Fodera Club Part III

[steubig]

i also have a couple with maple fingerboards and a couple with rosewood. i string the maples with flats and rosewoods with rounds. all are 6-strings.

the top and body woods are the same. (my first is from 1985, so i've been doing this for a while.)

honestly, i don't know why you'd get two unless you do something like this, but that's just me.

i'm not into mixing different string configurations.

ymmv.

 

[Christian Houmann]

I was in this boat.

I actually had two different Monarchs - different specs, different wood, but they felt similar enough that I got rid of one. I didn't need two, and it was pretty much overkill.

Now I have an Emperor and a Monarch. Different woods, different feel, different tone, different basses. Couldn't be happier with my decision.

Have we seen your Emperor in this thread?

 

[Angus]

I was in this boat.

I actually had two different Monarchs - different specs, different wood, but they felt similar enough that I got rid of one. I didn't need two, and it was pretty much overkill.

Now I have an Emperor and a Monarch. Different woods, different feel, different tone, different basses. Couldn't be happier with my decision.

Yeah, this is actually exactly what I'm afraid of. I have two MG 5's with totally different woods on order, one E-C one B-G. They should sound totally different, but I'm afraid that I'll end up just stringing both E-C and find that I like one better than the other and wind up selling the second. That would be a lot of money down the drain. It sort of happened with my Benavente's- both amazing, but one was just a better fit, even though they were totally different.

So I'm thinking of switching one to a deep cutaway Monarch 6 string. Maybe 5, but probably 6.

I paid a 50% down last year, so I need to find out if they are going to reprice it to 2010 prices if I do that. I don't think they will, as that defeats the purpose of a down payment, but it is still important to note, because the price of a Monarch elite went up $1400 this year.

i also have a couple with maple fingerboards and a couple with rosewood. i string the maples with flats and rosewoods with rounds. all are 6-strings.

the top and body woods are the same. (my first is from 1985, so i've been doing this for a while.)

honestly, i don't know why you'd get two unless you do something like this, but that's just me.

i'm not into mixing different string configurations.

ymmv.

I like the idea of having a set of instruments that are very similar except for one or two features yet are in the same primary configuration, but I'm afraid that my practical side (however small a side it is) might overwhelm my desire for variety and cause me to play just one or the other. They should sound totally different (ash neck/maple fb/maple body versus wenge neck/katalox or ebony fb/mahogany body)...but every parent inevitably likes one twin just slightly more, you know what mean?

And that's what I'm afraid of. I won't be buying again for a long, long time, so I want to make sure I do this right!

 

[Christian Houmann]

Check those nice Emperor's with Koa top

 

[moresbum]

It is REALLY the best of the best fingerboard of fodera that I've ever played.
its feel, sound & looks are perfectly fit me.!!! It is VERY light brown color.
However he,hers owner, told me that Kingwood can order NO longer.
Is it right? If your answer is yes, Why does fodera drop Kingwood fingerboard? The reason I think Fodera "dropped", not "cannot get" is that it is NOT endengered woods(IMHK).
and I'd like to know What kind of woods is most similar to Kingwood. (Tone, Color and Feel)



Thank you!!!!!

 

[Just Thumpin']

Vinny no longer loves doing burst finishes, but if you have your heart set on it, we will figure out how to make it work. However, we no longer are doing gloss finishes. Vinny just doesn't like them and feels that the hand-rubbed, satin finish that we do wears far better and makes any necessary finish repairs down the road MUCH easier.

Also, FWIW, our finish is a catalyzed urethane lacquer, not poly...

Cheers!

Have you guys checked out this bass yet!!??!!
I'm slightly considering making my Fodera look like this now..the black burst with buckeye in the middle. I wouldn't do the gloss though..just a poly finish

and Jason...is this still possible?

Would you choose the walnut top or the burst??

 

[Just Thumpin']

As a person that owns MANY Monarchs, I have voted with my actions. The bottom line for me is that the Fodera Monarch just feels like home to me. If I were only going to have two Foderas I would get two of the same model with exactly the same electronics but different woods. It is AMAZING how different they sound and I love having essentially "identical" basses with different tonal personalities. These personalities actually bring out different nuances in my playing and composing...

IMHO....

So if you guys had, say, two Foderas on order...would you, say, order two of the same body with different specs, or get two different bodies? Someone, theoretically, if they were in that situation, has been, at least hypothetically, debating this back and forth furiously in his or her head.

 

[Just Thumpin']

I paid a 50% down last year, so I need to find out if they are going to reprice it to 2010 prices if I do that. I don't think they will, as that defeats the purpose of a down payment, but it is still important to note, because the price of a Monarch elite went up $1400 this year.

You would NOT pay the new price just because you changed your spec. You would get credit for the instrument on order at current pricing and would only pay the difference (if any) between the current price of what you change to and the current price of what you had originally ordered...make sense?

 

[Just Thumpin']

Our stash of Madagascar Kingwood is nearly all gone and we are not accepting new orders for this fingerboard material. The stuff that is available in the market now just does not compare to the material we were getting in the 1990's and there are serious questions about how the newer material is being harvested (from an environmental standpoint).

We have enough Kingwood left for all of the basses that we have on order, but no more.

The reason that Vinny originally fell in love with this material is that is sounds and feels (and sometimes even looks) remarkably like...Brazilian Rosewood, but it was significantly less expensive and much easier to get.

So, if you were looking to order a Fodera with a Madagascar Kingwood FB, a Brazilian Rosewood FB would be the way to go. We just recently purchased a wonderful stash of Brazilian and all of it is CITES Certified...

It is REALLY the best of the best fingerboard of fodera that I've ever played.
its feel, sound & looks are perfectly fit me.!!! It is VERY light brown color.
However he,hers owner, told me that Kingwood can order NO longer.
Is it right? If your answer is yes, Why does fodera drop Kingwood fingerboard? The reason I think Fodera "dropped", not "cannot get" is that it is NOT endengered woods(IMHK).
and I'd like to know What kind of woods is most similar to Kingwood. (Tone, Color and Feel)



Thank you!!!!!

 

[moresbum]

Thanks Jason.

If you allow, I want to ask you one more.
Among alder,ash and walnut, in through Neck and with brazilian rosewood, which one do you and Vinny love as body wood?

Of course they have VERY different tone.!!!! I know.
My point is which one is more effective or more better acoustically in those condition - Through neck and brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard.

Our stash of Madagascar Kingwood is nearly all gone and we are not accepting new orders for this fingerboard material. The stuff that is available in the market now just does not compare to the material we were getting in the 1990's and there are serious questions about how the newer material is being harvested (from an environmental standpoint).

We have enough Kingwood left for all of the basses that we have on order, but no more.

The reason that Vinny originally fell in love with this material is that is sounds and feels (and sometimes even looks) remarkably like...Brazilian Rosewood, but it was significantly less expensive and much easier to get.

So, if you were looking to order a Fodera with a Madagascar Kingwood FB, a Brazilian Rosewood FB would be the way to go. We just recently purchased a wonderful stash of Brazilian and all of it is CITES Certified...

 

[Angus]

As a person that owns MANY Monarchs, I have voted with my actions. The bottom line for me is that the Fodera Monarch just feels like home to me. If I were only going to have two Foderas I would get two of the same model with exactly the same electronics but different woods. It is AMAZING how different they sound and I love having essentially "identical" basses with different tonal personalities. These personalities actually bring out different nuances in my playing and composing...

IMHO....

Thanks Jason, that's definitely food for thought. If my instruments are due in Oct/Nov, how long do I have to decide?

 

[steubig]

but every parent inevitably likes one twin just slightly more, you know what mean?

um, yeah, i'm intimately aware of this as i'm the father of boy/girl twins.

and, as i said, since i play fretless and fretted, my twins are pretty different.

 

[Angus]

Hahaha, yeah, I feel you- I've always like the idea of fretted and fretless twins, I just don't play enough fretless to justify another (let alone one that expensive!). As far as two fretted twins goes, well...that's a more difficult decision. Identical or fraternal? That is the question.

First world problems, man.

 

[Jhonnybass]

Check those nice Emperor's with Koa top

The bass on the right belongs to Dave!...the dealer for my Fodera. The other koa fodera is in Ottowa right now I think. I had the chance to play the bass on the right and OMG! It is by far the best bass I have ever played. Amazing Response and soo many tonal options. I kinda hate going over and playing it because when I leave no other bass I play is as good.

 

[Just Thumpin']

For Brazilian we would generally recommend Alder or Mahogany. Alder / Brazilian is one of the classic pairings of all time -- think 60's Jazz Bass. Mahogany's tone tends to bit a bit more even and neutral throughout the tonal spectrum (at least to my ears) and is also a great match. When Vinny built Bass #3,000 and got to choose the woods entirely on his own, he went with Mahogany and Brazilian...

Either combination would be on the warmer side of the tonal spectrum...

That said, a number of players like the brighter, "hybrid" pairing of Ash with Brazilian...

Thanks Jason.

If you allow, I want to ask you one more.
Among alder,ash and walnut, in through Neck and with brazilian rosewood, which one do you and Vinny love as body wood?

Of course they have VERY different tone.!!!! I know.
My point is which one is more effective or more better acoustically in those condition - Through neck and brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard.

 

[Just Thumpin']

Are they due to be completed in Oct/Nov or are your Production Start Dates in Oct/Nov?

Basically, you have four months prior to whatever your Production Start Dates are to make changes...

Regards,

J

Thanks Jason, that's definitely food for thought. If my instruments are due in Oct/Nov, how long do I have to decide?

 

[Rich Treat]

Unless you want to get two different tones, why would you get two? If you do want to achieve two different two tones, then let that be the primary factors that you base your decision on.

what do you want each one to sound like? What would make each one sound the way that you want it to (ei. which wood and PUs)?

I would get different body styles, with different tone woods, and different electronics. But then I would try to get the tops to match each other as much as possible so that they look like sisters.

That person would theoretically get two fretteds, as he has only ever liked fretless Fodera, and he/she plays fretless so infrequently that the one he has is more than sufficient. He/she may currently have two identical-except-for-woods 5s on order, but might change one body and one to a 6 string...but can't decide.

Hypothetically.

Normally this person thinks that these decisions can really only be made by the person who ultimately owns the instruments, but is debating it so furiously that he seeks outside opinions.

 

[emjazz]

Hahaha, yeah, I feel you- I've always like the idea of fretted and fretless twins, I just don't play enough fretless to justify another (let alone one that expensive!). As far as two fretted twins goes, well...that's a more difficult decision. Identical or fraternal? That is the question.

First world problems, man.

If you want one tuned B-G and one tuned E-C....why not just get a 6 string?

Get one chambered...that's what I'd do anyway.

 

[spade2you]

If you want one tuned B-G and one tuned E-C....why not just get a 6 string?

.....this one goes to 11...........

 

[moon-bass]

Have we seen your Emperor in this thread?

Post #698, but I don't mind posting it again