Fodera Club Part XVII

[Just Thumpin']

Things that we offer at no cost...

-Scale length (choice of 33", 34", 35" or 36")
-String Spacing (16.5mm, 17.5mm or 19.0mm at the Bridge)
-Body shape (all shapes are the same price for a given # of strings and neck type)
-Body wood (Ash, Alder, Mahogany, Walnut, Korina)
-FB Material (Ebony, Indian RW, Pau Ferro, Macassar Ebony)
-Tops (5A Curly Walnut or Flame Maple)
-Neck Shape (we will match any shape that you desire on a custom instrument at no additional charge. That said, 90% of our customers select our "standard" neck shape).
-Hardware Color (Gold or Black)

I hope that this helps!!!

Jason

Folks,

Is there a list anywhere of all no cost options on Fodera custom configs? I am about to order a custom Monarch 5er, but want to understand what the base options are before I confirm my neck and body woods.

Thanks!

 

[Just Thumpin']

Nope. The Standard models that we have now are pretty much what the Standard Line is going to be for the foreseeable future.

That said, we will definitely vary the top woods that we offer within the models on future runs of each instrument and we are very likely going to offer a limited number of painted E5S's and M4S's perhaps as early as 2014.

Regards,

J

would fodera ever consider making a standard-line emperor II? I really like this bass but cannot afford a custom one.

 

[Just Thumpin']

Yes. The only quality sounding three way switches that we have found to do that are chrome color though. We can do that on new orders, but if someone wanted to retrofit their bass with that set-up we would need to physically have the instrument in the shop.

J

Jason is a series/single/parallel switch an option. i know the normal is single/parallel.

 

[Munjibunga]

yes - I did this on my Viceroy - I only have added the Holly top and the MOP Blocks.... but if I still would be into figured wood tops I would have been fine with the Curly Walnut top...

I realized pretty quickly that there's all inside the "basic package" what I need in a Bass and I even have reduced it on the other side like going without the preamp or only having 22 frets...

And the result is the most amazing Bass that I have ever owned - no kidding
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That is indeed a beauty.

 

[DirtPoorRobins]

Jason, what are the differences between the stock ebony you mostly use and Macassar ebony. And what about korina, tone and weight compared to other woods?

 

[Just Thumpin']

Tonally the two are very similar. Macassar, however, has a mottled brown / black pattern to it...

As for Korina, we have only built 2 or 3 basses with it in my time here and I have never been able to take one out on a gig, so my answer is based on a fairly limited set of experiences. That said, to my ear it sounded very much like a hypothetical blend of Northern Ash and Mahogany..shaded more towards Mahogany than Ash. Hopefully that gets you in the ballpark. It's definitely brighter than Mahogany to my ears...

J

Jason, what are the differences between the stock ebony you mostly use and Macassar ebony. And what about korina, tone and weight compared to other woods?

 

[curt basner]

As for Korina, we have only built 2 or 3 basses with it in my time here and I have never been able to take one out on a gig, so my answer is based on a fairly limited set of experiences. That said, to my ear it sounded very much like a hypothetical blend of Northern Ash and Mahogany..shaded more towards Mahogany than Ash. Hopefully that gets you in the ballpark. It's definitely brighter than Mahogany to my ears...

J

Dirt...

Let me throw in my $0.02 on Korina. I can't speak about that wood type on a Fodera bass, but I have 2 100% Korina guitars, a Gibson Explorer and Flying V. These are Custom Shop reproductions of the 1958/1959 originals, but made with the same wood. Korina is, actually, African Limba, also called African Mahogany. Les Pauls (Standards, not customs) are made with a Mahogany body, and a Maple cap, and I would say that the 'V' and Explorer have similar tonal characteristics to an LP. Of course, every piece of wood is unique, but I would say that if you have a sense of what Mahogany tone would contribute to a bass tone, the Korina would be very similar, if not identical. Of course, just my opinion, and not necessarily applicable to a bass. Regarding weight, my limited exposure to Korina tells me that it is similar to a 'mid-weight' Mahogany, but then, Mahogany itself can vary TREMENDOUSLY, on an individual basis, depending upon mineral content and other factors. Les Pauls can easily vary from 8 to 11 pounds, the Mahogany being the major factor. Hope this helps.

 

[Munjibunga]

Dirt...

Let me throw in my $0.02 on Korina. I can't speak about that wood type on a Fodera bass, but I have 2 100% Korina guitars, a Gibson Explorer and Flying V. These are Custom Shop reproductions of the 1958/1959 originals, but made with the same wood. Korina is, actually, African Limba, also called African Mahogany. Les Pauls (Standards, not customs) are made with a Mahogany body, and a Maple cap, and I would say that the 'V' and Explorer have similar tonal characteristics to an LP. Of course, every piece of wood is unique, but I would say that if you have a sense of what Mahogany tone would contribute to a bass tone, the Korina would be very similar, if not identical. Of course, just my opinion, and not necessarily applicable to a bass. Regarding weight, my limited exposure to Korina tells me that it is similar to a 'mid-weight' Mahogany, but then, Mahogany itself can vary TREMENDOUSLY, on an individual basis, depending upon mineral content and other factors. Les Pauls can easily vary from 8 to 11 pounds, the Mahogany being the major factor. Hope this helps.

Interesting. The body on my LeCompte is African mahogany and it doesn't look much like korina at all.

 

[TapyTap]

It might clear up some confusion about what is called African Mahogony if the scientific names are used for each species. Korina/Limba is Terminalia superba and African Mahogany is Khaya ivorensis.

 

[curt basner]

Interesting. The body on my LeCompte is African mahogany and it doesn't look much like korina at all.

Munji,

I only wrote what I understand to the the case. Is the wood you posted stained? Just curious. In my opinion, other than color, it looks similar to the Korina in my guitars. The Gibsons have a Korina color called 'limed', which is, in essence, a golden yellow, with a tendency toward the yellow end of the spectrum. Here's a picture of the "V".

 

[curt basner]

It might clear up some confusion about what is called African Mahogony if the scientific names are used for each species. Korina/Limba is Terminalia superba and African Mahogany is Khaya ivorensis.

Interesting. I'd heard those names applied to the same wood...obviously not accurately!

 

[sbabbaro1]

Things that we offer at no cost...

-Scale length (choice of 33", 34", 35" or 36")
-String Spacing (16.5mm, 17.5mm or 19.0mm at the Bridge)
-Body shape (all shapes are the same price for a given # of strings and neck type)
-Body wood (Ash, Alder, Mahogany, Walnut, Korina)
-FB Material (Ebony, Indian RW, Pau Ferro, Macassar Ebony)
-Tops (5A Curly Walnut or Flame Maple)
-Neck Shape (we will match any shape that you desire on a custom instrument at no additional charge. That said, 90% of our customers select our "standard" neck shape).
-Hardware Color (Gold or Black)

I hope that this helps!!!

Jason

Hi Jason,

Can you sequence the body woods (incl. Northern and Southern ash) in terms of weight in ascending order?

Regards,
S.

 

[mrbassman_de]

Jason is a series/single/parallel switch an option. i know the normal is single/parallel.

I said more often here that I would really like another three-way switch: single outer coils/parallel/single inner coils.

On the new preamp it is easy to wire the pickups so that the inner coils are used in single coil mode. The result is not better - just different in a subtle way and (for me) quite useful in some cases.

I prefer single coils over humbuckers at all, but IF I have 4 coils in my bass why not pulling ALL options out of them ?

 

[steubig]

well, really why not be able to do single inner/single outer/both coils for each pickup individually?

then you can mix a bunch of different things.

 

[TapyTap]

Interesting. I'd heard those names applied to the same wood...obviously not accurately!

You're not the only one...

Botanical nomenclature really narrows down the possibilities!

 

[Just Thumpin']

So, there is some fairly significant overlap depending on the actual piece of wood. So, what I have done is to order them from lightest to heaviest by the lightest possible piece of each. I am doing this from personal experience and based on the woods that we have and regularly use in our shop, not by actually checking observed density ranges from a book...

Swamp Ash
Alder
Mahogany
Korina
Walnut
Northern Ash

Now, within those types we have Mahogany that can be as light as Alder and Walnut that can be as light as Mahogany.

That's one of the fun / tricky things about building with wood! I have three Monarch Deluxes with Mahogany bodies and Rosewood FB's (2 are Brazilian and 1 is Indian) and the weigh 8.8, 9.0 and 10.2 pounds. The Mahogany used on the two that are close in weight is the lighter Mahogany and the 10+ pounder is the heavier, denser old growth stuff that we don't see as much of any more...and yes, they sound quite different.

Hope this helps!!

J

Hi Jason,

Can you sequence the body woods (incl. Northern and Southern ash) in terms of weight in ascending order?

Regards,
S.

 

[jumbodbassman]

Yes. The only quality sounding three way switches that we have found to do that are chrome color though. We can do that on new orders, but if someone wanted to retrofit their bass with that set-up we would need to physically have the instrument in the shop.

J

can i add that to my Monarch Std. I can live with the switch color for the benefit it gives me.

 

[Belka]

well, really why not be able to do single inner/single outer/both coils for each pickup individually?

then you can mix a bunch of different things.

You could do that but I've never seen it done before. Probably because if you mix the outer and inner coils in both pickups in single coil mode they'd hum. They'd have the same polarity. You could do it with quad coils but then you wouldn't have single coil tone which apparently you don't truly get with any tapped dual coil pickup.

We know that the popular option is parallel, outer single coils and series.

And you can do outer single coils, inner single coils, and parallel.

Could you do a 4 way switch? Outer single coils, inner single coils, parallel, and series? Or is that not possible for some reason?

 

[steubig]

You could do that but I've never seen it done before. Probably because if you mix the outer and inner coils in both pickups in single coil mode they'd hum. They'd have the same polarity. You could do it with quad coils but then you wouldn't have single coil tone which apparently you don't truly get with any tapped dual coil pickup.

We know that the popular option is parallel, outer single coils and series.

And you can do outer single coils, inner single coils, and parallel.

Could you do a 4 way switch? Outer single coils, inner single coils, parallel, and series? Or is that not possible for some reason?

dunno, about that. i have something like that in some of my basses. hum is NOT noticeably worse than regular single coil noise. i use 3-way rotary switches. no preamp, though.

 

[jasonbraatz]

Could you do a 4 way switch? Outer single coils, inner single coils, parallel, and series? Or is that not possible for some reason?