Guys, now that I've finally had my bass in my hands for a weekend, I have some photos, and early experiences. The following is (almost) word for word the note that I wrote to Jason and the team from Fodera thanking them for this amazing bass and sharing my early impressions. I wanted to share it here because you see so many posts on talkbass from folks who "guess" what they would think about a Fodera without actually having experienced them. I thought it is important for Fodera to have those who really experience what they are all about post their thoughts. So here goes:
"The first experience that you have with the bass is visual. When you open the case and you lay eyes on it for the first time. I was absolutely awestruck at the beauty of this bass when I opened the case. I must have simply held the bass in my hands for 15 or 20 minutes turning it around and over - appreciating it as a wooden sculpture. Simply as a work of art. On that basis alone, I was floored.
Of course eventually I sat down and started to play.
First let me talk about the feel.
The neck is perfect. I don't use that word lightly. It's not simply great - or amazing. It's perfect. The shape, the width, the feel. My hands and fingers found themselves sliding over the neck like it was an extension of my hands. At no point did I ever feel like I was "fighting" the neck, as I sometimes do with other basses. It simply disappeared in my hands.
The pre-amp knocked my socks off. I couldn't believe how powerful it is, and how many different tonal shapes I could dial in. The amazing thing is - every sound I could find was usable. That's so rarely the case. Either pickup, both pickups - a blend between. Different tonal mixes. Each gave me a nice option that was truly workable. When I flipped the switch and tried the passive mode I couldn't believe it. Often the passive mode on active basses sounds weak and shallow to me. That isn't even remotely true on this bass. The passive mode was strong and beautiful. Much to my surprise I found myself thinking "I'm actually going to use this".
You weren't kidding when you talked about the resonance of this bass. When I play it, I can feel the vibrations of the wood transferring into my fingers and chest. It's like a whole new feedback system that has nothing to do with the audio. I swear that I could have total blockout earphones on and still groove perfectly with this bass just because of the vibrational feedback. I've never even experienced that before - not like this anyway.
In short - this bass is everything I hoped it would be and more. I honestly can't think of a single thing I would change on this gorgeous instrument. I couldn't be happier.
Finally Jason let me just say that it always impresses me when I see people approaching life as art. People who are so committed to doing the very best that they possibly can do in whatever their craft is. That mindset itself is very inspirational. It is so obvious that this is the mindset that permeates everything that happens at Fodera. Its obvious in the interactions. Its obvious in the testimonies of those who have Foderas - and of course it is obvious in the product."
Thanks again to Jason and everyone else at Fodera for what you guys do.
Photos:
"The first experience that you have with the bass is visual. When you open the case and you lay eyes on it for the first time. I was absolutely awestruck at the beauty of this bass when I opened the case. I must have simply held the bass in my hands for 15 or 20 minutes turning it around and over - appreciating it as a wooden sculpture. Simply as a work of art. On that basis alone, I was floored.
Of course eventually I sat down and started to play.
First let me talk about the feel.
The neck is perfect. I don't use that word lightly. It's not simply great - or amazing. It's perfect. The shape, the width, the feel. My hands and fingers found themselves sliding over the neck like it was an extension of my hands. At no point did I ever feel like I was "fighting" the neck, as I sometimes do with other basses. It simply disappeared in my hands.
The pre-amp knocked my socks off. I couldn't believe how powerful it is, and how many different tonal shapes I could dial in. The amazing thing is - every sound I could find was usable. That's so rarely the case. Either pickup, both pickups - a blend between. Different tonal mixes. Each gave me a nice option that was truly workable. When I flipped the switch and tried the passive mode I couldn't believe it. Often the passive mode on active basses sounds weak and shallow to me. That isn't even remotely true on this bass. The passive mode was strong and beautiful. Much to my surprise I found myself thinking "I'm actually going to use this".
You weren't kidding when you talked about the resonance of this bass. When I play it, I can feel the vibrations of the wood transferring into my fingers and chest. It's like a whole new feedback system that has nothing to do with the audio. I swear that I could have total blockout earphones on and still groove perfectly with this bass just because of the vibrational feedback. I've never even experienced that before - not like this anyway.
In short - this bass is everything I hoped it would be and more. I honestly can't think of a single thing I would change on this gorgeous instrument. I couldn't be happier.
Finally Jason let me just say that it always impresses me when I see people approaching life as art. People who are so committed to doing the very best that they possibly can do in whatever their craft is. That mindset itself is very inspirational. It is so obvious that this is the mindset that permeates everything that happens at Fodera. Its obvious in the interactions. Its obvious in the testimonies of those who have Foderas - and of course it is obvious in the product."
Thanks again to Jason and everyone else at Fodera for what you guys do.
Photos:
Love that color 
