"Sadowsky" Metro Express Basses

[LukeFRC]

14 hours ago, BassAgent said:

I know it's standard but it still feels like a flaw in design   I've had the bass open and of course it's easy to flip the wires, but still... 

once you get used to it it makes sense. I ended up with my Warwick’s balance pot also done the Sadowsky way

[BassAgent]

You people are weird

 

(Not really, and I could probably get used to it as it would be my only bass with a balance pot).

[Munurmunuh]

19 hours ago, BassAgent said:

one maaaaaaaaajor flaw: the pickup balance knob is reversed. Turning it counterclockwise gives me the neck pickup. WRONG. 

 

18 hours ago, Acebassmusic said:

Believe it or not but it's not a flaw! Roger's pre-amps are set up as standard for the balance to be neck = anti-clockwise and bridge = clockwise. 

 

18 hours ago, BassAgent said:

I know it's standard but it still feels like a flaw in design 

 

4 hours ago, DiMarco said:

Balance pot is reversed on all Sadowsky basses. Don't know why 

 

1 hour ago, BassAgent said:

You people are weird

 

Turn a tone knob anticlockwise and the treble is cut.

 

Turn a Sadowsky blend knob anticlockwise, reducing the bridge pickup, and the treble is cut.

 

It makes perfect sense.

 

If you can't cope with it, you can't cope with it, but it still makes sense.

[BassAgent]

Turn a knob towards the bridge, I'd expect to hear the bridge pickup. That makes more sense to me 

[Geek99]

I agree with bass agent, I’d find it odd even if I’d never played anything else ever. When I turn a blend control I expect to increase the thing I’m turning it towards and to taper off the thing I’m moving away from 

[JD1]

Took me like 5 minutes to get used to it. 😀 I’ve got one of the last (I think) Japan Metro Expresses. Been playing it now for a few months and whilst it’s early days for me, feels like a bit of a keeper. It’s light, balances well, nice low action and the tone is fab. My first foray into Sadowsky and I’d been a bit of a (misplaced and I’ll advised) sceptic until now. With the VTC able to choke off the boost it doesn’t really feel like an active. More like a passive on steroids. Better than the USA Fender I had in every department.

[FDC484950]

It certainly makes you think it has the beefiest bridge pickup, and the thinnest neck pickup, the first time you turn the pan, until you realise it’s wired in the opposite manner. I got used to it immediately but it’s still the wrong way round compared to just about every pan pot ever wired into a bass

[Munurmunuh]

1 hour ago, BassAgent said:

Turn a knob towards the bridge, I'd expect to hear the bridge pickup. That makes more sense to me 

 

Everyone has the right to like what they like, to prefer what they prefer, I'm not arguing with your right to want things how you want them, but you wrote "maaaaaaaaajor flaw", "WRONG", "a flaw in design" and "You people are weird".

 

Either you felt your personal preferences to be the only choices with any validity, or you were too impatient to work out why it was wired differently to your expectations. Some people's personal preference is for commentary that prioritises curiosity and understanding over opinion and judgement — but perhaps that, too, makes them "weird"? 😘

 

[DiMarco]

You people are all twisted knobs. 😎

 

[BassAgent]

8 hours ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

Everyone has the right to like what they like, to prefer what they prefer, I'm not arguing with your right to want things how you want them, but you wrote "maaaaaaaaajor flaw", "WRONG", "a flaw in design" and "You people are weird".

 

Either you felt your personal preferences to be the only choices with any validity, or you were too impatient to work out why it was wired differently to your expectations. Some people's personal preference is for commentary that prioritises curiosity and understanding over opinion and judgement — but perhaps that, too, makes them "weird"? 😘

 

You take my exaggarations way too seriously😄 But okay, I might have overdone it this time. Sorry 'bout that. But it still feels weird. On the other hand: I did a gig tonight with this bass and it is absolutely awesome. Sounds great, the weight is really a big plus and I didn't even fail when switching pickups  

Edited July 23, 2021 by BassAgent

[lonestar]

Curiosity got the better of me.

we’re up  in Edinburgh for the fringe so I took couple of hours out to head over to Guitarguitar in Glasgow.
 

I tried a JJ metro express 5, one of the newer batch, and immediately loved it. Great set up out of the box, nice finish, Ok the chrome was that very shiny Far Eastern finish but frets, neck, controls etc were fine.

It had a really nice even tone with a great B string balance. I really like the Sadowsky preamp tone. I was lucky enough to try it through a Markbass CMD102p, so same amp as mine however one hiccup: yep those noisy pickups!

As soon as you move the balance knob either way off the centre detent it gets a bit noisy. I’m not sure that it’s a deal breaker for me though as I really like everything else on this bass.

Bearing in mind that I  was very happy to use it centred, I don’t think I’ve ever moved the one on my Peavey TL5 off centre, and even maybe later fitting a set of noiseless DiMarzios, about £130, would still make this an good bass for the money  ?

So do I pull the trigger ? Help I don’t know what to do!

 

Incidentally Kyle at Guitarguitar was really helpful and knowledgeable and pointed out that they had sent most of the first batch back and that the newer ones are much better and more consistent. 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by lonestar

[OliverBlackman]

1 hour ago, lonestar said:

Curiosity got the better of me.

we’re up  in Edinburgh for the fringe so I took couple of hours out to head over to Guitarguitar in Glasgow.
 

I tried a JJ metro express 5, one of the newer batch, and immediately loved it. Great set up out of the box, nice finish, Ok the chrome was that very shiny Far Eastern finish but frets, neck, controls etc were fine.

It had a really nice even tone with a great B string balance. I really like the Sadowsky preamp tone. I was lucky enough to try it through a Markbass CMD102p, so same amp as mine however one hiccup: yep those noisy pickups!

As soon as you move the balance knob either way off the centre detent it gets a bit noisy. I’m not sure that it’s a deal breaker for me though as I really like everything else on this bass.

Bearing in mind that I  was very happy to use it centred, I don’t think I’ve ever moved the one on my Peavey TL5 off centre, and even maybe later fitting a set of noiseless DiMarzios, about £130, would still make this an good bass for the money  ?

So do I pull the trigger ? Help I don’t know what to do!

 

Incidentally Kyle at Guitarguitar was really helpful and knowledgeable and pointed out that they had sent most of the first batch back and that the newer ones are much better and more consistent. 

 

 

Did you compare it to a German/ Japan model? If you like the tone it might be worth paying that bit extra to avoid the faults. 

[wateroftyne]

1 hour ago, lonestar said:

Curiosity got the better of me.

we’re up  in Edinburgh for the fringe so I took couple of hours out to head over to Guitarguitar in Glasgow.
 

I tried a JJ metro express 5, one of the newer batch, and immediately loved it. Great set up out of the box, nice finish, Ok the chrome was that very shiny Far Eastern finish but frets, neck, controls etc were fine.

It had a really nice even tone with a great B string balance. I really like the Sadowsky preamp tone. I was lucky enough to try it through a Markbass CMD102p, so same amp as mine however one hiccup: yep those noisy pickups!

As soon as you move the balance knob either way off the centre detent it gets a bit noisy. I’m not sure that it’s a deal breaker for me though as I really like everything else on this bass.

Bearing in mind that I  was very happy to use it centred, I don’t think I’ve ever moved the one on my Peavey TL5 off centre, and even maybe later fitting a set of noiseless DiMarzios, about £130, would still make this an good bass for the money  ?

So do I pull the trigger ? Help I don’t know what to do!

 

Incidentally Kyle at Guitarguitar was really helpful and knowledgeable and pointed out that they had sent most of the first batch back and that the newer ones are much better and more consistent. 

 

 

Just checking you know there’s a GG in Edinburgh too… just in case there’s one there you can try.

[lonestar]

6 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

Just checking you know there’s a GG in Edinburgh too… just in case there’s one there you can try.

Thanks yes. They didn’t have any in stock at Edinburgh 

[lonestar]

19 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said:

Did you compare it to a German/ Japan model? If you like the tone it might be worth paying that bit extra to avoid the faults. 

I’d love to but my budget wouldn’t stretch to that unfortunately.

just to muddy the waters I tried a Sandberg TT4Elektra, which was also lovely and probably better quality. The guy in the shop said you didn’t hear this from me but they’re likely to be bringing out a 5 string version, possibly in November. Not sure I could wait and no idea how much it’ll be.

I also tried the new Charvel: nice but didn’t like the thin C type neck, gold hardware or loud B string

Edited August 9, 2021 by lonestar

[LukeFRC]

23 minutes ago, lonestar said:

An odd looking guy wandering around merchant city with a bottle of Buckie said you didn’t hear this from me but they’re likely to be bringing out a 5 string version, possibly in November.

Fixed it for you…

[lonestar]

2 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Fixed it for you…

Aye and if ye kid see yer way clear tae lend us a coupla  bob am expecting ma giro on Thursday

Edited August 9, 2021 by lonestar

[thodrik]

When I went to Guitar Guitar in Glasgow to try out preamps a couple of weeks back, I said that my main bass was a Sadowsky Metro I bought from the shop ten years previously and I wanted something similar-ish for a comparison. 

They gave me a Japanese made Metro Express and told me not to even bother with the new line of RSD Metro Expresses. To be fair, a Japanese Metro retailing at £1500 ten years ago is not a fair comparison to a RSD design at nearly 50% of that price, but from what I was told they were far from impressed from the initial run of RSD instruments 

As it was the Japanese Metro Express was very very nice, apart from the fact the volume knob was positioned incorrectly so that it looked like the volume was turned off when it was actually turned 100% on. Fretwork, preamp and general fit and finish was otherwise 100% on point. Essentially, it sounded and felt like a Sadowsky.

I would love to try a German made Metro, but frankly if I had the cash I would probably buy a five string Streamer or Thumb just for something different.

[DiMarco]

We already know the first batch from China was rubbish. Comparing those to a japanese ME says nothing really. That said, do try before buy - or get a money back guarantee when buying online. Chances are you will receive one of the early models.

 

I can't help but wonder what results throwing a Sadowsky pre into a Sire bass would yield... 

 

 

[thodrik]

2 hours ago, DiMarco said:

We already know the first batch from China was rubbish. Comparing those to a japanese ME says nothing really. That said, do try before buy - or get a money back guarantee when buying online. Chances are you will receive one of the early models.

 

I can't help but wonder what results throwing a Sadowsky pre into a Sire bass would yield... 

 

 

True, though I would have thought a shop selling them would have a 'well the first batch were rubbish but they are sorting things out now and the batch we have hanging on the wall are really good,' rather than a 'the partnership hasn't worked and the new RSD ones don't feel like Sadowskys' view that was given to me.

 

Still, I personally think that the partnership will work eventually once the teething issues are resolved (and 2020 was a hell of bad time to launch anything). If anything I think that the made in Germany Metros look nicer than the old MIJ Metros in terms of range of finishes.

I have always fancied carrying out a Sadowsky pre into a Sire as well! My nephew has a Sire and I was really impressed with the build quality.

[lemmywinks]

Low End Lobster has stuck a Sadowsky pre into one of his Sire's IIRC.

[lonestar]

7 hours ago, thodrik said:

10 hours ago, DiMarco said:

 

True, though I would have thought a shop selling them would have a 'well the first batch were rubbish but they are sorting things out now and the batch we have hanging on the wall are really good,' rather than a 'the partnership hasn't worked and the new RSD ones don't feel like Sadowskys' view that was given to me.

The guy in Glasgow pretty much said that.

They sent the first batch back because they were pretty crap complained (to Sadowsky or Warwick I guess). The new ones are miles better and much more consistent quality.

he owns a NYC and while they don’t really compare, his opinion is they’re still very good. He actually preempted my question and flagged up the noisy pickup issue to me.

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by lonestar

[Crawford13]

The guys in the bass department of guitar guitar Glasgow are absolutely top notch. 

When trying a cab a few years ago they didn't have any basses with flats on them, so he went and got his own 73' P bass from the back for me to use. 

 

What a dude! I spent over a grand that day on the cab and pedals, and it was all down to his great service. 

[E sharp]

3 hours ago, lonestar said:

The guy in Glasgow pretty much said that.

They sent the first batch back because they were pretty crap

 

I'd like to try one. I know it's been stated a million times already , but I'm still really surprised by this damage to the brand name . 

[lonestar]

On reflection I really liked everything about theSadowsky, apart from the noisy pickups. Looking at the huge price hike from these to the Japanese or German built models (If you can find them) I think I’m planning to get a Tesco Express, when funds allow and if I find that they’re an issue fit a set of hum cancelling pickups: Dimarzio ultra J 5 seem a good match, and possibly a VTC retrofit. The aforementioned  Sadowsky NYC owning chap at Guitarguitar reckoned that the ME was worth adding about £200 of upgrades.

 

I may be flogging my Peavey TL5 but no idea what it’s worth, but I digress.

Edited August 16, 2021 by lonestar