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Fodera Club Part X

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phishaholik said:
I know this has been asked before, but it's really hard to search for and a lot of threads to sift through.

What kind of amp and cabinet setup are you guys running your Foderas through?

The only amp I have at the moment is a Marshall Lemmy Superbass which I'm running into a Bergantino NV610. The tone is God like with my passive Fenders, but I don't think it's the best setup for active EMGs with an onboard preamp. I also have an Epifani UL-112, so I'm trying to find a good amp to go with it for a more modern sounding rig.

I've been thinking about the Genz-Benz Streamliner, since I found a super good deal on a brand new one, but some of the reviews of a flabby low end are turning me off.

I also posted this in the amps section, so feel free to post in either one.

Thanks guys,

Michael

With my Foderas I use a Millennia STT or TD1 into a Berg IP310.
 
re amps.

i've played my foderas through a ton of amps over the years: demeter pre/power amp, swr (yecch), blue tube preamps into power, walter woods stuff, 80s ampeg v4b, 70s fender bassman, ebs pre, now genz benz stuff (3.0, shuttlemax 12.0, streamliner 600; through custom cabs, swr cabs, trace cabs, kolbe cabs, epifani cabs and powered monitors.

so, lofi, hifi andhifi trying to be lofi, the foderas sounded fabulous through them all--both passive and active.
 
I know this has been asked before, but it's really hard to search for and a lot of threads to sift through.

What kind of amp and cabinet setup are you guys running your Foderas through?


I'm running a Markbass CMD 102 with a 151 extension cab. To give it some valve "honesty" I've got a DHA VT-1 EQ up front.

Pretty clean on pedals though I do occasionally use an EBS Multi-Comp.
 
Man!!!!!!!



I have Yin Yang Standard #6 out for delivery today. I think of all the basses I've ever bought, waiting for this one has been the hardest. I have my wife diligently looking out the window for the FedEx guy. I may have to leave work a little early.



I can't wait!!!!!!!!!





Michael
 
For all you guys using Epi UL heads, does the clarity of the Pope preamp help you cut through?

I bought a PS600 twice and both times I sold it because I could never hear myself in a band setting; I was playing classic rock however. The PS600 made everything sound like they had Bartolini pickups to me. I read the UL and PS heads sound remarkably similar. Is that true?



Michael
 
My problem with the Epi amps as it relates to rock is that they don't have the right low mids to cut through. They are great sounding amps for certain styles, rock not being one of them. Speaking of cutting through, I'm not sure why a lot of folk associate cutting through a mix by using treble frequencies. Those frequencies may allow you to hear the attack of a note better but they do nothing to fill out the sound of the band like the right low mids will do which will actually cut through best. And no offence to Mike Pope who is a killer bassist, I find the Pope/Fodera pre to be the worst sounding bass preamp I've ever heard. That said, I don't believe I have heard the most recent version. My experience has been with '09's and earlier.
 
Joelc73 said:
I have this one too... I rarely ever use it (due only to weight) but it is a fantastic rig. One of my all time favorites.

yeah. i have one of the very earliest ones, from when jim was doing them in his garage. i never use it anymore--it's on long-term loan to a friend who has a recording studio.

the demeter is good sounding, not quite enough lows for me and probably too clean for what i like. i always tried to overload it to get some smutz out of it.
 
For all you guys using Epi UL heads, does the clarity of the Pope preamp help you cut through?

I bought a PS600 twice and both times I sold it because I could never hear myself in a band setting; I was playing classic rock however. The PS600 made everything sound like it had Bartolini pickups to me. I read the UL and PS heads sound remarkably similar. Is that true?

Michael

I haven't experienced the PS and the UL heads making basses sound like they all have Barts in them. Mainly was using a pair of Bolt-on basses with Nordstrand fatstacks and split J's or a set-neck with Kent Armstrongs in them, sadly none of them were Fodera's :bawl:, but they maintained their p/up individuality.

I have had a UL502c for 5 years now and I have had a PS600 head as a demo rig for stores and back line co's in the past. They sound quite different to my ears; PS600 was brittle and a tad thin for me & not as versatile, the UL502c I could dial in larger variety of 'usefulness' on gigs (hifi and heft when needed). I was using both of them through a Epi 112 (UL box w/ a T-driver).

That said, the weight of either was vastly different, PS600 was like air and the UL502c wasn't very "UL" if you know what I mean. :D
 
I haven't experienced the PS and the UL heads making basses sound like they all have Barts in them. Mainly was using a pair of Bolt-on basses with Nordstrand fatstacks and split J's or a set-neck with Kent Armstrongs in them, sadly none of them were Fodera's :bawl:, but they maintained their p/up individuality.

I have had a UL502c for 5 years now and I have had a PS600 head as a demo rig for stores and back line co's in the past. They sound quite different to my ears; PS600 was brittle and a tad thin for me & not as versatile, the UL502c I could dial in larger variety of 'usefulness' on gigs (hifi and heft when needed). I was using both of them through a Epi 112 (UL box w/ a T-driver).

That said, the weight of either was vastly different, PS600 was like air and the UL502c wasn't very "UL" if you know what I mean. :D

By sounding like Barts, I mean it made all of my basses sound very dark with an upper mid scoop. For me at least, the amp had a lot of character that I didn't really like that I could never dial out. It was a very mellow sounding amp that I thought would sound good for blues and R&B but I could never really stand out in the mix and I had a lot of trouble hearing myself.


Ha ha! You guys don't like Bartolini pickups huh?


I definitely don't Barts as a rule, especially the humbuckers in the thin shells. I have had a couple of basses with Bart soapbars that I did like, but I always jacked the pickup as close to the strings as possible to get a little more aggression out of them.



Michael
 
I definitely don't Barts as a rule, especially the humbuckers in the thin shells. I have had a couple of basses with Bart soapbars that I did like, but I always jacked the pickup as close to the strings as possible to get a little more aggression out of them.

Michael

I used to avoid Barts but I've grown to realize that they're great pickups. I hear a warmer pickup (not as aggressive as others) with a low mid bump. I've never had an issue getting the sound that I need for any musical situation. It certainly depends on the bass though. I actually feel that they're pretty representative of what a bass sounds like acoustically. Barts have their own character for sure, but they do a nice job of amplifying your bass' natural characterstics. Before my current bass I had one with a lighter swamp ash body with the same Bart pickups. I hated that bass. It was really difficult to cut through....but it was the body wood that I didn't like, not the pickups. I went through a couple of other sets of pickups before I realized that.

With all of that said, a couple of the best sets of pickups I've heard were Duncun custom shop dual coils. One set was what Fodera uses and one set was the pickup that they had developed with AJ. I think it had Alnico II magnets. That last set was unreal. Not as aggressive as the standard Fodera dual/more even from top to bottom.
 
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