Fodera Club Part XIX

[asbs]

Nice footprints !
I guess you started in 3/4 and finished in 4/4 ?


[Q'UOTE=nostatic;14243622]Hard to describe the neck profile, and there is some variation as they are hand carved though it is minor. The word "fast"
to mind. I don't think they are currently doing any colors at the moment, and Standards are no-option instrument. Tone and playability is top of the line.

They do tend to lead to buying something like this though:

from last night: https://soundcloud.com/nostatic-live/footprints-rcjq-1

[/QUOTE]

 

[SRFSterling5]

Hello Fodera fans. I'm thinking about getting a Monarch Standard, & I have a few questions for those in the know.

What kind of neck profile do they have?

Can you get a Fodera (even a custom model) in a transparent or solid color, or is natural the only finish offered?

Other than hardware colors, are there any other options available for the Monarch Standard?

Is the tone & playability on par with their top-of-the-line models?

Thanks.

I was initially skeptical as to how much better a Fodera would be in comparison to my other high end bass from another builder from whom Vinnie Fodera started with. After all the Emperor 5 Standards are the entry level model compared to a mid level model of the other brand and at $5,750 1K more than my neck through 6. When I first opened the case to my new E5S, that mindset went completely out the window. Fit, finish, tone, and a neck profile that is extremely comfortable, so much so that my playing has improved significantly. These are not low end in any regard and IMO worth every penny. Just the smell opening the case each time I play it is intoxicating. I would have no problem recommending these instruments to any one. Next on the agenda is getting rid of two other basses to help fund another Fodera, this time a single cut 5 35" scale with the same top to match my E5S.

 

[asbs]

Nostatic, by the way, do your YY have small frets ?

 

[curt basner]

Hello Fodera fans. I'm thinking about getting a Monarch Standard, & I have a few questions for those in the know.

What kind of neck profile do they have?

Can you get a Fodera (even a custom model) in a transparent or solid color, or is natural the only finish offered?

Other than hardware colors, are there any other options available for the Monarch Standard?

Is the tone & playability on par with their top-of-the-line models?

Thanks.

I'll chime in here, though most of your questions have already been answered in one way or other. The neck on my Yin Yang Deluxe is amazing...fast is probably a good way to put it. It is on the smaller side, as opposed to a baseball bat type. I've noted that in the price list, custom neck specs appear to be an option...you'd have to talk to Jason about that.

About colors, only recently, there was discussion about the possibility of doing painted finishes. To this point, as far as I know, the only finish available is a rubbed satin, clear, over whatever wood you choose to use. There may be some room for discussion about a painted bass, but not sure.

As far as options on Standards, I don't think there are any. That's why they can sell them relatively inexpensively. They are still pricey, but the fact that they can build them using a preset group of materials is how they can do it at the Standard price point. That said, as others have said, the quality and detail put into the Standards are exactly the same as the customs. You will get the same playability as a custom Fodera with a Standard, you just gotta take 'em as they are!

 

[nostatic]

Nostatic, by the way, do your YY have small frets ?

No, large. The fretted Monarch 5 will have small frets.

 

[bungalowbill]

Do any of you guys use lemon oil on your fretboards?

Alembic recommends oiling their unfinished ebony fingerboards twice a year with pure lemon oil:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

My experience has been that it works great, but I would always defer to the manufacturer's recommendation.

 

[gridchin]

If holly top is cheap, why this bass is so expensive? (11560 euros)

http://www.fodera.com/Main/NewBornDetails.aspx?FeaturedItemID=589

Nowhere near $3k for a Holly top...feel free to call or email the shop, but that number is WAY high! And, Holly can come as either a solid top or non-solid top.

Cheers,

J

 

[asbs]

Thank you.

I wondering if small frets make a bass sounds different or help to give a smother/easyer playability.

Please could you explain what you are looking for with small frets ?

No, large. The fretted Monarch 5 will have small frets.

 

[nostatic]

I have small frets on the MGS, and had them on some other basses (Nordstrand and Rob Allen). I played nothing but fretless for a lot of years and the small frets are a little more comfortable to me - smaller speed bumps. The large on the YYD aren't that huge though and I frankly don't notice much of a difference when I switch between the instruments.

 

[asbs]

Thank you for your opinion.
It helps like every time.

 

[Angus]

If holly top is cheap, why this bass is so expensive? (11560 euros)

http://www.fodera.com/Main/NewBornDetails.aspx?FeaturedItemID=589

So that's roughly $12500 at current Fodera pricing before you add the price of the holly, and if you add $500-1000 for the top, plus buying it from Japan, you're pretty much at $15k (~11500 euros). Seems not unreasonable.

You could pay less by ordering a new one, but then you are waiting.

 

[curbowkid]

That bass also has abalone blocks on the fb and custom pickup covers

 

[Baird6869]

you're pretty much at $15k (~11500 euros). Seems not unreasonable.

Pretty funny when you think about the fact we are talking about a bass.

We must all be nuts.

 

[Angus]

My two Foderas cost more than my girlfriend's brand new Prius.

...nobody said it was the "smartest" thing to do.

 

[nostatic]

Life is short and you're dead a long time.

 

[steubig]

your two fodera basses will be around longer than her prius. (i'm on my fourth car since i bought my first fodera in 85 . . . and it's a prius, so i ain't bagging on that car.)

 

[Lennard III.]

Pretty funny when you think about the fact we are talking about a bass.

We must all be nuts.

why ?? If we all were playing Cello and Violin - we would still be talking about entry models

 

[Angus]

....or a piano.

(Although those clearly have much more materials and a huge amount more labor.)

 

[Lennard III.]

ES5 in green - nice

still love those Black-Bursts on Buck-eye

Link Removed

 

[gridchin]

Thank you for the tone and wood specifications! I'm sure your Imperial will be awesome
When are you getting it? Any pics?

Cheers!

First off, my most sincere apologies to Jason on assuming something I had no right to assume, regarding prices for a Fodera option.

Secondly, to Gridchin, I think it's safe to say that the top of the bass, while it does have SOME impact on the overall sound, is small compared to the body, tone block and neck woods. I will, of course, defer to the master, Jason, on this topic as well.

Regarding the question about the sound of your Emperor II, I would assume that the woods play more of a part in the sound than the body shape...again, though, I'm shooting my mouth with no facts to back it up. My soon to be completed Imperial MG shape bass has the same woods as your Holly EII, Walnut body with an Alder toneblock, and the neck on my Imperial is maple, too (though it's a 5 piece with stringers; the stringers don't affect tone, they are aesthetic only). My bass was designed to be toward the very warm end of the spectrum (and to that end, has 60s spacing pickups, AND I'm having it strung with TI flat strings, too). However, the big difference between my bass and yours is that yours has an Ebony fretboard, while mine is going to have Brazilian Rosewood. From what Jason has told me, the Ebony will impart a brightness that will be there regardless of the rest of the woods in the bass, meaning, probably, that your EII will be warm but with distinct tone in the upper registers. I will AGAIN, defer to master Jason on this for the definitive answer, though