BassAgent

Sold my Pearl compressor and added the Cali76. Very very siked.

I am honestly considering having that logo sanded off and adding a Sadowsky decal. The story of why the Sadowsky name isn't on the headstock as such (but as part of the RSD brand) is clear and easy, but still, yes, that logo is awful.

But still by his specs I presume. Yep, and the Sadowsky MetroExpress basses have Sadowsky brand pickups and tuners (although they look an awful lot like Hipshots), Sadowsky knobs, Sadowksy body design.

How much did Dan Lakin directly have to do with manufacturing Lakland Skyline guitars? Or Leo and George with G&L Tribute? Or Andy Mooney (Fender CEO) with Squier? The idea (in my view) is that the original designer licences his design to a factory and team of designers/luthiers to be able to make an affordable line of basses. Of course Roger Sadowsky doesn't wind the pickups himself. That's what the NYC basses are for.

So do my two MetroExpresses, and I know that Roger has very much been involved in the design of these basses.

That's also true. And apparently, it does.

This is...one hundred percent incorrect.

Because it's fun and useful to put stuff on lists, as a database.

Ah that works. But still, isn't it weird that such a confusing feature on a forum that is driven by photos is still available?

Now I might have missed a big debate about this, so please forgive me for opening a can of worms here, but I get very confused by some users having full-size photos in their signature. Seeing basses in a topic that isn't about those basses, people playing live, all kinds of stuff. Is there a way of hiding that? I'd even say don't put a photo in your signature to keep the readability of topics a lot better...

Everything by Fender with a serial, IIRC

So after 22 years of playing I've just today found out about this mystical list called "Werner's List" by a guy called James Werner, which includes many many Fender serials with its year of manufacture, neck date etcetera. I've yet to find it digitally but it's supposed to be 125 pages of serials. Does anyone here have a copy, physical or digital? I'm super super curious.

Not in view as such, but still pretty audible: te new music video for Aafke Romeijn. Lyrics are in Dutch, bass used is my '71 Precision

You're very welcome! I noticed that as well but my plan is (as on my Blade bass which is boost only as well) to turn all the preamp knobs all the way down and just use it as little additions to the neutral sound. Makes it easier to switch between the Sadowsky basses and my other, passive Jazzes.

My sofa isn't big enough so had to split the collection between Jazz and non-Jazz (although technically the Yamaha is wired like a Jazz). From left to right: Sadowsky MetroExpress JJ4, De Gier Bebop 5, Fender Standard Jazz Bass fretless (with De Gier prototype pickups), 1966 Fender Jazz, Blade B2 Tetra Bass, Sadowsky MetroExpress JJ5 From left to right: Fender Justin Meldal-Johnsen Signature Mustang, 1971 Fender Precision, De Gier Soulmate, Sterling Ray 34 w/ Status fretless neck and Nordstrand MM4.2 pickup, Dingwall Combustion 5, Yamaha BB N5II

It's absolutely amazing. It's heavy, though, but amazing. Totally different bass than the Sadowsky in every single way. Feels different, sounds different, only the looks are vaguely similar.

I have the advantage of having just these basses with a blend pot so no issues there. I might order tort pickguards, but for me the sage green works best with maple (I've considered buying the pao ferro necks).

I'm not complaining😁 There are 6 more basses but they're not suited for this topic.

A few weeks back I received a five string Sadowsky MetroExpress to write a review about for De Bassist, the Dutch bass magazine. I was absolutely stupefied by its low weight, great sound and playability so I thought: want a four string version of this. And somehow, I ended up ordering a four and asking Warwick (the guys that make the MetroExpress in China) if I could keep the five (and pay it of course), and that was no problem. So now I have two more or less identical Sadowsky MetroExpress basses which I absolutely love, especially for this price.

That's a legal thing (don't know if that has been discussed in this topic): Roger Sadowsky has said that some guy registered the Sadowsky brand name in China 20 years ago so that's why there's no Sadowsky on the headstock.

So the four string Sadowsky arrived today and the count is at six Jazzes. Awesome.

The four-string is here!

So here's the review I wrote for De Bassist (please excuse any errors or Americanisms, I translated it pretty quickly): Sadowsky is a big and most of all expensive name in the bass world. American master luthier Roger Sadowsky has been building amazing basses (mainly Jazz-like models) in his workshop since the 1980s. To make the brand more available for people without deep pockets, a few years ago the Metro range was introduced, which was produced in Japan. In 2020 Sadowsky started to work with the German brand Warwick: since then Warwick has been building the MetroLine in Germany, and an even more affordable line of basses was introdced: the MetroExpress. These basses are being built in China under supervision of Warwick and according to instructions by the master himself. For under 1000 euros you can be the owner of a “real” Sadowsky: are they worth the money and can you be convinced in the already pretty full world of Jazz Basses? Sadowsky styling If you look at the MetroExpress you immediately see the real Sadowsky shape. The slim body, straight cut retboard and the shape of the headstock tell you immediately from which family these basses are from. The bass I have here is “sage green”, a metallica kind of froggish green which I, especially combined with the maple fretboard, find very charming. The slim body has to big advantages: the playability is absolutely excellent and the weight is very low. This low weight is also caused by the body wood: Warwick uses okume wood for the MetroExpress series, a wood that resembles mahogany but is a lot lighter. On Warwick’s web page they say their basses are always under 9.5 lbs and this bass absolutely fulfills that criterium – in fact, I think it’s well under 9 lbs and that’s very important to many bass players. It’s pretty difficult to find a good five string Jazz that sounds great ánd has a solid B string. I’ll get back to that sound in a bit, but this bass certainly is light. The technical stuff Fortunately you can find knobs on this MetroExpress that you can also find on a regular Sadowsky: volume, balance, active bass and treble (boost only) and the treble knob is a push-pull with which you can switch to passive mode, where it’s good to know that in passive mode you have no passive tone control. It’s all very intuitive, except for one thing: the balance knob is, as on many Sadowskys, reversed. If you turn it clockwise and expect to hear your neck pickup you’re gonna be surprised: it switches to its bridge pickup. Pretty unpractial, but not the end of the world and playing this bass for an hour or so is enough to get used to it. Other than that, the hardware, finish and overall construction are pretty much impeccable and there’s no way to immediately see you’re playing a sub-€1000 bass. Feel and sound It seems pretty easy to build a good Jazz-like bass, considering the enormous amount of brands that have one in their model range. However, it’s pretty difficult to design one that has a sound of its own, its own place in the big market. A bass you buy because it’s this particular bass, not because you just need “a” good Jazz-ish bass. I can’t really determine what it is about this Sadowsky, but I get that particular feeling. I’ve played and owned dozens of Jazz-like basses over the last decades and this one has, like a good Jazz Bass should, something special and unique. I’m not a huge fan of preamps in basses, especially when they lack subtility. The MetroExpress, however, is subtle. You have lots of control over the amount of bass you add, without immediately ripping your trouser legs apart. The same thing goes for the treble knob, but this bass is pretty clear of its own so I couldn’t add much more treble without the sound getting a bit too harsh for me. So, should you buy this bass? If you get a compliment about your sound from the rest of the band, you know there’s something seriously good about your bass. I took this bass to a gig and everybody was surprised about how good this bass sounds. It sounds great through an amp, but also through the PA and my in-ear monitoring, without getting too treble-ish (something that happens a lot with bass when playing on in-ear monitors). Closer investigation on the internet tells me that the first batches of the MetroExpress basses had some initial problems with setup and buzzing electronics, but none of that is an issue on this bass. The MetroExpress is an amazingly well built bass and if you’re looking for a good Jazz for under €1000 it’s definitely worth checking out these instruments. A simple preamp, good sound, comfortable weight, amazing B-string and excellent setup make the MetroExpress a serious contender in this market.

I consider myself "touché'd".