Fodera Club Part XX

[Mitchthebassplayer]

totally. And it's always gonna be different for different people. But I like where you went with "traditional". Anything that sounds like a fat upright that can be loud and not sound like crap is certainly the original aim of "bass". I also prefer a P pickup in the neck position over another J pickup, but I've fallen in love with the warmth and fullness of the Duncan dual coils, so now it's a matter of wood combos for me. I thought about considering a chambered body, and a friend said to me, "dude, you're not gonna like it. It's not gonna sound like how we're used to basses sounding." So I thought, ah, he must be right, and I should stick to my traditional concepts for bass. But maybe i shouldn't rule it out until I try one!

 

[Blue Blood]

I think the biggest issue in this debate is how one describe's growl. It's a very individual thing. I've never played an ash bodied bass that had any sort of growl that I like. For me growl comes from the mid-range. I think the reason everyone has such varied opinions on what constitues a growling tone is the fact that mid frequencies encompass such a wide range, a very audible range, compared to lows and highs. The human ear hears the mids better than the other frequencies so I suppose since everyone has different ears it only stands to reason the variances of opinion. That said ash/maple basses do not growl

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

I think the biggest issue in this debate is how one describe's growl. It's a very individual thing. I've never played an ash bodied bass that had any sort of growl that I like. For me growl comes from the mid-range. I think the reason everyone has such varied opinions on what constitues a growling tone is the fact that mid frequencies encompass such a wide range, a very audible range, compared to lows and highs. The human ear hears the mids better than the other frequencies so I suppose since everyone has different ears it only stands to reason the variances of opinion. That said ash/maple basses do not growl

haha thats insane to me. So then what combo, including neck and fb, give you the "growl" you like? If you say alder/rw I'll just know that your ears are broken

 

[bThumper38]

I think the biggest issue in this debate is how one describe's growl. It's a very individual thing. I've never played an ash bodied bass that had any sort of growl that I like. For me growl comes from the mid-range. I think the reason everyone has such varied opinions on what constitues a growling tone is the fact that mid frequencies encompass such a wide range, a very audible range, compared to lows and highs. The human ear hears the mids better than the other frequencies so I suppose since everyone has different ears it only stands to reason the variances of opinion. That said ash/maple basses do not growl

I don't think you know what you're talking about.

 

[ursusaltered]

Hahahahahahaha this is rediculous

 

[Blue Blood]

I know what I'm talking about, it appears you guys don't. Maybe I just don't know how to explain myself very well. Oh well. It all kind of proves the point that everyone has a different opinion on what growl is. To me, yes, alder produces the type of growl I like. Nothing else come close.

 

[DirtPoorRobins]

I agree with both sides of this argument. First off, pickup placement has a HUGE impact on "growl." On my current monarch 4 string that is alder/ebony and bolt on construction, I tried all the combinations of pickup positions by flipping the dual coils all different combos and when it was in 70s position it had some of the growliest, cutting, punch of anything I've ever heard wood choice aside. Then when I flipped the rear pickup so that the single coil was ~3/4" closer to the neck, it was much more mellow and warm sounding, the growl was gone.

 

[Blue Blood]

Usually when a pickup get's closer to the bridge I don't hear more growl I hear a more nasal sort of tone. Not a bad sound but I prefer my growl to have a little more roundness. Again, it highlights the difference of opinion as to what growl is, which seems to be different for everyone.

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

I agree with both sides of this argument. First off, pickup placement has a HUGE impact on "growl." On my current monarch 4 string that is alder/ebony and bolt on construction, I tried all the combinations of pickup positions by flipping the dual coils all different combos and when it was in 70s position it had some of the growliest, cutting, punch of anything I've ever heard wood choice aside. Then when I flipped the rear pickup so that the single coil was ~3/4" closer to the neck, it was much more mellow and warm sounding, the growl was gone.

Yes, I think pups and pup location as well as neck type construction can obviously affect the type of growl and where it comes from. It's ossible that aside from wood combinations there's an inherent type of "growl" from the neck through construction and 70s position pups. I feel like I almost get MORE growl out of my imperial in single coil mode, while the tone becomes a little thicker in dual coil mode.

Usually when a pickup get's closer to the bridge I don't hear more growl I hear a more nasal sort of tone. Not a bad sound but I prefer my growl to have a little more roundness. Again, it highlights the difference of opinion as to what growl is, which seems to be different for everyone.

I know what you mean by nasally back pup tone. But unless the blend is panned to the back pickup I usually consider that tone as "growly". The more panning towards the back pup, the more "nasally" jaco like tone you get. I was trying not to go there only discussing inherent tones of wood combos.

 

[narud]

I don't think you know what you're talking about.

sounds pretty right to me. i usually hear growl describing a more low-mid type sound rather than mid or high mids. high mids usually described by grind. a 9 pound swamp ash bass sounds hollower in the low mids to my ear than a 9 pound alder bass. heavier northern ash starts sounding more hard and compressed.

 

[Blue Blood]

I'm on the same page as narud.

 

[AndroWal]

Seems to me both alder and ash have growl and nasal mid quality sounds when favoring the bridge pick-up, but that alder is more polite than ash.

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

I have very little experience with mahogany as a body wood or tone block material. How would one compare them to northern ash, walnut, or alder tonally? I feel like its a super heavy wood....

 

[Christian Houmann]

if you decide to go that route, I would highly suggest considering olive as a top. From what I understand, it adds a lot more to the overall tone of the bass than most other tops due to it's really high density. And density = tone. But whatever it's doing on my Imperial, it's nothing short of fabulous. I've been fighting with myself for months on whether I should just do the exact same wood combo for my NEXT Fodera with some different scale options or just try out some totally different wood combos and experiment....it's that good. It can be a tad on the bright side in the studio, but nothing some playing with the pre can't fix. Live it's like mix cutting butter!

Bona has some of the best bass sounds on all the albums he has recorded

 

[bThumper38]

I have very little experience with mahogany as a body wood or tone block material. How would one compare them to northern ash, walnut, or alder tonally? I feel like its a super heavy wood....

I have a small body mahogany alembic bass, it's like half the size of my imperial and weighs almost 3 pounds more.

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

Bona has some of the best bass sounds on all the albums he has recorded

+1! a great overall bass tone, IMO.

 

[Lennard III.]

for me Alder on the P - the rest has to be Ash - and no Mapleboards please

 

[gridchin]

some ash/maple porn

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[cnltb]

for me Alder on the P - the rest has to be Ash - and no Mapleboards please

For me it's alder regardless of the style of bass.

 

[peterpalmieri]

Of all the many basses I've owned over the years, three stand out:

1. Fodera YYD PJ
2. Rob Allen Deep 4
3. Zon Lightwave 5 fretless

Not a "traditional" instrument in the lot, but for me they had the sound that made me want to play and play. With the Fodera I can get a good P tone but the ebony adds a ping that I like and the chambered walnut gives a nice airy punch. The Rob Allen sounds like the best amplified upright you've ever heard, so maybe that actually is "traditional." The Zon was just a freak of nature. It was a magic combination of graphite neck, fretless phenowood fingerboard and original Lightwave optical pickup.

I agree about alder/rw. I love the sound of it alone but find I get lost in a mix. That's why I like the ebony - it helps me hear what's going on. Wrt pickups, I just can't get into the sound of a J pickup in the neck position. It doesn't respond under my fingers like a P does. So that pretty much kills the JJ setup for me. A dual coil in the neck position is better as in dual coil mode it has more mid push than a single coil J, at least to my ear.

There's a reason there are so many choices in woods, pickups, etc. But just today I heard back from a singer/songwriter who I'm working with. I sent him a bass track I recorded for one of his tunes. YYD into an Apogee ONE straight into the laptop and sent him just the bass track alone so he could add it to the project. His direct quote from the email - "One more thing…the sound of your bass is GREAT!" That bass just kills...

While I think the Rob Allen basses have a very cool vibe and can be upright-ish. To say it is the best amplified upright you've ever heard is way off the mark IMO.