I've had my eye on these Metro Express basses since they were announced a couple of years back (or whenever they dropped). I even have a buddy who was able to buy one of the very first ones before they had the RSD labeling and it was a nice player. After watching the first RSD run come out with less than stellar reviews I put buying a SMX on the shelf but kept an eye out. Fast forward to the latest gen and I was interested again. After doing my homework and speaking with Andy Irvine about them I felt confident to make the purchase of a brand new metallic sage green JJ 5er. I picked this one up off of Sweetwater. I actually got it in a couple of weeks ago and have been able to play 5 shows on it....4 with my regular band and 1 as a sub. All I can say is this bass (IMO) is a killer instrument for the money. Definitely way more pros than cons. I put light gauge strings on out of the box, did the full setup and it plays excellent. The Warwick style adjustable nut and invisible fret technology they use on these basses give them a premium type upgrade. The roasted maple neck/FB also gives it a top notch look and feel. This one weighs around 9lbs 6oz and has been easy to play through the 3 hour gigs. Running the treble and bass around 30% and using the p/u blend knob has gotten me some excellent tones. And it's true what they say about a Sadowsky....they just seem to always fit well into a mix. The only thing negative I can say so far is the B string tuner has felt a little bound up but as I use it and tune it seems like it is freeing up. I guess the the only other negative (if you would call it that) is the preamp not being the stock VTC type preamp. I know this is a 'budget friendly' model and it does sound great, but I have gone ahead and ordered the standard pre and will be dropping that in this coming weekend. The band has been loving it and I was on the sub gig with some Texas touring pros ( a steel guitar player and a drummer) and a touring sound man and they were all really impressed with how it sounded. Sound guy loved it. I'm super pumped how this bass has worked out and I'm going to try and find a song or two to cover on the holiday break to put up on my YT channel. Glad I took the plunge!
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