I hesitate to give too much of an opinion until I get it in a mix. The Emperor is 34" scale, 19mm spacing which usually is a bit wide for my tastes in a 5-string. Messing around with it in the home studio leads me to a few thoughts:
- I prefer the Monarch body shape, but so far this is more comfortable to me than other offset bodies I've played in the past
- this is crotch walnut over alder with ebony finger board. The YYD is chambered walnut body and ebony fingerboard. My other Monarch is koa over alder with Braz rosewood. I used to not be a fan of ebony in fretted basses until getting the YYD. But now I think it is my preferred fingerboard.
- the dual coils are a different beast than the PJ setup. I find that I like the bridge pup in dual coil mode. With the YYD when I roll onto the bridge pup I add some bass and mids to fatten it up. No need to do that with the dual coil. I'm still messing around with the bridge pup setting. Truth be told the P pup is the sound I hear in my head most of the time, and the dual coil doesn't quite do that. It does have a nice focused sound though and I suspect I'll like it in a mix. With the pups 50/50 I like it in single coil mode - I'm not a JJ bass fan and the dual coils with the coils split sound to me like what a JJ bass *should* sound like but doesn't (more mid punch).
- the neck feels great, though it is fairly wide (compared to my 4-bangers). The good thing is that it is fairly thin and easy to navigate. I've been playing nothing but 4s lately though, so it is an adjustment.
- I think 34" is the right scale length for a 5-string (B-G). I've never really like the G string on the 35" scale basses I've owned. This one sounds right. The B-string isn't boomy - it is nicely balanced. Right now it is set up dead flat so you can't dig into the B-string. Requires a lighter touch. That is a big part of getting a new instrument imho. I know in the past I've been quick to dismiss a bass, mostly because I didn't give enough time to get to know the instrument and how to work it most effectively.
- one good thing about the 19mm spacing - this thing is really easy to slap.
My hunch is that I may end up looking to trade for a Monarch 5 since I prefer that body shape. This thing is gorgeous though and is absolutely dead mint (built in Feb '12). Since I'm woodshedding a couple of hours a day I'm finding it easier to switch back and forth between instruments. I'll gig this one this weekend and find out more. My hunch is that the dual coils will be great in a mix.
- I prefer the Monarch body shape, but so far this is more comfortable to me than other offset bodies I've played in the past
- this is crotch walnut over alder with ebony finger board. The YYD is chambered walnut body and ebony fingerboard. My other Monarch is koa over alder with Braz rosewood. I used to not be a fan of ebony in fretted basses until getting the YYD. But now I think it is my preferred fingerboard.
- the dual coils are a different beast than the PJ setup. I find that I like the bridge pup in dual coil mode. With the YYD when I roll onto the bridge pup I add some bass and mids to fatten it up. No need to do that with the dual coil. I'm still messing around with the bridge pup setting. Truth be told the P pup is the sound I hear in my head most of the time, and the dual coil doesn't quite do that. It does have a nice focused sound though and I suspect I'll like it in a mix. With the pups 50/50 I like it in single coil mode - I'm not a JJ bass fan and the dual coils with the coils split sound to me like what a JJ bass *should* sound like but doesn't (more mid punch).
- the neck feels great, though it is fairly wide (compared to my 4-bangers). The good thing is that it is fairly thin and easy to navigate. I've been playing nothing but 4s lately though, so it is an adjustment.
- I think 34" is the right scale length for a 5-string (B-G). I've never really like the G string on the 35" scale basses I've owned. This one sounds right. The B-string isn't boomy - it is nicely balanced. Right now it is set up dead flat so you can't dig into the B-string. Requires a lighter touch. That is a big part of getting a new instrument imho. I know in the past I've been quick to dismiss a bass, mostly because I didn't give enough time to get to know the instrument and how to work it most effectively.
- one good thing about the 19mm spacing - this thing is really easy to slap.
My hunch is that I may end up looking to trade for a Monarch 5 since I prefer that body shape. This thing is gorgeous though and is absolutely dead mint (built in Feb '12). Since I'm woodshedding a couple of hours a day I'm finding it easier to switch back and forth between instruments. I'll gig this one this weekend and find out more. My hunch is that the dual coils will be great in a mix.
You have 3 Foderas right? And one on order 
