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Fodera Imperial: Good Playing, Pedestrian Tone
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
I thought the first example was too buzzy, then thought it sounded great after that.
IMHO, simply based upon the video, possibly the recording was a bit amiss regarding recording, amp, etc., controls. I can't imagine that instrument really sounds that dull.
The money you spend on a Fodera is mostly in build quality. Electronics are just the icing, which can be swapped out with whatever you like best...and as it seems, comprises 80% of the tone you hear.
There was a thread from about 10 years ago where a TB member recorded a real jazz bass and then recorded a jazz neck bolted to a 2x4 with some pickups. They sounded 95% the same...
I don’t think that bass sounded bland. But I do think how it was recorded makes a big difference.
Playing through a real amp and cabinet sounds much different than playing through a headphone amp...
There was a thread from about 10 years ago where a TB member recorded a real jazz bass and then recorded a jazz neck bolted to a 2x4 with some pickups. They sounded 95% the same...
I don’t think that bass sounded bland. But I do think how it was recorded makes a big difference.
Playing through a real amp and cabinet sounds much different than playing through a headphone amp...
Simple doesn't equate to best. Complex is for an engineer, a power user. Simple is for others, or for drunk engineers or power users.
Ive been drunk and appreciate a P more than an alembic on those days.
LoL
The main thing making that bass sound terrible is the setup. Those strings are slammed up against the frets. Those strings aren't being allowed to vibrate. All I'm hearing is them rattling against the frets.
I'm also terribly biased against Pope preamps and soapbar pickups, so there ya go. But if there was more relief in that neck, it would sound a thousand times better than it does.
I'm also terribly biased against Pope preamps and soapbar pickups, so there ya go. But if there was more relief in that neck, it would sound a thousand times better than it does.
Simple doesn't equate to best. Complex is for an engineer, a power user. Simple is for others, or for drunk engineers or power users.
Ive been drunk and appreciate a P more than an alembic on those days.
LoL
I feel the same way about Fender Jazz basses.
Ive not heard many people say they hated the way Fodera’s felt. How many different models and options have you played?
This is completely subjective though, as I'm sure you are aware. The basses were all meticulously built and crafted, but the "mojo" for me was absent on all but one. I expected more, personally. Some folks will likely have differing opinions.
My personal opinion - the action is too low. People play with this freakishly low action these days that barely lets the notes ring. I hate it. But that's me.
A jacked up action is a definite possibility. My SB5000 plays well low action. I think exposed core strings are the key, but compared to what lots of people like, its action is probably high. I think a lot of us don’t have good enough technique to really pull off playing cleanly with a super low action.
Yikes, some of the replies here read as though the authors are very close to offended that someone would even suggest a Fodera could be mediocre. The comment goes with the vid: this is a great bass and it sounds bland. I wouldn't speculate that the bass in the video had to somehow be forced or poorly manipulated to sound like that. For all anyone knows, it could very well be a dud. Such things happen, even at Fodera. A blind listening to that vid and I would think I was hearing a $900 Ibanez BTB. I've owned a couple of BTBs and lots of people love them so that's no insult and no one should feel triggered by that statement.
But.. it's not an Ibanez and as such, I would naturally expect a lot better. if I was cruising Fodera vids, and came across a preview showing that bass, i would be expecting to hear Angel voices and Unicorn farts emanating from it when I pressed play.
Probably DI into a flat channel strip with HPF - low cut engaged. Sounds good but dang these basses are expensive. It's diminishing returns after a certain point. For 10k, I'll get a really good upright first.
And I get that part of it for sure...I, for one, don’t put a lot of stock in that video..the way it was recorded probably wasn’t the greatest...I’m disappointed in YouTube videos literally everyday now,wishing I had more volume, more bass so I turn up everything on my sound system and when I exit the app to cable TV,I almost blow my doors off...the actual recording aspect of the video is huge and I suspect that wasn’t the best method at that time...
What horrifies is,as someone considering purchasing a Fodera at some point soon,that Sweetwater has Basses that maybe their sales staff can’t honestly stand behind...I mean you looked out for a friend, and that’s what’s up, but what about the rest of us that don’t have that hook up..? Fodera’s start at around $5k...idk, do you feel like there’s a large segment of sales staff staff that will walk away from the commission on a Fodera and say “honesty I don’t think this bass is worth the money. You should look into something else..” or are they just gonna try and sell me a bass?
Just another example of the value of trying before you buy...maybe Sweetwater wouldn’t give me hard time about a return, but the process is a pain all the same and to receive a bass from them that is well built but tonally lacking would be very disappointing and I would have to question the guy who sold the bass to me in the first place...just sayin..
You point out the fundamental contradiction of mass marketing a “boutique” bass. At its conception, Fodera was a small company, run out of a small shop, and local buyers, most of whom were pros, met with Vinnie and Joey to hash out what they wanted. This resulted in a pretty high percentage, not without misses, of customers getting what they envisioned. The safest way to sell Fodera through Sweetwater is to stick to the Standards, and more or less aim for an active Jazz tone with options. That is pretty much what Sweetwater does. Anything else will have enough variables to produce an unacceptable number of dissatisfied customers.
I think makers like Spector, MTD, Ken Smith, or Sadowsky, whose basses have much more uniform tones, are easier to buy blind.
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