Fodera Club Part XVI

[Wilbyman]

Hi guys. My buddy locally had a 4 string Emperor 21 fret bolt-on with Duncan J's (alder/maple) years back. It was definitely closer to a Fender sound but probably more along the lines of a Lull or Sadowsky, i.e. modern. Great bass.

I am sure you could spec out a real 60'ish Fodera, but man, it seems like you could get an old Fender (or an Alleva) for the same money. My .02.

[antontanzil]

Originally Posted by bassdoubler

I have to agree, after acquiring my Imperial 5 on a whim, it felt as if my playing changed for the better literally overnight.

But I have to say, I sometimes find myself in the middle of a gig with it thinking, "wow, this is the greatest feeling bass I've ever played on, but I kinda wish it sounded a bit more Fender-ish in the mix." Anyone have any EQ suggestions for overcoming this? I tend to crank the bass knob on the 3 band but then sometimes it can get too muddy. ALWAYS super clear and articulate though in the mids and highs....I guess I love the tone of my old Fenders and Fender-esque basses but I don't want to play them anymore now that I have this Fodera!!

It's funny that I have the same problem, that I just realize yesterday. My last Jazz Bass was a 78 that I have a few months ago, I had a 74 a few years ago that was the best Jazz Bass I ever own, since that I've been having F Bass, MTDs and now a Fodera.

My Fodera is more 'traditional' sounding than others that I've played, due to the Alder body and Rosewood Board, it can get very Jazz like on single coil mode, so I have no problem with it, that is until yesterday, when for the first time in quite a while I play a 'Jazz Bass', which is my own company's Bass, a 5-string that I design myself, which is a very Jazz Bass like instrument, especially the pickups. I've compared them with Fenders and I bet no one can tell that it's not a Fender judging from it's sound.

First thing I notice that it doesn't took me long during soundcheck to get a Fat sound that 'sits well in the mix'. With my Fodera I constantly tweak knobs on my amp and the Bass during soundcheck, and maybe the first 10 minutes of the gig, and everybody gave a good comment on the sound.

But halfway through the songs, I wish that I have my Fodera with me, I miss having the broad range of sound my Fodera has, just by switching from single to dual coil, and the organic sounding preamp (Pope's are the best!), and of course it's playability and response.

So yeah, I think that there's no 'Holy Grail' after all. if you want a fat 'vintage' sound that everybody (including ourselves) is familiar with, you just have to have one that have that specific sound. Don't matter what Brand it is.

But if I had to have just one Bass to bring, I'll bring my Fodera, it's as good as 3 different Basses, and the playability is second to none.

[Hou]

County Thump

[gkbass13]

Very cool, Hou!

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by gkbass13

Very cool, Hou!

Agreed, but can we get a little more bottom, please?

[basses55]

IN ....

[jsbarber]

If you want a Fodera quality instrument that sounds like a Fender, then order a custom Fodera with Fender style pickups. (If I remember correctly one of Jason's basses has '70s era JJ pickups on it.) That's the beauty of working with a custom builder. They can build you what you want. If that's your tonal objective you might also want to consider NYBW. David is known for his ability to do this very thing. Fender tone in modern 4-6 string instruments. Build quality is outstanding.

Jim

Originally Posted by bassdoubler

I have to agree, after acquiring my Imperial 5 on a whim, it felt as if my playing changed for the better literally overnight.

But I have to say, I sometimes find myself in the middle of a gig with it thinking, "wow, this is the greatest feeling bass I've ever played on, but I kinda wish it sounded a bit more Fender-ish in the mix." Anyone have any EQ suggestions for overcoming this? I tend to crank the bass knob on the 3 band but then sometimes it can get too muddy. ALWAYS super clear and articulate though in the mids and highs....I guess I love the tone of my old Fenders and Fender-esque basses but I don't want to play them anymore now that I have this Fodera!!

[kamakiriad7]

Absolutely. I'm glad that Fodera is a custom shop that has their own thing going on, not directly influenced by other designs. I'm glad that I own an Emperor, unique in design. However, in a year or two, I'm planning to order my second Fodera bass in Fender styling. (For a change of pace.) Alder, Brazilian Rosewood FB, LG control setup, heck even with a pickguard and block inlays.

Just gotta decide on whether to go for a PJ (not EMG) or JJ setup....

Originally Posted by jsbarber

If you want a Fodera quality instrument that sounds like a Fender, then order a custom Fodera with Fender style pickups. (If I remember correctly one of Jason's basses has '70s era JJ pickups on it.) That's the beauty of working with a custom builder. They can build you what you want. If that's your tonal objective you might also want to consider NYBW. David is known for his ability to do this very thing. Fender tone in modern 4-6 string instruments. Build quality is outstanding.

Jim

[Lennard III.]

can't wait to see this Bass finished (is that one of the upcoming NAMM AJ's ?)




btw. Bass Club Chicage have showed some infos of the Fodera 30th Anniversary basses on their Facebook page - looks like we'll see some nice looking basses :

Victor Wooten Limited Edition Monarch (Ltd to 6 pcs) EXACT replica of Vic's #37 @ Signed by Victor!

Yin Yang Deluxe Monarch 4 with Brazilian Rosewood/African Satinwood top (Limited to 6 pieces) @

Emperor Elite II 5 with Amboyna Burl top

Matt Garrison Imperial 5 with Brazilian Rosewood top

Imperial Elite 5 Walnut Burl

Emperor Deluxe 5 Belize Burl

[Just Thumpin']

The unfortunately reality is that dialing in a spec is all about making the right (and inevitable) compromises. I have very small hands and short arms and thus from a playability standpoint, the shorter the scale length the better. That said, I significantly prefer the sound of the E-string at 34" scale to 33". Again, this is MY personal preference and is why I play 34" scale. Tonally, each step up in scale length sounds better to my ear but I simply cannot play 35" or 36" with any degree of comfort and, as such I chose 34" -- the best compromise for my personal situation...

Originally Posted by Plunger

Nostatic, I love the look of the MGS with the ramp removed!

Ok, so I'm a little freaked out by the talk of 33" scale not having the tone of a 34". I'm sure there's a little difference, but it sounds like there's more of a difference than I expected. I don't play a lot of jazz, as most folks here seem to(I'm assuming, and we know what that stands for) I am, however, the best jazz soloist in my corner of the living room
I'm more of a blues/rock jam band player. While my choice of tone woods is still in the air, I was fairly sure about the scale length(33") I want. I, like some others here, have smaller hands. I'd like to be able to play 6th's and 9th's below the 7th fret without having to slightly pivot, which wreaks havoc on my left elbow(and has caused me to have tendonitis for the last few years). But I don't want to have the tone or ability to cut through the mix suffer. Here's the basic spec's I have so far:

Monarch
33" scale
Mahogany body
Maple neck(bolt-on)
Ebony board
Duals Coils
5 string B-G

I'm sure I'll speak to Jason more about this when it comes time to lock in my production start(June-July), but is anyone else in or been in the same boat, or have any advice? Should I be overly concerned, or just find an amp that goes to 11.

[Just Thumpin']

There is simply no way to put a number on it as it is highly personal. For me, personally, the difference in tone is significant enough that I have chosen to sacrifice the playability of 33" scale for the tone of 34"...but again, that is just my personal preference...

Originally Posted by nuwavedc

I'm not having mix cut issues with the 33" MGS, but I'm playing it tenor in a 3pc with another bassist. The tone on my 34" imperial is superior for standard bass playing IMO. I had a recording of a comparison, but I deleted it, sorry.

Lets ask the Jason & the Pontif about this too: Mike, Jason in your experience, is the difference between the tones of 33 & 34" basses about 3% or is there some kind of non linear relationship? I can't tell on my end because the woods on my two basses are so different.

Thanks.

[Just Thumpin']

Around 9.5 lbs.

Originally Posted by nomatic

Do any Fodera fans have a clue what the emperor standards
are averaging in weight? I am starting to think I need one.....

[Just Thumpin']

Why not make an appointment to come into the shop and have us set up the bass for you and show you how to get "that" tone. It would take less than an hour and Joey or I could dial it in for you just right...

Kindest regards,

Jason

Originally Posted by bassdoubler

very interesting....I know exactly what you mean, too. I've got those strings literally riding the frets and it feels fantastic, but I guess a lot of tone is lost at the same time with the lack of vibrating room. The neck width and spacing of my Imp 5 feel great to me, but I just miss that classic TONE. I find the dual coil duncans are actually far quieter in both passive AND active mode than any of my other basses which makes it THAT much more difficult to find a setting that cuts through right.

Played a gig tonight with my Imperial and the guy in the headlining band after me had a '75 P-bass. I was so jealous of his tone even though I know my Imperial feels about 10000 times nicer to play. I just sold my Alleva-Coppolo LM5 to partially fund an AJ presentation shape Imperial 6....my thoughts being the bigger body may lend itself to an overall fatter tone....it would just bother me forever to know that the basses which inspire me to play the most don't do it for me sonically!

I'm gonna try and figure out this customizable preamp deal and play with some options and see what I get....

[Just Thumpin']

Actually the YYD is only one instrument...and the AJP that Vinny is carving is going to a customer in Japan and is not actually a NAMM bass.

Cheers,

J

Originally Posted by Lennard III.

can't wait to see this Bass finished (is that one of the upcoming NAMM AJ's ?)




btw. Bass Club Chicage have showed some infos of the Fodera 30th Anniversary basses on their Facebook page - looks like we'll see some nice looking basses :

Victor Wooten Limited Edition Monarch (Ltd to 6 pcs) EXACT replica of Vic's #37 @ Signed by Victor!

Yin Yang Deluxe Monarch 4 with Brazilian Rosewood/African Satinwood top (Limited to 6 pieces) @

Emperor Elite II 5 with Amboyna Burl top

Matt Garrison Imperial 5 with Brazilian Rosewood top

Imperial Elite 5 Walnut Burl

Emperor Deluxe 5 Belize Burl

[bassdoubler]

woah! you guys are using Amboyna burl now!? My favorite wood!! Jason, I definitely need to make an appointment and roll by the shop soon....perhaps after the holidays...

[Just Thumpin']

Yes, we were able to source some super old, very, very finae material that was wide enough to make several solid tops. We are pretty excited about it!

Looking forward to seeing you in Brooklyn...

Regards,

J

Originally Posted by bassdoubler

woah! you guys are using Amboyna burl now!? My favorite wood!! Jason, I definitely need to make an appointment and roll by the shop soon....perhaps after the holidays...

[cnltb]

Originally Posted by Just Thumpin'

Actually the YYD is only one instrument...and the AJP that Vinny is carving is going to a customer in Japan and is not actually a NAMM bass.

Cheers,

J

Is the AJP being carved in the pictures a 'regular' one?
The body appears smaller to me, than usual.
Maybe it's just the angle at which it is seen in the Picture...

[Just Thumpin']

Yes, it is the same as AJ's...

J

Originally Posted by cnltb

Is the AJP being carved in the pictures a 'regular' one?
The body appears smaller to me, than usual.
Maybe it's just the angle at which it is seen in the Picture...

[kamakiriad7]

How would you wood connoisseurs describe the tonal differences between alder and ash?

[nostatic]

my take:

alder - warmer, more mids
ash - more aggressive, more lows and highs

I've owned a lot of basses and only one ash body bass ever stayed in the house very long. Just not my thing but plenty of guys love them and don't like alder or walnut (my personal fav).