Why does Scott Devine hate Sadowsky basses?

[TheGhostofJaco]

Ok this was a parody title because I have been watching his channel and all the titles are super clickbaity, so I could not resist. I think the guy is great and him and Ian would be very fun to hang out with. 
 

But I was surprised that they have been covering all these 90s and active fusion basses and really never give the Sadowsky any love. In fact the one time he mentioned Sadowsky was when he was giving one away! 
 

There is a chance I have missed something but I feel like I did a fairly thorough search. So what is about the Sadowsky that doesn’t do it for him that an Fbass does? Probably just a personal preference but I thought it could make a decent discussion. Fbass or Sadowsky is crossroads I went up against myself when looking for an active J but I ended up choosing Roger. 
 

Also would be cool to see them have Roger on. He’s such a an interesting guy. Maybe get Ken Smith and Fedora on as well for a quorum. Imagine the drama between those last 2. Would be quite the entertaining podcast. 
 

 

[Jack]

They've mentioned before that they get stick for not mentioning Warwick as well. I guess they mention what they want and what they like, it's probably not a diss. 

[ped]

They’re super enthusiastic about a very small handful of manufacturers and players. 

[TheGhostofJaco]

52 minutes ago, Jack said:

They've mentioned before that they get stick for not mentioning Warwick as well. I guess they mention what they want and what they like, it's probably not a diss. 

 

Yeah for sure, although I have seen a lot of Warwick love from them recently - Dirk Lance..etc.

 

7 minutes ago, ped said:

They’re super enthusiastic about a very small handful of manufacturers and players. 

 

 

True, they just have so many basses it seems like they almost like everything sometimes. I saw a video where IMA pulled out an headless steinberg just for once specific reggae tone, lol.

[Aidan63]

Neither Scott or Ian are 'merican, so they maybe don't pander quite so much to the whole MAGA boutique builders thing that some from the US would; they've had them, but maybe prefer things with a bit more character/flaws - they also have personal relationships with Lull and Overwater and others; by the same token they are probably not reciprocally on Spector/Warwick or Sadowsky's radar much themselves so aren't likely to be leveraged by those brands in order to increase those companies' sales.

 

Surely it's a good thing to have a variety of builders and products, better than a choice of only FMC and Gibson and their subsidiaries

 

Buy British, Buy Canadian, buy European even, especially now.

 

The UK is a big enough market to support a number of mass produced and boutique manufacturers, but if peeps keep buying from the states (and from US owned businesses) then we'll never expand those small companies here and they'll remain for the most part 1 man and a few workshop staff businesses. Crimson, Gordon Smith etc.. are growing (were growing ?) but most of the money is be made making guitars not basses. Importing instruments is bad for the local manufacturing base.

Edited Sunday at 20:58 by Aidan63
slight addition

[ebozzz]

12 minutes ago, Aidan63 said:

Neither Scott or Ian are 'merican, so they maybe don't pander quite so much to the whole MAGA boutique builders thing that some from the US would…..

Where did all of THAT come from? 

[Alanko]

4 hours ago, ped said:

They’re super enthusiastic about a very small handful of manufacturers and players. 

 

They are essentially this:

[Lozz196]

Very good likeness there

[Jack]

50 minutes ago, Aidan63 said:

Neither Scott or Ian are 'merican, so they maybe don't pander quite so much to the whole MAGA boutique builders thing that some from the US would; they've had them, but maybe prefer things with a bit more character/flaws - they also have personal relationships with Lull and Overwater and others; by the same token they are probably not reciprocally on Spector/Warwick or Sadowsky's radar much themselves so aren't likely to be leveraged by those brands in order to increase those companies' sales.

 

Surely it's a good thing to have a variety of builders and products, better than a choice of only FMC and Gibson and their subsidiaries

 

Buy British, Buy Canadian, buy European even, especially now.

 

The UK is a big enough market to support a number of mass produced and boutique manufacturers, but if peeps keep buying from the states (and from US owned businesses) then we'll never expand those small companies here and they'll remain for the most part 1 man and a few workshop staff businesses. Crimson, Gordon Smith etc.. are growing (were growing ?) but most of the money is be made making guitars not basses. Importing instruments is bad for the local manufacturing base.

Ian is American isn't he? 

[Mrbigstuff]

I guess we will never know if there have been talks in private over the years. I suspect there is a level of endorsement/ sponsor to some of the basses they showcase.

[crazycloud]

9 hours ago, TheGhostofJaco said:

I think the guy is great and him and Ian would be very fun to hang out with.

They would have to be very different in person for me to enjoy that. I don't find either of them particularly entertaining or funny, but ever so often there is a nugget in there that makes watching that channel worthwhile.

 

What I would like to know is how tall Sharon is. Someone local recently told me they could never play a 6 because his hands are too small (he's taller than me) and she looks petite from the size of her hands. I was going to point out that if a girl smaller than him can master a Warwick 6, then so can he.

 

[Cato]

Maybe he's never owned a Sadowsky or played one long enough to form an opinion?

 

Aside from the collectors who genuinely have had one of everything at some point, I suspect most of us have famous brands we've just never come into contact with.

Edited yesterday at 04:45 by Cato

[BigRedX]

9 hours ago, Aidan63 said:

The UK is a big enough market to support a number of mass produced and boutique manufacturers, but if peeps keep buying from the states (and from US owned businesses) then we'll never expand those small companies here and they'll remain for the most part 1 man and a few workshop staff businesses. Crimson, Gordon Smith etc.. are growing (were growing ?) but most of the money is be made making guitars not basses. Importing instruments is bad for the local manufacturing base.

 

It's all very well saying that but when the many of the UK builders are Producing instruments that bear more than a passing resemblance to Fenders and Gibsons, what's the point. You might as well buy from the manufacturer that came up with the idea in the first place. Whilst Overwater will still make something that resembles their Original shape bass to special order the majority of their instruments these days are essentially super J-basses, and have Gordon Smith ever produced an instrument that isn't copy of something American?

[warwickhunt]

2 hours ago, Cato said:

Maybe he's never owned a Sadowsky or played one long enough to form an opinion?

 

Aside from the collectors who genuinely have had one of everything at some point, I suspect most of us have famous brands we've just never come into contact with.

 

Well he came to my house maybe 17-18 years ago to potentially buy my USA Sadowsky... and he didn't; despite having driven a few hundred miles to get to me!  

 

Maybe my bass tarnished it for him!    

[jonnybass]

From the few videos I have seen they seem to focus on a sound, era, song or player.  I guess Sadowsky havent hit that point with them yet.  But you could say that about many builders, Mike Lull, Gus, Mayones, Marleux, Warwick are a few that spring to mind.

 

Its entertainment with a tiny sprinkle of knowledge is how i see it so i dont always pay that much attention to what they have been up to if I am honest.

 

Jonny

[Aidan63]

10 hours ago, Jack said:

Ian is American isn't he? 

my bad I thought he was Canadian 🙃 he certainly comes across like a Canadian

[ebozzz]

2 hours ago, Aidan63 said:

my bad I thought he was Canadian 🙃 he certainly comes across like a Canadian

Or an American…..

[Woodinblack]

13 hours ago, Aidan63 said:

Neither Scott or Ian are 'merican, so they maybe don't pander quite so much to the whole MAGA boutique builders thing that some from the US would;

 

I didn't know there were MAGA boutique builders - I would have thought the only maga guitars are the chinese ones (that presumably are too expensive to import now!)

[Killerfridge]

18 hours ago, Jack said:

They've mentioned before that they get stick for not mentioning Warwick as well. I guess they mention what they want and what they like, it's probably not a diss. 

They did a video recently (ish) talking about Warwick, and despite calling the section "Warwick Thumb", they only showcased Streamers, which felt like a bit of a disservice

[LukeFRC]

They have only recently gone into gear nerd content creation - years back when it was focused on selling the lessons it was more overwaters as that's what Scott plays. 

 

Now it's gear nerd stuff... and personally I would struggle to name a band where someone played a  Sadowsky let alone is a big part of the sound, so who would they be talking about?

And then if they were just picking bass builders then Warwick's fender shaped line might not be the first in the list to talk about... 

[Treb]

20 hours ago, TheGhostofJaco said:

So what is about the Sadowsky that doesn’t do it for him that an Fbass does?

 

Just personal preference I guess. I have a Japanese Will Lee, it was my dream bass. In every aspect it is an awesome bass. However I am much more in love with my two Xotic basses... Perhaps for him an F-bass just has that little bit of an advantage over a Sadowsky.

[TheGhostofJaco]

3 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

 

and personally I would struggle to name a band where someone played a  Sadowsky let alone is a big part of the sound, so who would they be talking about?

 

 

A fellow named Jason Newsted played a Sadowsky during the peak of his bands fame. That band was named Metallica.

 

Also Tal Wilkenfeld, who took one of the most famous bass solos in the past 15 years with Jeff Beck, and also has played with Incubus. Darryl Jones, Marcus Miller, Verdine White, Roscoe Beck.

 

 

[joel406]

Personally, I'm not a Sadowsky fan. Their 5 string models just don't fit.

[Terry M.]

9 hours ago, BigRedX said:

 

It's all very well saying that but when the many of the UK builders are Producing instruments that bear more than a passing resemblance to Fenders and Gibsons, what's the point. You might as well buy from the manufacturer that came up with the idea in the first place. Whilst Overwater will still make something that resembles their Original shape bass to special order the majority of their instruments these days are essentially super J-basses, and have Gordon Smith ever produced an instrument that isn't copy of something American?

For me personally as a five string player,other versions of what Fender invented can offer better B strings,more comfortable fingerboard radii,better colour options,build quality,more frets etc etc. I have nothing against the brand but found that they're not necessarily the "best" at what they started. It hasn't stopped me having one in the stable still however albeit with a Sadowsky onboard preamp modification. To date my favourite take on a jazz bass is an actual Sadowsky.

[Terry M.]

1 hour ago, TheGhostofJaco said:

 

A fellow named Jason Newsted played a Sadowsky during the peak of his bands fame. That band was named Metallica.

 

Also Tal Wilkenfeld, who took one of the most famous bass solos in the past 15 years with Jeff Beck, and also has played with Incubus. Darryl Jones, Marcus Miller, Verdine White, Roscoe Beck.

 

 

Did Marcus play an actual Sadowsky or a Fender modified by Rodger?