"Sadowsky" Metro Express Basses

[Crawford13]

Has anyone tried the new Sadowsky Metro Express basses yet? £765 for a 5 string seems like a pretty good price if they turn out to be half decent... 

[chris_b]

They have been reviewed on Talkbass, and apparently there a issues. Such as noisy pickups. I'd wait for future batches and see if the problems have been rectified. It's a shame. Roger Sadowsky's name was a byword for outstanding quality. Warwick don't seem too bothered about that. Which is a puzzle!

[afterimage]

A fair few have quality issues 

[Doctor J]

If we're going to put inverted commas around every brand name where basses aren't made by the original dudes, we're going to wear the " key out fairly quickly.

[Crawford13]

9 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

If we're going to put inverted commas around every brand name where basses aren't made by the original dudes, we're going to wear the " key out fairly quickly.

Yeah I do know what you mean, the only reason I felt it appropriate here is because you have the metro line that's made in Japan with the Sadowsky name on it, where as the metro express line don't have Sadowsky name on the head stock, it just say Roger Sadowsky Design. 

[Doctor J]

There are Metro lines made in Germany now with the Sadowsky name on the headstock. The Metro Express are made in Asia - China I think?

 

[Aidan63]

There's one for sale on Ebay, in the UK, seller hasn't kept it long, doesn't say much on the listing ......

[ezbass]

I think we’ll have a better idea of quality once the likes of Guitar Guitar (who seem to have many) open their stores again to foot traffic and folk can actually go in for a try.

[Crawford13]

6 minutes ago, ezbass said:

I think we’ll have a better idea of quality once the likes of Guitar Guitar (who seem to have many) open their stores again to foot traffic and folk can actually go in for a try.

Very true, if I'm honest once the stores are open again, I may well be one of those people going in to have a try. 

[ezbass]

13 minutes ago, Crawford13 said:

Very true, if I'm honest once the stores are open again, I may well be one of those people going in to have a try. 

If I wasn’t an hour and a half’s drive away, I’d be right there with you (I used to be just 20 mins from the Epsom store), still might be, although Edinburgh is probably easier to get to.

[CookPassBabtridge]

I’ve been keeping an eye on these, from what I can gather they sound really nice but there have been QC issues with the first batches to come out of the factory in China. There’s some good discussion on this thread. I believe Roger is working hard to resolve this though. 

I am seriously tempted by one of the new German made Metros, the Teambuilt Warwicks that come out of the same German factory tend to be very good indeed so am itching to get my hands on one. 

[wateroftyne]

Do a search and you'll find some threads.

 

[chris_b]

49 minutes ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

I believe Roger is working hard to resolve this though.

I'm not so sure about that.

He's batting all Talkbass posts and comments back to Warwick. They are the company making these basses now and Roger Sadowsky doesn't have an involvement. Warwick seem to have lost control of their Chinese manufacturing process. This is 100%  their problem, but they are still putting these basses on the market. Doesn't say much for their support of the reputation of the brand.

[LukeFRC]

2 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I'm not so sure about that.

He's batting all Talkbass posts and comments back to Warwick. They are the company making these basses now and Roger Sadowsky doesn't have an involvement. Warwick seem to have lost control of their Chinese manufacturing process. This is 100%  their problem, but they are still putting these basses on the market. Doesn't say much for their support of the reputation of the brand.

I can't imagine he's impressed with Warwick

[Lw.]

I'm sure he was impressed with his cheque. 

[CookPassBabtridge]

32 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I'm not so sure about that.

He's batting all Talkbass posts and comments back to Warwick. They are the company making these basses now and Roger Sadowsky doesn't have an involvement. Warwick seem to have lost control of their Chinese manufacturing process. This is 100%  their problem, but they are still putting these basses on the market. Doesn't say much for their support of the reputation of the brand.

Oh dear, that’s a shame. I had heard that he’d been flying over to the Chinese factory to personally check the QC processes etc. (not based on any kind of fact, mind). I would hope that Warwick are at least trying to resolve the issues then.

[chris_b]

1 minute ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

I would hope that Warwick are at least trying to resolve the issues then.

They probably are (that's why I'd expect the second release of instruments to be OK) but maybe selling the basses with the problem wasn't the smartest move.

[Bass Culture]

Does anyone know what the precise nature of the QC issues is?  Are we talking manufacturing or set-up issues?

[Crawford13]

I looked at the videos on the threads @wateroftyne suggested, and there was a lot of fret buzz. I'm sure most of it could be sorted with a good set up.

Others are suggesting noise issues with pick ups and preamps, which would be really disappointing given they are reported as being genuine Sadowsky components as used in NYC built instruments. It could just be poor wiring accounting for this I guess, or worst case scenario the parts are licenced copies with cheaper components. 

[LukeFRC]

13 minutes ago, Crawford13 said:

I looked at the videos on the threads @wateroftyne suggested, and there was a lot of fret buzz. I'm sure most of it could be sorted with a good set up.

Others are suggesting noise issues with pick ups and preamps, which would be really disappointing given they are reported as being genuine Sadowsky components as used in NYC built instruments. It could just be poor wiring accounting for this I guess, or worst case scenario the parts are licenced copies with cheaper components. 

haven't they been saying the Chinese Warwicks use the same hardware as the German ones too - for years? You might guess my scepticism 

[DiMarco]

My german made Sadowsky P fiver is miles ahead of any Fender in the same price segment I played. Just saying...
Warwick are doing an awesome job in Germany.

I have never been impressed by any chinese made bass or guitar from any brand. What do you expect? World class for a few hundred quid? Keep dreaming.

 

[Crawford13]

1 hour ago, DiMarco said:

My german made Sadowsky P fiver is miles ahead of any Fender in the same price segment I played. Just saying...
Warwick are doing an awesome job in Germany.

I have never been impressed by any chinese made bass or guitar from any brand. What do you expect? World class for a few hundred quid? Keep dreaming.

 

There's no expectation that a £765 instrument would be the same quality as a £2500+ instrument. The thread is about how the instrument compares to similarly priced instruments. 

[Al Krow]

2 hours ago, DiMarco said:

My german made Sadowsky P fiver is miles ahead of any Fender in the same price segment I played. Just saying...
Warwick are doing an awesome job in Germany.

I have never been impressed by any chinese made bass or guitar from any brand. What do you expect? World class for a few hundred quid? Keep dreaming.

I'll happily pit my £500 Chinese made Yamaha BB against your German (or USA) made Sadowsky P and assure you that no pub audience will notice the difference 😁

But put the exact same basses in the hands of Kinga Glyk and I suspect no stadium audience would notice the difference either.

I don't buy the concept of a "world class bass", but there are clearly world class bass players! I think you'll find that basses end up sounding pretty much like the men and women who play them. Obviously we all have more or less money to spend on our gear and can get our basses accordingly.

Oh and the Chinese make some fantastic high-end gear - ever heard of an iPhone?

Edited April 7, 2021 by Al Krow

[Crawford13]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

I'll happily pit my £500 Chinese made Yamaha BB against your German (or USA) made Sadowsky P and assure you that no pub audience will notice the difference 😁

But put the exact same basses in the hands of Kinga Glyk and I suspect no stadium audience would notice the difference either.

I don't buy the concept of a "world class bass", but there are clearly world class bass players! I think you'll find that basses end up sounding pretty much like the men and women who play them. Obviously we all have more or less money to spend on our gear and can get our basses accordingly.

Oh and the Chinese make some fantastic high-end gear - ever heard of an iPhone?

This is a very good set of points. I pretty much agree with all of them. 

When I buy expensive instruments it's due to them being handmade by individuals that I have massive respect for. When it comes to factory instruments that are CNC made its really all about quality control afterwards, hence this thread. 

[DiMarco]

I agree with none of those points but hey. to each his own. If you don't notice the difference, for you there is no difference.

 

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by DiMarco