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Fodera Club Part XVIII

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#321
Speaking of slow learners, i have to ask the Fodera experts out there... what does the Master Tone control really do?

Can someone give me specifics re: how/when they use it? I.e. Rolled right off for a P bass sound, dimed to cop a tone similar to bass X, etc.

I know it is a vintage style high end roll off, but I am curious if Fodera owners adjust this continuously or set it once and forget it.

I ask as I haven't spent a ton of time with it on gigs but my limited experience doesn't have it doing very much tone wise in the mix.

Be gentle.... remember, no question on TB is a dumb one.:hiding:
 
#322
Baird6869 said:
Speaking of slow learners, i have to ask the Fodera experts out there... what does the Master Tone control really do?

Can someone give me specifics re: how/when they use it? I.e. Rolled right off for a P bass sound, dimed to cop a tone similar to bass X, etc.

I know it is a vintage style high end roll off, but I am curious if Fodera owners adjust this continuously or set it once and forget it.

I ask as I haven't spent a ton of time with it on gigs but my limited experience doesn't have it doing very much tone wise in the mix.

Be gentle.... remember, no question on TB is a dumb one.:hiding:
Click to expand...

Depends on the bass. On my YYD I have it almost all the way off (PJ setup). If I roll it all off it gets more of a thud/flats tone. About 20% and the edge is there, from there on it gets brighter and edgier. On the MGS (dual coils) I tend to run it more wide open and it tends to be a compensation for string age.
 
#323
nostatic said:
Depends on the bass. On my YYD I have it almost all the way off (PJ setup). If I roll it all off it gets more of a thud/flats tone. About 20% and the edge is there, from there on it gets brighter and edgier. On the MGS (dual coils) I tend to run it more wide open and it tends to be a compensation for string age.
Click to expand...

Just so I understand. When you say "On my YYD I have it almost all the way off". Are you saying off is no tone control (brighter) and completely on is (darker, less highs).
I am just wondering. I consider off to be no tone control. All high end is present. For me 100% on would be all highs rolled off. :confused:
 
#325
otto B said:
I would like to know if anyone has or ever owned a Fodera with the following specs; kingwood fretboard, mahogany body, and Buckeye top. I would like to know how this combination of woods sound like.
Click to expand...
I've had an Imperial with a kingwood fretboard and a mahogany body with a spalted top.
To my opinion, it was like an "60 JB", with a "Monarch VW" touch...not easy to describe, a well tone balance but not a bright sound.
It's very different as my Emperor with a [DEL]alder[/DEL] walnut body and an ebony fb (the E5 gets a more focus sounds, with more highs certainly due to the ebony fb and an accentuated mids).
Jason may be a good help for this question.
 

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#326
Just got word that my new monarch has been shipped! I am so excited! I want to throw a huge thank you to everyone at Fodera and Bass Central! I have never had such exceptional service from anyone that I have done business with! I really appreciate the phenomenal experience this has been and it is all because of you guys! Thanks to Jason, Vinnie, Joey, Beaver and Grasshopper, Laura, Amanda, Phil, and everyone else involved! I really appreciate it! Happy Anniversary! You have a customer for life!
 
#329
Lou, your spalted top Imperial looks similar to Mikkoantt's old bass? He refers to it as having a "dullish" sound i.e whatever he'd try to brighten up the tone didn't work.


mikkoantt said:
Hi. How can I be a member of this fine Fodera club? Yes I'm from Finland and I have owned Fodera NYC deluxe 5,Fodera Imperial 5 with:mahogany body,solid spalted maple top,Duncan single coils and etc.. It was absolutely stunning looking bass but it lack something. Maybe 35" scale or microphones. It was from 2001. Sound was kind of dull and I tried allmost every strings that I find. Fodera,DR,Elixir,D'addario and nothing works. Maybe it was bad karma for me. But I traded it to (+some cash) Fodera Monarch new standard from 2003 and it's not like that fancy looking Imperial. It's just sweet "little"bass with best sound that I have never played before and a joy to play. My amplifier is Epifani UL 501 and two UL 112 cabinets. Are here any Wood and Tronics players because thats my other "breadmachine" :) I will put pictures of my new standard in here because I don't know what top wood it has.
Click to expand...

loulou_26 said:
I've had an Imperial with a kingwood fretboard and a mahogany body with a spalted top.
To my opinion, it was like an "60 JB", with a "Monarch VW" touch...not easy to describe, a well tone balance but not a bright sound.
It's very different as my Emperor with an alder body and an ebony fb (the E5 gets a more focus sounds, with more highs certainly due to the ebony fb and an accentuated mids).
Jason may be a good help for this question.
Click to expand...
 
#330
LugzyDee said:
Lou, your spalted top Imperial looks similar to Mikkoantt's old bass? He refers to it as having a "dullish" sound i.e whatever he'd try to brighten up the tone didn't work.
Click to expand...
You're right, these Imperial was in France before going to Finland. I agree with Mikko, these bass doesn't have a bright sound (I think it's due to kingwood and mahogany, but I'm not an expert concerning woods propriety). My Emperor gets a more interesting tone panel, but these Imperial was easier to play and gets a really wonderful top.
Rainer knows these Imperial too, it may be interesting to know is advice concerning these combo of woods.
 
#331
Our pleasure. Wait until you hear your bass! It's Faboo!!!!

J

ursusaltered said:
Just got word that my new monarch has been shipped! I am so excited! I want to throw a huge thank you to everyone at Fodera and Bass Central! I have never had such exceptional service from anyone that I have done business with! I really appreciate the phenomenal experience this has been and it is all because of you guys! Thanks to Jason, Vinnie, Joey, Beaver and Grasshopper, Laura, Amanda, Phil, and everyone else involved! I really appreciate it! Happy Anniversary! You have a customer for life!
Click to expand...
 
#332
Hi
Loulou is right about this Imperials playability. It sure was joy to play and look:) Might be true that reason for kind of dull sound was kingwood fingerboard. But it was goog learning proces for me about Foderas because I'm finally back to four strings. And Fodera of course:)
 
#333
A bass with a Mahogany body, Kingwood FB and Spalted Maple top is definitely not going to have a bright tone. Do you happen to know what pickup spacing was used? If the PUP's were set at 60's spacing that would even further add to the 60's JB vibe.

A Walnut / ebony instrument is going to sound completely different. The lows are going to be more focused and percussive and there will be a lot brighter, more bell-like highs (from the Ebony). I would not expect there to be more mids in this combination (compared to the Mahogany bodied instrument), but what you might be experiencing in that frequency range is more focus and less "bloom."

Not sure if this helps at all or not.

One cool thing is that after not having been able to find a source of Madagascar Kingwood / Rosewood that was harvested with appropriate paperwork for the past four years, we just were able to purchase a parcel of 150 properly documented FB's! We are pretty excited about it as this wood is visually stunning and tonally probably comes just about as close to Brazilian as anything. Not sure what we are going to use them for yet...we have some thoughts about the next iteration of the MGS...hmm...should be fun!

J



loulou_26 said:
I've had an Imperial with a kingwood fretboard and a mahogany body with a spalted top.
To my opinion, it was like an "60 JB", with a "Monarch VW" touch...not easy to describe, a well tone balance but not a bright sound.
It's very different as my Emperor with a [DEL]alder[/DEL] walnut body and an ebony fb (the E5 gets a more focus sounds, with more highs certainly due to the ebony fb and an accentuated mids).
Jason may be a good help for this question.
Click to expand...
 
#334
P.S. I know that this is going to sound silly, but make certain that your tuning machines and bridge are properly tightened (i.e. that the nuts on all of the tuning machines and the screws for the bridge are tight). Sometimes when these get loose the tone of an instrument loses resonance and nuance. Sadly, greater than 50% of the instruments coming into the shop for routine service have this problem. Part of regular maintenance on a Fodera involves ensuring that these are tight at LEAST once every six months or so...

Other things to check is that the PUP heights are set correctly (close enough, but not too close) to the strings and that you are using great strings that are fairly new.

We just had a string manufacturer send us samples of (very expensive) strings to try and after putting them on an E5S and M4S and allowing some people in the shop to play them (as did Joey and I), we were all AMAZED at how bad our instruments sounded. Dull, nasal, lifeless. If I had purchased one of these instruments with these strings on them I would have had a MASSIVE case of buyer's remorse.

Switching back to our strings and the instruments just came alive...


loulou_26 said:
I've had an Imperial with a kingwood fretboard and a mahogany body with a spalted top.
To my opinion, it was like an "60 JB", with a "Monarch VW" touch...not easy to describe, a well tone balance but not a bright sound.
Click to expand...
 
#335
Hi guy's, this is all good stuff. I take a keen interest in everyone's new build spec's + Jason's observations and have a fair idea now of what the proven combinations are, but I'm just as curious about the wood combo's that don't work and why? I guess the original owner of the Imperial 5 (Mahogany body/Kingwood fb and I'm guessing Maple neck and Alder tone block) had a sound in mind but somewhere along the line decided on a combo of woods, pups & spacing that fell short of his expectations i.e a narrower tonal-palette.

Forgive the cross-posting, but I came across this from Adam Nitti's column yesterday which was interesting.

Easy..and J, thumbs up on the new avatar..

Hello Adam,
You've got basses with different fingerboards. I was told that ebony gives more compression and all the tiny details in fast playing are heard. So Alain Caron and Victor Wooten moved to ebony from the maple. Do you feel the same when you play non-maple fingerboard?

Hi oleg-
I suppose my ebony fingerboard 5 string (yamaha) does exhibit somewhat of a different quality but to my ears it's not as much an issue of actual compression as it is color. the ebony fingerboard on my bass sounds darker overall but does have decent articulation throughout the range of the fingerboard, like you have mentioned. of course, all basses are a little different and sometimes you encounter instruments that are an anomaly compared to others with similar configurations. a perfect example is my '57 reissue P-bass, which for all intensive purposes looks like a bass that would be somewhat bright and 'clacky'. (maple neck, maple fingerboard, alder body, with a finish, etc...). however, this particular one is dark-sounding as can be... it's really surprising, but that's how it sounds. the wood that has become one of my favorites for fingerboards is purpleheart, and i spec'ed it for my custom ibanez and warrior 6 string basses. kind of in-between the sound of rosewood and maple... fantastic definition over the entire range without sounding brash or top-heavy. i also have a lot of basses with maple fingerboards that i love for different reasons. my latest custom ibanez which is built to sound like a 70's jazz bass has a maple fingerboard and it cuts like a knife!
__________________
Adam Nitti
AdamNitti.com - AdamNittiMusicEducation.com




Just Thumpin' said:
A bass with a Mahogany body, Kingwood FB and Spalted Maple top is definitely not going to have a bright tone. Do you happen to know what pickup spacing was used? If the PUP's were set at 60's spacing that would even further add to the 60's JB vibe.

A Walnut / ebony instrument is going to sound completely different. The lows are going to be more focused and percussive and there will be a lot brighter, more bell-like highs (from the Ebony). I would not expect there to be more mids in this combination (compared to the Mahogany bodied instrument), but what you might be experiencing in that frequency range is more focus and less "bloom."

Not sure if this helps at all or not.

One cool thing is that after not having been able to find a source of Madagascar Kingwood / Rosewood that was harvested with appropriate paperwork for the past four years, we just were able to purchase a parcel of 150 properly documented FB's! We are pretty excited about it as this wood is visually stunning and tonally probably comes just about as close to Brazilian as anything. Not sure what we are going to use them for yet...we have some thoughts about the next iteration of the MGS...hmm...should be fun!

J
Click to expand...
 
#339
Springtime's pics of my Imperial II :


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With my Buzz :


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#340
Just Thumpin' said:
Other things to check is that the PUP heights are set correctly (close enough, but not too close) to the strings and that you are using great strings that are fairly new.
Click to expand...

I was just messing around with my setup last weekend.
I'm curious what you're starting point for pickup height for DC is at the shop. Do you measure with the last fret (24 in my case) down?
 
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