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Fodera Club Part VII

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#202
Just Thumpin' said:
Actually, this is incorrect. Most of the Ash that we use as a body wood IS Swamp Ash. However, depending on where it grows and which part of the tree that you take the wood from, the density of this species can vary considerably. We like medium weight swamp ash far better than the lighter stuff...from a tone perspective. The instruments tend to have deeper lows and are overall more resonant and alive sounding...IMHO...
Click to expand...

Jason,

Is this a recent change? I know Joey and Vinnie were always bigger fans of medium weight Northern Ash than Swamp. This is of course going back 10 years or so -- and tastes certainly change.
 
#207
I love this combination of woods

Fodera_Imperial_5_Elite_arcobaleno.jpg



..... try to imagine it on a Monarch
 
#210
It has less to due with the species of Ash than its weight / density. 10 years ago the instrument grade Swamp Ash being harvested and sold was (on average) much lighter weight than what is available today, so Joey and Vinny opted for medium weight Northern Ash to get the desired weight and density that they felt provided the optimum tone for their vision of what a Fodera should sound like. Remember, unless requested, tone is our primary deciding factor, not weight (within reason).

Today, the Swamp Ash being harvested has increased in weight / density to the point that it is now in our "ideal" weight / density range and that is why we use it. I am not certain of exactly at what point this inverted, but, it has been at least 5 years (perhaps more). By way of example, we just recently finished making this Imperial for Richard Bona:

http://www.fodera.com/Main/NewBornDetails.aspx?FeaturedItemID=102

Richard wanted an EXACT replica of the Imperial that he has been playing for well over 10 years. His original Fodera Imperial (which was purchased used, by the way) had Northern Ash body wings and a Swamp Ash Tone Block. To get the weight right this time around, we had to reverse that and use Swamp Ash Body Blocks and a Northern Ash Tone Block...

I hope that this all makes sense.

J



Joelc73 said:
Jason,

Is this a recent change? I know Joey and Vinnie were always bigger fans of medium weight Northern Ash than Swamp. This is of course going back 10 years or so -- and tastes certainly change.
Click to expand...
 
#211
Hi Jason,

I am sure you have got excellent result in reproducing Richard Bona's old bass in terms of weight, can you commend in how close these 2 basses sounded as well??

I am sure your help in choosing medium weight ash for my order will make good result in tone!!

Cheers!:hyper:


Just Thumpin' said:
It has less to due with the species of Ash than its weight / density. 10 years ago the instrument grade Swamp Ash being harvested and sold was (on average) much lighter weight than what is available today, so Joey and Vinny opted for medium weight Northern Ash to get the desired weight and density that they felt provided the optimum tone for their vision of what a Fodera should sound like. Remember, unless requested, tone is our primary deciding factor, not weight (within reason).

Today, the Swamp Ash being harvested has increased in weight / density to the point that it is now in our "ideal" weight / density range and that is why we use it. I am not certain of exactly at what point this inverted, but, it has been at least 5 years (perhaps more). By way of example, we just recently finished making this Imperial for Richard Bona:

http://www.fodera.com/Main/NewBornDetails.aspx?FeaturedItemID=102

Richard wanted an EXACT replica of the Imperial that he has been playing for well over 10 years. His original Fodera Imperial (which was purchased used, by the way) had Northern Ash body wings and a Swamp Ash Tone Block. To get the weight right this time around, we had to reverse that and use Swamp Ash Body Blocks and a Northern Ash Tone Block...

I hope that this all makes sense.

J
Click to expand...
 
#212
Unfortunately we have not had the pleasure of having them both side-by-side to compare their sounds, but by memory, Joey, Vinny and I all think that they are very, very similar. Richard has also described them as being very close and we know that he really loves this one, so until we get to have them both side-by-side, that's the best that I can offer!

Cheers.

mhduffl said:
Hi Jason,

I am sure you have got excellent result in reproducing Richard Bona's old bass in terms of weight, can you commend in how close these 2 basses sounded as well??

I am sure your help in choosing medium weight ash for my order will make good result in tone!!

Cheers!:hyper:
Click to expand...
 
#213
Damn that Emperor II is hot...

I just recorded some fusion jazz tracks with a trio, you can hear some on Link Removed

Le poulpe is played with my ash/mapple NYC (passive), Oxydogène is a live version using my alder/ebony one (with a solo), and the fretless has a Mike Pope pre and the same neck as my other basses...

btw, here they are :
l.jpg
 
#214
Enchanté!

The right one looks extraordinarily cool!

sfbabali said:
Damn that Emperor II is hot...

I just recorded some fusion jazz tracks with a trio, you can hear some on Link Removed

Le poulpe is played with my ash/mapple NYC (passive), Oxydogène is a live version using my alder/ebony one (with a solo), and the fretless has a Mike Pope pre and the same neck as my other basses...

btw, here they are :
l.jpg
Click to expand...
 
#217
@Joel and lowerB
Thank you guys... the left one has a graphite neck and is very "classical" sounding due to alder and ebony i believe whereas the other one has a tremendous low B and more "modern and smooth" sound at the same time... I also put a 3 band pre inside

I haven't played anything else since i got the black one, and when Rodney put the 2nd one for sale just a few weeks after buying it for half the price, i just couldn't resist... I hope one day i can buy me a "big" one...
 
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