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Fodera Club Part XII

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#761
wrp said:
All I can tell you is that this bass is truly remarkable. Incredible sustain. Very even response and timbre across the entire fingerboard. The output is surprisingly high for a passive pickup. I'm still trying to process everything that I saw, heard, felt and learned at the shop this afternoon.

The artistry and engineering that Vinny has put into this instrument is almost unimaginable. Every aspect of the bass was designed and built with the goal of producing the best possible sound. I hope that I can do this instrument justice.

Anthony not only played the bass, but took the time (a lot of time, actually) to perfect the setup today. He was kind enough to share a great deal of information about how to get the most out of the Presentation basses in general and this bass in particular.

We are very lucky to have people like Vinny and Anthony who continue to advance the state of our instrument.

Of course, I can't forget Joey,Jason and the rest of the Fodera family. The passion, commitment to excellence and customer service is inspiring!


I'll have more to say once I've had some time with the bass...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick update.

Enjoy your new instrument!
 
#762
Robin Ruscio said:
Second, my current Fodera's 35" neck has always felt a touch bigger than many other basses. Bigger than a modern Fender J or my Roscoes. (I don't know if that's particular to this bass as its the only Fodera I've played). I was tempted to ask Vinnie to take a little off the neck but of course I trust that he shapes his necks that way for a reason. I'd say my favorite neck profile were on my Ken Smiths, FWIW.

Any thoughts? The goal is ideal ergonomics without any unintended consequences.
Click to expand...

Any time you mess with the neck you'll likely have some unintended consequences. But they might be positive. I don't think that Vinny has a single neck shape - they are done by hand so there is bound to be some variation unless building to a very specific set of measurements. If you have a neck that you particularly like you can probably send it to them and they'll measure it, then figure out if yours can be tweaked to match it. I think it will always be a one-off situation though, as every body and neck is a little different, and the art is in making the whole greater than the sum of the parts.

fwiw while I loved the Emperor 5 I recently picked up, I'm just not a 1-7/8" nut/19mm kinda guy. The neck on it is sick and fast - but I have gotten used to my 4-string Fodera necks so by comparison it feels really wide. I'm looking forward to the MGS as it is 17.5 spacing and I believe the neck shape/width is smaller as well.
 
#763
Robin Ruscio said:
I need the expert opinions. My five string, 34" Imperials neck is about to be tapered and I had some last minute thoughts I would really appreciate getting your input on.

I have smaller size hands, so keep hat in mind as we go through this.

Standard Fodera 5 nut spacing is 1 7/8". I was thinking of having them take a touch off this to 1 13/16". (1/16th of an inch smaller.) This idea arose after playing some j 5 basses with narrower nuts; specifically a Callowhill junk 1 13/16", and the even narrower Sadowsky Will Lee at 1 3/4". The Callowhill just seemed perfect in that regard

So what are anyone's thoughts on that ? Small tweak but I thought it was a nice middle way idea.

Second, my current Fodera's 35" neck has always felt a touch bigger than many other basses. Bigger than a modern Fender J or my Roscoes. (I don't know if that's particular to this bass as its the only Fodera I've played). I was tempted to ask Vinnie to take a little off the neck but of course I trust that he shapes his necks that way for a reason. I'd say my favorite neck profile were on my Ken Smiths, FWIW.

Any thoughts? The goal is ideal ergonomics without any unintended consequences.
Click to expand...

go with whats the most comfortable to you. you wont lose any tone going with a narrower nut. the width of the nut is one of the biggest reasons i no longer own the fodera i custom ordered for myself in 2001. i owned it for 8 or 9 years but the last 5 years or so i owned it, i never played it because it was uncomfortable. the ken smith is 1 3/4 at the nut isnt it? i had my jazz bass 5 built with a 1 5/8ths nut so i went way narrow.
 
#764
this is the holy grail for us DB players who have built 'acoustic' bgs in our heads for decades

I have been building similar prototypes for a few years now - 36" - 38" scale hollowbodys

I have a 36" fless Imp Elite - mahogany & ebony FB (I guess not available anymore) - short scale ABGs are cute but it is mensure that matters
 
#765
Wrp,
The artistry and engineering that Vinny has put into this instrument is almost unimaginable. Every aspect of the bass was designed and built with the goal of producing the best possible sound. I hope that I can do this instrument .

Thanks so much for posting your immediate thoughts. Hopefully we'll be treated to some more detailed pics, particularly of the neck and back. The bass looked incredible when I saw it and it looks absolutely stunning now finished. I hope youv'e booked some time off to get acquainted with it and I look forward to hearing more of your comments as you do.

Enjoy...
 
#766
wayne, couple of thoughts.

1. mariachi music!
2. you might be the only guy who that thing doesn't look huge on. (wayne is a tall dude)
3. man . . . . totally jealous
4. i'd love to check it out next time i'm up your way. (please)

dude . . . incredible.
 
#769
I actually spent a lot of time with the new Hybrid yesterday as Joey and I worked her through final set-up. To say that I was amazed with the instrument would be a profound understatement. As most of you that have follow my posts here since I became a Partner at Fodera, I generally try to stick to the facts and not hype anything at all, but this instrument's tone is simply off the charts. The open B-string sustains for over 50 seconds and the fretted 1st position C for 48 seconds!

The sound is different than AJ's Presentation, but I am not yet sure how to put everything into words. The sense of depth, of space, and of each note hanging in the air is truly palpable. To use that oft-quoted cliche, I really do believe that "piano-like" (as in Grand Piano) is an appropriate broad metaphor.

I am a rather small guy and generally do not like large instruments, and despite this being the largest instrument that we now build -- 4 inches thick and a full inch wider than the Presentation (15" rather than 14"), the tone and playability is so absurdly good that it actually has me rethinking everything. In a word, I could definitely see myself playing one of these. Even dreaming of one of my own...

Everything in instrument design and building is about choosing the right trade-offs and those trade-offs are highly personal. Until now, the difference in sound from the larger scale instruments in my own hands (they always sound amazing in AJ's hands...but he's AJ and I am not) while significant was never so large as to make me seriously think about accepting the necessary trade-offs in terms of scale length and overall size. The Hybrid changes that for me in a big way. It's tone is simply haunting.

AJ himself was also certain that this is the new direction for his next Presentation, and, with the log jam now broken about overall design direction we will seriously get down to building it for him.

Yes, the Hybrid is a BIG instrument, but if you get to hear it, the size seems like a very tiny price to pay. IMHO it is the finest sounding bass guitar I have ever heard and even though building it was very much a team effort, I am in awe of Vinny's conception and design and feel truly lucky to have been part of bringing this instrument to life.

I am very sorry about how syrupy this post may come across as, but I am posting this as a lover of our collective instrument that has just heard a revelation, not as someone that is trying to be crassly commercial. Heaven knows that the last thing we need as a shop is a big demand for something that makes building a Presentation look fairly simple...

Lots more photos and details will be up on the website over the next week or so. Thanks to all of you that make bringing something like this to life possible.

Jason

P.S. Even if I do eventually buy a Hybrid, I won't be showing up at the local Blues Jam with it...


steubig said:
wayne, couple of thoughts.

1. mariachi music!
2. you might be the only guy who that thing doesn't look huge on. (wayne is a tall dude)
3. man . . . . totally jealous
4. i'd love to check it out next time i'm up your way. (please)

dude . . . incredible.
Click to expand...
 
#770
Robin Ruscio said:
I need the expert opinions. My five string, 34" Imperials neck is about to be tapered and I had some last minute thoughts I would really appreciate getting your input on.

I have smaller size hands, so keep hat in mind as we go through this.

Standard Fodera 5 nut spacing is 1 7/8". I was thinking of having them take a touch off this to 1 13/16". (1/16th of an inch smaller.) This idea arose after playing some j 5 basses with narrower nuts; specifically a Callowhill junk 1 13/16", and the even narrower Sadowsky Will Lee at 1 3/4". The Callowhill just seemed perfect in that regard

So what are anyone's thoughts on that ? Small tweak but I thought it was a nice middle way idea.

Any thoughts? The goal is ideal ergonomics without any unintended consequences.
Click to expand...


As I've written before somewhere in this club - I will go also with a little modification at the nut on my 34' Imperial 5 -

I'll let them shape the neck to their standart shape since I liked that on my old Imperial and want to stay with the 19mm at the bridge and Vinny recommended a 1 26/32" Nut Width. !

If I'm honest that does not say anything to me because we don't have this measurements here in germany :D - but it should be a little less than the standart...if I remember correctly:smug:

Or maybe I'll just go with a "normal" 18mm ... I'll have my final lock in next month :hyper:

I'm also thinking about going with a litte more compact body shape on my Imperial... but that is one of the last things I'm not sure about ;)
 
#771
The reason that we call it a Hybrid is that the design borrows from both solid body building and acoustic building. The interior of the instrument is completely hollow and the top has been carved like an archtop guitar both inside and out although it was left thicker than would be the case for an acoustic guitar.

Amazingly the bass weighs slightly under 11 pounds. Given that my main instrument is a 10.6 pound Monarch 4, that's a pretty amazing feat. The bridge is Titanium as is the Truss Rod and the single Fodera / Duncan Dual Coil runs straight to the jack with no electronics whatsoever.

The sides of the instrument were cut from a fairly massive slab of premium Alder and the top and back were selected from over 20 possible pieces of Sapele -- the resulting top and back being selected purely on the basis of which two sounded the best. The neck is 3-piece, quatersawn Red Oak and the FB is a stunning piece of old growth Brazilian Rosewood. Scale length is 36" and the spacing at the bridge is 19.0mm edge-to-edge (as opposed to center-to-center).

The small triangle wedge of wood at the center bottom of the instrument is taken from the same block of highly figured Koa that was used to make Bass #3000. There is also a Holly Plaque that was signed by those of us involved in the build that is inside the body and can only be seen with the pickup removed...

J

carlis said:
That explains a lot...it looks so much like an acoustic instrument from the side view.
Click to expand...
 
#772
Just Thumpin' said:
I actually spent a lot of time with the new Hybrid yesterday as Joey and I worked her through final set-up. To say that I was amazed with the instrument would be a profound understatement. As most of you that have follow my posts here since I became a Partner at Fodera, I generally try to stick to the facts and not hype anything at all, but this instrument's tone is simply off the charts. The open B-string sustains for over 50 seconds and the fretted 1st position C for 48 seconds!

The sound is different than AJ's Presentation, but I am not yet sure how to put everything into words. The sense of depth, of space, and of each note hanging in the air is truly palpable. To use that oft-quoted cliche, I really do believe that "piano-like" (as in Grand Piano) is an appropriate broad metaphor.

I am a rather small guy and generally do not like large instruments, and despite this being the largest instrument that we now build -- 4 inches thick and a full inch wider than the Presentation (15" rather than 14"), the tone and playability is so absurdly good that it actually has me rethinking everything. In a word, I could definitely see myself playing one of these. Even dreaming of one of my own...

Everything in instrument design and building is about choosing the right trade-offs and those trade-offs are highly personal. Until now, the difference in sound from the larger scale instruments in my own hands (they always sound amazing in AJ's hands...but he's AJ and I am not) while significant was never so large as to make me seriously think about accepting the necessary trade-offs in terms of scale length and overall size. The Hybrid changes that for me in a big way. It's tone is simply haunting.

AJ himself was also certain that this is the new direction for his next Presentation, and, with the log jam now broken about overall design direction we will seriously get down to building it for him.

Yes, the Hybrid is a BIG instrument, but if you get to hear it, the size seems like a very tiny price to pay. IMHO it is the finest sounding bass guitar I have ever heard and even though building it was very much a team effort, I am in awe of Vinny's conception and design and feel truly lucky to have been part of bringing this instrument to life.

I am very sorry about how syrupy this post may come across as, but I am posting this as a lover of our collective instrument that has just heard a revelation, not as someone that is trying to be crassly commercial. Heaven knows that the last thing we need as a shop is a big demand for something that makes building a Presentation look fairly simple...

Lots more photos and details will be up on the website over the next week or so. Thanks to all of you that make bringing something like this to life possible.

Jason

P.S. Even if I do eventually buy a Hybrid, I won't be showing up at the local Blues Jam with it...
Click to expand...

You are describing the acoustic tone, if I read this correctly.
How does that tone translate when a pickup is involved.
I found that to be a real challenge when I had my last bass made.
 
#773
Hi Jason, When I saw Rob working with the bass on the bench, I was thinking "Wow look at how deep it is, but there again it's quite compact and the neck looks soo gorgeously slim & fast". It left me with the impression that the size was deceiving and once the player had adjusted to accommodating to it's depth (in a seated position of course) the bass would be as comfortable as any. I hope to see a pic with you and the bass, sombrero included.

Easy...

Just Thumpin' said:
I actually spent a lot of time with the new Hybrid yesterday as Joey and I worked her through final set-up. To say that I was amazed with the instrument would be a profound understatement. As most of you that have follow my posts here since I became a Partner at Fodera, I generally try to stick to the facts and not hype anything at all, but this instrument's tone is simply off the charts. The open B-string sustains for over 50 seconds and the fretted 1st position C for 48 seconds!

I am a rather small guy and generally do not like large instruments, and despite this being the largest instrument that we now build -- 4 inches thick and a full inch wider than the Presentation (15" rather than 14"), the tone and playability is so absurdly good that it actually has me rethinking everything. In a word, I could definitely see myself playing one of these. Even dreaming of one of my own.... It's tone is simply haunting.

AJ himself was also certain that this is the new direction for his next Presentation, and, with the log jam now broken about overall design direction we will seriously get down to building it for him.

Yes, the Hybrid is a BIG instrument, but if you get to hear it, the size seems like a very tiny price to pay. IMHO it is the finest sounding bass guitar I have ever heard and even though building it was very much a team effort, I am in awe of Vinny's conception and design and feel truly lucky to have been part of bringing this instrument to life.

Lots more photos and details will be up on the website over the next week or so. Thanks to all of you that make bringing something like this to life possible.

Jason

P.S. Even if I do eventually buy a Hybrid, I won't be showing up at the local Blues Jam with it...
Click to expand...
 
#774
To be clear, this instrument was designed to be played as an electric instrument. Although it is significantly louder acoustically than a solid body, our intention is for it to be played exclusively as an electric and my description of tone was based on it being plugged into a Walter Woods 1200 watt head going into an Epifani 2x10 cabinet...our shop rig.

One thing I also want to add...the conceptualization of this instrument has actually been in process for many, many years. Anthony is constantly asking us to push the envelope to help him realize the tone that he has in his head and each instrument that Fodera has built for him over the years has been one more step along that path. In this case we were collectively ready to try a radical new approach...something that had never been done before. Very fortunately, Wayne was willing to allow us to play guinea pig with his commissioned instrument...the amazing amount of trust and generosity in that gesture we (and Anthony) will always be thankful for and the Hybrid would probably not have been as fully realized a concept as it is were it not for Wayne's patience and kind heart...

The process was delayed by a good 18 months while we worked to patent the heel-less acoustic design that we wanted to employ and Wayne never flinched or balked he just told us to "do whatever you have to do."

Towards that end, Anthony has also been patiently waiting for #12...again, never insisting on deadlines or schedules, just wanting us to take the time necessary to work through fully realizing the next step along the path we are on together. We are acutely aware of just how lucky we are to be granted this latitude...

J

cnltb said:
You are describing the acoustic tone, if I read this correctly.
How does that tone translate when a pickup is involved.
I found that to be a real challenge when I had my last bass made.
Click to expand...
 
#775
This is quite correct. It does not feel unwieldy in any way...at least no more so than a large Martin Dreadnaught and the heel-less design of the neck makes it play deliciously all the way up the neck...unlike any conventional acoustic instrument I have yet laid hands on...

J


LugzyDee said:
Hi Jason, When I saw Rob working with the bass on the bench, I was thinking "Wow look at how deep it is, but there again it's quite compact and the neck looks soo gorgeously slim & fast". It left me with the impression that the size was deceiving and once the player had adjusted to accommodating to it's depth (in a seated position of course) the bass would be as comfortable as any. I hope to see a pic with you and the bass, sombrero included.

Easy...
Click to expand...
 
#778
steubig said:
wayne, couple of thoughts.

1. mariachi music!
2. you might be the only guy who that thing doesn't look huge on. (wayne is a tall dude)
3. man . . . . totally jealous
4. i'd love to check it out next time i'm up your way. (please)

dude . . . incredible.
Click to expand...

Steuart,

1. How did you know! Next time you're up my way, look for me strolling the streets of the Mission ...
2. Amazingly. AJ had no problem adjusting to the bass
3. You may be totally jealous, but I'm totally humbled. I've got a lot of work (really fun) ahead of me to make the most of this instrument.
4. Absolutely! You have a standing invitation!
 
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