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Fodera Club Part XVI

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#41
Since we're coming up on the 30 year anniversary of the basses we love, I thought it would be fun to post a pic of an original Fodera ad I have framed on my wall. It has special meaning for me since the 4 string Monarch is mine. :-) enjoy.

FoderaFlyerFront.gif


FoderaFlyerBack.gif


cheers
 
#43
Man, it's tough nailing down specs for one let alone two Fodera basses!

So, if it helps, here's my 2Cent rusty razor for those fuzzy bits..

Body shape: Do you have a tendency (as I do) to want the thumb to pop-up & rest a little on the top of the neck, around the 14th fret. I find the more I play the MG shape, the less the brain wants to transfer this aspect to the double-cut..BTW, Carrying your bass by the upper horn..tut..tut..ever so risky. Protect that investment and carry underarm by the lower horn, afterall it's your baby..
Asthetics (a very fuzzy area) I'd say MG Shape for fretted & Monarch for fretless.:hiding:

Scale length: 33" scale..eveyone should try one, it works well for 6strings as I find my fretting hand is less fatigued, but I would probably stick with my preferred 34" scale for any future basses.

Neck joint type: I also love the dovetail but neck through gets my vote because of the comfortable transition through the length of the neck, but I'm not a great fan of the landing strip look that goes with the non-solid top..sorry!

Pick-ups! each to his own!

So when's your lock-in date?


nostatic said:
Jason and I talked about this at length. There are a bunch of factors that go into tone, and in my case I currently have two basses that sound exactly the way I want them to - that being the RA Deep 4 (34" scale, totally different vibe) and the YYD (34" scale). So the for the spec on the new twins, we started kicking around the various factors that go into the equation, some of which have been argued ad nauseum on TB:

body wood
chambering
body shape (single cut vs double cut)
neck wood
fingerboard wood
neck construction (dovetail vs neck-through)
pickups
scale length

I know that I like the YYD which is 34" scale, chambered walnut body, maple neck, ebony fingerboard, dovetail, PJ. The new basses are 5-string (at least so far :D) and one will be fretless so that has to figure into the mix. I know that I want 17.5mm spacing as I prefer that on 5-strings. I also want 24 fret equivalent as I want some room between neck pup and end of the fingerboard. So then it comes down to the details. Some are easy:

ebony fingerboard - I love the tone, better than pau ferro or Braz rosewood for my needs.
walnut body - love the tone and the look
17.5mm spacing - better for me for chords
small frets - personal preference

Beyond that it starts to get fuzzy.

Body shape - Originally prefer the Monarch aesthetic and that can be chambered. But the MG shape is growing on me, and my Rob Allen is a single cut so I'm used to that as well. Plus I think the single cut influences neck stability.

Scale length. The MGS is incredibly comfortable to play. But I have two 4-strings that are keepers that are 34" scale and there is an argument to be made for having everything a single scale length. Especially since 2 of the 4 basses will be fretless. Plus all other things being equal, the longer the scale length, the more piano-like the tone.

Neck construction - the Monarch 5 experiment was interesting but I'm not hearing huge tonal differences between dovetail and neck-through. I find neck-through to have a bit more comfort up high, but I love the aesthetic of the dovetail. The tops I've picked out are non-solid, so if I went dovetail I'd have to pick new tops. I'm leaning neck-through at this point.

Pickups - I love the P pup. Jason is checking to see if the EMG PJ5 set will work with 17.5mm bridge. If it does, that'll be on the fretted, no question. For the fretless Jason prefers the dual coils and I can understand that working so no worries there.

One downside to having so many choices is that you have so many choices. Luckily Fodera crew have built a few basses and know a few things. And Jason is a patient guy who wants to get it right.
Click to expand...
 
#45
Can't wait to try the Fodera Nickels!! :hyper:

Also I would like to ask you guys what rigs are you using? I've settled for Schroeder cabs and Aguilar and Genz Benz Heads. I'm using the new Schroeder Punch Line cabs (5 cabs in custom camo finish) and they're the best cabs I've tried, the Bergantinos and Aguilars are in the garage collecting dust.... I love the sound of the Aguilar DB751 but I use a Streamliner 900 or Shuttle 9.2 most of the time, I wish the Aguilar was a little lighter :p

The cabs match my Imperial!

IMG_7362.jpg
 
#46
During my TB gas induced bass flipping spree, I attempted to try as many different specs, scale lengths and wood combos as possible to sort of hone in on exactly how I like things. It helped me realize what measurements worked best for me in an instrument.

In regards to Nostatic's scale length issue, I find there to be a definite and noticeable difference between 33 and 34 inch scale lengths tonally. I'm far from superb at describing tones and such, but to my ear and 34 inch scale has a snappier, more piano like tone than does a shorter scale length typically.

I had a similar dilemma and wound up going 34 inch with the Emperor 5 I bought.

Nuwavedc-I also have been thinking fo the maple neck/ash tone block spec for a custom Imperial. I tend to prefer some sizzle on the top end, as opposed to "ping" or "glassy highs". as a result, my tentative spec(hopefully to be ordered next summer) is:

Imperial Elite 5 string
Walnut body(maybe chambered)
Ash tone block
Maple neck
Maple burl top
Birdseye maple board
Pope 3 band with the emperor layout
Dual coils
34 inch scale 19 mm spacing

I've also been toying with the thought of having rosewood pickup covers with a matching rosewood ramp. I think it would look cool and contrast nicely with the burled maple top and birdseye board. hmmmmm....Gas indeed.

Grady
 
#47
LugzyDee said:
Man, it's tough nailing down specs for one let alone two Fodera basses!

So, if it helps, here's my 2Cent rusty razor for those fuzzy bits..

Body shape: Do you have a tendency (as I do) to want the thumb to pop-up & rest a little on the top of the neck, around the 14th fret. I find the more I play the MG shape, the less the brain wants to transfer this aspect to the double-cut..BTW, Carrying your bass by the upper horn..tut..tut..ever so risky. Protect that investment and carry underarm by the lower horn, afterall it's your baby..
Asthetics (a very fuzzy area) I'd say MG Shape for fretted & Monarch for fretless.:hiding:

Scale length: 33" scale..eveyone should try one, it works well for 6strings as I find my fretting hand is less fatigued, but I would probably stick with my preferred 34" scale for any future basses.

Neck joint type: I also love the dovetail but neck through gets my vote because of the comfortable transition through the length of the neck, but I'm not a great fan of the landing strip look that goes with the non-solid top..sorry!

Pick-ups! each to his own!

So when's your lock-in date?
Click to expand...

Production start in march. As far as body shape, I tend to be pretty good about my left thumb being roughly where it belongs, so the single cut doesn't hinder me at all. I don't want to mix body shapes - these are going to be fraternal twins and I want the ergos to be identical. I'm leaning back towards the MG shape, neck-through, non-solid top. I don't mind the landing strip aesthetic, especially given the Braz top I have on tap for the fretted. Plus it'll likely be walnut tone block

f-rw.jpg
 
#48
Oooh, that's sweet. Yep! if your not going to mix I'd go with the MG Shape, but believe me 3 months will fly by. You'll need nerves of steel come the week of lock-in..

All the best.

nostatic said:
Production start in march. As far as body shape, I tend to be pretty good about my left thumb being roughly where it belongs, so the single cut doesn't hinder me at all. I don't want to mix body shapes - these are going to be fraternal twins and I want the ergos to be identical. I'm leaning back towards the MG shape, neck-through, non-solid top. I don't mind the landing strip aesthetic, especially given the Braz top I have on tap for the fretted. Plus it'll likely be walnut tone block

f-rw.jpg
Click to expand...
 
#53
LugzyDee said:
Awwh, no worries..
I kinda hate myself because I get "almost" gas like pains eveytime I see a Presentation (not just in shape) contrabass.

Thanks for setting me off:smug:
Click to expand...

Don't even start with AJ models.... :-)
Man can't believe this, I'm on a gig and checking new fodera thread... lol

@basswalker yep now I've notice G.A.S. need to get my head straight... :-)
 
#56
gkbass13 said:
During my TB gas induced bass flipping spree, I attempted to try as many different specs, scale lengths and wood combos as possible to sort of hone in on exactly how I like things. It helped me realize what measurements worked best for me in an instrument.

In regards to Nostatic's scale length issue, I find there to be a definite and noticeable difference between 33 and 34 inch scale lengths tonally. I'm far from superb at describing tones and such, but to my ear and 34 inch scale has a snappier, more piano like tone than does a shorter scale length typically.

I had a similar dilemma and wound up going 34 inch with the Emperor 5 I bought.

Nuwavedc-I also have been thinking fo the maple neck/ash tone block spec for a custom Imperial. I tend to prefer some sizzle on the top end, as opposed to "ping" or "glassy highs". as a result, my tentative spec(hopefully to be ordered next summer) is:

Imperial Elite 5 string
Walnut body(maybe chambered)
Ash tone block
Maple neck
Maple burl top
Birdseye maple board
Pope 3 band with the emperor layout
Dual coils
34 inch scale 19 mm spacing

I've also been toying with the thought of having rosewood pickup covers with a matching rosewood ramp. I think it would look cool and contrast nicely with the burled maple top and birdseye board. hmmmmm....Gas indeed.

Grady
Click to expand...

I'll get a sound clip going of the bass with the maple/ash when it's done in the spring.

I agree on the scale length affecting tone. Interesting food for thought, Stanley's basses are 30.75". I had one years ago, the one thing I noticed was you could bend notes like crazy and get some funky tones, but playing it in a band setting at standard tuning didn't work for me. Good compositional tool when tuned tenor though.
 
#60
LugzyDee said:
LoL..You just had to go there, now expieriencing a full on gas attack!!

In asking, have you and Vinnie come up with a name.."The Presentation II" just won't do..
Click to expand...

Shame on me! I'll leave the official name up to Team Fodera. I just call it "The Beast From The East"

BTW, There's a sequel ...
 
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