Sadowsky Metro Express BARGAINS at Thomann!

[carlsim]

For anyone interested, i picked up today a Sadowsky Metro Express 5 String in CAR for £369 from Thomann! Considering I paid £479 for a fretless 5 one of these a few months ago, this is a bargain!

 

I know these had a bad rep in the beginning but the newer versions of the old headstock design were much better... my fretless 5 plays great!

 

Anyway... just thought I would mention...

 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/sadowsky_metroexpress_5_21_hybrid_tb.htm - sunburst 5 at £369

 

The CAR and Greens are also at £369... some of the 4 stringers are even cheaper!! Considering these were £700+ when they first arrived... that's a second hand price for a new bass!

[dub_junkie]

I gig my two first gen Metro Expresses and they've been great.

[Supernaut]

I remember how awful the one at Bass Direct was when they first came out. Shockingly bad. 

[carlsim]

My fretless 5 is amazing… I think the early ones were a mixed bag… later ones do seem to have fixed the issues… 

no idea what the new ones are like though.

[chris_b]

What does it weigh?

 

Thomann doesn't list weight, which is a nuisance for me.

[jrixn1]

  On 19/03/2024 at 22:51, chris_b said:

What does it weigh?

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The manufacturer (Warwick) states "All basses are lightweight with max. 9.5 lbs (4.3 kg)."   Seems like quite a claim, although I suppose I've no reason to doubt them.

 

https://shop.warwick.de/en/instruments/electric-basses/sadowsky-metroexpress/21-fret-hybrid-pj-bass/22817/sadowsky-metroexpress-21-fret-hybrid-p/j-bass-morado-fingerboard-5-string

 

I've previously emailed Thomann (gitarre@thomann.de) to ask for the weight of a specific bass (not a Sadowsky), and they did weigh it for me.

[carlsim]

  On 19/03/2024 at 23:33, jrixn1 said:

 

The manufacturer (Warwick) states "All basses are lightweight with max. 9.5 lbs (4.3 kg)."   Seems like quite a claim, although I suppose I've no reason to doubt them.

 

https://shop.warwick.de/en/instruments/electric-basses/sadowsky-metroexpress/21-fret-hybrid-pj-bass/22817/sadowsky-metroexpress-21-fret-hybrid-p/j-bass-morado-fingerboard-5-string

 

I've previously emailed Thomann (gitarre@thomann.de) to ask for the weight of a specific bass (not a Sadowsky), and they did weigh it for me.

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That feels about right for my 5 fretless... not super lightweight but certainly not boat anchors either... 9/9.5lb is a good weight in my mind...

[asingardenof]

I suspect they're clearing the decks before introducing the new SMX ones.

[chris_b]

  On 19/03/2024 at 23:33, jrixn1 said:

 

The manufacturer (Warwick) states "All basses are lightweight with max. 9.5 lbs (4.3 kg)."  

 

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For most of my life 9.5lbs was fine, but these days anything heavier than low 8's is not practical. Sadly that puts many of my preferences out of reach.

[Noisyjon]

£297 for a 4 string B stock Jazz bass!

https://www.thomann.de/gb/sadowsky_metroexpress_21_vintag_b_stock_550752.htm?listPosition=0&ref=search_rslt_Sadowsky_550752_0&type=advancedSearch

[BassApprentice]

A weird world where you can get a bass with Sadowsky on the headstock for less than a Squier 😅

[Bonin-in-the boneyard]

Bargain lefty at £369 

[Bonin-in-the boneyard]

Another nice deal on this fretless lefty

£369 were can you get a lefty 5 string as cheap

[martthebass]

I picked up a later first Gen fretless one off here and to be honest it's a great bass.  Put together nicely, lightweight but well balanced can't fault it really.  The fretboard is a great slab of ebony, the paint job is gloss (hate cheap satin finishes) and flawless to my eyes  Things I don't like; the headstock decal (yes, I'm shallow) and the adjustable nut isn't the prettiest.

Edited March 20, 2024 by martthebass

[TheGreek]

I really like the idea of a Sadowsky for under £400 but realise that I really don't need another bass.

Strange realisation...

[carlsim]

  On 20/03/2024 at 16:54, martthebass said:

I picked up a later first Gen fretless one off here and to be honest it's a great bass.  Put together nicely, lightweight but well balanced can't fault it really.  The fretboard is a great slab of ebony, the paint job is gloss (hate cheap satin finishes) and flawless to my eyes  Things I don't like; the headstock decal (yes, I'm shallow) and the adjustable nut isn't the prettiest.

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You should do what I did… £10 for a new decal and voila!

sand it off, couple of coats of poly, apply the decal and a few more coats! 
reassemble and the Tesco style logo is gone…

I did my fretless and I’m waiting for my CAR fretted 5 to turn up and I will do the same to that one…

[martthebass]

Yep @carlsim I need to do just that, and pretty it up a bit.

[Brian18242]

I purchased 2 from thomann that were so shockingly bad I had to return both of them. I think it's basically your luck with what you end up with on the first batch.

[Lw.]

Gosh they're cheap. I feel like even if the electrics aren't great, if you've got the tools you should be able to sort them as the fundamental build seems decent. Really don't need another bass though, hmmm.

[pineweasel]

The fretless fives have caught my eye. Does anyone have any experience of the PJ version of these basses?

[carlsim]

  On 22/03/2024 at 11:56, pineweasel said:

The fretless fives have caught my eye. Does anyone have any experience of the PJ version of these basses?

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That's what mine is... a PJ 5 fretless... I think I must have got one of the last ones Thomann had as they only did the fretless ones in black...

 

It's great though - a bit of fine tuning for setup but it plays great and as it has an ebony board, tons of mwah!

 

Carl.

[asingardenof]

  On 22/03/2024 at 11:29, Lw. said:

Gosh they're cheap. I feel like even if the electrics aren't great, if you've got the tools you should be able to sort them as the fundamental build seems decent. Really don't need another bass though, hmmm.

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Indeed, after spending the equivalent sum as for a Squier they'd be an excellent mod platform. £150 for the VTC preamp, £10 for a proper headstock decal, £20 for a Hipshot string retainer, £250 for noise-cancelling pickups, and for less than £800 you'd have a banging bass.

[martthebass]

  On 22/03/2024 at 11:29, Lw. said:

Gosh they're cheap. I feel like even if the electrics aren't great, if you've got the tools you should be able to sort them as the fundamental build seems decent. Really don't need another bass though, hmmm.

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The previous owner of mine had a John East installed - perfect.

[dub_junkie]

Just ordered a blue P/J 4

[velvetkevorkian]

  On 22/03/2024 at 13:06, asingardenof said:

Indeed, after spending the equivalent sum as for a Squier they'd be an excellent mod platform. £150 for the VTC preamp, £10 for a proper headstock decal, £20 for a Hipshot string retainer, £250 for noise-cancelling pickups, and for less than £800 you'd have a banging bass.

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I upgraded my pj5 fretless with the higher spec pickups and frankly I might as well not have bothered, the difference in noise was almost imperceptible to my ear. (Fortunately I didn't pay £250 for them 😅)