Are Adamovic priced high compared to other luthiers? I'm not sure they are. They are premium price, but premium quality, at least as far as build and materials go.
I owned a used Adamovic fretless Jupiter 4 string a few years back. I got it at an absolute steal, I don't think the store where I bought it knew what it was worth. When I bought it, I priced up a new one on the Adamovic website and it would have cost in excess of £5000 / $6500. In the end, I made a profit when I sold it.
Was it a high quality instrument? Without a doubt. Is the stuff on the website just marketing spiel? Probably, to a degree. It was very light for a 4 string singlecut, it balanced nicely on a strap. The stuff about wood aging techniques, well everyone at the top end does that. Using wood that isn't properly aged means it's more likely to shift after the bass has been built and nobody wants that. Ken Smith for example, has wood stocks that he has been aging for 20+ years. Given how old some of his website updates are, I wouldn't be surprised if some of his woods have been aging in his stocks for more than 30 years now.
The finish on my bass was nice but not the best I've had, the satin finish was particularly nice for the feel of neck, very low friction, better than say, Spector Euro but not better Yamaha Japan custom shop, to give frames of reference from basses I've owned or currently own. The build and material quality was very good, as you'd expect from an instrument in that price range.
It played wonderfully, very easy to get the setup just how I like it - low enough to buzz a little when played hard, but no buzz when playing lightly, so I can dig in to get a bit more "oomph" when required. I had it for a year or so, it didn't move a millimetre once I dialed in my setup. In the north of England, it doesn't get mega hot in summer (highs of mid 20s Celsius, low 30s Celsius when it's very hot) and it doesn't get really cold in winter, where -10 Celsius would be a really cold night by our standards. My house is dry, not air-conditioned and kept at a comfortable temp year round and I'm not used to seeing any of my basses need adjustment once they've been set, so perhaps the most I can say about the Adamovic here is that it was as good as, or at least no worse than my other instruments.
I sold it in the end because it just didn't sound great. Admittedly, I didn't feel too regretful as I got it cheap and sold it after a year for a profit, but if I had paid the full price I'd be really disappointed. I've heard some recorded Adamovic basses and they have sounded good, but mine didn't. I don't know if it was the pickups, the Glockenklang preamp, the woods or most likely a combination of all three, but it never sounded that good. It was always quite flat, lifeless and woody. I tried changing through various sets of roundwounds that I know sound good on other fretless basses I've had or played and had no luck, even a brand new set of Elixirs, which are super zingy, just sounded like rubber bands.
I know some people love that flat, lifeless tone but it's not for me. If the bass could have done a bright, modern sound or even just a passable tone with a bit of life and punch, I'd have been happy, but it just didn't. I'd have expected with the active, modern preamp to get more from it.
As I say, I ultimately sold it for more than I paid for it and I did buy it without playing it first, so getting a bass that doesn't sound great is always a risk. That said, I am fortunate to own and have owned some incredible instruments, most of which I've bought over the internet and not had the chance to play first and aside from the Adamovic, I've never been disappointed. Sometimes if I don't play a bass enough, I'll sell it to free up some guilt-free cash to buy something else, this normally happens when a bass doesn't have a defined "role" within my stable. The Adamovic remains the only bass I've sold because I didn't think it sounded good enough.
I'm sure there are plenty of owners out there who love their Adamovic basses and from an aesthetic and playing perspective, mine was great, but it just didn't have the sound for me.
