Fodera Club Part XII

[wrp]

Originally Posted by TapyTap

If I remember correctly, the depth on the body of this instrument is 4" or so. My classical guitar has a body depth of 4" and has a flat top and back. While this Hybrid is certainly a much larger instrument overall, the 4" depth on the body would seem to make my classical guitar approach to playing bass very familiar and comfortable...much more than a thin bodied bass. Then again, I do play the bass guitar in a classical guitar manner.

The Hybrid design is causing me to drool on my keyboard!

Tapytap, you hit the nail on the head. In fact AJ urged me to study classical guitar posture. As I've mentioned before, I have a lot of things to work on to do justice to this instrument. I'm definitely up for the challenge!

[skycoaster]

I'm liking my P/J equipped Monarch Deluxe, eq set flat or passive. How are people setting their bass,mid, treble? It's easy to get carried away and screw it up. Set flat my bass is very even sounding across the freq range. Does anybody know how Vic sets his eq?

[nostatic]

Not sure about his bass but consider that live he's running through a Hartke setup and that'll color things.

I generally run mine flat when I'm on the neck pup, maybe a tad of mid boost when 50/50 (mid switch down which I think is 800hz), and on the bridge pup I add some bass and mid.

Speaking of Monarch PJ, mine came back home today after a bit of a shave in Brooklyn. Holy frijoles, she is fast. And the whole bass resonance is amazing. Will plug her into a proper amp this evening, and multiple gigs tomorrow.

[kamakiriad7]

What do you mean by a shave?

[nostatic]

I had the neck taken down a bit (a tad narrower and less meat on the shoulder). It is now closer to my YYD. Not for the faint of heart but I never leave well enough alone. Also had it plek'd while it was in. The thing plays like butter. And real butter...not that imitation stuff.

[ian_s]

It is hard for me to imagine something easier playing than my YYS. Gotta take a pilgrimage one of these days.

[Jin Kim]

I agree that Monarch 4 is the easiest playing bass of all I have. It is my main bass since arrived a month ago.
If I want jazz bass like sound I tad cut 400hz little bit. Due to Mahogany body it has little mid bump when I play set flat. I do back and forth to use balance knob during the song when it needed and it has great result. Like ballad, latin, walking stuff I use forward to neck, general funk style use center and add little bass. Soloing, depends on style but go to rear pick up little bit for finger style and center for slap.
As I said before it is easiest bass and weight is little under 9 lbs.

[skycoaster]

Are the low mid, medium mid, and high mid frequencies defined? I'm just wondering exactly what the frequencies are. I currently have my mid switch set to toggle between low and medium mids. Again I'm running mostly flat so it doesn't matter that much. I also fixed treble low and fixed bass high.

[Jin Kim]

I am not sure high but mid switch has 400 and 800 set. It is very useful when I use.

Originally Posted by skycoaster

Are the low mid, medium mid, and high mid frequencies defined? I'm just wondering exactly what the frequencies are. I currently have my mid switch set to toggle between low and medium mids. Again I'm running mostly flat so it doesn't matter that much. I also fixed treble low and fixed bass high.

[TapyTap]

Originally Posted by wrp

Agreed on sound clips. I'm waiting for the titanium truss rod to be installed before i take delivery, then i'll need some time to get acquainted. So It may be a few weeks. Also, I want to make sure the signal chain I use is up to the standard of the instrument.

Wow, I was under the impression that you were actually picking up the bass when you visited the the shop!

Well, when you feel ready, I look forward to hearing those clips! Thanks for being willing to do that.

[wrp]

Originally Posted by TapyTap

Wow, I was under the impression that you were actually picking up the bass when you visited the the shop!

Well, when you feel ready, I look forward to hearing those clips! Thanks for being willing to do that.

The original plan was to ship the bass to me in San Francisco when it was done. I was given the option to meet AJ at the shop and rearranged a business trip to New York to coordinate with his schedule.

By the way, that very large road case in the background of the pics on the Fodera site is the case for my bass...

[Just Thumpin']

It's tone is not (and was not) intended to sound like a double bass...frankly, Rob Allen does that as well as anyone I'm aware of in the electric bass world.

Yes, there is more "air," "space" and "wood," with the Hybrid but the tone is still very much an evolution of the electric bass...

J

Originally Posted by Robin Ruscio

Oh, I also am very curious to hear the hybrid! As a primarily double bassist, I've always thought that something getting a more acoustic tone into an electric would be great for people who want to play jazz on the bass guitar made sense. I've been disappointed by virtually every attempt to make that happen though, except for maybe what I've heard of the Rob Allen Deep 5's. I will be curious how this stacks up. It makes total sense for AJ's playing style and can't wait to hear him on his when it's done.

I also want to say that we all know this isn't cheap, but I'm guessing compared to the master made double basses some of us own it's not crazy. Acoustic instruments are very difficult to make.

[Just Thumpin']

Actually, Vin likes to keep our nut width fairly constant no matter what the bridge spacing is UNLESS asked to change it by a customer. He feels (and I personally agree) that things start to feel too narrow if we go much below 1 27/32" on a fiver...

J

Originally Posted by nostatic

I don't, but I assume with the tighter bridge and smaller body (and stringing E-C) that is is probably closer to 1-3/4"

[Just Thumpin']

Darn it, our true inspiration has been revealed!!!!!

LOL!

J

Originally Posted by TapyTap

Not quite a guitarrón, but the thought did cross my mind.

[Garey]

I gotta say, Jason...the new bass is incredible. I can only imagine all of the thought and energy that went into making this a reality. Vinny is a true master...stunning in every way!!

[Just Thumpin']

If you really want that info, you can email the shop and we will provide it. That said, we strongly believe that knowing the numbers can be a dangerous thing. Honestly, play with the knobs and hear how things sound...switch the jumpers in the preamp around (if you have the version that started shipping in 2009 or later) and experiment with the low and high settings for each of low, mid and high...get to know the thing.

I have found that every time I think in terms of frequencies I start doing strange things to my preamp settings. When I simply listen and dial in what sounds right it usually is...IMHO, of course.

When Joey, Mike and David were going back and forth during the preamp's design, they always talked tone...not frequencies...

Cheers,

J

Originally Posted by skycoaster

Are the low mid, medium mid, and high mid frequencies defined? I'm just wondering exactly what the frequencies are. I currently have my mid switch set to toggle between low and medium mids. Again I'm running mostly flat so it doesn't matter that much. I also fixed treble low and fixed bass high.

[Just Thumpin']

I am pretty sure that the road case could fit me if I needed to ship myself! LOL...

Originally Posted by wrp

The original plan was to ship the bass to me in San Francisco when it was done. I was given the option to meet AJ at the shop and rearranged a business trip to New York to coordinate with his schedule.

By the way, that very large road case in the background of the pics on the Fodera site is the case for my bass...

[Just Thumpin']

The process was truly amazing to be a part of. It's the same way that the Standards were born and the way that any unique, new instrument / model is approached. We do a lot of talking and brain storming...not in any kind of organized way...it's much more organic than what you'd associate with a "company" setting.

One of us (it could be anyone in the shop) gets an inspired thought and grabs everyone else (interrupting what they were doing, unfortunately) and we chat over an Espresso or a glass of wine (if its late in the day). At some point the collective ideas reach a critical mass and then Vinny starts sketching something.

With the Hybrid, concepts have been being discussed for many, many years going back way before I even knew the guys. AJ, Vinny and Joey have been in constant discussions about how to push the envelope on the Presentation. Matt Garrison's desire for a more "acoustic" tone yielded our first attempt at a Hybrid (again, before I was a Partner -- right around our 25th Anniversary). Then Wayne had a whole bunch of ideas for this instrument that helped crystallize a lot of things that were being discussed. So many of the innovations that take place here come from listening to what our players are asking us for...

Anyway, there are invariably lots of bumps and bruises along the way. Sometimes we go down a dead end with a design or idea and need to start over. The choice of woods to use and specs for each of the Standards were a particularly brutal set of discussions for us because thinking about what would please the broadest spectrum of players (rather than a specific player) was really new territory for us. LOTS of 10:00pm and 7:00am phone calls with new ideas / anxieties. But somehow, it all seems to come together.

I think that the really special thing here is an incredibly amount of modesty. All of us try our very best to listen -- to one another, but most importantly, to you (the folks that play our instruments). Yes, we are all too human and at times one of us (or all of us) get our back up a bit when hit with certain criticisms, but after we settle back down and do the necessary soul searching, we always end up listening...

Cheers,

J

Originally Posted by Garey

I gotta say, Jason...the new bass is incredible. I can only imagine all of the thought and energy that went into making this a reality. Vinny is a true master...stunning in every way!!

[Just Thumpin']

Yes, he is tremendously gifted and takes as much pride in what he does as anyone that I have personally come into contact with. Most significantly, despite his talents, he is as humble as he is gifted and always listens to input and views the work of the Shop very much as a team effort...

Originally Posted by Garey

Vinny is a true master.

[Hou]

Originally Posted by NickyBass

Can a Monarch Deluxe be ordered without a top? Just solid alder body?

Does anyone have pics of a topless Fodera?

This one is nice to