I'd still have to sell a kidney to afford one. Congrats to those who can though.
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Fodera now available from Sweetwater
- Thread starter gully_jones
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- fodera sweetwater
I'm not criticizing the decision. Sweetwater is (IMO) as superb a distributor as you'll find anywhere. I order most of what I order online from them and have for many years. And I also understand the decision for creating a stock instrument. I personally have a great deal of respect for Fodera instruments even though I don't own one, nor is it the sound I'm looking for when I'm shopping for a bass. But that's purely a matter of personal preference on my part.
I just found the shift a little surprising considering some of what was said before. But maybe I read too much into some of what I had read previously. There's certainly nothing wrong with being responsive to your customers. Would that all the makers out there were equally open and respectful of their customer's requests. That much I know first hand having dealt with far less responsive companies in a much better position to accommodate their buyers than they do.
Either way, I'm sure the combination of Fedora and Sweetwater will be a winning proposition. I'd wish you luck. But I don't think you'll need it. It seems a good match to me.
I meant "big" in the relative sense, as in big for a custom builder that offered the type of instrument and level of customization you do.
Then no doubt you see Cthulhu (and night gaunts too!) from time to time on your way home from certain campus parties.
Attracting and retaining talent is a huge issue when you have specific needs. There indeed is a critical mass that you need to have to deal with the unavoidable turnover. I'm in the tech sector (at a university) and we're constantly losing people to industry (they pay more) and to general turnover. I think that with some people, especially ones who come to your organization as their first real gig, they likely need to go elsewhere at some point for their own growth.
The reason I still have a great team is that we get to work on interesting problems and people have a lot of freedom to pursue crazy ideas. Fodera is in the same position, and no doubt you have some turnover with people either changing careers or starting their own business or just because. You can't have a single point of failure within the organization and make it over the long haul...
You might want to check the small print on that, I'm pretty sure if you do the no interest payment plan you can't pay it off sooner than the 3 years, you have to go the long haul, they are hoping you will be late on a payment and then they will ding you for all the interest!
Already checked before acting, can be paid off any time, and can make additional payment toward balance any time. $43/mo until paid off and I will throw a few hundred it it here and there to knock it down. I am never late on my bills but even if I were, they do not invoke the full interest for being late within a grace period, although they do have a late fee.
SW is the buyer. They are getting exactly what they want.... and then they offer it for sale to their potential buyers. Just as any other dealer would. I have seen many builders do builds for their dealers. And they are built according to the specs that the dealer (specific buyer) wants
Thats one way to look at it. But I meant "specific buyer" in the sense of being the end-user. Not a middleman or retailer.
I know I am splitting hairs, but it is a stretch to claim that these basses will be "mass produced" They are built for specific buyers, and sold before being built. Unlike the 100s a day that roll off mass production lines and put into warehouses until bought.
Fedora has other dealers outside of Sweetwater. Not sure what all the fuss is about. Oh well, back to more important reads like the thread about pedal boxes.
Then you are incorrect still.
Did you ever visit the Fodera shop? It is spacious, but there is nothing big about the operation it contains.
Frankly, I think you know nothing about the business segment, and so your assessment of Fodera is based on a notion you have, not on fact.
Fair enough. But I also didn't claim, or so much as even infer, they'd be mass producing them either. My comments had nothing to do with the volume of production.
I was simply noting what I thought was a shift in Fodera's business (since corrected by someone from Fodera) from pure bespoke builds. I thought it was something new. But they said they'd also been building stock models for a few years now in response to customer requests.
Apparently not everyone buying a Fodera bass wants to specify every detail. And it reduces lead times for those who are just as happy with a stock model. Which makes sense.
Then I am incorrect sir. I am benighted. And I apparently know nothing. Nothing!
Wow! You sure gave me a proper telling off didn't you?
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Fodera isn't changing a thing about production. They just added us as a dealer because we share a similar goal as far as customer service and quality. I'm excited to be able to sell some of the finest basses available.
That's actually not true. We can sell you customs as well and in fact, we have reservations on build slots so instead of it taking the standard 9-12 months, it will be closer to 4-5 months.
It was a pleasure to have you! I'm thrilled to have Fodera onboard.
