Fodera Club Part VIII

[steubig]

the playing focus is so much more rewarding. the guys with some visibility right now have much stronger harmonic and rhythmic recognizably than tone imo. you hear the guys with the uber-expensive foderas doing bad janek and garrison impressions and you dont even notice the tone because youre too busy noticing ..........uh.....other stuff

can't say i disagree . . .

 

[bassictraining]

In that case....send all yer pretty basses to....ME. Certainly it is a combination of thingd that make a great player. Since this is a thread about a particular instrument I would say that having an amazing instument diesn't hurt. =}

 

[steubig]

In that case....send all yer pretty basses to....ME. Certainly it is a combination of thingd that make a great player. Since this is a thread about a particular instrument I would say that having an amazing instument diesn't hurt. =}

not sure that was my point--or his.

 

[narud]

In that case....send all yer pretty basses to....ME. Certainly it is a combination of thingd that make a great player. Since this is a thread about a particular instrument I would say that having an amazing instument diesn't hurt. =}

i still have an admiration for the aesthetics and construction of these basses (ie., i still love looking at pictures of them) but as a former owner of a fodera for around 10 years, i can honestly say that for me personally, the bass didnt have anything to do with the development of me as a player and if you have a bass that doesnt physically limit you youre good to go. it gets a little scary to me when one needs tone or specific gear to inspire them want to play or grow as a musician.

hell, i think andrew used to get a new 6 string built like every week and i was brainstorming fodera specs and combinations back in the day so i cant say i havent been there

 

[bassictraining]

Hehe, well if they no longer inspire....that would be another reason to... Send all yer pretty basses...to me. I'll be honest I am at a place where I am a bit tired if the search fir the instrument that reproduces the tone in my head. I have owned a Fodera, along with 20 or so other basses along the way. Right now the Fodera is pretty much the only one I miss and I do look forward to the day when I have a chance to pick up another one.

If you guys are beyond all that I understand. I am not here to troll, i guess I am just rehashing old memories and a club for Fodera owners looked like a good spot to do just that.

 

[steubig]

i still have an admiration for the aesthetics and construction of these basses (ie., i still love looking at pictures of them) but as a former owner of a fodera for around 10 years, i can honestly say that for me personally, the bass didnt have anything to do with the development of me as a player and if you have a bass that doesnt physically limit you youre good to go. it gets a little scary to me when one needs tone or specific gear to inspire them want to play or grow as a musician.

hell, i think andrew used to get a new 6 string built like every week and i was brainstorming fodera specs and combinations back in the day so i cant say i havent been there

i think it comes down to individual process--whatever works for you. i think it's okay to be guilted into practicing more, now and
then.

that being said, i think people who want a certain instrument based on hero worship are bond to be dissapointed. might be better to get a good mental sound picture of what you want without mentioning names (in other words, describe the tone in words).

i'm a bit of an anomaly on this group in that the pretty tops (the burls, etc.) don't do a thing for me and any spec i go for is based on my preferred fodera vintage, which is mid to late 80s.

 

[narud]

i think it comes down to individual process--whatever works for you. i think it's okay to be guilted into practicing more, now and
then.

that being said, i think people who want a certain instrument based on hero worship are bond to be dissapointed. might be better to get a good mental sound picture of what you want without mentioning names (in other words, describe the tone in words).

i'm a bit of an anomaly on this group in that the pretty tops (the burls, etc.) don't do a thing for me and any spec i go for is based on my preferred fodera vintage, which is mid to late 80s.

man i checked out one of your basses at careys shop a while back with mikes custom million coil pickup. NUTS! haha. they called me over and were like "hey you want to see a brand new fodera get routed?"

 

[steubig]

man i checked out one of your basses at careys shop a while back with mikes custom million coil pickup. NUTS! haha. they called me over and were like "hey you want to see a brand new fodera get routed?"

ha! not public knowledge. changed my mind about the pickups after i got the bass. mike and i came up with those rad 6-coil dealios . . . had to do it.

guess you can tell i'm not super-precious about this stuff.

 

[emjazz]

the playing focus is so much more rewarding. the guys with some visibility right now have much stronger harmonic and rhythmic recognizability than tone imo. you hear the guys with the uber-expensive foderas doing bad janek and garrison impressions and you dont even notice the tone because youre too busy noticing ..........uh.....other stuff

Absolutely. In my case my influences as far as bass players are concerned have both the highest level of musicanship and tone. I'm sure I repeat these names a lot...because I think not enough folks know them. Skuli Sverrison, Daniele Camarda and Stomu Takeishi. I've avoided trying to play like the usual suspects, not because I don't appreciate them or respect them, but because it'd be really easy to cop their thing (meaning their voice is so strong it's attractive to want to go that direction). It's not where my interests lie though.

 

[emjazz]

hell, i think andrew used to get a new 6 string built like every week and i was brainstorming fodera specs and combinations back in the day so i cant say i havent been there

Indeed. I've been through a lot of great basses. I can honestly say that it did lead me to find what works best for me as a bass guitar. Beyond that it was a waste of time and money. When I started to learn more about music and what it will take to be a great player/musician I began to focus on practicing. I'm happy to say that that happened at the same time as I got my current bass. I was very lucky.

 

[steubig]

. I'm happy to say that that happened at the same time as I got my current bass. I was very lucky.

maybe that's not a coincidence . . .

 

[emjazz]

maybe that's not a coincidence . . .

That's very true, but on a basic level it's also of note that I was talking to Brian about what we'll be doing the next time to improve upon this bass as soon as I started playing it when I picked it up from him. I also hated how it sounded (that's my fault...I got custom pickups and chose the body wood...lesson learned...tell your luthier what sound you want and trust in them to steer you in the right direction). I decided then and there to work with what I have and now the bass is much better than the day I picked it up. It always played like a dream and felt incredible in my hands (custom scale and spacing) so it was worth working on it to get the sound closer to what I wanted.

If I could get the sound of an old Gretsch hollowbody as a six string bass I'd be in heaven. Warm and dark but focused with tight but thick low mids and some air from the hollow body, but with pickups that can grunt when you want them to.....that would be heaven for me. I'd pay any amount of money for that bass.

 

[Brad Johnson]

i think it comes down to individual process--whatever works for you. i think it's okay to be guilted into practicing more, now and
then.

that being said, i think people who want a certain instrument based on hero worship are bond to be dissapointed. might be better to get a good mental sound picture of what you want without mentioning names (in other words, describe the tone in words).

i'm a bit of an anomaly on this group in that the pretty tops (the burls, etc.) don't do a thing for me and any spec i go for is based on my preferred fodera vintage, which is mid to late 80s.

Couldn't agree more. It's the "Great, you have a bass that looks like insert their favorite bassist here... now what" dilemma?


Can't count how many folks I've run into who were unhappy because they bought an instrument for all the wrong reasons. At best that instrument will get you in the ballpark... you still have to swing the bat. They expected the bat to be swung for them, which ultimately if they come to that realization they understand it's unreasonable.

And it's a fine line to walk when you either try to explain or even worse demonstrate why they're having the problem they're having and why they might not want to lay the blame on the tool.

 

[Brad Johnson]

That's very true, but on a basic level it's also of note that I was talking to Brian about what we'll be doing the next time to improve upon this bass as soon as I started playing it when I picked it up from him. I also hated how it sounded (that's my fault...I got custom pickups and chose the body wood...lesson learned...tell your luthier what sound you want and trust in them to steer you in the right direction). I decided then and there to work with what I have and now the bass is much better than the day I picked it up. It always played like a dream and felt incredible in my hands (custom scale and spacing) so it was worth working on it to get the sound closer to what I wanted.

If I could get the sound of an old Gretsch hollowbody as a six string bass I'd be in heaven. Warm and dark but focused with tight but thick low mids and some air from the hollow body, but with pickups that can grunt when you want them to.....that would be heaven for me. I'd pay any amount of money for that bass.

Nope, I'm not gonna do it.

 

[emjazz]

Nope, I'm not gonna do it.

Do tell good sir.

 

[Tom7]

the playing focus is so much more rewarding. the guys with some visibility right now have much stronger harmonic and rhythmic recognizability than tone imo. you hear the guys with the uber-expensive foderas doing bad janek and garrison impressions and you dont even notice the tone because youre too busy noticing ..........uh.....other stuff

Laughing! +1. Very well said.

... it gets a little scary to me when one needs tone or specific gear to inspire them want to play or grow as a musician.

I might be guilty of this -- at least a little. But take a bass with 60s specs (pickup positions, alder body, rosewood board) and it's tone inspires different choices in me than a 70s spec bass (pickup positions, ash body, maple board).

I wouldn't say I "need" the tone to be inspired, but I am definitely affected by it.

It's like I want to stay within the character of the bass -- unless, of course the idea is to deliberately go contrary to it. But a bass's tone affects me and I like to use that if the situation allows me to.

However, I used to play French horn, trumpet and bass clarinet too in younger days, and while the notes I played were not my choice, they were the notes the composer or arranger wrote for me to play, I did notice that the arrangers and composers likewise seemed affected by the tones each instrument had because they would make very different choices for each instrument in the same piece. Consequently, I have never questioned the concept of letting an instrument's tone inspire my play. Until right now anyway.

Then again, I haven't had the luxury of playing original music much, like you get to do, Joe. When it is original, you get MUCH more leeway in what voice you want to have for your music.

But back to your earlier point, I strongly agree.

When a bass player plays to impress rather than express, then his bad musical choices pretty much make me not care if his tone was good or not.

 

[steubig]

However, I used to play French horn, trumpet and bass clarinet too in younger days, and while the notes I played were not my choice, they were the notes the composer or arranger wrote for me to play, I did notice that the arrangers and composers likewise seemed affected by the tones each instrument had because they would make very different choices for each instrument in the same piece. Consequently, I have never questioned the concept of letting an instrument's tone inspire my play. Until right now anyway.

an interesting subject.

it seems like (at least in the jazz world) you have two paradigms:

1. the guy who plays one instrument and only one (or most of the time): guys like evan parker, steve lacy, etc.

2. the guys who are multi-instrumentalists who play a lot of instruments (saxes/clarinets/flutes): anthony braxton, etc.

i tend to veer towards the second paradigm as i have a number of basses in either different tunings or with different strings (flats/rounds).

i think they're both valid, depending on one's goals.

also, i tend to go for different sounds/instruments based on the music. makes sense to me.

 

[narud]

Nope, I'm not gonna do it.

dont send him back on the gear buying track!!!!!!!!!!

 

[narud]

i remember the first fodera i bought was because i was maybe 19 or 20 or something, living at home, making money and able to swing it. i bought the damn thing because it was the most expensive bass out there so of course that meant it must be the best bass out there. hows that for a stupid-ass reason to buy something. 2500 or 2800 or something for an emperor 5 bolt on with duncan duals. those were the days!

 

[narud]

That's very true, but on a basic level it's also of note that I was talking to Brian about what we'll be doing the next time to improve upon this bass as soon as I started playing it when I picked it up from him. I also hated how it sounded (that's my fault...I got custom pickups and chose the body wood...lesson learned...tell your luthier what sound you want and trust in them to steer you in the right direction). I decided then and there to work with what I have and now the bass is much better than the day I picked it up. It always played like a dream and felt incredible in my hands (custom scale and spacing) so it was worth working on it to get the sound closer to what I wanted.

If I could get the sound of an old Gretsch hollowbody as a six string bass I'd be in heaven. Warm and dark but focused with tight but thick low mids and some air from the hollow body, but with pickups that can grunt when you want them to.....that would be heaven for me. I'd pay any amount of money for that bass.

i brought this up before , but man am i starting to believe in the "who the hell knows" thing with wood. ive got this expensive alder jazz bass body. light, resonant, awesome nitro finish etc. my buddy let me borrow a squier vintage modified body and the thing sounds better.

btw is your bass a bolt on or a neck through/set neck? couldnt you get another body made if its a bolt? gotta be cheaper than an entire bass.