Sadowsky RV4

Japanese-made Sadowsky RV4, roughly two years old now.
Four strings and enough frets.
Volume, pickup pan, treble and bass boost.
Two stacked Sadowsky Jazz-style pickups.
Maple neck, pau ferro fingerboard (I think), alder body.
Metallic blue finish on the body; satin finished neck
"Dinky" Jazz body style.
Cast bridge
Own-brand tuners
Slim, 70's style neck, but with a bit more of a "V" in the back and a flatter fingerboard profile than on a 70's Fender (I think - it's been a while since I played one).
Moulded "lite-flite" case. Very neat, so that means the instrument tends to go in a gig bag most of the time.. No cleaning kit or tools included, but that might be down to the store losing them. Hmm.

I've mainly played in bar bands playing blues/ old pop and r'nb/ folk-rock etc and it's pretty much the ideal bass for that sort of thing. It suits various kinds of amp very well, whether vintage Ampeg-style sounds or the more modern class D hi-fi sound. What you get is an extremely versatile Fender-style sound, only better. I had a 90s US standard Jazz for a fair while. It got me through a bunch of gigs, but was it as much fun as it could have been? In comparison to the RV4, no. Both acoustically and plugged in, the Sadowsky sounds much better. If you can't get it with these pickups, then you are the problem. The preamp boost is very addictive: solid, woody lows and wicked, chilli-sizzle highs. I had been going to get the store to order in the vintage tone upgrade, but, having lived with the boost-only set-up for about a year now, I can see the logic and it does work even for those of us whose basic impulse with a Jazz is to pull back the neck pickup a bit and roll off the tone. I tend to keep both controls boosted about a quarter of their rotation as a default and then pull back the top end slightly when favouring the bridge backup. The Sadowsky is resonant enough acoustically that you get body to the sound without having to kill the high end on the controls. Panning between the pickups gives a good range of solid, useful sounds, and, because of the stacked p'ups, it is silent in all positions. You can also get a great front-pickup / Precision sound. I've played a Sadowsky MV5 and the wood recipe there (maple neck, ash body) makes for a considerable difference in flavour. The RV is warm and grainy, the MV speaks with a bit more "point" and sounds slightly "cleaner". Both are very good, and, with current UK distribution, any potential converts here might even get a chance to try them side by side so they can make their minds up. I've not recorded with it, but I can't see how it would do badly.

Like another reviewer said, you can get the action too low on these things. Isn't life terrible. That's a plus point as far as I'm concerned. I couldn't say the same for my late and totally not lamented 90s Jazz. Anyone who read that Dan Erlewine piece in Bass Player a while back about what sounded like the Fender Jazz 5 from hell ('It needed three people to play it: one to lift it, one to fret the note and the other to play the right hand part' or something...) knows what I'm saying here.

Teh factory set-up was great. As far as I remember, they're shipped with stainless steel strings, so I changed over to a nickel set. There were no problems with any aspect of the components or assembly, which is what you'd expect.

The finish is perfect, both body and neck (satin finish). It is just cosmetic really, but the wow-factor of the finish is a big plus. In a store, Sadowskys just jump off the wall at you.

A nice detail on the bridge is that it is cast to allow you to unhook the string at that end rather than having to pull it out through the back of the bridge as per a vintage style bridge. It's a small point, but it does make changing strings just that bit easier.

Again, perfect. It's clearly designed to be a serious gigging instrument. I'd always keep a spare battery with me just in case because that's what Bass Player tells you to do, although the longevity here seems fine, but how many of us actually break bass strings on gigs? The strap buttons are basic old-style ones, but I don't leap about ever so that's ok with me.

This is probably the point to rave about how good the neck is. I gigged with a 90s Fender Jazz for years and you could tell that that neck was less resistant to string tension, even with 40-100 sets, no matter how you cranked the trussrod. The neck on the Sadowsky is more rigid and the trussrod (with its neatly accessible heel-end adjust) works smoothly. You can set the neck relief you want without having to struggle with it. The result is that the resonance is transferred into the body and damped by a so-so piece of maple, meaning the bass has great tone even before you plug in.

The warranty is one year from purchase, so mine's my problem now. I haven't had to deal with them with regard to this instrument, but I have bought strings and a set of pickups from them in the past and they were very polite and efficient. It is actually easier to get Sadowsky p-ups in the UK than wait for a store to order in a set of DiMarzio Ultra Jazzes. I bought this instrument from Guitarguitar in Glasgow. They're very good on service and their prices seem to compete well once you factor in duty and other taxes plus delivery costs on top of the direct price. After all, some folk might feel a bit nervous about buying an instrument direct from New York on spec. That said, I know people who have done this and Sadowsky are fine to deal with, so they can have a 10 here. You just have to be a sensible grown-up and have a clear idea about what you want if you're going to order direct.

I've been playing for a long time and I have / have owned a fair few other basses. The RV4 beats everything it needs to beat to be worth the money. If stolen, I'd get another one as fast as they could supply it. It sounds brilliant, plays like butter and everything about it works like it's supposed to. The question about Sadowsky Metros in terms of where they sit relative to Fender prices in the UK is whether it is worth the 40% extra money for the difference relative to a US standard. For me, the Sadowsky is significantly better in every department.