Emporer 5 Owners

[SRFSterling5]

I'm thinking of moving to the Fodera from the Ken Smith 6 I have now. Bottom line is the "Smith" sound is growing old. I've looked at many videos on you tube and I've now got a major case of GAS. My main question is the tightness of the low B tone wise. Wish I could actually try one but high end retailers are nonexistent here in the 50th State.

[Baird6869]

I love the B string on my Emperor 5 Standard. It is the best 34" B I have played. I haven't played a 35" Emperor 5er though....

[Strokey]

The B on my Fodera Emperor is pretty nice. It isn't the tightest B string I have played, but it is the most colorful. To me, that is the most important thing since it is so difficult to really hear the low B. People usually feel it more than they hear it.

[SRFSterling5]

I'm into the sound of players like Anthony Jackson, Jimmy Johnson, Nathan East, Mike Porcaro, and Abe Laboriel. Looking at the specs of the Monarch 5 and hearing the sound clips of it, most of the clips don't feature clips playing on the B string. If its comparable to the B on my Smith that will work. What grabbed me about the Fodera is the tone is flexible for many genres and also the many rave reviews. Now just gotta get the Smith sold. GAS is in effect big time. Thanks for your responses.

[Davidg]

You should look into the Foderas with the "extended B" headstock. These are the ones with three tuners on top (3+2. as opposed to the more common 2+3). This is something that they came up with in conjunction with Mike Pope. The theory has something to do with how the relatively longer string path makes the string vibrate differently which effects the tone. This has been covered at length here on TB.

[Basehead]

My 34" Emperor Deluxe 5 has a nice, present, authoritative low B (.120 gauge) - notes stay clear and articulate up the neck.