Sadowsky Guitars Limited is an American high-end

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, and preamps manufacturer based in

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

History

The company was started in 1979 and took its name from its founder, Roger Sadowsky, known for "being one of the industry's master craftsmen". As of 2011 the company has 10 employees involved in instrument manufacturing excluding Sadowsky himself. Sadowsky started out modifying

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

Fender basses, which were at that time inexpensive, to improve their sound by adding more noise reduction technology and replacing the passive electronics with an active preamp, which increases the bass's

signal-to-noise ratio Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR or S/N) is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. SNR is defined as the ratio of signal power to the noise power, often expressed in de ...

. Once the price of vintage bass guitars began to increase, Sadowsky started making new bass guitars, and then signature models.

Models

NYC Range

The Sadowsky "NYC" line of instruments consists of four- and five-string bass guitars and six-string guitars. The bass guitars have a 34-inch scale length with no current models offered in longer or shorter scale lengths. All Sadowsky basses are available only with bolt-on necks. A weight-reducing chambered body is unique to the NYC range (including Satin series and Deluxe Satin series). The NYC series has a wide range of customisation options. The electronics of the NYC series are all hand wired.

NYC Satin

The Satin range of NYC basses are made in the same workshop as the NYC basses, with a reduction in colour options with a satin finish. There are no customisation options available. Sadowsky introduced the

Verdine White Verdine Adams White (born July 25, 1951) is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist for the band Earth, Wind & Fire. White was placed at No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list of The 50 Greatest Bassists of All Time. Early l ...

signature bass in the Satin line of instruments. This bass was built as a tribute to Verdine's late brother,

Maurice White Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the ...

. Two instruments are being donated to the Verdine White Performing Arts Center with proceeds from sales of this model being donated in addition to the instruments. The electronics of the Satin range are pre-wired, and the tuners are Korean made. The Deluxe Satin range of NYC basses follow the same cost-saving principals as the regular Satin range, but with the addition of flame maple tops at extra cost. The electronics of the Satin range are pre-wired, and the tuners are Korean made.

MetroLine

The Sadowsky Metro line are the basic models of Sadowsky NYC basses made by Sadowsky Tokyo and offers most of the same features, minus the custom options, of the NYC line at a more affordable price. These instruments are made by hand by Yoshi Kikuchi and his team. The Sadowsky Metro Express line of basses are factory-made instruments made in Japan. These models have a very limited colour choice. Sadowsky, as of 2003, also offers a line of archtop guitars. There are currently five models available, the Jim Hall model, the

Jimmy Bruno Jimmy Bruno (born July 22, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist from Philadelphia. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Bruno started playing guitar at the age of 7. He began his professional career at the age of 19, touring with Buddy Rich. He played ...

model, the semi-hollow model, the LS-17 (long scale/17" lower bout) and the SS-15 (short scale/15" lower bout).

Serial Numbering

NYC Instruments

Instruments manufactured in New York City are assigned as follows: * Basses, including NYC, Satin and Satin Deluxe are assigned a number, for example #1234. * Archtop guitars are assigned a number with an ‘A’ prefix, for example #A1234.

Japan (Metro) Instruments

Instruments manufactured in Japan at assigned as follows: * MetroLine basses are prefixed with an ‘M’ for example #M1234. * MetroExpress basses are prefixed with an ‘ME’ for example #ME1234.

Players and endorsers

The various archtop guitar models are played and endorsed by many professional guitarists. * Walter Becker The late, great Becker’s main guitar was his signature Walter Becker model Sadowsky. It featured custom Lollar P-90 pickups, spalted maple top and swamp ash body. In the neck/middle and middle/bridge settings, the pickups were wired for humcancelling output. The tiny three-way switch controlled a special preamp that offered separate buffer and gain boosts. The third knob had a push/pull feature that activated the neck/bridge combination with the 5-way switch in either the neck or bridge position *Jim Hall *Prince (Sadowsky made all of the guitars for the Purple Rain Tour) *Jimmy Bruno * Dean Parks *

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progr ...

* Keith Richards *

Russell Malone Russell Malone (born November 8, 1963) is an American jazz guitarist. He began working with Jimmy Smith in 1988 and went on to work with Harry Connick, Jr. and Diana Krall throughout the 1990s.Neuroth, Matt. (2008). ''Bio: Russell Malone.'' Re ...

* John Abercrombie *Leonardo Amuedo * Devin Townsend * Hugh McDonald (

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...

) Sadowsky bass models are used by high-profile musicians * Willie Weeks: the "Sadowsky Vintage P/J 5-string" with the reversed P pickup is his personal model. * Walter Becker *

Will Lee William Lee (born William Lubovsky; August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television and film roles, but was best known for playing Mr. Hooper, the original store proprietor of the eponymous Hoope ...

: The Will Lee signature model features a custom preamp with switchable midboost with trimpot, frequency selectable at 500 or 800 Hz, wide or narrow bandwidth. This is the only model to feature any kind of midrange equalisation option. * Jason Newsted: he once placed a single order for nine Sadowsky bass guitars. Due to Newsted’s profuse sweating during live performance, his basses feature extensive waterproofing measures throughout to protect the electronics. * Brian Marshall ( Alter Bridge and

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

): used them exclusively since 2004. * Tal Wilkenfeld: In 2007, Roger Sadowsky heard this Australian bass player on the instrument, and she accepted an offer made by him as the official endorser of Sadowsky bass guitars. *

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...

: Although Miller is not known to play Sadowsky basses, his 1977 Fender Jazz Bass is heavily modified with custom Sadowsky electronics. * Darryl Jones * Andy Tarrant * Futoshi Uehara *

John Cowan John Cowan (born August 24, 1953) is an American soul music and progressive bluegrass vocalist and bass guitar player. He was the lead vocalist and bass player for the New Grass Revival. Cowan became the band's bassist in 1972 after the departu ...

* Gary Parker *

: The Verdine White Signature Bass is a tribute to Verdine's late brother, Maurice White. It is an addition to the NYC Satin Series has an undersized J-style body of chambered alder, PJ pickups, and a J-bass width neck (1.5” at the nut). * Adam Clayton *

Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and ...

References

External links

Official website

Roger Sadowsky Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
{{Guitar brands Guitar manufacturing companies of the United States Music of New York City Manufacturing companies based in New York City Companies based in Queens, New York Design companies established in 1979 Manufacturing companies established in 1979 1979 establishments in New York City