Hello Joey,
Welcome back! You ask a good question. For the price of a Sadowsky these days, you could by an Alembic. Some people can't get past the thought of a bass being nothing else than Fender like- meaning bolt on neck, shaped like a Fender with Fenderish sounds and painted. They may be skeptical about the Fenders available, in that their build quality varied from bass to bass, which resulted in some units sounding great (like Marcus Miller's bass) and some sounding horrible, even though they are from the same year(s). So, in pursuit of reliability and satisfaction, they go for a well built clone- Sadowsky, Modulus, Mike Lull, Lakland etc.
At Sadowsky, the necks and bodies are carved on a CNC machine, and from there, everything is by hand and delicately done. If you only knew how many bodies are rejected and resprayed due to finish inconsistancies, the fuss over final set-up, meticulous fret work, painstaking neck joint fitting, etc. That's why the price is what it is, and for Fenderholics, its a dream come true.
On the other hand, Alembic took what Fender did, and jumped ahead by eliminating inherent faults in the Fender design (mechanical neck joint, pots that are good enough, less stable neck construction, simple pickup design, etc.) and as a result, you find a unique sound in the Alembic due to everything it is (thank you Ron, Susan, Rick Turner, Mica & family).
You can buy a Ritter bolt-on neck bass (using 10 bolts) for $7,000.00, with a less well fit neck joint than a Sadowsky which may run $3,500.00. You can buy a Fender for as little as $300.00 if it's what satisfies you. Or you can buy what I feel is the ultimate refinement in design and the standard in build quality: Alembic. Check out the Alembic website and see the Factory Tour. Having built my own basses, having repaired other manufacturer's basses, I must say, Alembic 200 years from now will be what the Stradivari is now-the voice of god in tone, the essence of beauty (no pun intended) and still playable.
I'd like to thank the club members for their kind thoughts on my Sadowsky. What you don't see are all the autographs on the back and around the edge of the headstock by fellow bassists like Will Lee, Marcus Miller, Oscar Cartaya, Michael Rhodes, John Patittucci & more. Whenever these guys would stop by the shop, I kindly requested their signature. When I play this bass out, those names give me a boost of inspiration!
One day I'll build another bolt-on neck Fender Jazz type bass for myself. One day I'll also order another Alembic. On the same day, both will be with me at a gig. What we pay is motivated by what we think its worth. What we play is motivated by everything we've been influenced by up to the current day.
Some thoughts,
Alemboid (Bryant)
