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Help me pick my (botique) dream bass

#21
narud said:
most of hadriens recorded output has been on that mij ken smith burner. total budget bass.
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Hmm. Very true. I guess I was thinking of the recent-ish videos I have seen like the Live at the B-SPOT stuff. Although I admire the tone of his older recordings I find it somewhat darker than my ideal. On the other hand I didn't realize the MIJ Ken Smith's were so (relatively) cheap. Might be nice to have one as a backup some day.
 
#22
Narud, I believe that your Foderas had the older version of the Pope Preamp, correct? The newest version of our Preamp (that we started using in 2010) is quite different from the standpoint of "getting out of the way" and letting the tone of the underlying instrument come through.

As for Aeros, we stopped building with them two years ago.

IMHO, there really is no such thing as a "Fodera Tone" as, outside of the Standards, every bass is a custom instrument and the tone between them varies quite widely. I personally own 12 Monarch 4-strings (built between 1984 and 2012) and depending on the woods, PUP's, PUP spacing, preamp, etc., they cover the spectrum from "vintage vibe" to ultra modern.

Regards,

J



narud said:
the pope preamp wasnt any magical preamp ime. it sounded like an active pre. the duncan duals are where its at. they have upper mid grind that other duals dont. the barts are notorious for being dark due to lack of upper mids and only extended glassy highs. the aero duals that fodera uses are probably closer to the humbuckers in the benevente id imagine. the aeros are very hifi and wide sounding.
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#23
Just Thumpin' said:
Narud, I believe that your Foderas had the older version of the Pope Preamp, correct? The newest version of our Preamp (that we started using in 2010) is quite different from the standpoint of "getting out of the way" and letting the tone of the underlying instrument come through.

As for Aeros, we stopped building with them two years ago.

IMHO, there really is no such thing as a "Fodera Tone" as, outside of the Standards, every bass is a custom instrument and the tone between them varies quite widely. I personally own 12 Monarch 4-strings (built between 1984 and 2012) and depending on the woods, PUP's, PUP spacing, preamp, etc., they cover the spectrum from "vintage vibe" to ultra modern.

Regards,

J
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regardless of changes, people of been talking about the pope preamp for over a decade as if its some panacea of tone. i didnt really find that to be the case. im sure the new version is great as are the many other pres out there.

and if youre talking about different types of pickups and radical pickup spacing changes then yes, theyll sound very different. however, all of those emperors and imperials out there with duncan duals and fenderish spacing sound more similar than different. when the fusion geeks think "fodera sound" thats usually what is being referenced. my 3 foderas i owned with duncan duals and whatever version of the pope pre all sounded very consistent.
 
#24
My experiences with our instruments (both before and after I became a partner here) are considerably different than yours seem to be. I have a Monarch that sounds like a dead ringer for my 1964 Jazz Bass (because we built it that way) and another that sounds like Matt Garrison's second Fodera. Both have dual coil pickups and the current version of the Pope Pre and they sound absolutely nothing alike.

J


narud said:
regardless of changes, people of been talking about the pope preamp for over a decade as if its some panacea of tone. i didnt really find that to be the case. im sure the new version is great as are the many other pres out there.

and if youre talking about different types of pickups and radical pickup spacing changes then yes, theyll sound very different. however, all of those emperors and imperials out there with duncan duals and fenderish spacing sound more similar than different. when the fusion geeks think "fodera sound" thats usually what is being referenced. my 3 foderas i owned with duncan duals and whatever version of the pope pre all sounded very consistent.
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#25
Just Thumpin' said:
My experiences with our instruments (both before and after I became a partner here) are considerably different than yours seem to be. I have a Monarch that sounds like a dead ringer for my 1964 Jazz Bass (because we built it that way) and another that sounds like Matt Garrison's second Fodera. Both have dual coil pickups and the current version of the Pope Pre and they sound absolutely nothing alike.

J
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im sure i wouldnt think your monarch sounded like a dead ringer for a 64 jazz (not that thats a bad thing since i think what you guys do is a completely different thing). ive taken my own vintage vintage fenders into the shops of the guys building fender clones and going for pre cbs and didnt think their basses were dead ringers either.
 
#26
For the OP's goals, hard to go wrong with an MGS. Any other choice might get you a great bass for a bit less money, but resale will be in the tank. Most boutiques seem to have a pretty quick depreciation of 30-50%. Foderas seem to be better in that regard.

Frankly the MGS is a brilliant bass. As for being worth the money, I've owned a lot of different boutiques and the only ones that have stuck so far are Fodera and Rob Allen, but ymmv.
 
#27
SirFunk said:
Fodera MG's - I absolutely adore the guys playing MGs (standard and not) - Tony Grey, Janek Gwizdala and Hadrian Feraud. So I guess I dig the fodera/pope and the fodera/duncan pickups -- I'm not sure what really comes close to that. I think Zakrzewski is using pope pre's on their top line now, perhaps?
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Hi there :) I'm a Zakrzewski endorser, I've recorded the soundclips you might have heard on the website :)
Zakrzewski uses Aguilar and Pope, the Pope is a custom option on every bass, even the Essential. As for pickups, Zakrzewski's recommendation is always Aero - either type 1 (Alnico 5 type PU's, means it's traditional jazz bass) or type 4 (more in the direction you're looking for). He made a 33" fretless custom ordered by Janek Gwizdala and it absolutely KILLED. I own a 34" bolton exclusive with dualcoil Type1's and Aguilar and RMC Midi (not using the audible piezo sound because of the maple fingerboard). I've compared it to a couple Foderas, and not only it holds its own, but also I find it more distinctive than the Foderas - it's like I can go "further" with my sound settings and express my style of playing a bit more. Zakrzewski's recieve praise from record and live engineers, bandleaders and bass players alike. I've toured with a Fodera Imperial a couple years back, so it's a solid comparision, although it's entirely personal.

In my opinion, you should demo the Essential at luthiersaccessgroup. It'll give you an idea of what a Zakrzewski with Aero Type4's sounds and feels like. Although it's bolt-on, Aguilar pre and maple board (you're looking for ebony I suppose), it should give you an idea of what you get from a Zakrzewski. I remember that bass, checked it out before it was shipped fo Dan - absolutely loved it.

Hope it all helps :)

B
 
#29
I mean nothing rude by this, but always find it somewhat humorous when there are people who ask for advice on 'dream' instruments or what they should get on a custom build. If you have to ask those kinds of questions you probably don't need or know what you like yet, or at least to the point to know what it is you want exactly. How would others know what YOU want in a dram instrument if you don't?!
 
#30
sbpark said:
I mean nothing rude by this, but always find it somewhat humorous when there are people who ask for advice on 'dream' instruments or what they should get on a custom build. If you have to ask those kinds of questions you probably don't need or know what you like yet, or at least to the point to know what it is you want exactly. How would others know what YOU want in a dram instrument if you don't?!
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Pretty much. Paying $6k+ when you don't know what exact tones ya want makes me cringe a bit.
 
#32
sbpark said:
I mean nothing rude by this, but always find it somewhat humorous when there are people who ask for advice on 'dream' instruments or what they should get on a custom build. If you have to ask those kinds of questions you probably don't need or know what you like yet, or at least to the point to know what it is you want exactly. How would others know what YOU want in a dram instrument if you don't?!
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I disagree.

Unless you can jet around in your private airplane, there is no way to try out every bass by every builder. Even if some shops carry a lot of high end boutique basses, I'm sure you can't even try out one full production line from _one_ builder in one shop.

I even think you can not know every boutique builder out there, I virtually come across a new builder once a week via talk bass or other parts of the internert (my newest discovery, Laurus Basses, )


Now if you can't know every possibility out there, let alone play it, you can't know if amongst it is _your_ dream bass.

Also, I think if you have 2 basses built to 100% identical specs, they will sound different, the better the builder the smaller the difference, but I think it will be there.

With all that said, I see nothing funny or wrong in collecting ideas and inspiration for your "dream"build, after all, it's a bass, it doesn't have to remain your "dream" instrument until the end of time.
 
#33
MrChrizmo said:
I disagree.

Unless you can jet around in your private airplane, there is no way to try out every bass by every builder. Even if some shops carry a lot of high end boutique basses, I'm sure you can't even try out one full production line from _one_ builder in one shop.

I even think you can not know every boutique builder out there, I virtually come across a new builder once a week via talk bass or other parts of the internert (my newest discovery, Laurus Basses, )


Now if you can't know every possibility out there, let alone play it, you can't know if amongst it is _your_ dream bass.

Also, I think if you have 2 basses built to 100% identical specs, they will sound different, the better the builder the smaller the difference, but I think it will be there.

With all that said, I see nothing funny or wrong in collecting ideas and inspiration for your "dream"build, after all, it's a bass, it doesn't have to remain your "dream" instrument until the end of time.
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You miss my point. I guess if you are at that level of experience you should already know what you want, which is the whole point of having a custom. You are having it built to your own personal specs, not from the recommendations of others.

I'm not an experienced bass player, but do know guitars. If I was going to order a custom guitar I'd know exactly what I wanted, and if I couldn't find it on a production model, I'd call a builder and have it made to my specs. I wouldn't need the input from others, since whatever they recommend is their preference, not my own.

I just think if you are going to shell out the loot for something that expensive it's because you've played enough basses over the years to know what works for you...or you just have money to burn and want to say you have a custom instrument.
 
#34
Dude, you said it yourself by already comparing the second option to the first in terms of sound. Do yourself a favor and get the Fodera! I know the sound that you are going for is because that's the exact same sound I always go for myself (Matt garrison, Janek, skulli, etc...). Trust me, once you get a Fodera, you will stop looking further. All the other basses listed by our fellow TBers are great as well, as I've owned some of them myself, but I truly know what you mea by that sound. Infant the first I heard "the sound" was when a friend lent me a VHS of live show where Matt garrison was playing with zawinul and dude.... Go for it!
 
#36
polymad said:
Dude, you said it yourself by already comparing the second option to the first in terms of sound. Do yourself a favor and get the Fodera! I know the sound that you are going for is because that's the exact same sound I always go for myself (Matt garrison, Janek, skulli, etc...). Trust me, once you get a Fodera, you will stop looking further. All the other basses listed by our fellow TBers are great as well, as I've owned some of them myself, but I truly know what you mea by that sound. Infant the first I heard "the sound" was when a friend lent me a VHS of live show where Matt garrison was playing with zawinul and dude.... Go for it!
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Which Fodera? There are several different models and pickups. One should know before shelling out that kind of money.
 
#40
Skjold is definitely to be considered! They have 33" as an option now. You can always e-mail or call Pete Skjold and have a chat on what you are looking for. Pete has excellent customer service and his basses are beautiful and very practical.
 

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