Anthony Jacksons new Fodera bass

[Just Thumpin']

A 33" scale instrument with everything identical (other than scale length) to the 36" scale version will sound and feel very, very differently.

concept IS the more articulate 36" scale

this move towards shorter scales (i.e. 33 or less) is only fairly recently viable because of improved string technology

you're just not going to get that piano like tone with a shorter scale - it's physics folks

 

[JAUQO III-X]

Thanks

You're welcome.

 

[Just Thumpin']

A custom one that we have made for the hybrids by Estrella.

J

What gig bag does he use?

 

[HeavyJazz]

What a great interview! I finally got around to reading it. I'd love to see the other 11 Contrabasses given they've all been numbered and he's donning number 12 today. Anybody have a pictorial history?

 

[cubanbass]

I love this clip of Anthony Jackson, https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL700DE817F1B9ED2F&v=Hrlki01Aa5c

 

[bobbykokinos]

I may have missed it. But, out of curiosity, is there a site or page somewhere that has a list of his Presentation basses from the beginning and what changes have been made to each one?

It would be neat to compare it all side by side to see how big and small of changes he has made throughout the years.

 

[klaus486]

That would be really cool to see. I'd love to have Anthony himself make comments on each bass and the music he made with it and it's pluses and minuses.

 

[blen dem]

Will see AJ and his new Fodera live this Thursday with Hiromi Trio at SF JAZZ! CANNOT WAIT!

 

[Matt Dean]

JEALOUS!!!!

 

[SlappyWhite]

The pic of the bottom end of that bass looks like part of a toilet. There must be some very intricate chambering inside that thing for it to cost that much.

 

[jacobsmithbass_]

Just noticed on the newborn site that on the Pii that he only has side dots on the 7th and 19th fret. I love this idea, I'd probably have 5 9 15 19 24 on a 28 fret neck. AJ is a bad man!

 

[Bernie Connors]

I just read through this entire thread and it's a great read! AJ is just a legend.

 

[Zanderwestcoast]

Monster Bass....monster player. Interesting that once again its an all passive instrument. I read a recent interview with Vinnie claiming he's never built a better sounding bass than this.

 

[placedesjardins]

Here's a pic of him with it. That's Laura Fodera on the left and Chris from BSD on the right.

He doesn't look too happy. Maybe he wanted a different color.

 

[Munjibunga]

He doesn't look too happy. Maybe he wanted a different color.

Anthony looks happy mostly when he's playing.

 

[pnchad]

He doesn't look too happy. Maybe he wanted a different color.

you can have any color you like as long as it's holly

no soup for you

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

Just noticed on the newborn site that on the Pii that he only has side dots on the 7th and 19th fret. I love this idea, I'd probably have 5 9 15 19 24 on a 28 fret neck. AJ is a bad man!

I have AJs #9! It's my main bass and I've never been more in love with an instrument. The 36" scale is not intimidating at all, and it's made me fall in love with the idea of the 6 string. But the side dots only being on 7, 12, and 19 is terrible! I'm actually saving to bring it in and have the guys put the rest of the dots in. I don't usually look down when I play, but when I do, I'm often completely thrown when I make a huge jump up that aircraft carrier of a fingerboard and getting lost in the middle of a solo sucks. Especially on such a pretty sounding instrument when you have something cool in mind....haha

 

[Bernie Connors]

I have AJs #9! It's my main bass and I've never been more in love with an instrument. The 36" scale is not intimidating at all, and it's made me fall in love with the idea of the 6 string. But the side dots only being on 7, 12, and 19 is terrible! I'm actually saving to bring it in and have the guys put the rest of the dots in. I don't usually look down when I play, but when I do, I'm often completely thrown when I make a huge jump up that aircraft carrier of a fingerboard and getting lost in the middle of a solo sucks. Especially on such a pretty sounding instrument when you have something cool in mind....haha

What a gorgeous instrument!!

 

[mark beem]

I have AJs #9! It's my main bass and I've never been more in love with an instrument. The 36" scale is not intimidating at all, and it's made me fall in love with the idea of the 6 string. But the side dots only being on 7, 12, and 19 is terrible! I'm actually saving to bring it in and have the guys put the rest of the dots in. I don't usually look down when I play, but when I do, I'm often completely thrown when I make a huge jump up that aircraft carrier of a fingerboard and getting lost in the middle of a solo sucks. Especially on such a pretty sounding instrument when you have something cool in mind....haha

Utterly beautiful!

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

I know....Vinny really outdid himself on this bass. And on my wall it doubles as an expensive art piece! haha

It's actually been a difficult instrument to tame, sonically. It's incredibly bright and often harsh in the high-mid region, but has this inherent thickness in the low end that almost prefers no EQing. In the studio it's just beastly. I've had several amazing engineers just flip out over it since I got it. No EQ, nothing, it just delivers these perfect sitting tracks every time. Live, things are a bit more difficult. Any amp with ANY voicing of it's own will not work. Frequencies clash, and regardless of EQ the bass just doesn't sound right. I've found it works best with my Monique pre/Minnie power amp/Epifani cabs. The Monique helps make those high-mids sound a little more musical. At first, I had Joey wire the pickup in series rather than parallel, but I've since gone back to parallel and had a friend install a 250k passive tone pot/.047 cap in the back cavity. Getting pretty close to what I want, but the bass still just makes me want to play ALL the time.