thodrik

Generally pretty happy with my rig. Would possibly like to swap my Trace Cabs for an EBS 2x12 or 4x10 to go with the Fafner, but nothing major as that has been my opinion for the last 2 years, so I can obviously live with my current rig. However when I look at the Matamp Porn thread or see somebody selling an all valve SVT/Orange, my head gets spinning in a bad way.

My rules of thumb (I have 2 thumbs, so 2 rules): 1. Unplug when you are done. 2. Play about with the knobs until it sounds good. I have no idea how long batteries last. I changed the stock battery in my Sadowsky after a year and a half. Though I have no idea how much it was played before I bought it new from the shop. When the bass sounds less good than it usually does, then it is time to change the battery.

I don't get it. She said that she liked the green colour, but still thinks that my Trace Elliot stuff is still ugly! (well, it is in comparison) I was thinking that when the times comes that I can afford one, I could order an 8x10 that incorporates a foldable shoe rack on one of its sides, so when its at home it can stacked on its side and act as a nice funcitonal bit of furniture.

I do like the look of the Precision. For the price though (compared to the other Fender models) you can't really complain too much. I'm thinking it could become a good midpriced doom instrument when it comes down to drop tuning a four string. I don't like the look of the jazz to be honest, I think that having humbuckers on both models would 'look' better, but the proof will (or should be) be how they sound. I don't like the chrome finishes either, but that is just me.

[quote name='Wooks79' post='1320579' date='Jul 29 2011, 03:56 PM']So here is the set - Happy bunny! [/quote] Showed this to my my girlfriend and she said 'Wow, that is pretty'. Yet she describes my gear as 'that crap in hallway that takes up space where I want to put a shoe rack'. Congratulations, it really is stunning.

I have seen a lot of high quality gear at gigs in Glasgow from 'local' bands over the years. Yes I have seen a lot of Fender basses and Ashdown and Ampeg amps cabinets, but that is pretty high quality gear that is tried and tested. I have also seen a lot of gear that I wouldn't consider 'boutique' but rather 'harder to find in shops around Glasgow': SWR, Orange, Mesa, Aguilar, EBS. I have had a few people ask before the gig if my Sadowsky was a 'cheap Fender copy'. Though to be fair, two out of three of those words were kinda right! In terms of the pub scene I can only go with what I have seen in Orkney over the years. Fair amount of Trace Elliot, Ashdown and Ampeg for amps. In terms of basses I have seen a lot of Fenders, Gibsons, Musicmans and a few Warwicks. I have never seen or heard a Hiwatt bass amp though!

83lbs so it is hardly lightweight. It will probably sound great though, its a Bergantino! For that kind of footprint and weight though I would probably go for a 4x10 or 6x10. Am I the only one that thinks that they might as well have added a third speaker so it would be a vertical 4x10, much like two 2x10s stacked end on end?

[quote name='hairyhaw' post='1322253' date='Jul 31 2011, 04:30 PM']I sometimes tune the bottom string of my Jazz (105) down to C. It's workable but I doubt it'd be much use any lower. I'd tinkered with the idea of getting specific strings but I decided against as I just don't drop down enough to justify it.[/quote] Yeah I'm the same. There also doesn't seem much point ordering a specialist drop tuning set if I am only downtuning one string where as the rest are played in standard. I have started using the Billy Sheehan rotosounds that have a heavier E string (110). However to be honest, I don't notice a massive improvement on the drop D than compared to a standard 105. I find that the tension in Rotosounds are the best of the 'standard' off the shelf strings I find in music shops for downtuning on a four string, as usually retain a decent amount of tension. I have been interested in trying the DR DDT strings, but the expense has put me off. I have pretty much reverted to five strings now, and trying to keep at least a 130 for the B and 105 for the E, just so I can do drop D or drop A if required.

[quote name='charic' post='1322174' date='Jul 31 2011, 02:58 PM']I'm waiting for some newtone strings to arrive. They're making a set for specifically tuning down to CGCF. 110 Low C string. Will report back when/if they finally arrive....[/quote] I've heard about those strings, very tempted to try them on my 78 Precision, just wondering if this would require a lot more tension than the neck could handle! With a standard 105-45 set of roundwounds drop D stuff is easy. I can get a 'useable' B out of this gauge on my Sadowsky Metro, but not other basses. Once you try a proper B string though (120-130 etc) you do notice a massive difference though.

I think that all the post-Peavey buyout TE cabs have speakon and jack connections. Before that it was jack XLR. The TE cabs are good quality and work well with different amps. I use the same setup with an EBS Fafner and have tried a few Ampegs, Gallien Krueger and Mesa amps through them too, all sounding good. I might have to move them on soon though, I really don't need a full stack since moving to three piece bands!

Yeah, I saw one in Guitar Guitar Glasgow the other day. Some pretty bad matching of body woods-aside, it looked to be pretty good value for money for a five string. I think it was going for around £280 or so. I didn't play it but it did catch my eye for a low cost back up 5 string bass.

I would maybe look at changing cabinets before amps, expecially if you really like the sound of the amp. For an all valve amp, the Orange is fairly light, its not exactly an SVT Classic or Marshall VBA 400 for all out weight. If you are set on changing amps altogether for something lighter though, you can't really go wrong with TC Electronics, MarkBass or the Terror Bass. Maybe you could pick up a couple of 4x10s, 2x12s or 1x15s? Then you can have a full all-valve 8x10 set up when you want, and a more compact, dare I say more practical set up for rehearsals and smaller gigs etc. As said earlier having 2x12s would be even lighter and would still provide a great sound.

I think just about every aspect of the Gibson EB3 circa 1974 (my old one). 1. Distance between bridge and saddle is so short that the felts/untidy string ends fall onto the saddle, causing all manner of tuning and intonation problems. 2. 3 point bridge that kind of prevents adjusting the action on a string to string basis 3. Tone pots and pickup pots act as on/off switches despite having numbers listed 1-10 4. 4 pickup selections, front pickup, back pickup, mud and extra mud! 5. neck heavy design 6. I don't like the set neck design 7. It is heavy as hell! I still love those basses though.

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1316343' date='Jul 25 2011, 09:38 PM']Yeah this is definitely part of it. Though that's fair enough given what it looks like and Sadowsky's pedigree in the world of Fender repairs/mods! If they had a custom shape then even with the exact same pickup configs then people would see them as different. But, sound-wise, I honestly haven't heard anything that would distinguish their own 'signature' sound as distinct from any old jazz with aftermarket pickups/pre.[/quote] Surely you would notice the difference between the Sadowsky, a Sandberg and a Fender Deluxe though? Granted, the differences between a Sadowsky, Nordstrand, Xotic and other US designed 'modern jazz' that is endorsed by some 'legendary' session guy are more minimal though. I just personally noticed a massive difference in sound between the Sadowsky and the Sandberg when hearing them side by side. Not that one was better, but both having totally different sonic qualities. I might be getting overly anal about it though. My guitarist brother just said 'they both sounded like four string bass guitars'. Maybe the generic quality to the modern jazz thing was what I liked. I was looking for a Fender-type Jazz based instrument that was solid, reliable, had a great tone and would be able to cut through the mix no matter what, without the need for any additonal eq pedals etc. Basically Jazz version of my late 1970s Precision which was being retired from gigging. It might sound like a rubbish criteria when shopping for a bass, but I do not regret the choice I made, and I tried a lot of basses before I settled on the Sadowsky, including a few Sandbergs.

Depends on my own love handles. 15 stone (high) 11 stone (low) currently at 13 stone (medium).

[quote name='Pinewoods' post='1316262' date='Jul 25 2011, 09:04 PM']That´s it ! + 1000[/quote] Pretty much + 1001

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1316219' date='Jul 25 2011, 08:41 PM']Thodrik in 'some people don't like certain basses' shocker! As for loudandclear, he's 'clearly' pissed as he seems to be unable to use grammar or even read what people are posting![/quote] Well, that is the case isn't it? You pretty much said as much before when you mentioned Status basses (and don't get me started on them ) Also, LawrenceH I understand your point on the Warwicks, but I think that the Sadowsky is more of its own thing than people give it credit for. In fact I think that is a reason why some people do not like them. They see something that looks like a Fender and when it doesn't handle or sound like one, they go away disappointed and dismiss the bass as average/generic/rubbish.

That is great. Good to see that his attempts to push the boat out is being rewarded, says the person who would prefer the Precision...

It always intrigues me to see how passionate some people are about not liking Sadowsky basses, to the point that every discussion about Sadowsky on this thread ends up as a mud-slinging match between those that own/like them and those that consider them overpriced/overhyped/average sounding/generic sounding. Not that it isn't entertaining its just about the third time in last year it has happened. Perhaps if the price of Metros continue to rise, the debate will become even more heated! Personally, I can't don't like Warwick basses. However every time a thread opens up about Warwicks and I do not feel the urge to tell the story about that one time I tried a Thumb and a Streamer in a shop and didn't like them, which of course means that all Warwicks are overpriced, have uncomfortable necks and deliver a distinctly underwhelming sound compared to what I was actually expecting!

[quote name='JTUK' post='1313869' date='Jul 23 2011, 03:06 PM']Don't get wrong, I think they are well made..but the lack of finish on the neck..?? that untreated lock always looks terrible to me. The paintwork is good, the woodwork (joints etc) is fine and I don't think the shop set them up too well... the action was average, which for me, makes it harder work, but they played ok and sounded good. I am sure the action is a 5 min job, tho' I just think the price of the best 5 they had, IMO, at £2100 or so, is into other makers territory that make better looking/made basses. And that is a strenght of Sadwosky, traditionally, as they can make some really pretty basses, and get all the right things right..it is just that I thought the price was about £600 and counting, over the top. Last time I looked the $-£ was ok-ish... as per recents times, so..?? Haven't seen a NYC of late, but for their money, I would hope they are on another level completely.[/quote] I hear you on the neck finish for the maple fingerboards. The action on the one I got was great, though a couple of the others I have tried were nothing special. The fretwork is usually of standard though that it can go pretty low though. The frets themselves are also pretty chunky which could be a turnoff for those that prefer smaller vintage type frets. I guess the one I got just felt right so I went with it and I do not regret it one bit. When I got mine at £1500, I thought that the Metro blew away the Fenders I tried (a 1969 and a 1971, and the previous US Deluxe model), as well as a Warwick Thumb and a Wal (Mark II 1986) and was more to my tastes than the Sandberg (I don't like the relic finishes, I can get the same effect for real in a few years). For that I was prepared to let the lack of neck detail slide. I am told that the general quality of the Metro line (fretwork, woodwork, electroncis, general fit and finish etc) is as high as the NYC models. From the couple of NYCs I have tried, I found this to be the case. The NYC models though just look a lot nicer in general and probably feature more premium woods, which will result in them 'feeling' more special (felt like that to me). With the same pickups, preamp and bridge though, I didn't expect the sound to be radically different, and it wasn't. For £2000 or so though you can certainly get a bass that looks a bit more special, or sounds 'better' depending on your taste. The wood figuring and general attention to every minute cosmetic detail on my two Vigiers is miles ahead of the Metro I have. The sound of the Metro though can hang with anything though, depending on whether you like the tone you get out of a Sadowsky. I think that complaints over the sound of the Metro sound are down more to complaints of 'Sadowsky sound' in general, rather than due to a lack of quality in the Metro line. If you don't like the Metro's, I don't think spending the extra on an NYC would actually make you like Sadowskys or get you a bass that sounds completely different to the Metros. You would just have a prettier, much more expensive version of a bass you don't really like.

These threads really prove to me just how clueless I am to technical stuff, yet I still love reading them! I have two cabs bought when I was 22 based on the 'small speakers for highs, big speakers for lows' logic (2x10, 1x15). It sounds alright and until I get some money it is the best I am going to get! At least now I will have a bit of knowledge for the next time I buy a cab.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1313756' date='Jul 23 2011, 01:02 PM']Had a quick mess around on a couple at Gtr/Gtr Epsom... They looked a lot of money for the prices they were charging. For £2k for a Metro5...????? ...hmmm... I'd be pretty confident that a few local makers would make you a better bass from what I have seen or played.[/quote] I think that each Metro model has undergone a £500 price rise in the last 18 months or so. Mind you I'm pretty sure the price of Fenders, Musicman, Lakland etc have all gone up pretty substantially. The gap in the quality of bass you can get for £1200 comparing new to second stuff is pretty bloody scary just now. I'm not saying that the Sadowsky is the be all and end all, but it does deliver a pretty distinctive tone (which is not for everybody). I think that a lot of people that buy a Sadowsky Metro are not doing so because they want a bass that is good value for money, but because they want a Sadowsky. Saying all that, I could justify paying an extra £250-300 for choosing a Sadowsky over a Sandberg a couple of years ago. I'm not sure I could justify spending an extra £700 or so now, and I really love my Sadowsky.