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Fodera Vs Carvin

#82
bluesblaster said:
Ya know, I never felt the need to own a Fodera to make me feel like an adequate musician, That whole premise is silly, A ferrari wont make you a better driver anymore than a Fodera will make you a better musician. Ferrari's and Foderas exist because there are those that can afford them.
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Oh, no. A Ferrari comes with a talent pedal right there where the brakes would be on a normal car. A Fodera has a talent switch that looks like a pickup selector, but really switches back and forth between Victor Wooten and James Jamerson. The only instrument that comes close is the late, great Grainiax.
 
#84
nostatic said:
Some people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

I grew up in San Diego and have been around Carvin instruments for 40+ years. Last night I gigged this bass at a local club. For *me*, it certainly plays way better than any Carvin I've touched, and the extra money is certainly worth it. To *me*. YMMV.

yyd22.jpg
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This is such an unanswerable question, that I must answer it ;)

The fodera in this picture is so alluring, i don't know whether to breathe heavy, caress the screen, or quickly close this browser in case my wife looks over my shoulder! I've played a fodera, I've owned and gigged with 2 SB4000s. The question is, what makes you feel right, what aligns with your personality and taste visually and sonically. And there may be some ego considerations thrown in there too, depending upon who you are and what your values are.

I liked both of my SB4000s, they sounded very good, but not sublime. I got really excited about that bass and ordering them custom etc... They have both gone bye bye. The things that killed it for me was, and this sounds weird, 1. the aesthetics and 2. the tone.

Both of those basses went away because i just couldn't adjust to the unique body shape visually and the upper horn poked my chest when I played sitting down. The tone was really similar to that sought after Marcus Jazz tone. The active and passive modes were really good, but not sublime. So I sold them.

I saw victor wooten play at the apple store in manhattan a few years ago with his fodera playing through a hartke LH 1000 head and 410 hartke cab. The tone was sublime. I mean so pleasing to the ear and soul.

My main go to bass for the last couple of years is a passive, modified Japanese Geddy Lee Sig model Jazz Bass w/sunburst body. Seymour Duncan SJB-1 Pickups, and with an All Parts bound and blocked 70's style maple/pearloid neck that is as thick as a baseball bat. I've compared this bass to many higher dollar basses. IT KILLS THEM. It is sublime visually and sonically, and plays like butter...and it fits me in every way. It's home. The carvins were built better an had better fit and finish... They just weren't my aesthetic or my sound.

NOW... is the fodera worth it over the carvin? If it aligns with you visually (aesthetically) and sonically... Absolutely and without question.
 
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#86
These threads are really just about money which is sad

I think Jaco paid about $200 for a '62 J in the late 60s now they are $15k+ - are they any better now? No

Many great players have done just fine on modestly valuable but well playing/sounding instruments

But, there is also the difference between collectors basses and players basses

Foderas may be expensive but they are the ultimate 'players' bass. There is a good reason why soooo many first class players end up with Foderas and I don't think its about cost to them

We all would like to have the very best tools available to us but spending more time working on your craft with a serviceable instrument might one day earn you a Fodera
 
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#87
jim777 said:
That pic NEVER gets old, such an incredible beauty :)
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Last night was a great reminder. I've been mostly playing my Smith fretless 5 the past few months. Last night we had a new lineup with tunes we haven't played for years and for whatever reason I wasn't feeling that bass. After the 2nd tune I picked up the YYD and played it the rest of the night. It just plain works. Afterwards my wife commented, "when you pulled the YYD out, as soon as you hit the first note it was rocking'."

There are a lot of factors that go into finding "the right" instrument. Frankly a good player can make almost any instrument work for most gigs. But if a person wants something more, then why should other people get bent out of shape? Value is up to the individual.

People focus on the price of a Fodera (or other boutique), but evidently fail to understand the value - which is completely personal. I spent a lot of money for that bass. I could have bought a half dozen US Fenders for the price. And I've owned a half dozen US Fenders over the years (at least) - but no longer have them. I'm in my third year of owning the YYD and still am in a honeymoon with it. Every time I gig it I'm challenged by it's unforgiving nature (mistakes show), but rewarded by it's articulation, sublime playability, and tone that moves from sweet to snarling. It entices me to try new things and leads me in interesting directions. For whatever reason, very few other instruments (including other Foderas) have had that effect on me. What price is that kind of relationship with an instrument worth?
 
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#88
JaredBT said:
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.
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I'm with you- as far as I am concerned my Carvin Sb4000 is as good as ANY bass at any price. (and I also won't pay more than $25000 for ANY car including an over-priced Ferrari that you can't even drive if your are taller than 4'6".).
 
#90
pnchad said:
These threads are really just about money which is sad

I think Jaco paid about $200 for a '62 J in the late 60s now they are $15k+ - are they any better now? No

Many great players have done just fine on modestly valuable but well playing/sounding instruments

But, there is also the difference between collectors basses and players basses

Foderas may be expensive but they are the ultimate 'players' bass. There is a good reason why soooo many first class players end up with Foderas and I don't think its about cost to them

We all would like to have the very best tools available to us but spending more time working on your craft with a serviceable instrument might one day earn you a Fodera
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you. A lot of top level players who could secure great endorsements for other basses chose Fodera. I don't think it is for ego. Brian Bromberg has a Carvin Signature bass, and Brian Bromberg sounds great on his Carvin, just like he sounded great on his Dean and Peavey.

Personally, I don't think Carvin and Fodera comparisons are crazy. I am sure that there are way more bad Carvins than Foderas, but two basses that are made similarly can be compared. I don't think a Fodera would automatically blow a Carvin out of the water in a sound test, and looks or playability are largely subjective.

The bottom line is that Carvin owners should not worry about
Foderas unless they would really rather be Fodera owners.
I am pretty sure Fodera owners are not thinking about Carvin unless their stock portfolios have collapsed.;)
 
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#91
not quite true.

i'm a fodera owner (since 1985) and i was scouting carvin. and no tanking of my "portfolio" . . . as if.

it's funny, in a world where people will pay more than $5,000 for a large-screen tv that will be obsolete the minute it leaves the store, we worry about spending between $4,000 and $10,000 on an instrument that will last you a lifetime.
 
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#92
Realize this...your audience doesn't care. Most of them don't know what a bass is, so they won't care if it cost more than the car they drove to the club in. They might notice it if it's a pretty color, and most of them will still think it's just another guitar. I'm sure a 2x4 strung with elastic bands would be fine with them if it makes low notes for them to dance to. Unless impressing the one other bass player that might be in the audience is that important to you, no one else cares what you play. So if a $100 Ibanez does it for you, PLAY IT. If you just won the lottery, buy the Fodera. In the end it won't matter, because the stoner working the sound board is going to bury you in the mix anyway.

By the way, I have a Carvin JB5 on order.
 
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#97
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I have to agree with you. A lot of top level players who could secure great endorsements for other basses chose Fodera. I don't think it is for ego. Brian Bromberg has a Carvin Signature bass, and Brian Bromberg sounds great on his Carvin, just like he sounded great on his Dean and Peavey.

Personally, I don't think Carvin and Fodera comparisons are crazy. I am sure that there are way more bad Carvins than Foderas, but two basses that are made similarly can be compared. I don't think a Fodera would automatically blow a Carvin out of the water in a sound test, and looks or playability are largely subjective.

The bottom line is that Carvin owners should not worry about
Foderas unless they would really rather be Fodera owners.
I am pretty sure Fodera owners are not thinking about Carvin unless their stock portfolios have collapsed.;)

And, as Jason said above, Fodera doesn't do endorsements so these players, all the way back to AJ & VW are choosing to play them for no other reason than they are the finest tools available
 
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#98
steubig said:
and some people. in my audience do care, as do i.
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Last night I was playing a local club where we have a monthly residency. First off they were training a new sound guy and he was taking pictures of my Monique/Hathor setup, saying, "what an awesome rig..." Throughout the 90 minute set most people were busy talking, etc, but some were listening, and we invariably have a few people come up who are effusive with praise. Then with a different band and another residency there is about 10-20 regulars who show up to listen to us and are crazy about what we do. They notice what I'm playing and how I interact with my instrument, the music, and the crowd.

Not every gig or crowd is a bunch of brain-dead drunks. Some people come for the music, others are there for other reasons but get caught up in the music. And in order to make that happen, I want the tool that speaks to me. Because if it speaks to me, I have better odds of having the music speak to the crowd. Ymmv.
 
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#99
steubig said:
and some people. in my audience do care, as do i.
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Don't get me wrong, play what speaks to you. The greatest bass I have ever played was a $3500 Elrick singlecut. It was so comfortable and sounded so awesome I couldn't believe those were my fingers flying across the neck. Now, as crazy as I was for that bass I'm not going to fork over that kind of money. I don't make enough from playing to justify it.

I think it is rare that someone in your audience will notice and appreciate how simpatico a bass player is with their instrument (jazz being the exception). Unless you're playing in a booth at NAMM, I think most of what happens in front of an audience of non-musicians, especially from a bass perspective is largely unnoticed unless a glaring mistake is made, or the bass falls out of the mix. I had one woman ask me what I did in the band. When I told her I play bass she said, "Oh, bass huh? Now, which one is that?" It has been my experience that this is the rule, not the exception. She wasn't an idiot, she wasn't drunk, but she wasn't a musician. She came to dance, not evaluate the build quality of the band's gear.
 
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