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Fodera Club Part XVIII

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#381
Michael --

Perhaps I didn't explain what I meant well. I am referring to being fair to the instrument. It is impossible for any of us to know / understand what has been done inside of the cavity of your bass without having it in front of us. It is also impossible for us to know whether or not there is a flaw in the pickups that you purchased, whether or not they are compatible with one another and/or the preamp and what the sound that you are hearing is.

Our minimum service charge is just $75 and it's doubtful that any issue you are having (unless one of the pickups is flawed) would cost more than $150 for us to fix properly -- or to tell you definitively that there is a problem that we cannot fix.

To me, with the level of instrument that you have chosen (and very big thanks for the kind words about your Monarch), it just doesn't make sense to continue your struggle when help is so easily available. Sadly, we are just not in a position to provide quality tech support on an instrument that has been modified with non-Fodera parts by someone not familiar with working on our instruments without seeing what is going on in person.

Please do not take this feedback as being meant than anything other than trying to help you get to the bottom of this problem that you have been experiencing for many weeks now as quickly as possible and with the highest probability of success.

And, again, if you ever try to get through to Joey and cannot, I have provided you my personal cell phone number...

Kindest regards,

Jason



phishaholik said:
Hi Jason,

I'm not sure why you keep asking me what's fair. I haven't disparaged Fodera in the slightest bit and I'll tell anyone who asks that y'all make the finest basses on earth. I have a very well worn 15 year old bass and I don't feel any of the issues I'm asking about are anyone at Foderas fault.

I'm not a typical Fodera owner in that I don't have much money. I haven't been able to afford to send it in to have the work done. I'm just doing what every other TBer does and I'm asking for advice from other forum members.

I've called y'all a few times and every time I do, the person says, "let me ask Joey" and puts me on hold. That's what I meant by, "I haven't been able to get someone with technical expertise on the phone." Honestly, I called three times trying to get my Fodera registered and even after emailing pics I wasn't able to.

I love my Fodera. It's the greatest bass I've ever held and it amazes me and makes me want to play more every day. I hope I'm not pissing off the very people I hold in such high esteem. I'm just trying to get a little help on TB from people with more experience than I have.

I'm hoping to get enough money from my tax return to send it in and have it gone over. I just wanted to exhaust all options first.


Thanks for the reply,


Michael
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#382
Roundtrip ground shipping to Brooklyn from Virginia takes a day in each direction and can be had for as little as $50 each way...and this is not the kind of problem that, once diagnosed and fixed, is likely to be damaged during return shipping.

J

cnltb said:
I once had a problem with an outboard preamp and sent it half way around the world to get fixed because it needed someone who knows the specific piece to get done well.
It came back to me broken in transit and ended up getting fixed by alocal technician who came highly recommended by people that use him for exactly the kind of job I needed done.
He did a very good job indeed-and inexpensive.
Might this be a route to look into perhaps?:)
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#383
Just Thumpin' said:
Roundtrip ground shipping to Brooklyn from Virginia takes a day in each direction and can be had for as little as $50 each way...and this is not the kind of problem that, once diagnosed and fixed, is likely to be damaged during return shipping.

J
Click to expand...

Adjusting for the different currency I had my pre repaired for about 40(after I obviously had paid to transport it there and back...).
For me that $60 would make a real difference and after just having seen a friends instrument trashed in transit I'd be especially careful.
But I too started by sending the unit to the manufacturer as i simply trusted them more than i would anyone else with the particular repair.
 
#384
We are not talking about any ole manufacturer though, we are talking about Fodera. I understand your concerns about shipping. If you aren't comfortable with shipping, then I would recommend finding a really experienced tech locally.
 
#385
ursusaltered said:
I understand your concerns about shipping. If you aren't comfortable with shipping, then I would recommend finding a really experienced tech locally.
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+1.

But remember, Fodera ships hundreds of NEW instruments to buyers/retailers all over the glove every year. I agree it is scary thinking about all of the bad stuff that can happen to a very expensive bass during shipping, but a well packed bass will very rarely get damaged IME.

After seeing the Fodera shop and how good they are at what they do, I wouldn't let anyone else work on my Fodera. I live in Canada and I would not hesitate to ship to them.
 
#386
ursusaltered said:
We are not talking about any ole manufacturer though, we are talking about Fodera. I understand your concerns about shipping. If you aren't comfortable with shipping, then I would recommend finding a really experienced tech locally.
Click to expand...

I guess that very few companies would call themselves 'any ole' manufacturer.
Neither would they be called that by the users of their product.
Fodera is no exception in this regard.
It goes without saying that I'd only ever go with a really experienced tech. :)
 
#387
cnltb said:
It goes without saying that I'd only ever go with a really experienced tech. :)
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I agree, but I bought my Emperor Standard from a large retail chain that has great generalist techs, but how many techs really have deep Pope pre or Fodera truss rod experience? I personally will be sending it back to Fodera for anything that I can't do myself..... And I live in a different country.

I have a recurring nightmare about dropping my Fodera off for a setup at the large retailer in question on an afternoon and seeing the teenage cashier/bass department guy gigging it in a dive bar later that night.:eek::D kidding, they are good dudes.:

In any case, any Fodera is a very high end and expensive instrument with fairly complex (or maybe "non-standard) electronics. I wouldn't trust it to just anyone.
 
#388
Baird6869 said:
I agree, but I bought my Emperor Standard from a large retail chain that has great generalist techs, but how many techs really have deep Pope pre or Fodera truss rod experience? I personally will be sending it back to Fodera for anything that I can't do myself..... And I live in a different country.
In any case, any Fodera is a very high end and expensive instrument with fairly complex (or maybe "non-standard) electronics. I wouldn't trust it to just anyone.
Click to expand...

I feel the same about the Pre amp I mentioned, which is why I did send it to the company.
That I wouldn't have had to do that is something I only found out because I didn't have the money to send it again :).
 
#389
cnltb said:
I feel the same about the Pre amp I mentioned which is why I did send it to the company.
That I wouldn't have had to do that is something I only found out because I didn't have the money to send it again :).
Click to expand...

I hear you. Waiting until you have the $$$ sucks in a case like this, but it might be worth the wait.

I think someone recommended wiring the bass passive as a temporary fix. Might be worth a try if you are comfortable doing so.

Good luck!:bassist:
 
#390
Baird6869 said:
I hear you. Waiting until you have the $$$ sucks in a case like this, but it might be worth the wait.

I think someone recommended wiring the bass passive as a temporary fix. Might be worth a try if you are comfortable doing so.

Good luck!:bassist:
Click to expand...

Well, it luckily is not my bass which is the subject of the conversation. I would certainly not trust myself with any such jobs and send it to the company a I did with my Pre amp.

But I too wish Good luck on his one!:)
 
#391
steubig said:
i guess my thought is this:

if it's the p pickup, it's not gonna really help him to send it to the fodera shop. he can just just as easily replace the p pickup and then wire it into the pope. then, if there's a problem, by all means, send it to the shop. but i think he's gonna be *sol* if he took it in only to find out the p pickup itself is faulty or is the source of the tonal problem.

it's very simple to wire a pickup straight to the jack to see if it works. i did it this last week with a pickup that i've been working on with someone—and, believe me, i'm no whiz kid.
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even easier with alligator clips right to guitar jack. 30 seconds will tell you if its the pickup. it should sound great as a passive bass or something is wrong with the pickup
 
#392
jumbodbassman said:
even easier with alligator clips right to guitar jack. 30 seconds will tell you if its the pickup. it should sound great as a passive bass or something is wrong with the pickup
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indeed. even easier. probably still best to disconnect the pre. hell you could just wire the p/up to a different 1/4-inch jack and leave it hanging while you experiment.
 
#396
phishaholik said:
I just wanted to add, since I can't edit on my phone, I'm not upset that one of the few luthiers at the shop doesn't have the time to speak to me on the phone and I don't expect them to stop working to answer calls. I really do think y'all make the best basses on earth and my Monarch is my bass wife for life.


Michael
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Hi.
One quick thought:
Have you shuffled the p-pickup the right way around? There must be 4 combinations of twisting and turning both pickups around, but only one correct?!?
Underneath the pickup there will be a stamp for magnetic polarization.
I did wrong on a Spector once. I had the split bridge pickup the wrong way and the p-pickup kinda upside down.
 
#397
Baird6869 said:
...with an ebony board (no inlays)...
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Baird,

Great choice on the no inlay fretboard. That's the choice I made for the amazing piece of Brazilian that is going into my in-progress 5 string Imperial. Jason had suggested that any kind of inlay might take away from the beauty of the wood. I gave some thought to the rarely done thin outline inlay around the perimeter of the board, but in the end...just nothing was best!
 
#399
curt basner said:
Baird,

Great choice on the no inlay fretboard. That's the choice I made for the amazing piece of Brazilian that is going into my in-progress 5 string Imperial. Jason had suggested that any kind of inlay might take away from the beauty of the wood. I gave some thought to the rarely done thin outline inlay around the perimeter of the board, but in the end...just nothing was best!
Click to expand...

Cool! Can't wait to see a pic when it is completed.

Not many builders would talk a customer out of an expensive option like inlays, but if it will add to the overall look of the bass, it seems Fodera does this regularly.
 
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