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Warwick to become 'Exclusive Licensee' to Sadowsky!


warwickhunt

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12 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

Presumably they assume most people aren't going to get hung up on a headstock logo to the point of not taking their new line of basses to the biggest music trade show on the planet. I get the feeling timing was tight on these and they were on a deadline for Namm.

I could design a headstock logo that people wouldn't laugh at in less than four minutes, for 20 quid.

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11 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

I could design a headstock logo that people wouldn't laugh at in less than four minutes, for 20 quid.

Well done, maybe Roger Sadowsky will give you a pat on the head?

 

I'm also pretty sure if either Warwick or Sadowsky thought it was a massive issue they could have easily changed it themselves, what with having amazingly well equipped workshops at their disposal and the original logo files to print them from. I don't really understand the fuss over placeholder logos on prototype basses, presumably they sound and play great with excellent build quality or they wouldn't be there on show for everybody to see.

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2 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

Well done, maybe Roger Sadowsky will give you a pat on the head?

 

I'm also pretty sure if either Warwick or Sadowsky thought it was a massive issue they could have easily changed it themselves, what with having amazingly well equipped workshops at their disposal and the original logo files to print them from. I don't really understand the fuss over placeholder logos on prototype basses, presumably they sound and play great with excellent build quality or they wouldn't be there on show for everybody to see.

It's not a massive issue - it just looks crap. This is NAMM, where you'd think everyone would want to look as sharp as possible. But maybe not.

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50 minutes ago, Musicman20 said:

But why would you even take that bass to a show with that logo?! 

That crossed my mind to be honest. I think that they must have been really tight on the deadlines with the prototypes. However, my view is that if the prototypes were not correct, then don't bring them. I would have just brought the Metro and Masterbuilt ones and run with that. 

Perhaps the fit and finish on the Metro Express prototypes are so good that Warwick/Sadowsky felt that they were good enough to demo even with the decal being wrong? Anyway, it is a curious development. 

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Hans Peter Wilfer - "We have improved the Sadowsky logo design. We at Warwick are committed to taking something good, great even, and ruining it completely, then getting out of the consequences by having a team of lawyers that would make OJ Simpson's legal team look like rank amateurs who couldn't even get your 96 year old gran off a speeding ticket when she did 21 in a 20 zone. Previous cases against Spector, Status Graphite and Alembic have shown this. We are ready. Ready to ruin what you hold dear and take credit for inventing everything."

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49 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

It's not a massive issue - it just looks crap. This is NAMM, where you'd think everyone would want to look as sharp as possible. But maybe not.

If they turned up without the MetroExpress prototypes, then we would all be saying how Warwick obviously can’t get its act together and Sadowsky is doomed to fail. If they’ve taken the prototypes then they must obviously play well and sound great, and people will obviously know that the logo was a lower priority and easily fixed in time for the production run. 

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4 minutes ago, therealting said:

If they turned up without the MetroExpress prototypes, then we would all be saying how Warwick obviously can’t get its act together and Sadowsky is doomed to fail. If they’ve taken the prototypes then they must obviously play well and sound great, and people will obviously know that the logo was a lower priority and easily fixed in time for the production run. 

My point is I'm amazed they've brought them to NAMM with such a terrible logo, rather than a nice one.

People will look at it and think 'Dear me. That looks tat'.

No, it probably won't doom the line line to failure, but why let that happen?

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@wateroftyne It does seem like a silly thing to overlook, but I imagine they had a shedload of things to pull together and get right in a short period of time. I’ve been to Roger’s shop and met him, it is a small operation (and about to get smaller of course), so I imagine he and his team have had a lot to juggle with the downsizing and all. Quirks on NAMM prototypes are fairly typical.

He must have decided that the rest of the instrument’s quality speaks for itself. Much better to have people at the show saying how great they sound and play, and when retailers start stocking them it will be easy enough to look at the photo and see that the headstock logo has been fixed.

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Just now, therealting said:

@wateroftyne It does seem like a silly thing to overlook, but I imagine they had a shedload of things to pull together and get right in a short period of time. I’ve been to Roger’s shop and met him, it is a small operation (and about to get smaller of course), so I imagine he and his team have had a lot to juggle with the downsizing and all. Quirks on NAMM prototypes are fairly typical.

He must have decided that the rest of the instrument’s quality speaks for itself. Much better to have people at the show saying how great they sound and play, and when retailers start stocking them it will be easy enough to look at the photo and see that the headstock logo has been fixed.

Absolutely. But in the meantime, people without context (including me, obviously) are LOLing at the NAMM headstock shot. Which seems a shame.

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How can we generate so many comments about a logo on a prototype. So the Sadowsky name is missing. That's what prototypes do. On the other hand, that's why prototypes are usually kept behind closed doors and products and companies are launched when all that stuff is complete.

If the Metro Express sounds better than the 800 euro competition than it should be a success in that market. But marketing department wisdom seems to indicate that budget lines work better when placed in their own companies.

My experience is that the Japanese Metro line actually does compete with the NYC basses. Of course there are many differences but with the same pickups and preamp the Metro competes strongly for sound and tone. I have played an NYC which, surprisingly, did not sound as good as my Metro.

I can't help thinking that Pete Stephens got it right when he backed out of the deal to sell Wal to another company, and "gave" it to Paul Herman. We'll have to see what Warwick make of their Sadowsky lines. These changes can go well or not, we'll have to see. For me, while I was interested in the Japanese Metro Express, but without Sadowsky hardware and electrics, I won't be taking an interest in the Chinese version, at any price.

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On 20/12/2019 at 12:59, Musicman20 said:

It seems a bizarre concept, but I imagine Roger wanted a change to his life and probably benefitted massively financially.

But, a MIC Sadowsky just seems wrong....for that brand. 

 

It does. The current Metro Express received only appraisals for being the same quality as the Metros. German made Warwick will be easily on the same level I think, but Chinese made budget ones?I don't think so. They gonna substitute the ash and alder body with something else. Graphite bars and Hipshot hardware wont be in the specs....Pity cause I wanted a Metro Express, but this Metro-Rockbass Made in China thing just put me off.  

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3 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

Absolutely. But in the meantime, people without context (including me, obviously) are LOLing at the NAMM headstock shot. Which seems a shame.

I guess they had to balance that with missing out on having it at Winter NAMM at all. That’s where many of the distributors and buyers around the world do their business, so missing it could have been much more disastrous than Internet punters giggling 😊

I will say I’m surprised they didn’t just sand the headstocks down in the custom shop and apply a logo quickly. Perhaps Roger - a scrupulously ethical and moral man - felt that would be dishonest and he’d rather keep it real. 

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

How can we generate so many comments about a logo on a prototype. So the Sadowsky name is missing. That's what prototypes do...

My experience is that the Japanese Metro line actually does compete with the NYC basses. Of course there are many differences but with the same pickups and preamp the Metro competes strongly for sound and tone. I have played an NYC which, surprisingly, did not sound as good as my Metro.

Lots of companies show prototypes at NAMM with handwritten labelling and the like. If they sound and feel good enough, then the aesthetic details are sorted out in time to meet shipping deadlines in the summer etc.

Regarding NYC / Metroline - Roger himself has always said that the Japanese ones are just as good as the NYC ones, just missing chambering and some of the options. I love my MV4, it’s been around the world and is so so so good. 

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FYI, Roger told us that a Chinese company stole his logo years ago, and while he is fighting to get it back, he can't use it on the headstock of the Chinese line. So the basses currently have just the name of the model and when they are officially released, they will have a special round logo based on the letters RSD (Roger Sadowsky Design).

Photos to follow in due course! 

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