Budget "Foderas"

[Brad Johnson]

I love the title of this tread "Budget Foderas"
Oh yeah, aisle 12 next to the Alembic Clearance Sale... why pay retail?

Nice commercial for Pope pre's, although a bit long winded (they are good and I own one and am not associated with Fodera)

Now to what OP is addressing, there are some very high quality builders out there and $3000 can get you a really spectacular bass with build and material quality on par with a brand like Fodera. Especially if are looking at used basses in this economy, you can score large with that budget. Not with a Fodera name plate on it however(unless you are looking at NYC Empires). Have a look at what is for sale in the classified, there is lots to choose from and I guarantee, no one is selling anything right now. In other words, it's a buyers market and low offer probably gets you a mac-daddy bass for a fraction of what is worth. I see plenty of high end Jazz Basses, Rbass, Stambaugh, Smith, Elrick and at least 3 Fodera NYC Empires and many more, all can be gotten of less than $3k

While I generally agree, that's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?

Higher priced, higher end basses never flew off the used shelves before the current market and if you're selling the "right" bass you don't have to give it away... unless "you" have to. I've sold several basses in this market and if I hadn't pulled my Fodera Anthony Jackson Contrabass and Marleaux JB Deluxe 5 off the market, they'd both be gone. Like before, you have to either wait for the right buyer (they're still out there IME) or drop your pants. I see people dropping their prices when they haven't had a hit for a few hours.

If you're selling an item with limited name recognition, that can take longer too. Just like before. And those brands mentioned at the end of your post for the most part were going for under $3k (well under in many cases) before the current market. It's a buyers market if the seller is under duress. That was true before too.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Thanks
I`m in no hurry, I`ll take my time. Actually, looks don`t matter that much, but it must be a cuttin`punchy sucker with ultralow action

There are several Euro brands I'd be checking out if I were on your side of the world.

 

[FelliniFlex]

A friend of mine here in Chile had a Custom Bass made by a Chilean Luthier a couple years ago and he bought a "Fodera kind-of-preamp" to Mike Pope on his website. He's one of Chile's Top Session Players and he almost never uses his "custom 6 string" because he just loves his Ken Smith, but it's mainly because he wasn't totally with the bass (it seems that the luthier didn't quite sattisfy his expectations, who knows) even if the preamp is great (he also got Aero Pickups). Funny thing is that a couple weeks ago he had to play a gig with this "custom" bass and the sound was very good, you can hear it on this video...

 

[bugbass]

There are several Euro brands I'd be checking out if I were on your side of the world.

I know, I was looking at some Ritter basses.. Kidding aside(Fodera pricing), I was still hoping to get some response from my fellow european bassplayers, cause I know they hang in here.. I simply put the Fodera name in the thread title because it`s a well known brand, and probably would get me some response
The Foderas look awesome, and I will probably own one some day, but right now I can`t afford that kind of money. Thanks everybody for the input

 

[JazzyLambert]

I would love an outboard Mike Pope Pre-amp.

________________________
Can't Groove@14

 

[7string]

www.acguitars.co.uk

+ 1.

Cool designs, awesome wood choice and the exclusive ACG-01 filter-based preamp (only the EQ-02 version is sold seperately).

 

[spade2you]

There are several Euro brands I'd be checking out if I were on your side of the world.

Definitely check out some local luthiers, especially since a higher end tone and low action are basically your requirements. That's a cake walk!

You might want to look at Cliff Bordwell or Chris Stambaugh since I've heard the US dollar is weaker than the Euro, but I don't follow that stuff closely.

 

[flipper_gv]

I'd like to weigh in here on the Fodera / Pope Preamp. First of all, it is a FABULOUS preamp, Mike Pope designed it along with David Yates and Joey Lauricella. The preamp is tailored to Fodera and unique in that Mike does not sell them to anyone but Fodera.

You can buy our (Fodera's) internal preamp directly from the shop. They cost $450. You would be responsible for dealing with making sure that our preamp fits in your control cavity and/or re-routing your bass.

However, please do NOT expect your bass to sound like a Fodera just by using the Fodera / Pope Preamp. Our instruments are built so that the sum of all of their parts -- custom pickups, pickup placement, aged and selected tone woods, Fodera Strings, etc. -- create the Fodera Sound.

The definition of a great preamp is one that is sonically neutral -- one that when in the flat position will add no color to the sound of the instrument at all. The Pope / Fodera internal preamp in our basses comes as close to that as presently possible, but it does not create the Fodera sound, it is merely one piece of the puzzle.

For that matter, for $399 we also sell an outboard version of the Pope / Fodera Preamp that you can use without even dealing with routing your bass or drilling holes in it...again, it sounds KILLER, but unless you are playing a Fodera, you are not going to completely get the Fodera sound...hope this all makes sense!

You can always contact us for more customized information at:

[email protected]

Regards,

Jason

Yah sure. I just got a bit over excited because I've always found the pre and its layout to be really awesome on foderas and I've heard many times people saying how much the pope pre was flexible and all. The simple fact that the pre is exclusive to Fodera, and that I've heard many basses with very similar constructio/pickups than fodera and still being far from the tone I hear in most foderas just makes me think that the Pope pre has a definitive impact on the fodera sound. I'm sure the also exclusive custom wired SD and Aero pickups make a big difference too, but I was saying the pre surely is an important factor... among others.

In the same way, it's hard to get the same tone that a BEE bass withtout the BEE pre.

 

[Dbassmon]

It's a buyers market if the seller is under duress. That was true before too.

The entire economy is under duress.... I don't think that is an exaggeration.

It is absolutely a buyers market. High end basses definitely fall into the "discretionary spending" category. While it true that one must always wait for the "right buyer", there exponentially fewer of the "right buyers" in the market place now. This exerts downward pressure on prices.

While willingness to negotiate a lower price is dependent on the individual seller, in general, people are willing to negotiate a lower price (as you put it, drop their pants, to one extent or another), hence it is a good time to pick up an expensive bass used at a historically very good price. my opinion, of course

 

[thepontif]

By the same token, from what I'm seeing from my perspective, high end stuff is simply not impacted by the economic situtation in the country to anywhere NEAR the degree that the more "priced for volume" stuff is. Many of the people with the money to spend a lot at their discretion still have plenty of money. Ugly as it sounds, 10% unemployment is 90% employment. I think people with money that aren't spending are doing so by choice because it's an unpredictable time and it's a bad practice to throw away money when you can't be certain where it's replacement will come from. Not because they can't afford to spend. Still, there are lot's of people out there spending.

Bottom line is, if time isn't against you, you can still get a high price.

 

[christoph h.]

If a preamp of mine shows up in any other builders' basses it's because the person buying the bass requested it and they paid retail price. And it's not a Fodera preamp unless it was purchased from Fodera. Practically speaking, my preamps all sound really great, in the opinion of many. But it's important to understand that Fodera and I have a VERY exclusive arrangement between us and that their preamp recipe is theirs and only theirs.

Well, I'm one of these "persons"! I own a Nordsrand singlecut bass with an (externally powered!) preamp designed/built by Mike.

I also own a Fodera Emperor bolt-on with the newest genereration preamp. I wasn't as happy with the older Fodera preamp, but the new one is simply great.

Both basses sound fantastic and having owned two incarnations of the preamps in each of them I can say that the newer designs really make a big difference.

I feel that the different versions of Mike's preamps share some of the same qualities - they sound very open to my ears, very musical. The EQ frequency centers allow for very useful adjustments while always leaving your basic sound come through. Of course, that leaves the player responsible for getting a "basic sound" through technique and quality equipment (including the instrument itself) that doesn't need a total make-over through equalization.

Still, the basses sound totally different! The Fodera sounds like a Fodera and the Nordstrand sounds... well, like a great sounding bass!

This is getting long, but I want to add that I've played/heard enough Foderas to feel qualified to say that I hear a certain "Fodera sound" regardless of wood choices or other options - even the player! I hear it mostly in the middle ("voice") and upper register of the instrument. A very organic, "singing" sound. I haven't heard that in any other bass, so if that's the sound you want, you'd have to get a Fodera.

 

[Brad Johnson]

The entire economy is under duress.... I don't think that is an exaggeration.

This was the exaggeration: "no one is selling anything right now".

Sure they are. Check out the locked posts in the classifieds.

It is absolutely a buyers market. High end basses definitely fall into the "discretionary spending" category. While it true that one must always wait for the "right buyer", there exponentially fewer of the "right buyers" in the market place now. This exerts downward pressure on prices.

Sorry but one "must" not always wait for the right buyer... one "might" have to. One might not. It depends on exactly what you're selling. While $6k is a lot of money relatively speaking, I wouldn't have had to wait for a buyer if I hadn't sold some other high end basses and changed my mind. And those other basses sold. For what I was asking for.

If you weren't stating it as an absolute I wouldn't have mentioned it.

While willingness to negotiate a lower price is dependent on the individual seller, in general, people are willing to negotiate a lower price (as you put it, drop their pants, to one extent or another), hence it is a good time to pick up an expensive bass used at a historically very good price. my opinion, of course

I agree, many are. It's nice to not be in a position where you have to sell and I realize for many that's a luxury. And I can't help but think of some of the people who've tried to sell stuff and are taking an apparent beating and they're some of the same folks who said they weren't concerned about resale value when they made the purchase. This market, this economy is why I think it's naive to not keep that as a major consideration if you're potentially at risk.

 

[Brad Johnson]

By the same token, from what I'm seeing from my perspective, high end stuff is simply not impacted by the economic situtation in the country to anywhere NEAR the degree that the more "priced for volume" stuff is. Many of the people with the money to spend a lot at their discretion still have plenty of money. Ugly as it sounds, 10% unemployment is 90% employment. I think people with money that aren't spending are doing so by choice because it's an unpredictable time and it's a bad practice to throw away money when you can't be certain where it's replacement will come from. Not because they can't afford to spend. Still, there are lot's of people out there spending.

Bottom line is, if time isn't against you, you can still get a high price.

That's what I'm seeing too, Mike.

 

[raal]

If I said I`d love to have a Fodera, but my budget is max $3000, what brand(s) do you think of?

R bass all the way. portraitoftracy is currently selling a killer neck through Rbass (looks just like an imperial) for much less than $3K. I'd buy this bass in a second if I didn't have another R bass.