The Sadowsky SS-15

[Cobra]

I'm really intrigued by the Sadowsky SS-15...

I like that it's smaller, yet still traditional.

[kris]

I've saw this beaty on Ebay two weeks ego .

[PTChristopher]

Well, $4,000 is the new $2,000, apparently. The Sadowsky archtops seem to sell and also hold quite a bit of their value when sold used. I suspect that if they were more readily available, then the used price would drop a good 20%.

Anyway, have you played one?

In my opinion, it looks and feels great. Love the 1 3/4" nut.

There is a significant tone difference vs. the Bruno - presumably due to the shallower SS-15 body. In my opinion, the Bruno holds its own with larger guitars a little better, but others may feel differently.

It is possible that some might think that this SS-15 is just a touch too small for the maple laminate technology.

Chris

EDIT: Wow, the extremely large image file in the pic of the SS-15 sure goofs up the way the page loads.

[Cobra]

No, I haven't played one, but I sure would like to...
Coming from a Tele background, I think the size would would be beneficial to me.
I've had trouble in the past bonding with larger archtops ergonomically, & the SS-15 seems like a great compromise.

[PTChristopher]

Cobra,

Well if your budget is ~ 4-large, there are many smaller hollow body guitars out there.

And if you are a tele guy I'd check and see if Jim Soloway still has his last guitar for sale.

Then there is the Bruno, the Benedetto Bambino, the D'Aquisto thing (forget the name, maybe Centura), a custom Tele thinline with very light body woods, the Foster Basin Street (Used), you can sell the car and double-down for a Collings CL Jazz, and so on,...

My opinion.

Chris

[SOR]

I got a Sadowsky semi hollow and my former Gibson 335 remains a faded memory... worth every penny. Good luck.

[Pierrot]

The friend flutist/saxophonist/guitarist I play with has one and I have had the possibility to play it many times.
As I already said in another thread, it's a nice and nice sounding instrument.
I would mention especially its weight, as it is really feather-light.

[Flat]

I have the Sadowsky Jim Hall model, and it is really really fine. 3K used. Got lucky on eBay.

If I think of it as an "upgrade" for my Heritage H575 (1300 used) it seems badly overpriced.

If I think of it as a "compromise" for the Comins Concert (maybe 8K) or Benedetto Manhattan (maybe 12K) I wish I could afford, it seems dirt cheap!

[NSJ]

Sadowsky seems to be feeling the same economic pinch everyone else is: no more dealers, only direct sales, moved their shop from Brooklyn to Long Island, limit the color choices to only 3, and have changed from nitro to poly finishes.

I love my Jim Hall--mine is a 2008, so it is still a nitro finish. It really is flawless.

That said, just for shits and giggles, I'm thinking of changing the pickup. Putting a CC for humbucker in it.


There's some great videos on youtube on the SS-15 by a Brazilian dude. Great tone, great playing on it.

[PTChristopher]

>>> no more dealers, only direct sales,

That's sort of the weird part. The Music Emporium in Lexington Mass. has Sadowsky archtops in on rare occasion. It is possible that this will go away of course.

It must be tough to do all the product development, telephone calls with players, and huge amounts of bound up capital, only to then pay a pretty good margin to a dealer. Some dealer seem to be quite good, while others seem less 'value added'.

I don't know what this will all mean in the long run.

Chris

[SOR]

My understanding is Sadowsky is only doing direct sales on their archtops.

[Help!I'maRock!]

>>> no more dealers, only direct sales,

That's sort of the weird part. The Music Emporium in Lexington Mass. has Sadowsky archtops in on rare occasion. It is possible that this will go away of course.

It must be tough to do all the product development, telephone calls with players, and huge amounts of bound up capital, only to then pay a pretty good margin to a dealer. Some dealer seem to be quite good, while others seem less 'value added'.

I don't know what this will all mean in the long run.

Chris

They didn't move to Long Island, they moved to Queensbridge. they're about 2 blocks north of the 59th St Bridge, on 21st St. When Sadowsky set up shop in Dumbo, they were in the middle of nowhere paying cheap rent. Dumbo is just about the trendiest place on earth right now, so they had to move. Queensbridge is pretty much the same neighborhood Dumbo was all those years ago.

I highly suggest against trying the Kennedy Fried Chicken.

[msr13]

I visited the shop Thursday. It is very, very easy to get to from midtown. And, literally around the corner from the subway entrance.

I played the demo 15 and the one in stock, for sale. Both were phenomenal. Each of the arch tops is unique in their own way, causing GAS attacks across the line . Pictures and videos do not do justice to them. You gotta try them.

[Gilpy]

I'm a bit late to this thread but, having just bought a SS-15 a couple weeks ago, I thought I'd give my impressions. I have been a pro player for a long time, but not a good enough jazz player to gig in that field. Maybe someday!I've had many fine guitars, vintage and modern, and am not one to get infatuated with a new one just because it cost a lot, and is beautiful. (both,in this case)

It really is a nice looking guitar. Mine looks identical to the one pictured at the top of this thread. I don't think nitro vs poly matters, except that it's much easier to fix a finish ding with nitro. Oh well. The finish and workmanship are flawless. I mean perfect. I have a Japanese made Gretsch that is it’s equal in fit and finish. ($1500 cheaper too). For me, Japanese vs USA is not a problem

I wanted a guitar that was compact, yet had a good enough acoustic sound that I could practice without an amp. The unplugged sound of the SS-15 is subdued but much louder than a semi-acoustic and very well balanced in tone. I don’t know how they did it, but the lows are warm and the highs are present but not at all thin sounding. The small size makes it easier to pick up and play many times a day.

It comes with 3 ebony bridges: standard slant and one each compensated for wound and un-wound G strings. It plays very well with no buzzes even when you dig in. The neck is medium–thin in depth somewhere between a C and a D shape.Not much like my vintage Gibsons yet just as comfy. String tension seems a little more than I would expect on a guitar with this scale length, which is a good thing. Medium size frets, fairly flat radius, 1-3/4 at the nut. Very nice for chords and single note work.

Plugged in, it has wonderful tones for jazz. You can still hear the acoustic character coming through the pickup. You can get a little edge on the top end or roll back the tone contol for a muted vibe. No feed back worries unless you get really loud or close to the amp.

To sum up: a really nice guitar that fits my needs perfectly. Small,lightweight, fine acoustic and amplified tone, classy understated looks, a keeper.

Expensive: Sadowsky broke new ground with this guitar and it fills a specific need very well. I do think the price is high for what it is. But I don’t imagine that making guitars of this type is very profitable or else the major manufacturers would do it. So I’m willing to pay a premium to get exactly what I want.( I did have to sell some stuff to afford it!)

[Buster Loaf]

4 G's for a poly finish?

[SOR]

4 G's for a poly finish?

When I got my Sadowsky they were just changing over to poly so I had a choice. I requested the poly, I've had many nitro guitars and consider it a completely obsolete finish. In the acoustic guitar world many of the top manufacturers dropped nitro years ago. Oh, and the Sadowsky was a bargain....

[rpguitar]

None of my boring chatter on this one (thank goodness), just a few choruses of "Birk's Works" with my SS-15 through a SFPR, which is close mic'd. I didn't show the guitar's acoustic side this time. Maybe another video will appear over the holiday week with some more variety.

[Jazz_175]

Sounds very good to me.

...so you keep all your guitars up on the walls...

[Jabberwocky]

Bravo, Roger! I enjoyed it for your playing. Forget about the make of guitar. Yer cookin', bro'.

[kris]

nice clean sound!!!

[Bill C]

sublime sound! "In the tradition" but with a little more high frequency clarity.

[NSJ]

That is a wonderful sounding box!!!

Your playing reminds me of the most important element to jazz that we tend to forget (which you didn't, thankfully): note choices are important, but not as important as maintaining a great rhythmic groove. "it Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got that..." Nice groove, Roger! Thanks for posting.

[ESCC]

Liked all of it, playing and guitar, well done.

Roger I noticed you have XL Round Wounds on the Sadowsky, curious where you set the e.q. and tone on the guitar?

[rpguitar]

Well thanks guys! That's reassuring. I am hearing some clumsy timing myself - these videos always show me what I have to work on! But it's also really easy to get a good sound out of this guitar. It's very consistent on every note, always warm, but also with a crisp attack to give things some life.

I'm working on a solo something-or-other to show the mellower, acoustic-y side of the guitar. I think you'll be impressed. It's wonderful what an amp AND a condenser mic can do when blended (I'm a big fan of that).

Yes, my guitars have been on the wall for 7 years now with no ill effects. It's a guarantee that I will play them. Would you really want to dig through 20 cases to get at something? Not me!

The tone and volume were up full for this recording. They are really nice controls on the Sadowsky. The tone takes away the fizzy highs but leaves the "pluck" of the attack intact. And the volume is nicely tapered. It's a really well thought out little guitar.

[Patrick2]

The tone sounded very nice Roger. The lines kinda reminded me of something I might hear come off of Grant Green's fingers. Of course, GG would've loved to have that kind of tone though.