Lennard III. said:
If I would like to play in a Rock/Metal band with my Fodera I would go with sth. like that :
Walnut Body (punchy & growly) or an Ash body
I would go without a top wood - maybe even better with a pickguard
A Bolt-On maple neck (for the attack, also great when playing with the pick)
Rosewood fretboard (adding some warmth)
Dual Coils with exposed magnets (but I'm sure Singlecoils would sound great too)
Shame on me as I own two Fodera basses and play in a 3 piece rock/metal band, but I can't answer your question, simply because I have yet to gig with my basses.
I took my 5string Emperor to a rehearsal a few months ago (and played it through a crappy Marshall 4 x10 bass combo, because my back-line was at another location) and to me the difference in sound and feel was dramatic (in a good way) but I knew it would take some sessions before it would be accepted.
The initial response from the guitarist was first a look of puzzlement i.e where's my familiar low-end and why replace it with that fancy looking piece of furniture, then after a couple numbers he asked " Is that a second or a back-up" to which I replied "Niether!" Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy and guitarist but he wasn't comfortable with the change in sound. Next up was my new Imperial/MG6, that was introduced a few weeks ago which elicited a more positive response, the guitarist opened by commenting on how beautiful the scooped heel of the neck looked and how clean the sound was and the drummer said he heard every note clearly (the rig used was Genz Benz Shuttle 9.2 into a Klark Teknik 510 comp/limiter/exp & Epifani 2x12 with the new drivers). Come the second or third rehearsal I noticed that the guitarists levels had increased and in a small room approx (18x10 feet) that's a big increase.
In my opinion it's just an initial reaction to something unfamiliar and he exhibits his indifference by playing louder. This I find quite amusing as I know, given time, he'll become attuned to the difference in quality of low-end, but it did reaffirm my opinion that bass players are far more adept to change and will accommodate variances in their tone for the sake of producing a more cohesive sound, unlike a lot of guitarists/shredders who think their tone is sacrosanct and get pretty stuffy about the silliest things.
The above is a sample of what I've encountered so far and I'm sure the multitude of Metalers I'll meet at gigs will let me know that the Zon sounded much better, but ultimately it's all about individual taste and your never going to please em all...
Basses:
Emperor 5 deluxe, 34" - Alder body - Chestnut top- Maple neck - Ebony board
Imperial/MG6, 33" - Walnut body - Alder tone block - Claro Walnut top - Maple neck - Ebony board
