New Sadowsky basses come with those protective films. Because they have a trial period, they want to keep the basses as pristine as possible. I only had that bass for about a month, so I never removed the film. I had the red one for about a year.
The pickups are Sadowsky soapbars, which are the same size as an EMG DCs, I think. Sadowsky used to use EMGs before they came up with their own, which -I think- are made by Seymour Duncan. Even though these are humbuckers, they are as clear as any single I've heard, but thicker-sounding, or course.
I sold them because I suffer from accute G.A.S. I buy and sell basses uncontrollably.  I fall in love with a bass one day, and swear I will keep it for life, until the next I wake up wanting something different. (And I'm sure many of you are in the same boat...  ) That's the main reason why I let the Sadowskys go. You know, kinda like when you break up with a girl: ". . . honey, there is nothing wrong with you, it's all me . . . "
But among other reasons, I prefer Jazz-bass-type pickup locations. I didn't really dig the closer-to-the-bridge pickup location. It sounded too polite, too "smooth-jazz," too clean. (In my head, my point of reference or "my sound" always is a passive Jazz Bass.) Although, the sound was huge, full, clear, punchy. . . which are trademarks of Sadowsky. Besides my preference for Jazz Basses, the 5-24s truly are one of the best-sounding basses I've had, along with my former MTD 535. What makes me realize all this is that I have recordings I made with the 5-24s, and darn, they sound so good.
Lastly, at the time, I didn't like the wide string spacing - but I go back and forth on this, too. Sometimes I like wide spacing on 5-strings, and sometimes I like narrow.
I would have a hard time buying a Sadowsky new. There are so many basses out there that can be had for so much less and offer almost or the same quality (Valenti, Lull, for example). But I can't deny that Sadowsky have something special that I miss. The bodies are resonant, light, the fretwork is as smooth as it gets, the electronics top notch. You can really tell these people take their time putting these things together. I know there is the controversy of "are Sadowskys worth the price"? I would say, if you have the money, yes.
BTW, I wonder if Sadowsky would consider bringing the price down on that bass in stock right now. The black one I got was originally priced at $4025, but because it sat there for a few months, they lowered the price to $3000, and that's also why I jumped on it. If anybody is interested, it woudn't hurt to ask them if they would consider discounting. . . 
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... totally awesome..... Goes into a bass coma..
