BassAgent

Because of you guys I'm developing some serious Fodera Emperor GAS.

No, not the Empire, the Emperor

That Emperor is absolutely gorgeous.

Actually, Yamaha serials are pretty organized but they repeat every 10 years.

Well, it's still a Yamaha TRB-P so it's always a good bass. Very well built, great sound and great feel. They rarely come up for sale (same goes for the non-P versions by the way) so that possibly means people are holding on to them and playing them extensively. If one comes up for sale, I don't really see a change in prices compared to 10 years ago. 

It's strange indeed. Definitely not a Fender. The bridge is a BadAss which is fine, the pickups don't look like Fender pickups with their rounded edges. The neck says Squier to me, the tuners are a mystery to me. It might be a good bass (it looks like it could be quite decent) but parts basses are notoriously hard to sell. Wouldn't go for it, except if it's the exact bass you'd want for a price you can afford.

Thanks! I keep rediscovering that bass. It holds Lollar pickups and an Aguilar OBP-1 preamp and it's one of the best Jazzes I've ever played. Amazingly low setup, very comfortable neck, slim body...it has that active 70's sound which isn't always my thing but it's a great bass.

20 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

Nope. The MetroExpress was a line made in the same place as the final Japanese line (called Metroline). One or two were still for sale new recently. Sadowsky offered a small number of finishes with apparently the same quality as the Japanese Metro basses. My experience was rather different.

 

Link: https://www.sadowsky.com/sadowsky-instruments/metroexpress/

I stand corrected.

14 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

I briefly owned a MetroExpress made in Japan and the stacked pot wasn’t working and the B string was about 50% quieter than the E. This as a bass that retailed around £2K. The point I’m trying to make is that If they have genuinely sorted out the QC then it’s probably an attractive sub-£1K bass. Sire must be quite a thing competitor for a fair bit less, but I never had this kind of choice when I was learning - £500-£700 was by no means guaranteed to get a bass that was even moderately playable.

The MetroExpress has, AFAIK, always been made in China (as it was introduced by Warwick). The Japan basses were called Metro and more recently MetroLine (which are now being built in Germant). Different production, different bass.

Sold my Pearl compressor and added the Cali76. Very very siked.

5 hours ago, ezbass said:

. However, following @BassAgent’s review and subsequent double purchase, followed by @lonestar’s acquisition, I’d definitely be up for trying one now, but that logo has got to go 🤮.

I am honestly considering having that logo sanded off and adding a Sadowsky decal. The story of why the Sadowsky name isn't on the headstock as such (but as part of the RSD brand) is clear and easy, but still, yes, that logo is awful.

11 minutes ago, lonestar said:

I read that Roger said thathe has the pickups wound by Dimarzio or EMG on the NYC ones.

But still by his specs I presume.

2 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

The Tributes all have the G&L designed bridges – are they from the same supplier as the USA models? The MFD pickups on the Tribute L-2000 and SB-2 are the same as the USA models, but the alnico pickups on the LB and JB models are not.

Yep, and the Sadowsky MetroExpress basses have Sadowsky brand pickups and tuners (although they look an awful lot like Hipshots), Sadowsky knobs, Sadowksy body design.

How much did Dan Lakin directly have to do with manufacturing Lakland Skyline guitars? Or Leo and George with G&L Tribute? Or Andy Mooney (Fender CEO) with Squier? The idea (in my view) is that the original designer licences his design to a factory and team of designers/luthiers to be able to make an affordable line of basses. Of course Roger Sadowsky doesn't wind the pickups himself. That's what the NYC basses are for.

So do my two MetroExpresses, and I know that Roger has very much been involved in the design of these basses.

That's also true. And apparently, it does.

5 hours ago, chris_b said:

 

no Sadowsky parts or input. 

This is...one hundred percent incorrect.

Because it's fun and useful to put stuff on lists, as a database. 

2 minutes ago, EssentialTension said:

Look to the little x at bottom right of your post ... it's 'ignore signature preferences'

Ah that works. But still, isn't it weird that such a confusing feature on a forum that is driven by photos is still available?

Now I might have missed a big debate about this, so please forgive me for opening a can of worms here, but I get very confused by some users having full-size photos in their signature. Seeing basses in a topic that isn't about those basses, people playing live, all kinds of stuff. Is there a way of hiding that? I'd even say don't put a photo in your signature to keep the readability of topics a lot better...

Just now, Reggaebass said:

Wasn’t it mainly guitars or did it cover basses 

Everything by Fender with a serial, IIRC

So after 22 years of playing I've just today found out about this mystical list called "Werner's List" by a guy called James Werner, which includes many many Fender serials with its year of manufacture, neck date etcetera. I've yet to find it digitally but it's supposed to be 125 pages of serials. Does anyone here have a copy, physical or digital? I'm super super curious.

Not in view as such, but still pretty audible: te new music video for Aafke Romeijn. Lyrics are in Dutch, bass used is my '71 Precision

Quote

I second the very helpful review from @BassAgent above. Thank you for your encouragement to go ahead with this.

You're very welcome!

Quote

 

Slight negatives are the hardware does have a bit of a "Far Eastern" feel, (well it is) and there is a big drop in gain from active to passive. To be expected I suppose, however I can't see me using passive much unless the battery dies.

 

I noticed that as well but my plan is (as on my Blade bass which is boost only as well) to turn all the preamp knobs all the way down and just use it as little additions to the neutral sound. Makes it easier to switch between the Sadowsky basses and my other, passive Jazzes.

My sofa isn't big enough so had to split the collection between Jazz and non-Jazz (although technically the Yamaha is wired like a Jazz).

From left to right: Sadowsky MetroExpress JJ4, De Gier Bebop 5, Fender Standard Jazz Bass fretless (with De Gier prototype pickups), 1966 Fender Jazz, Blade B2 Tetra Bass, Sadowsky MetroExpress JJ5
 

From left to right: Fender Justin Meldal-Johnsen Signature Mustang, 1971 Fender Precision, De Gier Soulmate, Sterling Ray 34 w/ Status fretless neck and Nordstrand MM4.2 pickup, Dingwall Combustion 5, Yamaha BB N5II

11 hours ago, Mokl said:

Nice De Gier!!

It's absolutely amazing. It's heavy, though, but amazing. Totally different bass than the Sadowsky in every single way. Feels different, sounds different, only the looks are vaguely similar.