Next gen Sadowsky Metro Express

[lemmywinks]

Anybody know what factory are these coming from then?

[afterimage]

I have a, sadosky bass pedal

[Marty Forrer]

I've just bought a VTC preamp and I gotta say that it seems to be overall a better quality product than the MetroExpress preamp, from the German MEC pots to the better quality knobs. The original pre has an imbalance in volume between active and passive, the VTC pre does not.

[velvetkevorkian]

Is it a drop-in replacement? I opportunistically upgraded my ME with the higher end Sadowsky pickups and found that the differences were very small.

[Marty Forrer]

Yep, drops right in. They even give you new screws.

[asingardenof]

6 hours ago, Marty Forrer said:

I've just bought a VTC preamp and I gotta say that it seems to be overall a better quality product than the MetroExpress preamp, from the German MEC pots to the better quality knobs. The original pre has an imbalance in volume between active and passive, the VTC pre does not.

I think after I've acquired myself a new SMX the VTC upgrade will definitely be happening at some point. I don't often need a tone control but it would be nice to have, and if the overall preamp quality is better then it just seems like an overall good thing to do. I'm surprised they still haven't done this - even including the VTC preamp the new models would still be cheaper than the equivalent Fender (I assume they're choosing to ignore the existence of Sire...)

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, asingardenof said:

I'm surprised they still haven't done this - even including the VTC preamp the new models would still be cheaper than the equivalent Fender (I assume they're choosing to ignore the existence of Sire...)

I suspect that they are well aware how easy the upgrade is and know that they are quite likely to achieve 2 sales for those buying into the MetEx line. 

[velvetkevorkian]

It also removes a point of differentiation between the Metro Express line and the next line up (German Metros?)

[Paolo85]

1 hour ago, asingardenof said:

 even including the VTC preamp the new models would still be cheaper than the equivalent Fender (I assume they're choosing to ignore the existence of Sire...)

I am not sure I get this. I am not aware of Fender Js made in China at this moment although I may be wrong. Squire J basses made in China go for either 220 pounds or 350 pounds (the Paranormal). If you put lightweight tuners, fender high mass bridge and Sadowsky preamp into a Paranormal (which by all accounts is a very fine bass) you are in the region of 640 pounds

[asingardenof]

28 minutes ago, Paolo85 said:

I am not sure I get this. I am not aware of Fender Js made in China at this moment although I may be wrong. Squire J basses made in China go for either 220 pounds or 350 pounds (the Paranormal). If you put lightweight tuners, fender high mass bridge and Sadowsky preamp into a Paranormal (which by all accounts is a very fine bass) you are in the region of 640 pounds

Not counting Squiers, the nearest equivalent Fender range is the Player Plus, where are currently retailing for c. £1k. Assuming all the lessons of the past have been learned and the new SMXs retail for (say) £850 for a 4-string, adding the VTC preamp and selling the old one would still make them less than the Fender. 

[Paolo85]

6 minutes ago, asingardenof said:

Not counting Squiers, the nearest equivalent Fender range is the Player Plus, where are currently retailing for c. £1k. Assuming all the lessons of the past have been learned and the new SMXs retail for (say) £850 for a 4-string, adding the VTC preamp and selling the old one would still make them less than the Fender. 

Fair enough. It's hard to say how to look at all that in terms of market positioning. Will people go "do I get better value from a Fender or from a Sadowsky?" or "do I get better value from a Squier or a Sadowsky?"? Probably they'd look at both and more I guess

As said previously, I personally do not see these China-made Sadowsky as a great value-for-money proposition at least on paper. But then a Squier VM is the most expensive bass I have (not considering other basses cheaper to start with but now modded quite a bit). Obviously, it is possible that if I were to try one everything would make absolute sense as a bass could be more or less than the sum of its parts (to a point..)

[asingardenof]

8 minutes ago, Paolo85 said:

Fair enough. It's hard to say how to look at all that in terms of market positioning. Will people go "do I get better value from a Fender or from a Sadowsky?" or "do I get better value from a Squier or a Sadowsky?"? Probably they'd look at both and more I guess

As said previously, I personally do not see these China-made Sadowsky as a great value-for-money proposition at least on paper. But then a Squier VM is the most expensive bass I have (not considering other basses cheaper to start with but now modded quite a bit). Obviously, it is possible that if I were to try one everything would make absolute sense as a bass could be more or less than the sum of its parts (to a point..)

The Squier VMs are great basses - I used to have a VM70s Jazz and I still miss it, but the need to eat was more pressing than the need to bass at the time. Compared to a Squier or a Sire the SMX may not be great value, but compared to a US Fender or a Sadowsky MetroLine they're probably going to be fantastic value. You could probably say the same of the Player Plus as well as the Sire V10.

[makister23]

On 27/05/2023 at 08:58, Lw. said:

I wonder how many of the first generation they would have sold if they'd had that logo on? 

Unfortunately first gen of MIC Metro Express had some problems. It’s not only the logo

[Marty Forrer]

Mine is 2020 so I presume that's first generation. I bought it in absolutely mint condition for half what they sell for new. I have put Hipshot USA Ultralite tuners on. made my own pickguard from black pearl pickguard sheet, rolled the finger board edge and rounded off the fret ends, tapered the frets down from the 16th fret (last fret is 20thousandths lower), levelled the frets, set up with very low action, sanded out the RSD logo and put a Sadowsky logo on and now added the VTC preamp. Total cost is much the same as a new one, and I'll wager it's a much better bass.

Edited June 14, 2023 by Marty Forrer

[Marty Forrer]

Further to my last post, I just did a fresh setup on it for my gig tonight. I got the E string down to 1/16" at the 12th fret and the G to 3/64". No fret buzz and I can dig in a bit if I want to. In the past I have owned high end Yamahas, Fenders, a Pedulla and a Wal, and I have never been able to get an action that low while still being able to dig in. It might be Chinese, but I am totally impressed. It's definitely a keeper. As a point of interest, the Wal was a beautiful bass, but too heavy and I struggled with getting a sound I liked, so swapped it for a vintage Jazz.

[Marty Forrer]

[lonestar]

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/sadowsky/guitars/bass/?Ordering=3&MinPrice=599&MaxPrice=599&utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Sadowsky+MetroExpress+Bass+Sale!&utm_campaign=EMAIL_SADOWSKY_2023_06_25&vgo_ee=O6ndUibjRAXmtAYFAlAd0OhrBNopPqsUbyTLadkObmpi00Wul%2BnCyMjZcQ2r%3At2Eo57qTDQ81FPB5XnOR0y20oetTb5oo

New ones must be coming soon !

Edited June 25, 2023 by lonestar

[Paolo85]

On 16/06/2023 at 03:58, Marty Forrer said:

Further to my last post, I just did a fresh setup on it for my gig tonight. I got the E string down to 1/16" at the 12th fret and the G to 3/64". No fret buzz and I can dig in a bit if I want to. In the past I have owned high end Yamahas, Fenders, a Pedulla and a Wal, and I have never been able to get an action that low while still being able to dig in. It might be Chinese, but I am totally impressed. It's definitely a keeper. As a point of interest, the Wal was a beautiful bass, but too heavy and I struggled with getting a sound I liked, so swapped it for a vintage Jazz.

That's great but in my opinion, this may say more about your fret levelling job, which must have been excellent, than about the bass. Not to say that it isn't a very good bass. I guess the neck must be a quite stable piece if wood to support such low action (assuming relief is also quite low).

That's part of the reason why I don't fully understand very expensive basses, at least for Ps and Js where there is plenty of parts available

[Paddy777]

On 25/06/2023 at 13:57, lonestar said:

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/sadowsky/guitars/bass/?Ordering=3&MinPrice=599&MaxPrice=599&utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Sadowsky+MetroExpress+Bass+Sale!&utm_campaign=EMAIL_SADOWSKY_2023_06_25&vgo_ee=O6ndUibjRAXmtAYFAlAd0OhrBNopPqsUbyTLadkObmpi00Wul%2BnCyMjZcQ2r%3At2Eo57qTDQ81FPB5XnOR0y20oetTb5oo

New ones must be coming soon !

I’ve started seeing new ones on eBay starting around £400 (plus postage of £20 or so), I’ve been after a 5 string J for a while and was going to put a Sadowsky preamp on my V7, but have decided just to wait for these new SMX models with the new logo 😝 I keep checking online and in the Sadowsky owners Facebook group for when they’re going on general release over here but the best I’ve heard is July which isn’t far away tbf

[asingardenof]

39 minutes ago, Paddy777 said:

I’ve started seeing new ones on eBay starting around £400 (plus postage of £20 or so), I’ve been after a 5 string J for a while and was going to put a Sadowsky preamp on my V7, but have decided just to wait for these new SMX models with the new logo 😝 I keep checking online and in the Sadowsky owners Facebook group for when they’re going on general release over here but the best I’ve heard is July which isn’t far away tbf

All the current models are being heavily discounted everywhere at the moment so they're definitely imminent.

[makister23]

Hi, i contacted them on insta and asked about availability in UK. 

[martthebass]

At £400 the old model is a pretty good deal, a little fettle and you’ve got a pretty good bass. 

[Marty Forrer]

I just swapped my pickups out for a pair of DiMarzio Model J pickups. Woah! Much more bottom end, and much more controllable high end. Combined with the VTC preamp, I have now arrived at my "one bass fits all situations". Using just the neck pickup and a Nordy Mute I can get close enough to my P bass with flats. 

If one is capable of a little fettling, the old ones are a great buy. With selling my pickups and preamp I have still not gone over the price of a new one, and I have, for me, the perfect bass. I saw an interview with Roger Sadowsky and he said he used DiMarzio pickups in his early days.

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by Marty Forrer

[asingardenof]

A fairly in-depth view:

 

 

I think this cements my decision to save for the Sadowsky. If it's $1150 then that means it'll be around £900 based on today's exchange rates, which means it should hopefully be a merry Christmas for me!

Edited June 27, 2023 by asingardenof

[Paddy777]

Any updates as to when these might be available - I’ve been waiting all month but still haven’t seen anything?