Fodera Club

[Joelc73]

Rather than refinishing the entire bass, they could just touch up the rub-through with shellac and fill the hole with shellac stick. This is something that can be done in a day or two whereas waiting for a complete strip and refinish will likely be a 6-month wait, minimum.

+1

Also, 6 months is hugely optimistic. You will be waiting - quite literally - years to get it back.

If you really want a full refinish, I would almost recommend sending it to a finish guy instead of sending to Fodera. It will be done exponentially faster - plus Fodera finishes are OK but they aren't that good that you would need them specifically to do it.

 

[jonno1707]

+1

Also, 6 months is hugely optimistic. You will be waiting - quite literally - years to get it back.

If you really want a full refinish, I would almost recommend sending it to a finish guy instead of sending to Fodera. It will be done exponentially faster - plus Fodera finishes are OK but they aren't that good that you would need them specifically to do it.

Agreed..I would send it to Pat Wilkins for a killer Sadowsky 59 burst....
You would probably have it back in less than 6 weeks as well...

 

[rb1]

Rather than refinishing the entire bass, they could just touch up the rub-through with shellac and fill the hole with shellac stick. This is something that can be done in a day or two whereas waiting for a complete strip and refinish will likely be a 6-month wait, minimum.

Fodera only takes about a week to do the actual refinish work , but who knows how long it will be sitting there before they get around to it?

Fodera uses a water-based lacquer. It can be repaired, but shellac is not a good choice. There aren't very many luthiers who have experience with water-based lacquer. It is more difficult to work with than urethane or nitrocellulose.

 

[emjazz]

Fodera only takes about a week to do the actual refinish work , but who knows how long it will be sitting there before they get around to it?

Fodera uses a water-based lacquer. It can be repaired, but shellac is not a good choice. There aren't very many luthiers who have experience with water-based lacquer. It is more difficult to work with than urethane or nitrocellulose.

Is it waterlox that they use?

Again, expect to wait a long time if Fodera does it...maybe a couple of years??

If you can't find a luthier to do it then maybe a high end furniture finisher.....

 

[Hopper]

Yeah! Lets us do that I just posted a clip of me playing the Fodera with drums and trombone. First time we ever played together. I used the bridge pickup

Ooooh I like the horn player and the bass. Nice to see a thumb plucker around these parts. The snare drum sounds gated, weirdly.

 

[rb1]

Is it waterlox that they use?
Again, expect to wait a long time if Fodera does it...maybe a couple of years??
If you can't find a luthier to do it then maybe a high end furniture finisher.....

I don't know if it's waterlox or something else. I am not a guitar finishing expert.

I don't think it will be years. I spoke to Joey in February. He said then that it would only take a couple of weeks. But when I talked to Martha this month, she said it would be a LONG wait because they were really backed up. If it's going to take years, why would they have me send it to them? They could just put me on a waiting list and tell me to send it to them the month before they were planning to get to it.

It's too late to find somebody else. It's in Brooklyn at Fodera now. I'll post again when I get it back to let people know how long it took.

 

[firebass]

Did they quote you a price? If so I'd be interested to know how much.

I want to get my Emperor II refinished, but here in Japan it will cost me around $1,000 to strip off the existing finish and redo it with a satin finish.

It's too late to find somebody else. It's in Brooklyn at Fodera now. I'll post again when I get it back to let people know how long it took.

 

[rodneyat]

+1

Also, 6 months is hugely optimistic. You will be waiting - quite literally - years to get it back.

If you really want a full refinish, I would almost recommend sending it to a finish guy instead of sending to Fodera. It will be done exponentially faster - plus Fodera finishes are OK but they aren't that good that you would need them specifically to do it.

You will wait forever to get it back from Fodera unless your name starts with Anthony, Victor, etc.

Remember this thread?

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=515366

This guy knows the Fodera finish well now and could do the repair for a reasonable price and get it back to you quickly.

 

[rb1]

Did they quote you a price? If so I'd be interested to know how much.

$950 to completely strip, sand, and refinish a Monarch Deluxe.

 

[harrybosch]

Damn. You could have paid way less, got a better refinish job, and you would have your Fodera back within 6 weeks. I think there was one guy on here several years ago that sent his Fodera back to have different pickup covers made and I believe it took about a year and a half. A friend of mine sent in his Monarch to be refretted and was quoted a 2 week turnaround. It took 8 months. I hope you have better luck.

 

[lamarjones]

$950 to completely strip, sand, and refinish a Monarch Deluxe.

pricewise not too bad considering it's Fodera. Just don't be surprised by how long it takes, and your bass will be a complete beauty again!

 

[Just Thumpin']

Who is going to do a better finish job? Do you have any idea how long it takes to strip (to bare wood) and refinish a Fodera?

1st of all, if you are not careful when sanding off the old finish, you can materially change the shape of the instrument. Second of all, the Fodera finish is a 10 coat, catalyzed urethane lacquer that is hand sanded 3-5 times during the finish process (the number of times is wood and weather dependent). All in, the disassembly, removal of the old finish, spraying and refinishing, reassembly, and set-up will take somewhere between 10 and 15 hours of labor.

Finally, you have the same people that make the instruments doing the work -- Joey and Vinny. Unfortunately, the time it takes arises out of the fact that if they are doing refinishes they are not building new basses...

It may take awhile but IMHO, if you own a Fodera you almost have an obligation to care for it like a heirloom or precious antique and not risk having work done on it by others (at least as long as Joey and Vinny are still working).

Damn. You could have paid way less, got a better refinish job, and you would have your Fodera back within 6 weeks. I think there was one guy on here several years ago that sent his Fodera back to have different pickup covers made and I believe it took about a year and a half. A friend of mine sent in his Monarch to be refretted and was quoted a 2 week turnaround. It took 8 months. I hope you have better luck.

 

[harrybosch]

Who is going to do a better finish job? Do you have any idea how long it takes to strip (to bare wood) and refinish a Fodera?

1st of all, if you are not careful when sanding off the old finish, you can materially change the shape of the instrument. Second of all, the Fodera finish is a 10 coat, catalyzed urethane lacquer that is hand sanded 3-5 times during the finish process (the number of times is wood and weather dependent). All in, the disassembly, removal of the old finish, spraying and refinishing, reassembly, and set-up will take somewhere between 10 and 15 hours of labor.

Finally, you have the same people that make the instruments doing the work -- Joey and Vinny. Unfortunately, the time it takes arises out of the fact that if they are doing refinishes they are not building new basses...

It may take awhile but IMHO, if you own a Fodera you almost have an obligation to care for it like a heirloom or precious antique and not risk having work done on it by others (at least as long as Joey and Vinny are still working).

I've owned 6 fodera's. Their finish work is average at best. They are master luthiers, no doubt, but not master finishers IMHO. I would take it to a master finisher, there are several, and you will get a better finish, and the the turnaround is WAY faster.

 

[Angus]

Who is going to do a better finish job? Do you have any idea how long it takes to strip (to bare wood) and refinish a Fodera?

Same amount of time it takes to strip and refinish other instruments. Less so with a Fodera given the water-based finish they use.

 

[firebass]

Thanks, so it costs about the same then.

$950 to completely strip, sand, and refinish a Monarch Deluxe.

 

[Just Thumpin']

I presently own more than 6, have had my hands on more than 100 along with having either owned or played many other incredibly fine basses, and I disagree with you. There are more "perfect" finishes, but I have yet to see a higher-quality completely hand-rubbed (not machine buffed, factory sprayed, etc.) finish that suits its purpose (tone, feel, protection and durability) better than a Fodera finish.

Also, having spent extensive time speaking with Joey and Vinny about why they spend so much time hand-working the finish when you can get more "prefect" looking results in any number of other ways... to paraphrase Vinny's answer...

We've tried so many different ways of finishing our instruments over the past 26 years that I have lost count. Some look better, almost all take significantly less time and/or cost less, but none balance tone, feel, looks and durability better than the finish we have stuck with.

Finally, I would be really interested in the finish work that you like better than Fodera's...I would personally love to check them out. I am happy to be wrong if there is something better out there. Heck the finish on factory stuff often looks "better" than the finish on a Fodera, but they don't sound or feel the way Fodera's do. Also, if you get a little ding in them can you just rub them out with a little steel wool?

Are you comfortable making the assumption that the finish on a Fodera has nothing to do with its sound and/or feel? These guys have been doing this for 26 years and make incredible instruments. Their finish work is back-braking, unprofitable and tremendously time-consuming. Given their dedication to making the finest basses in the world, I certainly would not deliberately alter one of their instruments in a material way by having someone else refinish it to save a few bucks and/or a couple of months.

I've owned 6 fodera's. Their finish work is average at best. They are master luthiers, no doubt, but not master finishers IMHO. I would take it to a master finisher, there are several, and you will get a better finish, and the the turnaround is WAY faster.

 

[Just Thumpin']

Their finish has not been water-based for at least 15 years. They use a glossy catalyzed urethane lacquer that they hand-rub (between each set of coats) to a satin finish. They also use zero in the way of base/filler coats, just straight lacquer.

Perhaps what you meant is that since the finish is not oil-based the stripping work is a bit less intensive? Cheers.

Same amount of time it takes to strip and refinish other instruments. Less so with a Fodera given the water-based finish they use.

 

[harrybosch]

OK, I guess since you own more than 6 your opinion matters more than mine, being that I've only owned 6 I think Fodera's are great basses but I don't own one now because I've played other basses that just sound better. If Fodera's finish effects the the tone as much as you believe maybe had I got mine refinished by someone else I would have kept one. Do you really think Fodera are the only guys to use their particular finish? I would be willing to bet that with just a little research you could find another finisher that can do the same finish with the same materials in less time, do it for much less money and do just as good of work.
I'm not a Fodera basher in any way. I'm sure I'll own another someday as I think they are the best looking(shapes) bass out their and play better than most any bass as well. I just need one that speaks to me tonally which will probably mean I have to get rid of the Pope pre and find one with a B string that is at least decent. Might be hard find but I'm sure it's out there.

 

[Joelc73]

I am, and have been, a huge Fodera fan for the last decade - and have owned way more than I can remember. I've also been behind the scenes on the production of dozens of custom Foderas.

They do absolutely amazing work and produce world class instruments. Their finish is average at best though. In my mind they are still among the very best basses available -- their is just nothing special or significant about there finish.

 

[lamarjones]

Regardless of anything, I wouldn't make any statement saying you shouldn't get it refinished by Fodera. There will be a huge difference in the value of your instrument when the finish isn't from Vinny and Joey. Disagree with that all you want too, I am in the 100+ bass club (not currently of course) and I am pretty sure that is a fact.