Fodera Club Part XVIII

[Just Thumpin']

Yes, a Dovetail build does have its strings farther away from the body than either a Bolt-on or Neck-through.

J

Nuwavedc, I'm curious about this also! I think I read in an earlier thread that the dovetail joint requires more fingerboard overstand than on a bolt-on or neck-through, for stability purposes. (Result: higher string height from the body.)

 

[Brad Johnson]

Is it just me or is that crazy Ladybug seafoam Fodera 12 string on eBay/GTR Store getting cheaper by the day?

It is currently $6500.

A couple more price drops, I may have to grab it and start a Pearl Jam/Cheap Trick cover band.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pre-Owned-O...e-/160921431298?pt=Guitar&hash=item2577aa2d02

Yeah, the price is way down from where it started. Lose the additional tuners, reface the front and back of the headstock and get a new bridge and you're in business.

Yeah, I thought about it.

 

[Just Thumpin']

No, a thinner neck does change the tone, but it does not add more punch. All things equal, thicker necks tend to have better overall tone -- there's that darn trade-off thing again! Wouldn't it be great if tone improved with thinner necks and less weight?!?

As for the praise for your Imperial -- that is awesome news. I am glad you talk the time to really work through the Specs with me so that we could deliver what you hoped for. That's what its all about! Enjoy...

J

Thought of the day for me ... if a set neck gives you a little more punch than a neck through, does a thinner neck accomplish this too?

On another note my new imperial is simply hands down the best thing I ever played.

 

[Brad Johnson]

There are a lot of complexities involved with weight and tone. We do not believe that our instruments sound good sub-8 pounds. Period. The reality is that we use a high mass bridge and machine heads for a reason. When we listen to our instruments with a lightweight bridge and ultra light tuners, we feel that the level of sustain and tonal complexity drops fairly significantly. Titanium is a bit of an anomaly as it is lightweight but retains a lot of the tonal benefit of brass. Of course it is hugely expensive.

So, if you are looking at a Fodera 5-string with our 19.0mm bridge and a set of Dual Coils PUP's, you have close to 4 pounds in parts -- we need at LEAST 5 pounds of wood to make the bass sing...

So, no, we never have made nor will we ever make super light basses. We know what we are and have grown fairly comfortable in that skin. We'd rather not build an instrument than build one to meet someone's specs that we think will not sound or play well. We turn away several potential sales every month because we believe that the specs we are being asked for would not turn out well.

Hope that makes sense.

J

I'd have agree with this. While weight alone doesn't predict anything for EVERY bass, some designs definitely can exploit what it brings to the table with particular woods that don't come in sonically similar lighter variants. I've never played a light bass that has the massive presence of any of my mainstay basses. They have main woods that happen to be heavy. Anyone who wants to think that's all a coincidence is free to do so.

While I have had great results with ultra light tuners, lightweight bridges have consistently left me cold.

I don't see how you could make a lightweight version of my AJC even with extensive chambering... it would change the sound drastically IME. My bass sounds heavier than it is. I'm cool with using a good strap.

 

[kamakiriad7]

I want to lay this down here.


Jason DeSalvo:

Thank you for what you do. I can't imagine many circumstances where the manager of a high-end, small market business regularly takes time out of his day to answer important questions people might be having about instruments in general. Being close friends with several partners in the engineering field, I imagine that at the end of the day people like yourself enjoy relaxing at home, enjoying a great vintage Burgundy, with many other things on your mind besides musical instruments. I couldn't be more wrong. (Except for maybe the Burgundy part.) Every day I look forward to the new posts on this thread from artists regarding their craft and their instruments, and I love looking forward to you chiming in with insights. It's an unexpected detail of the job but one that resounds heavily with that small market.

It makes a huge difference for students like myself, often wary of the musical instrument area, to be hearing from folk like yourself on a personal level.

You can guarantee I'll be back in Brooklyn later this year with a deposit for a custom shop instrument.

Thanks for helping to make every practice session memorable,
Chris

 

[kamakiriad7]

I'm consistently checking Ebay for a Fodera bridge that I can put on my P-bass to balance it better. (And make it sound a whole lot better, too.)

While I have had great results with ultra light tuners, lightweight bridges have consistently left me cold.

 

[jsbarber]

The position of the neck pickup on that six string is unusual. Seems a little closer to the bridge than is normal for a Fodera. Not quite Tom Kennedy spacing but not p bass position either. It's a stunning bass though. Alder body?

Yes, Alder body. I agree regarding pickup locations.

 

[jsbarber]

Haha!!!! I saw that. Too funny. I think that ones a neck through though. Mine is a bolt-on. I'll be honest, at first I didn't care at all for this body shape. But, the more I look at it, play it and most importantly, hear it; I can't imagine getting rid of it. It weighs at least 11lbs but just absolutely crushes in the tone department.

I've owned a few Fodera's and heard hundreds over the years, but to my ears, there is only one other Fodera that I think sounds better than mine. That would be Anthony Wellington's #1 bass. His Imperial 5 with an ash body, chestnut top and insane Birdseye board. Tom Kennedy's and Richard Bona's are up there too.

Listen to Anthony Jackson on Public Access, if you want to hear your model in the hands of the maestro... But I thought you were going to say that the only instrument that sound better than yours is his current bass - the Presentation is truly remarkable, IMO, and especially so in Anthony Jackson's hands. And he gets around on it. There's a passage on one of the tunes on Lee Ritenour's DVD Overtime where Anthony does a lightening fast line down the neck. I almost fell out my chair when I saw him do it...

 

[Christian Houmann]

Im considering an emperor deluxe for my next possible custom to arrive at the properties between a neck thru and bolt on and consolidate the collection.

Does anyone know if the neck angle is the same on an elite and a deluxe?

Also how is the upper fret access compared to an elite?

Thanks!

It never stops Which specs?

 

[Just Thumpin']

Thanks so much for your post. I think that the reality is that all of us here at Fodera truly love what we do. It never seems like a chore to open up the laptop first thing in the morning (and a couple of times per day thereafter) to check out what's going on here (on TalkBass). As a matter of fact, I look forward to it!

I have been in love with the bass guitar since I first picked one up in 1980. There was something magical about it -- and there still is. So, being able to be involved here with many people that feel the same sense of passion about bass is a wonderful part of my life...

Regards,

Jason

I want to lay this down here.


Jason DeSalvo:

Thank you for what you do. I can't imagine many circumstances where the manager of a high-end, small market business regularly takes time out of his day to answer important questions people might be having about instruments in general. Being close friends with several partners in the engineering field, I imagine that at the end of the day people like yourself enjoy relaxing at home, enjoying a great vintage Burgundy, with many other things on your mind besides musical instruments. I couldn't be more wrong. (Except for maybe the Burgundy part.) Every day I look forward to the new posts on this thread from artists regarding their craft and their instruments, and I love looking forward to you chiming in with insights. It's an unexpected detail of the job but one that resounds heavily with that small market.

It makes a huge difference for students like myself, often wary of the musical instrument area, to be hearing from folk like yourself on a personal level.

You can guarantee I'll be back in Brooklyn later this year with a deposit for a custom shop instrument.

Thanks for helping to make every practice session memorable,
Chris

 

[Damian Coccio]

It never stops Which specs?

Lol ... Keep the fun rolling.

Thinking about an emperor elite with a 34" scale, ebony board, walnut wings, ash block and undecided solid top. Might also look at mahogany wings from a tonal perspective. for the top I like quilted ash, quilted maple, quilted koa, etc. Maple neck w/ 17.5mm spacing. Possible chambering to keep it under 10.5 lbs. tuned b to g. Dual coil pups. Black hardware.

This one would replace two other basses I am not totally bonded with. Its a year out so theres plenty of time to tweak it, drive everybody here and jason nuts with 50 or 60 spec changes.

Ill be putting a deposit in next week.

 

[Damian Coccio]

Maybe single coils...see what I mean, it's brutal....

 

[KJung]

We have Tom's Emperor II in the shop. I will weigh it on Monday and report back. I do NOT think that it weighs 8 pounds.

As for boat anchor Foderas, yes, there were some built in the the past that flat out weighed TOO MUCH. I do not agree with Ken's hard rule of nothing over 10 pounds as certain builds and woods (say a 36" scale Walnut body 6 with an Ebony FB) are just NOT going to weigh under 10 pounds.

I also know that weight is very subjective. Ken experienced Tom's Emperor II has being around 8 pounds...I am interested to see what it really weighs as I was plucking around on it last week and my subjective guess is 9.5 pounds or so...
Cheers,

Jason

+1 in that I have no idea of the weight of Tommy's bass, just that it felt SO much lighter than the other Fodera's we had there, one of which was over 11 pounds. Whatever the weight of Tommy's bass, it worked quite well.... no reduction in punch and low end, and it felt 'not stupid heavy' like the others. That weight spec (whatever it is... my point was it seemed well within that 'magic' range of 8.5 to 9.5 pounds, after which you get diminishing returns IMO and IME from extra weight) would be a nice one for potential buyers to try to hit if they dig the Fodera vibe but are afraid of an instrument that is uncomfortable to play on long gigs over time.

My buddy Marc Torlina (another very early Fodera customer from St. Louis) has a 36 scale fretless with a swamp ash body (I think it is an Imperial... it has been a while) that is well under 10 pounds, and it sounds great also.

+1 that if you spec Walnut or whatever, you are stuck in boat anchor-ville.

 

[Baird6869]

Its a year out so theres plenty of time to tweak it, drive everybody here and jason nuts with 50 or 60 spec changes.

Bet that is fairly normal though! Sorry, normal when buying a custom Fodera.... not normal behaviour in general!

Since I put down my deposit, I changed the body wood, pickups, headstock config, top, fretboard, inlays and considered changing the body shape, scale and going from dovetail to NT OR BO.

Basically, I knew what colour hardware I wanted (black), string gauge (light B-G) and how many strings (5).

Luckily I went to the Fodera shop recently and found a great top that is perfect for a Monarch 5er.... that locks my top and body shape at least!

Too many decisions, but that is part of the fun (for us, not Jason!).

 

[kamakiriad7]

Awesome. Isn't that almost identical to Christian's (Hou's) 5-string?

Lol ... Keep the fun rolling.

Thinking about an emperor elite with a 34" scale, ebony board, walnut wings, ash block and undecided solid top. Might also look at mahogany wings from a tonal perspective. for the top I like quilted ash, quilted maple, quilted koa, etc. Maple neck w/ 17.5mm spacing. Possible chambering to keep it under 10.5 lbs. tuned b to g. Dual coil pups. Black hardware.

This one would replace two other basses I am not totally bonded with. Its a year out so theres plenty of time to tweak it, drive everybody here and jason nuts with 50 or 60 spec changes.

Ill be putting a deposit in next week.

 

[Just Thumpin']

Sounds like an adventure!!!

Jason

Lol ... Keep the fun rolling.

Thinking about an emperor elite with a 34" scale, ebony board, walnut wings, ash block and undecided solid top. Might also look at mahogany wings from a tonal perspective. for the top I like quilted ash, quilted maple, quilted koa, etc. Maple neck w/ 17.5mm spacing. Possible chambering to keep it under 10.5 lbs. tuned b to g. Dual coil pups. Black hardware.

This one would replace two other basses I am not totally bonded with. Its a year out so theres plenty of time to tweak it, drive everybody here and jason nuts with 50 or 60 spec changes.

Ill be putting a deposit in next week.

 

[Just Thumpin']

Not true!! Within reason, that's one of the coolest aspect of what I do here!! Just think, I get to obsess over the specs of over 100 Foderas a year! What's bad about that? We've already established that I am a bit nutty (remember that I DO own 13 of our instruments -- all but one of which I paid for)...

But in all seriousness, we LOVE that level of interaction and involvement and have upgraded and staffed the business in a way that allows for it and welcomes it...

Cheers,

J

Too many decisions, but that is part of the fun (for us, not Jason!).

 

[Baird6869]

Not true!! Within reason, that's one of the coolest aspect of what I do here!! Just think, I get to obsess over the specs of over 100 Foderas a year! What's bad about that? We've already established that I am a bit nutty (remember that I DO own 13 of our instruments -- all but one of which I paid for)...

But in all seriousness, we LOVE that level of interaction and involvement and have upgraded and staffed the business in a way that allows for it and welcomes it...

Cheers,

J

Actually, that is true.

You were almost as excited as I was when going thru potential tops for my bass. You obviously love what you do!

 

[Lennard III.]

NJust think, I get to obsess over the specs of over 100 Foderas a year!

Cheers,

J

Hey J.

if you should ever need a successor - just give me a call

 

[Andy Brown]

Just had my Matt Garrison Standard re-strung B-G with Fodera lights (040-060-080-100-120) requiring a slight nut filing by the local trusted guitar shop... it's the bomb. The B is really nice, not floppy at all.

The tech was even able to get my action even lower to 5/64" at the 12th fret. These are truly incredible instruments.