind offer Chris. I’m in Henley if that’s any use for someone. Easy to get to west London and up the M40 to Birmingham.

Cheers Chris We lost our gorgeous, 5 year old, grandson in the summer whilst on holiday and still struggling to come to terms with it. He was always amazing with disabled people and regularly befriended them in our local park (there's a special centre for brain-damaged people nearby) so that was part of my 'prompt' to find this type of charity. He also loved music and was beginning to master some synth bass lines with me so there's a music connection as well

Hi everyone, As some of you will know, our family experienced a tragic event last year and we've all been trying to come to terms with things and move on in our own ways. One goal I set for myself was to try and do some charity work that involved children and, if possible, music. I'm therefore very excited to announce that I've been formally appointed today as Marketing Lead at the lovely Soundabout charity based near Oxford! Soundabout helps people with severe or profound disabilities and to communicate through music-based interaction - learning with instruments, drums, rhythmic patterns, sensory perception etc. Many of their participants are 'non-vocal' and the way they've learnt to interact with their families and peers through music is just fabulous to experience. They work with schools in engaging with disabled children, adults through weekly workshops, multi-age inclusive choirs and all sorts of different music & sound based workshops. I might even take a bass along and see if I can help to get some people dancing and enjoying that low-end rumble In 2020 they are launching new initiatives to work with pre-school children and young adults who've just finished school / college to help them through the, extremely tough, transition into adulthood. They really do fabulous work and get great reviews from participants and their family members. After the sad events of last year I really wanted something new to make me, and others who really deserve it, smile a little more. I'll try and post the odd update from time to time and let people know if there are any musical events that might be interesting. I can get more information about them as well if anyone might ever want to help with fundraising through music or any other type of event. If anyone wants to like or follow them on social media it would definitely be much appreciated - they don't bombard people with messages and some of the videos of people engaging with them are so heartwarming if ever you want to raise a smile https://www.facebook.com/SoundaboutUK/ https://twitter.com/SoundaboutUK https://www.instagram.com/soundabout.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/22319968/

I can only base my opinion on having been a dealer for both brands. Given an option to re-stock I would take Sadowsky without question. I wouldn’t touch another Warwick if they paid me. . .

But, based on direct experience that wouldn’t be true. Sure it could change but there’s little indication to say that Roger is going to have the clout to override the Warwick sales machine that’s all about ‘throughput’. . .

There was a world of difference between Warwicks we received from the Pro range that were finished and QC’d in Germany compared to the Sadowsky instruments that arrived from Tokyo. Warwick felt like they wanted to get them out of the door as quickly as possible and pretty much every one needed adjustments and sorting before they could be sold. You could lift a Sadowsky Metro out of the box as it came from Tokyo and play it immediately. Just that extra bit of care going into the finished product rather than just another ‘sale’ going out the door

Having actively worked with both Warwick and Sadowsky I'd say there's a world of difference between the two of them in terms of sales tactics, genuine interest in 'musical instruments' and everyday quality. The latter is really the most important from an end customer basis. Instruments out of the German factory (and I use that descriptor advisedly) simply weren't as good as those coming from Tokyo in terms of final build quality, fit and finish. It always amazed me that you could take a Sadowsky Metro out of the box and it would be pretty much in tune and ready to go. Every bass from the German (oops, it's that word again) Warwick Pro range needed setting up. Sadowsky were also bang on delivery times and you could actually pick what you wanted to buy - Warwick more or less told you what you could have and then, seemingly, delivered them when they felt like it. The thought of poorly finished Chinese Sadowsky instruments fills me with dread. Whilst it wasn't true for all Chinese Warwicks, I have seen some absolute dogs get through their quality control system. Somewhat ironically, Spectors out of China were even worse. Killed resale values of used Warwicks across the board with even older genuine German models plummeting in value. You'd think that cheapo poor 'copies' would make the original stuff more desirable and maybe push prices up but we saw a long term decline in values of all Warwicks. Only possible exceptions were a few very old Streamers & Thumbs but even they were a fraction of the price of a new German masterbuilt instrument.

We Certainly bought all Metros via a contact in LA (that appeared to be a sub-contracted third party) and had them shipped direct to UK from Tokyo.

More likely that simple cost of production in Japan is one of the highest in the world. Certainly way more than the location that Warwick use for their team-built instruments. My guess would be that cost of production will fall through the floor and prices will rise to cover licensing and distribution arrangements.

Or a factory that isn't overseas but also isn't in Germany but allows them to retain a 'made in Germany' label. . .

I wonder if this will use the ‘hidden’ Warwick factory that makes the Pro series.

Must be about time for you to be thinking about selling this one now 😂 You need a nice Lakland custom J I reckon 😉