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Fodera Club Part XVII

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#921
DirtPoorRobins said:
Kamakiriad, I wouldn't hesitate to buy an upton bass, I have a professor that I've owned for 6 years and a Bostonian for 2, I've never played a better bass, now back to your regularly scheduled program....fodera
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Thanks man - I love Upton, in fact I've owned a Hybrid standard since 2008. I'm also the founder of the Upton bass club on Talkbass (see sig). :) I've never heard a bad thing about them. In fact, they and Fodera have a lot in common regarding customer service... it's unbelievable! Gary's wife came out to pick me up at the train station in Stonington and give me a shop tour. I hadn't spent a dollar at that point and was blown away by the kindness. Fodera have the bar raised quite high as well for customer service. Joey gave me one of the best experiences of my life in 2011 when he invited me out to a blues jam at Mexicali Blues in Jersey while I was attending the Bass Collective. He held a seat for me, bought me a beer and talked me up with a couple of his friends, let me up to jam (it was awesome - we did Georgia on my Mind and Them Changes), and even found me a ride back to Harlem at 2am!!

This year when I picked up my E5S, I realized I forgot to pack a patch cable for the lessons I had planned. I asked Joey if Fodera still sold cables, to which he shook his head - but then he dug down in a box and lo and behold, pulled out a cable. He put it into my hands and smiled, saying "take it"! I surprised him before I left NYC by returning his cable - as much as I wanted to keep it for the great story, I figured it was better to leave it for someone else down the road.

These people don't treat you as customers. They treat you as friends. Which reminds me, I owe Joey a vodka next time I'm in NYC.
 
#922
Yeah I hear you, about both companies, they're the only two I will own now. Gary and I went to high school together and it's been fun to watch him as a drop out college kid mature from fixing plywood Chinese basses to buying blanks from Europe and finishing them here, to building everything from scratch and the different buildings he has moved in to all in the matter of 10 years. Needless to say, Gary's family and mine have been friends for probably 15 years and I feel like the guys at fodera treat me like I've been a friend for 15 years even though I've only been a fodera owner for less than a year.
 
#923
DirtPoorRobins said:
Yeah I hear you, about both companies, they're the only two I will own now. Gary and I went to high school together and it's been fun to watch him as a drop out college kid mature from fixing plywood Chinese basses to buying blanks from Europe and finishing them here, to building everything from scratch and the different buildings he has moved in to all in the matter of 10 years. Needless to say, Gary's family and mine have been friends for probably 15 years and I feel like the guys at fodera treat me like I've been a friend for 15 years even though I've only been a fodera owner for less than a year.
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That's what I call the 'FBE' short for the Fodera Buying Experience. The customers service is sublime, while spec'ing a new order with Jason, while dealing with Laura and even when dealing with accounting or after sales.

At least that has been my experience numerous times sofar.

S.
 
#924
There is a great article in today's Baltimore Sun about the research of Charles Limb. It's front page A&E section, which implies this is very mainstream, not just something jazz musicians are interested in. He also mentions one of his subjects, a Mike Pope.
 
#925
It has arrived, E5S with additional black hardware/ebony ramp, best bass I have ever owned, period! Great people too, really go the extra mile for the customer which is rare but greatly appreciated these days!
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#927
Absolutely you want to maintain adequate humidity, but I maintain nearly perfect conditions where my instruments are stored and I still have had to have the fret ends filed on most of them over the years after their first Northeast winter.

They are out of the studio enough for practices, gigs, etc., that the absurdly dry air just gets to them.

That said, because I keep adequate humidity (no lower than 40%) where they are stored and regularly oil my FB's (at least every 4-6 months) I have NOT had any issue with cracking fingerboards. Ebony is especially prone to this problem and even if you regularly oil an Ebony FB, if you store it in 5-10% relative humidity you are most likely going to get some cracking eventually. Yes, those cracks can usually be fixed, but why allow them to happen in the first place?

Cheers,

J

spade2you said:
Wouldn't it just be better to maintain adequate humidity? I've previously learned this one the hard way.
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#932
andysvec said:
It has arrived, E5S with additional black hardware/ebony ramp, best bass I have ever owned, period! Great people too, really go the extra mile for the customer which is rare but greatly appreciated these days!
8526898597_4691b31070_b.jpg
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Nice one and congrats dude! I just got mine a few weeks back, the same specs as yours but lefty with closed pickup covers. Isnt it incredible! Like nothing you've ever owned!
 
#935
kamakiriad7 said:
Nostatic, how's the upright? Do you have it yet? I'd love to see/hear a review sometime, as I'm in the market for a slightly shorter scale upright (42" doesn't interest me anymore). Thinking about going this route: Invalid Link Removed

Regarding sharp fret ends, it almost always happens in these dry conditions. My E5S has been pretty good for it - the ends are only slightly noticeable - but regardless, I bought an Oasis case humidifier to help with that. It's my opinion that the instrument sounds better when properly humidified.
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Upton looks like a great shop but being on the other coast, shipping isn't trivial. I pick up the upright Wed - they are doing a setup and swapping to an adjustable bridge. It is a Shen SB190 that is a bit of an odd duck - they evidently built a small run with 5/8 body and 3/4 neck. I preferred it to the straight 3/4 as it was a bit more compact to fit in the car and a bit shorter mensure. Has Spirocore weichs which are somewhat in the same ballpark as my Fodera nickel lights. May be another failed experiment, but messing around for well over an hour in the shop resulted in zero hand pain so that is a good sign. Now trying to find someone local to study with so I don't re-learn a bunch of bad habits.

pre-setup
sb190.JPG


Back on-topic I find that I've swung around to playing the YYD probably 90% of the time. I can get by with comping on it for some of the tunes I originally worked up on 5-string. We'll see how that rotation changes with the new 5-strings.
 
#939
andysvec said:
It has arrived, E5S with additional black hardware/ebony ramp, best bass I have ever owned, period! Great people too, really go the extra mile for the customer which is rare but greatly appreciated these days!
8526898597_4691b31070_b.jpg
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ImageUploadedByTalkBass1362418436.736886.jpg
I like the lighter center on some many of the E5S basses. Mine is reversed. But it's an early one, lucky #13 ;)
 
#940
Sadly, I can't...with any degree of authority. The day that Joey and Reggie worked on the swap out from Duncans to the Kent Armstrong PUP's, I was not in the shop and while I have heard Reggie play several times with the new PUPs in the bass, I cannot really discuss an A:B comparison because I did not spend time with the instrument both ways...sorry!

Reggie would probably be your best bet in terms of asking that question!

J

iwearpumas said:
Hey Jason, quick question. I notice that Reggie Young on his signature model has Kent Armstrong pickups instead of Seymour Duncan. Can you describe the different in tones that they create?
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