Fodera Vs Carvin

[basschanges]

today i was listening to a great jazz performance on a not-great piano. got me thinking.

steinway, hamlin, bosendorfer (you can put in many different other makes here): they're all pianos that "get the job done." most pianists would probably prefer one or the other; in fact, they'd be thrilled to own at least two of them. why do bass players fight over this stuff? it's absurd.

Maybe because pianos aren't differentiated enough? I don't know enough about them, but aesthetically they don't seem so different. Plus, I don't think there are nearly as many brands/builders.

I don't know why we all don't love every bass guitar, so long as the conditions in which it was made are ethical. Doesn't more choice benefit the player?

 

[WayneKerrins]

I own a few nice and different basses. I play the Fodera 90% of the time.

 

[JaredBT]

I own a few nice and different basses. I play the Fodera 90% of the time.

That's cool, watched a video tour of the factory last night, some of the wood stock they have is pretty wild. Wonder where that large piece was from, don't think he mentioned... the one that was like 5'x4' and looked to be at least 2" thick.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I still don't get why some are troubled by the notion of comparing a Carvin and Fodera? Different bassists pick different basses for all sorts of reasons. Even among Foderas, the most expensive models are not the most desired. I know I would take an Emperor Standard over an Anthony Jackson or Lincoln Goines model.

 

[MEKer]

Nobody has better basses than I have. Does that solve the debate? ...probably not.

 

[lfmn16]

Ok Sunbeam.

What a fierce retort. Don't worry, you are safe behind your keyboard.

 

[lfmn16]

I still don't get why some are troubled by the notion of comparing a Carvin and Fodera? Different bassists pick different basses for all sorts of reasons. Even among Foderas, the most expensive models are not the most desired. I know I would take an Emperor Standard over an Anthony Jackson or Lincoln Goines model.

Can't speak for everyone, but I don't mind an honest thread comparing basses, I just hate these,"my bass is better than yours even though yours cost 5X as much" threads. Are we in junior high school???? I NEVER see threads saying "my Fodera is better than your XYZ bass." Maybe if you are satisfied with your bass and your playing you don't need to validate it by criticizing someone else's choices.

 

[wvbass]

I NEVER see threads saying "my Fedora is better than your XYZ bass."

<-- But...my fedora IS better than your XYZ bass!

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Can't speak for everyone, but I don't mind an honest thread comparing basses, I just hate these,"my bass is better than yours even though yours cost 5X as much" threads. Are we in junior high school???? I NEVER see threads saying "my Fedora is better than your XYZ bass." Maybe if you are satisfied with your bass and your playing you don't need to validate it by criticizing someone else's choices.

I said that earlier when I said a Carvin owner really worried about his bass in relation to a Fodera probably wants a Fodera. That said, comparing basses is cool. No bass is perfect for everyone or every use, and it is cool to see their strengths and weaknesses.

 

[lfmn16]

<-- But...my fedora IS better than your XYZ bass!

 

[lfmn16]

I said that earlier when I said a Carvin owner really worried about his bass in relation to a Fodera probably wants a Fodera. That said, comparing basses is cool. No bass is perfect for everyone or every use, and it is cool to see their strengths and weaknesses.

I agree with this 100%.

I belong to a motorcycle forum and they have a section where you can basically say any stupid thing you want - no rules. The adults know enough to stay out and the people that just can't control themselves can go there and argue and complain and whine without bothering everyone else. Maybe we could have that on TB.

Time to put the troll on ignore and quit this thread.

 

[wvbass]

Just curious, does a $10k Fodera MG play and sound that much better than my Carvin SB5001? I know Im gonna get lit up on this one... its just I don't see it. My SB was $1700, $8k more... Really? Was at GC the other day and they have a Pedulla used with a $2k tag on it and its got absolutely nothing at all on the SB, way less comfortable actually. Have played a couple of Mike Lulls in there and again... I wont keep saying it. Carvin man.

Question for the OP. My SB5000 is the same bass as the SB5001, minus the chambering. I got mine new for less than $1,200. You said yours was $1,700. Did you get ripped off by paying about 50% more for the same bass?

Edit: I just looked it up. My bass was $1147. That included $100 in purely cosmetic options: paint color, matching headstock, and block inlays. Had I cut that out, and passed on the stainless steel frets and straplocks, I could have gotten it for $997. Was the extra price I paid for these options worth it? It would be the same bass tone-wise and playability-wise without the options.

 

[Bass Viking]

Question for the OP. My SB5000 is the same bass as the SB5001, minus the chambering. I got mine new for less than $1,200. You said yours was $1,700. Did you get ripped off by paying about 50% more for the same bass?

I seem to recall seeing a couple of SB models on Carvin's in stock page, one chambered and one un-chambered. The weight was really close, in fact I think the chambered one was slightly heavier. Rip-off!

 

[NWB]

<-- But...my fedora IS better than your XYZ bass!

I don't think so my friend. My XYZ brand bass is constructed of unobtainium using alien technology from the planet Xinthar and is far better than any Fodera.

I tell you, these earthlings just don't know how to make a really kick-butt bass.

 

[NWB]

I seem to recall seeing a couple of SB models on Carvin's in stock page, one chambered and one un-chambered. The weight was really close, in fact I think the chambered one was slightly heavier. Rip-off!

I could see that if you have a light piece of swamp ash and a chambered alder body.

 

[wvbass]

I don't think so my friend. My XYZ brand bass is constructed of unobtainium using alien technology from the planet Xinthar and is far better than any Fodera.

I tell you, these earthlings just don't know how to make a really kick-butt bass.

Well, maybe not your XYZ bass....

But even your unobtainium, alien, Xinthar imported bass isn't an improvement over the design of a jazz bass!

 

[NWB]

Well, maybe not your XYZ bass....

But even your unobtainium, alien, Xinthar imported bass isn't an improvement over the design of a jazz bass!

Doh! You found my Achille's Heel.

I love jazz basses. You got me, no arguments here.

 

[L. L. Elwood]

Some people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

I love this quote. I have a smith black tiger 4 string. And it truly does sound better, feel better, has more clarity than most, if not all of the dozens of basses i've owned in the past. Mostly fender / Music Man / G&L level stuff. And it cost 2x-3x more than the nicest of those bases. Totally worth it. I play better and execute ideas a little easier.. The tonal consistency and string balance all the way up to the 24th fret is amazing.

 

[Avezzano]

For me, one cannot really tell if a 300 euro/dollars bass (a well setup Squier or Ibanez etc.) is "better" (whatever it means) than a 3k, top brand bass. Obviously, with such an amount of money you require fretbord and various materials/details perfection. Maybe on the "cinderella bass" you need to fine tune some issues by yourself, by an expert friend, or luthier. Given that, there are several factors that concur to form the final price for a bass: materials, components (obviously) then (no less important) the paypackets and the bills that mr. Fodera, Sadowsky, Lull, Smith must pay every month. Things have no value "per se". They have the value that the market decides and if a product is valid, it will sell.

But fear not: you can still earn a living with either a well setup Squier or a 10K custom shop bass. Your choice. You decide the value of the bass.

Another thing: at the very beginning the OP says that he's more comfortable on the Carvin than on a way more expensive bass he tried. This one is even too easy: recently I have been playing weekly with my friends carrying my 5502 Skyline (35" scale and wide spacing) for more than one year. Three weeks ago I decided to take off the dust from my basses; then I put into the case my blackbeauty '95 Stingray 5 and hung the Skyline. Well, at the beginning I confess that I was put off by this bass big time: much different tone, clangy "zing" and different presence; then there is also the 34" scale and narrower spacing. Well, after one hour, everything was already better. Now I am completely at my ease, with it. And I remembered why I bought it 20 years ago.

What is the bottom line, to me: you must spend quite a few hours at least, before concluding that your Carvin is... "better" than a Fodera that you played in the shop for... what, five minutes? With an amp you don't even know well, a bass setup average as a minimum and in an environment that is certainly not ideal.