"Sadowsky" Metro Express Basses

[DiMarco]

Dodgy retailer then.

Mine (mig) arrived with loosened strings and loosened truss rod, and setup instructions. Intonation was almost spot on after tightening stuff.

After letting it climatize for a couple of days I further fine tuned the setup. It plays like a dream now.

 

[Crawford13]

  On 15/04/2021 at 17:43, DiMarco said:

Dodgy retailer then.

Mine (mig) arrived with loosened strings and loosened truss rod, and setup instructions. Intonation was almost spot on after tightening stuff.

After letting it climatize for a couple of days I further fine tuned the setup. It plays like a dream now.

 

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The tread is about the made in China models, I would like to think the the MiG models would be great. 

[Guest]

I was told an extraordinary number of instruments turned up at dealers with faults during from the early part of 2020 onwards as factories struggled to rush instruments out with skeleton staff. Poorly profiled nut, poorly inserted and profiled frets, jack socket not working, bent tuning pegs etc.

With most stores having one member of staff onsite (and not every day in some cases) and firm demand, it’s inevitable that some basses in sealed boxes just got shipped out.

[DiMarco]

  On 15/04/2021 at 18:10, Crawford13 said:

The tread is about the made in China models, I would like to think the the MiG models would be great. 

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What I am saying is it is normal procedure to not only tighten the strings, but also the truss rod when a bass is shipped directly from factory.
They all need to be set up. If the retailer doesn't this means you will have to yourself. The instructions are in the manual and it is a 2 minute job.

Manufacturing or QC problems are bad frets, humming pickups etc. High action is not.

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by DiMarco

[Crawford13]

  On 15/04/2021 at 20:12, FDC484950 said:

I was told an extraordinary number of instruments turned up at dealers with faults during from the early part of 2020 onwards as factories struggled to rush instruments out with skeleton staff. Poorly profiled nut, poorly inserted and profiled frets, jack socket not working, bent tuning pegs etc.

With most stores having one member of staff onsite (and not every day in some cases) and firm demand, it’s inevitable that some basses in sealed boxes just got shipped out.

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Yeah I guess all of these things will be factor's. Its difficult to adapt to 20/21 issues, I guess the morale of the story is that we all have to have different expectations now. 

My take would be that I will judge companies based on how they sort out issues, not if they have issues in the first place. 

[LukeFRC]

  On 15/04/2021 at 20:22, DiMarco said:

What I am saying is it is normal procedure to not only tighten the strings, but also the truss rod when a bass is shipped directly from factory.
They all need to be set up. If the retailer doesn't this means you will have to yourself. The instructions are in the manual and it is a 2 minute job.

Manufacturing or QC problems are bad frets, humming pickups etc. High action is not.

 

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That was my initial thought too - if they shipped with everything slack  

[ebenezer]

Apart from the naff logo on the headstock, they look fine to me.....i am a big fan of the cnc milling machines.

[silentbob]

So has anyone actually got their hands on one yet? Really interested to hear some members reviews.

[DiMarco]

Sadly no. Only the German one I got myself. I too am really interested in the actual quality.

[CookPassBabtridge]

Sorry for the potential thread hijack but @DiMarco, are you happy with your German Metro? How does it stack up against the Japanese equivalents? Presumably the Warwick factory hasn’t had the same QC issues as the Chinese-made Metro Expresses. 

[DiMarco]

  On 20/04/2021 at 16:17, CookPassBabtridge said:

Sorry for the potential thread hijack but @DiMarco, are you happy with your German Metro? How does it stack up against the Japanese equivalents? Presumably the Warwick factory hasn’t had the same QC issues as the Chinese-made Metro Expresses. 

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Plays like a dream, sounds the biz. Thin neck profile, low action. Haven't found anything wrong with it yet. It has to compete with my Zon Sonus, Fodera NYC Empire and EBMM Stingray 5 HS neckthru. I did not have a proper Precision tone in my arsenal yet but wanted something more flexible then just a Precision and also have an active pre. Quality wise it is right up there with the others, tone wise the Fodera is still my number one instrument but that is a matter of taste.

The competition:

I bring a different bass from my little stack to different gigs and rehearsals because I think it is good practice to familiarize with each, and learn to make those work properly for you. Besides that it's fun!

 

[DiMarco]

Posted the new Lobster review, not checking if it had been posted yet. Duh.

Not having a passive tone control on a bass sounding as bright as those Metro Express for me is a no go, especially since the bass and treb on the active pre are boost only.
Then again, the Fender USA Marcus Miller signature V was exactly like this, and those were costing around 2.5k back in the day...

 

 

Edited April 20, 2021 by DiMarco

[CookPassBabtridge]

  On 20/04/2021 at 19:05, DiMarco said:

Plays like a dream, sounds the biz. Thin neck profile, low action. Haven't found anything wrong with it yet. It has to compete with my Zon Sonus, Fodera NYC Empire and EBMM Stingray 5 HS neckthru. I did not have a proper Precision tone in my arsenal yet but wanted something more flexible then just a Precision and also have an active pre. Quality wise it is right up there with the others, tone wise the Fodera is still my number one instrument but that is a matter of taste.

The competition:

I bring a different bass from my little stack to different gigs and rehearsals because I think it is good practice to familiarize with each, and learn to make those work properly for you. Besides that it's fun!

 

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Being up against that stable of basses is high praise indeed! Pics look great. I want to grab one of the German jazz basses but need to shift another bass first. Potentially interested in a modern somewhere down the line too. The Japanese Metros are still more expensive than the German ones so good to hear the latter are definitely of a similar if not better quality. 

[Russ]

  On 20/04/2021 at 11:52, ebenezer said:

Apart from the naff logo on the headstock, they look fine to me.....i am a big fan of the cnc milling machines.

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Why couldn't they, at the very least, make the curve of the lettering match the curve of the headstock? Looks ridiculously tacky and cheap.

Call me shallow, but that's almost a dealbreaker on its own for me. I won't buy a Sire on principle because I think the headstock is ugly, and these new MetroExpresses are no better with the tacky, misaligned decal.  

[ezbass]

  On 21/04/2021 at 20:53, Russ said:

Why couldn't they, at the very least, make the curve of the lettering match the curve of the headstock? Looks ridiculously tacky and cheap.

Call me shallow, but that's almost a dealbreaker on its own for me. I won't buy a Sire on principle because I think the headstock is ugly, and these new MetroExpresses are no better with the tacky, misaligned decal.  

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Could’ve been worse, I direct you to a post I made some while ago on a different thread...

 

[BlueMoon]

  On 21/04/2021 at 20:53, Russ said:

Why couldn't they, at the very least, make the curve of the lettering match the curve of the headstock? Looks ridiculously tacky and cheap.

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I've also seen this problem on some pics of Metroline basses as well. Maybe these were first batch examples, but I wouldn't shell out anywhere near that kind of cash for an instrument with a wonky decal. Looks like another QC problem.......and Metroline basses are now made in Germany, aren't they?

[DiMarco]

Yes. Metroline is the equivalent to Warwick's German 'teambuilt' line. The more expensive series are made by the Warwick customshop and the top of the line is built by Roger in the U.S.

Chinese products make me think twice. I grew up in the eighties so chinese made makes me automatically think rubbish quality.

 

[chris_b]

  On 22/04/2021 at 10:27, DiMarco said:

Chinese products make me think twice. I grew up in the eighties so chinese made makes me automatically think rubbish quality.

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Apparently the problem is that the guy Warwick sends to China every 2 weeks to monitor quality, wasn't able to get there during lockdown. So while the Chinese can put astronauts into space and get them back again, it seems they can't make a bass unless someone is looking over their shoulder!

[thodrik]

  On 22/04/2021 at 10:27, DiMarco said:

The more expensive series are made by the Warwick customshop and the top of the line is built by Roger in the U.S.

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However, in many cases the more expensive Masterbuilt by Warwick basses are actually more expensive than the Sadowsky's built by Roger Sadowsky in NYC. 

I think that this is a short term anomaly, on account I think that the general ideas is for the the Masterbuilt by Warwick line tofully replace the NYC Sadowsky range when Roger Sadowsky himself actually retires. 

[NicoMcJ]

Well, the conclusion is that it’s a rubbish retailer.  GuitarGuitar picked it up the day after it was delivered and have told me today that it’s going to take a minimum of 2 MORE weeks to sort.  I’ve told them to keep it.

It should never have left the store in the condition it did, and it’s worried that they have a >3 week waitlist to sort the unplayable junk they sell.

Absolutely gutted.

[Crawford13]

  On 22/04/2021 at 16:12, NicoMcJ said:

Well, the conclusion is that it’s a rubbish retailer.  GuitarGuitar picked it up the day after it was delivered and have told me today that it’s going to take a minimum of 2 MORE weeks to sort.  I’ve told them to keep it.

It should never have left the store in the condition it did, and it’s worried that they have a >3 week waitlist to sort the unplayable junk they sell.

Absolutely gutted.

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Sorry to hear that. I think as disappointing as it is, covid restrictions will be playing a part in longer wait times, and poor set ups. 

I judge a retailer on being honest and setting it right. I get that 3 weeks is a long time to sort an issue, but at least they are being honest and not telling you it will be a couple of days, then you end up chasing them... 

[NicoMcJ]

Normally I’d be more lenient, but it took a week of chasing to even get to the point where they admitted it wouldn’t be sorted in the next two weeks.

[Crawford13]

  On 22/04/2021 at 16:37, NicoMcJ said:

Normally I’d be more lenient, but it took a week of chasing to even get to the point where they admitted it wouldn’t be sorted in the next two weeks.

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Totally it wasn't meant as a criticism. You are fully entitled to a refund in these circumstances. 

[Vin Venal]

  On 15/04/2021 at 17:40, Eldon Tyrell said:

Looks like the low end lobster is not impressed by the Metro Express either. 2 claws out of 5.

 

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I like the lobster.

Unlike some bass YouTube channels, he seems to  buy stuff himself, doesn't seem to get paid for his reviews, and regularly slates stuff.

Some of the others often sound like they're reading out the manufacturers marketing bumph. And it's hard to trust them when you literally never see them do a properly negative review.

That could just be because this guy is too small to get paid for his reviews yet. Who knows.

Edited April 22, 2021 by Vin Venal

[silentbob]

Well I've got to say, mine arrived today (used eBay purchase) and I couldn't be happier. It's stunning, plays well, sounds great, and no apparent QC issues or unwanted noise from the electrics. Time will tell whether or not I decide to fit the VTC, but very glad I took a chance and bought it.