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Fodera Club Part X

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#645
curt basner said:
Oh my GOODNESS! Two of the NAMM Foderas going to Fodera Club People! Are we going to buy ALL of them!!?!?

Congratulations to the 2 new owners! nostatic, what EVER possessed you to add the Deluxe to your Standard, as much as you love that bolt on? I gotta admit, I'm surprised...well, okay, not really. Plan on keeping the Standard, too? I even thought about the Chestnut Garrison that is already done and thinking...hmmmm...should I do it? Should I...with my personal custom order Chestnut Garrison shape on order....nnaaahhhhhhhhh :p

Todd, we've almost got twins, with a 5 stringer in between!
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Well, the YYD is what I was originally smitten with. I just couldn't rationalize spending 5 figures on a bass. But I have been so taken not only with the YYS but Fodera in general that I've reconsidered that. Combine that with some other life events and I figured that now was the time to do it. The stars aligned and I'll walk out of NAMM on Sunday with my new YYD.

Assuming that I am thrilled with the YYD the YYS will probably need to be sold. I ended up with four basses coming around the same time and my budget needs some relief. If a certain company announces a certain bass that fits my certain criteria then I'll really be stretched. That said, my long term strategy is to have a pair of Fodera 4-strings, likely the YYD and a Monarch (which I'll order at some point). I hope to have a Fodera 5-string as well but we'll have to see what comes up as the Emperor Std, while an amazing instrument, doesn't fit the specs for what I want/need in a 5.

I also have two other new instruments showing up and I am figuring that at least one or two of my stable will likely cycle out. To date the two instruments that have been "keepers" have been my Rob Allen and my YYS. If the YYD replaces the YYS, then I'm betting that another Fodera will end up being the next keeper in the house. I just really have bonded with the feel, sound, and overall vibe.

That YYD will get a ton of playing time. It'll be my main fretted bass and will be first call for most of my gigs.
 
#647
nostatic said:
Well, the YYD is what I was originally smitten with. I just couldn't rationalize spending 5 figures on a bass. But I have been so taken not only with the YYS but Fodera in general that I've reconsidered that. Combine that with some other life events and I figured that now was the time to do it. The stars aligned and I'll walk out of NAMM on Sunday with my new YYD.

Assuming that I am thrilled with the YYD the YYS will probably need to be sold. I ended up with four basses coming around the same time and my budget needs some relief. If a certain company announces a certain bass that fits my certain criteria then I'll really be stretched. That said, my long term strategy is to have a pair of Fodera 4-strings, likely the YYD and a Monarch (which I'll order at some point). I hope to have a Fodera 5-string as well but we'll have to see what comes up as the Emperor Std, while an amazing instrument, doesn't fit the specs for what I want/need in a 5.

I also have two other new instruments showing up and I am figuring that at least one or two of my stable will likely cycle out. To date the two instruments that have been "keepers" have been my Rob Allen and my YYS. If the YYD replaces the YYS, then I'm betting that another Fodera will end up being the next keeper in the house. I just really have bonded with the feel, sound, and overall vibe.

That YYD will get a ton of playing time. It'll be my main fretted bass and will be first call for most of my gigs.
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Well, this makes sense. The YYS gave you an extended test drive, and it will probably hold its value well so that you can sell it on without taking much of a financial hit.

But you certainly give me (and probably others) an interesting case study.

If the YYS is as good as reported, then perhaps you will find the two basses too similar to justify paying out all that extra money for the YYD, and you will want to sell the YYD on to use resources for your other planned Fodera purchases. (I get first right of refusal on the YYD by the way! ;))

On the other hand, if you find the YYD to be definitely worth the substantial payout over the YYS, then we all will want to know specifically how the YYD bests the YYS for the money.

And on the other other hand (?!), maybe you'll find that they both are excellent, and you just prefer having the more expensive bass now that you are confident Fodera's basses are worth the premium.

Regardless, I like that you tested the waters with the YYS, because (again) I think it should sell without setting you back, financially speaking.

Interesting moves.
 
#650
I have been playing both a YYS and a YYD for over a year now. My YYS was our first prototype (YYS1P) and I took it home in December of 2010. I am very much looking forward to Nostatic's comparison as based on what he has written about the YYS, it will undoubtedly be a thorough and objective look at both.

Trying to be as objective as I possibly can, my conclusions are:

1. The YYS is a wonderful instrument in its own right that has nothing to apologize for. It is flexible tonally, has a wonderful feeling neck and is very much "Fodera." I have played it in small rooms, larger venues (nothing with more than 200 people, unfortunately) and across multiple genres. It has never skipped a beat or made me wish that I had "more" bass in my hands and I own several Monarchs that cost at least three times as much...

2. That said, if you did buy a YYD and paid roughly 2.5 times the cost of the YYS, you would NOT be disappointed that you did. The ergonomic differences from the sculpted heel (if you play in the upper register), additional tonal depth coming from the Custom Shop Preamp and the general awe that I personally feel (and presumably others who are into what we are doing here at Fodera would feel) when looking at all of the joined wood, YY-related designs make it worth the bucks.

Interestingly, I personally thought that after putting my YYS through its paces for 3-4 months and making sure that we worked out any bugs before we put the instruments into full production, I would either sell mine or give it back to the shop as a shop bass. However, I actually have not been able to part with it as I really enjoy playing it. True, if I could only keep one, it would be one of my YYD's (I have two -- one with EMG's and one with Duncan Dual Coils), but the YYS is such a fun, great sounding bolt-on that it has very happily become part of my Monarch Dozen.

I cannot wait to hear Nostatic's third party impressions as I have, undoubtedly, drank the Fodera Koolaid (despite always trying to be completely objective).

At the end of the day, I would love nothing more than to figure out a better way to "skin the cat" and make a $4,750 instrument sound and play indistinguishably from a $12,500 one. Unfortunately, one of the great wonders here at Fodera has been that EVERY decision we make, every part, every step, EVERY nuance DOES make a difference that you can both feel and hear in the final instrument.

Once the cat is out of the bag on the new Standard, remind me to tell you the story about how many hours of A/B testing, discussion and lost sleep went into selecting the parts and electronics for it. Many people from outside our little circle would call the process that we went through flat out insane. We think that it's fun.

Cheers,

J


nostatic said:
Time will tell. I'll have an exhaustive analysis in a few weeks :D
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