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Fodera Imperial: Good Playing, Pedestrian Tone

#81
Ace Of Bass said:
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?
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The majority of the sales staff aren't bass players. There were only a handful of us there. So most of the people there wouldn't be able to pick a good one from an average one. They would trust that Fodera's are all amazing because that's what Fodera tells them. Fodera came out several times while I was there to do trainings on their instruments. I attended a couple and it was a good demonstration. Very little marketing BS from them.

There are definitely people there that will tell it like it is and there are definitely sales folks that will sell you anything you are willing to buy. The ones who took care of their customers and told them the truth regardless of the commission are the ones who did the best typically.
 
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#82
Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati said:
Well, if we want to put it this way then, I’d say that a Fender CS P will definitely sound as a P and play very, very well at a significantly lower price than that of a Fodera so there should be no point in buying this particular model of Fodera bass.
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Fender CS P basses start at 3680 and run to 5000 or even more, a Fodera P is 4150. So no, Fender CS is not cheaper than a Fodera.
 
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#84
A73E0674-05AD-4D48-AA93-F2149E702238.png


Pretty fond of mine lol. Would buy again. That said I did sell my active soapbar Fodera and didn’t look back. I don’t think I could justify the cost of a custom, but wouldn’t judge anyone who felt they could. I didn’t think that vid was really representative of the sound/range - but it’s a crummy recording and I’m listening on a phone lol.

Dif strokes for dif folks. (Oh wait it’s the internet/TB - uh... judge, judge, judgey-judge.)
 
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#85
Dr. Cheese said:


This just proves even a great bass can sound bland.
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I had a better look at the video Gents.
The bass player is René Flachsenhaar, who is a GOOD one, especially with four strings basses (I think he mainly uses Sandberg basses, although I’m not 100% sure).
Maybe when they shoot the video he was not in a good mood.
Here we have René on the same day (presumably as the shirt he wears seems to be the same) playing a more traditionally-designed Fodera, let’s say a modern jazz bass design, in the same studio with the same equipment and engineer, if any (presumably, always, but if we accept that the video was shot the same day ...)



I find his tone in this video much better than in the first ... want to bet that, at the heart of it, the bass in the first video has also got some responsibilities in what we hear?
 
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#88
Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati said:
I had a better look at the video Gents.
The bass player is René Flachsenhaar, who is a GOOD one, especially with four strings basses (I think he mainly uses Sandberg basses, although I’m not 100% sure).
Maybe when they shoot the video he was not in a good mood.
Here we have René on the same day (presumably as the shirt he wears seems to be the same) playing a more traditionally-designed Fodera, let’s say a modern jazz bass design, in the same studio with the same equipment and engineer, if any (presumably, always, but if we accept that the video was shot the same day ...)



I find his tone in this video much better than in the first ... want to bet that, at the heart of it, the bass in the first video has also got some responsibilities in what we hear?
Click to expand...


More proof that the bass is either a dud, suffering from a bad action, or some other issue.
 
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#89
kinopah said:
View attachment 3791750

Pretty fond of mine lol. Would buy again. That said I did sell my active soapbar Fodera and didn’t look back. I don’t think I could justify the cost of a custom, but wouldn’t judge anyone who felt they could. I didn’t think that vid was really representative of the sound/range - but it’s a crummy recording and I’m listening on a phone lol.

Dif strokes for dif folks. (Oh wait it’s the internet/TB - uh... judge, judge, judgey-judge.)
Click to expand...
Very sleek ;) I may put it on the list of my personal P-bass to buy for life list, made of (not in order of importance):

1. Fender CS Journeyman Relic.
2. Elrick Icon.
3. F-bass VF-4 PJ.
4. Fodera Monarch P-bass.

At the moment I’m leaning towards Chicago but if I could try a Monarch P ..
 
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#91
Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati said:
Very sleek ;) I may put it on the list of my personal P-bass to buy for life list, made of (not in order of importance):

1. Fender CS Journeyman Relic.
2. Elrick Icon.
3. F-bass VF-4 PJ.
4. Fodera Monarch P-bass.

At the moment I’m leaning towards Chicago but if I could try a Monarch P ..
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That’s some list..! Undoubtedly 4 of the nicest Ps out there....have you seen that F Bass 40th Anniversary PJ..? It’s phenomenal...sorry to thread jack...I really love talking P
Basses:D
 
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#93
The only opinion on tone I trust is my own. I've owned Fodera's that were, in my opinion, terrible sounding. I sold them to very good bass players who loved them. A salesman, whether he's a bass player or not, can't know what's best for me. I've had several Fodera's built to my preferred specs and most turned out great, but ultimately were missing something as they've been sold. My favorite Fodera's out the 30 or so I've owned over the years are my current two Emperor Standard Classic 5's. For the tone I like, a simpler construction method is needed with as few laminates as possible.

As for the bass in the video, I don't know how anyone can make a determination about an instrument's tone through a video played by somebody other than yourself.

willsellout said:
The majority of the sales staff aren't bass players. There were only a handful of us there. So most of the people there wouldn't be able to pick a good one from an average one. They would trust that Fodera's are all amazing because that's what Fodera tells them. Fodera came out several times while I was there to do trainings on their instruments. I attended a couple and it was a good demonstration. Very little marketing BS from them.

There are definitely people there that will tell it like it is and there are definitely sales folks that will sell you anything you are willing to buy. The ones who took care of their customers and told them the truth regardless of the commission are the ones who did the best typically.
Click to expand...
 
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#95
WorktheWood said:
The only opinion on tone I trust is my own. I've owned Fodera's that were, in my opinion, terrible sounding. I sold them to very good bass players who loved them. A salesman, whether he's a bass player or not, can't know what's best for me. I've had several Fodera's built to my preferred specs and most turned out great, but ultimately were missing something as they've been sold. My favorite Fodera's out the 30 or so I've owned over the years are my current two Emperor Standard Classic 5's. For the tone I like, a simpler construction method is needed with as few laminates as possible.

As for the bass in the video, I don't know how anyone can make a determination about an instrument's tone through a video played by somebody other than yourself.
Click to expand...

As the OP, I will just say that I was not worried about how the bass would sound in my hands. I reacted to the tone I heard listening to the video.
 
#98
JimmyM said:
That's Jesse Murphy.
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Ah sorry .. don’t know how C. Woods looks in person, same for Murphy.
Thanks for the correction (in effect the video stated Murphy now that I read the heading).
Anyway, I wanted to bring a clear example of how a simple bass, made of simple parts and common woods can sound in the right context and I believe Mr. Murphy with Mustang bass is doing it right ;)
 
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