Would you think about buying a Fodera if you made a million bucks a year? At that point, $8,500 is like dropping a five-dollar bill.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
If i had $8499...
- Thread starter gustobassman
- Start date
Would you think about buying a Fodera if you made a million bucks a year? At that point, $8,500 is like dropping a five-dollar bill.
It would be obvious that you don't, but I'm sure you don't speak for BMW owners as a class.
You have a valid point. I'm sure you know that in the past, I was always involved in these threads.
So, for my $.02....I have met many talented and kind boutique bass builders over the years. I firmly believe that they have the utmost pride in producing a product that is the best that it can be. There are many other more lucrative professions that they could pursue...but they chose something that they love doing....yes, love. I don't know if they give their instruments a 'hug goodbye,' (what a strange image) but I do know that the guys that I've dealt with have shown me that they really love what they do and care about the product that they make. They are not getting rich from building instruments.
If someone wants to say that my instrument choice is flawed because the workers on the Mercedes assembly line don't care about their products, then that is not a logical discussion that I feel merits arguing on the internet.
So, that is my informed opinion on the matter.
I don't fault you for not participating. Especially since many on the interw3b are entirely too opinionated and high on themselves to be able to learn something. I do take comfort that many of the mods are boutique players and aren't running this place like some guitar forum.
This forum had some hilarious opinions about bass. They also hated cyclists on the road. Standing up for these got me banned. Not that I'd want to go back and deal with such bungholes.
ya know, i think the whole mercedes workers don't love the vehicle thing is an in-apt (or inept) analogy here.
i think the more apt analogy would be the founder, designer and head builder of ferrari (or whichever vehicle you prefer).
vinny fodera (and many others) are *not* assembly line workers. they design and then build the stuff by hand. they're not adding widgets to stuff.
again, from the car world, when you read about guys who spend two years of their lives designing an engine, it's different from the guy who bolts on the door. just is.
the paradigm suggested is off.
i think the more apt analogy would be the founder, designer and head builder of ferrari (or whichever vehicle you prefer).
vinny fodera (and many others) are *not* assembly line workers. they design and then build the stuff by hand. they're not adding widgets to stuff.
again, from the car world, when you read about guys who spend two years of their lives designing an engine, it's different from the guy who bolts on the door. just is.
the paradigm suggested is off.
We haven't exactly asked any, so any claims to what they think or don't think are just opinions.
I think some of our regular luthiers who visit Basses aren't touching this with a 10 foot pole. Even if they said they cared, SMCD would call BS.
I wasnt going to respond. I have enjoyed reading the thread for the most part. However the post about the alleged "corporate takeover" is out of line. So.... I am going to do what should not be done, which is respond to an ignorant post. Lol but not because the ignorant will be any less ignorant, rather because I have dealt with Jason and like the guy.....
I think its pretty lame to sit and take a cheap shot behind a computer screen at someone you dont know. Probably not the kind of thing you would say to a good man's face. Not but once anyway. Just saying....
I have owned two Fodera's and have the third on order. One I loved but sold when I really did not need to. I was just being careful of unexpected taxes that slipped up on me. The second just didnt fit me and I sold it. Great instrument I am sure, but it just did not work for me. A bit bulky feeling and I did not like the look. Nothing wrong with the sound.
I have my third one on order, and my bet is I will own it the rest of my life. Lol dont laugh.... I totally understand... but I bet I am correct. It is a Monarch Standard (thanks Jason if you are the father of the idea of the Standards!)
Anyway, I have never bought a Fodera. I bought the team, if you will. I dont play well enough to own one. I am ok, and get no complaints but simply do not have the drive to make myself into a professional at the top of my game. However I do know when something fits and when it a piece of personal treasure. In my humble opinion, the folks at Fodera have it. Yeager called it The Right Stuff. That's Fodera. I think some of the USA Spectors have it also. Others I am sure have the right stuff, I just have not played them I guess. The right stuff is not exclusive, but it is paid for with much effort and some talent, in that order.
For what it is worth, I have a gold chain I wear on my neck most of the time. It cost over 8k. They went out of style many years ago. I wear it because I can afford it and am proud of my ability to buy it. Lol, it makes absolutely no sense to anyone who has never been poor I am sure. But after I got out of the Army I was poor when I was working my way through a couple of degrees. I was poor for years, trust me. But I was grinding, grinding, working it out and pulling myself up by my bootstraps. Eventually it worked out.
To some the gold chain may be a bit gaudy. But I dont wear it to impress anyone, I wear it because I am truly thankful to God I can afford it. It's simply pride in accomplishment, not pride to impress anyone. That is the difference. When a good man does all he can to make something the best the pride comes through. A lot of hard work, a little talent and there ya go. It's not a "corporate takeover" game. Quite the opposite. The corporation takes over the individuals involved.... Like I say, either you have it or you dont.
For me a Fodera is overkill. But I grew up around some truly talented workmen in various fields when I was a boy. My dad was probably the best. He worked on electrical lines, climbing poles in all sorts of weather, both day and night, replacing transformers, and many other things. Being around him, and some others made me grow to recognize when someone had it, and when they didnt.
Jason has been extremely nice to me. He even chimed in when I sold the Monarch I bought from him and helped here on TB by putting in a very kind word when I was selling it. And I am quite sure he could have possibly gotten the guys money for a brand new Fodera from the "corporation".
The only thing wrong with Fodera is they are not in Texas. Here they would pay much much less in Taxes. Their profits would be greater and they would sell for less.
Hell, I understand the mayor up there in New York City, wont even let his serfs drink soda! We would drown the sob in it down here if he tried that.....
Anyway, thanks Jason, and all you people at Fodera for all you do. I know you could be sitting on the porch drawing a wellfare check. Yet you all come to work and do the very best you can to make the finest instruments possible. So you all just ignore the ignorant and keep it up. And hurry up on those Monarch Standards, you hear. At least one of them needs to get to Texas
Best to you all. And let us know when you make the move down here, ok? It gets a bit hot in the summer but it grows on you. You would all be welcomed.
I think its pretty lame to sit and take a cheap shot behind a computer screen at someone you dont know. Probably not the kind of thing you would say to a good man's face. Not but once anyway. Just saying....
I have owned two Fodera's and have the third on order. One I loved but sold when I really did not need to. I was just being careful of unexpected taxes that slipped up on me. The second just didnt fit me and I sold it. Great instrument I am sure, but it just did not work for me. A bit bulky feeling and I did not like the look. Nothing wrong with the sound.
I have my third one on order, and my bet is I will own it the rest of my life. Lol dont laugh.... I totally understand... but I bet I am correct. It is a Monarch Standard (thanks Jason if you are the father of the idea of the Standards!)
Anyway, I have never bought a Fodera. I bought the team, if you will. I dont play well enough to own one. I am ok, and get no complaints but simply do not have the drive to make myself into a professional at the top of my game. However I do know when something fits and when it a piece of personal treasure. In my humble opinion, the folks at Fodera have it. Yeager called it The Right Stuff. That's Fodera. I think some of the USA Spectors have it also. Others I am sure have the right stuff, I just have not played them I guess. The right stuff is not exclusive, but it is paid for with much effort and some talent, in that order.
For what it is worth, I have a gold chain I wear on my neck most of the time. It cost over 8k. They went out of style many years ago. I wear it because I can afford it and am proud of my ability to buy it. Lol, it makes absolutely no sense to anyone who has never been poor I am sure. But after I got out of the Army I was poor when I was working my way through a couple of degrees. I was poor for years, trust me. But I was grinding, grinding, working it out and pulling myself up by my bootstraps. Eventually it worked out.
To some the gold chain may be a bit gaudy. But I dont wear it to impress anyone, I wear it because I am truly thankful to God I can afford it. It's simply pride in accomplishment, not pride to impress anyone. That is the difference. When a good man does all he can to make something the best the pride comes through. A lot of hard work, a little talent and there ya go. It's not a "corporate takeover" game. Quite the opposite. The corporation takes over the individuals involved.... Like I say, either you have it or you dont.
For me a Fodera is overkill. But I grew up around some truly talented workmen in various fields when I was a boy. My dad was probably the best. He worked on electrical lines, climbing poles in all sorts of weather, both day and night, replacing transformers, and many other things. Being around him, and some others made me grow to recognize when someone had it, and when they didnt.
Jason has been extremely nice to me. He even chimed in when I sold the Monarch I bought from him and helped here on TB by putting in a very kind word when I was selling it. And I am quite sure he could have possibly gotten the guys money for a brand new Fodera from the "corporation".
The only thing wrong with Fodera is they are not in Texas. Here they would pay much much less in Taxes. Their profits would be greater and they would sell for less.
Hell, I understand the mayor up there in New York City, wont even let his serfs drink soda! We would drown the sob in it down here if he tried that.....
Anyway, thanks Jason, and all you people at Fodera for all you do. I know you could be sitting on the porch drawing a wellfare check. Yet you all come to work and do the very best you can to make the finest instruments possible. So you all just ignore the ignorant and keep it up. And hurry up on those Monarch Standards, you hear. At least one of them needs to get to Texas
Best to you all. And let us know when you make the move down here, ok? It gets a bit hot in the summer but it grows on you. You would all be welcomed.
That's true, but I suppose people differ on who is playing Don Quixote here.
Here's where your involvement in this thread began:
You escalated to higher and higher levels of sarcasm on this point, but I think your basic premise was spelled out best here.
While you did imply that craftsman do (and should) have pride in their work, your contention appears very simply to be that no one loves their job and has a passion for it that they express in the work they do.
I disagree completely.
I escalated the sarcasm as the opposite points raised became more absurd. I never said "no one loves their job", nor did I imply that. I can't imagine how you got that impression.
What I did say, and I reiterate - it is ludicrous to believe that craftsmen paid to make products have an emotional attachment to each product they make for sale. It's screwy.
New to the internet?
Hmmm. Sounds like a cheap shot from behind a computer screen directed at someone you don't know. Just sayin'....
I've played devil's advocate and agree with some of the things you've said, but you just simply can't say that someone doesn't have an emotional attachment to a product they sell.
This movie is a good example http://www.indiegamethemovie.com/
Sure he can. And I bet he believes it. That doesn't make it true for anyone else.
sooooo... why did you and feel the need to comment?
Obviously its got your interest..speak up.
G.B. Texas!
I wasnt going to respond. I have enjoyed reading the thread for the most part. However the post about the alleged "corporate takeover" is out of line. So.... I am going to do what should not be done, which is respond to an ignorant post. Lol but not because the ignorant will be any less ignorant, rather because I have dealt with Jason and like the guy.....
I think its pretty lame to sit and take a cheap shot behind a computer screen at someone you dont know. Probably not the kind of thing you would say to a good man's face. Not but once anyway. Just saying....
I have owned two Fodera's and have the third on order. One I loved but sold when I really did not need to. I was just being careful of unexpected taxes that slipped up on me. The second just didnt fit me and I sold it. Great instrument I am sure, but it just did not work for me. A bit bulky feeling and I did not like the look. Nothing wrong with the sound.
I have my third one on order, and my bet is I will own it the rest of my life. Lol dont laugh.... I totally understand... but I bet I am correct. It is a Monarch Standard (thanks Jason if you are the father of the idea of the Standards!)
Anyway, I have never bought a Fodera. I bought the team, if you will. I dont play well enough to own one. I am ok, and get no complaints but simply do not have the drive to make myself into a professional at the top of my game. However I do know when something fits and when it a piece of personal treasure. In my humble opinion, the folks at Fodera have it. Yeager called it The Right Stuff. That's Fodera. I think some of the USA Spectors have it also. Others I am sure have the right stuff, I just have not played them I guess. The right stuff is not exclusive, but it is paid for with much effort and some talent, in that order.
For what it is worth, I have a gold chain I wear on my neck most of the time. It cost over 8k. They went out of style many years ago. I wear it because I can afford it and am proud of my ability to buy it. Lol, it makes absolutely no sense to anyone who has never been poor I am sure. But after I got out of the Army I was poor when I was working my way through a couple of degrees. I was poor for years, trust me. But I was grinding, grinding, working it out and pulling myself up by my bootstraps. Eventually it worked out.
To some the gold chain may be a bit gaudy. But I dont wear it to impress anyone, I wear it because I am truly thankful to God I can afford it. It's simply pride in accomplishment, not pride to impress anyone. That is the difference. When a good man does all he can to make something the best the pride comes through. A lot of hard work, a little talent and there ya go. It's not a "corporate takeover" game. Quite the opposite. The corporation takes over the individuals involved.... Like I say, either you have it or you dont.
For me a Fodera is overkill. But I grew up around some truly talented workmen in various fields when I was a boy. My dad was probably the best. He worked on electrical lines, climbing poles in all sorts of weather, both day and night, replacing transformers, and many other things. Being around him, and some others made me grow to recognize when someone had it, and when they didnt.
Jason has been extremely nice to me. He even chimed in when I sold the Monarch I bought from him and helped here on TB by putting in a very kind word when I was selling it. And I am quite sure he could have possibly gotten the guys money for a brand new Fodera from the "corporation".
The only thing wrong with Fodera is they are not in Texas. Here they would pay much much less in Taxes. Their profits would be greater and they would sell for less.
Hell, I understand the mayor up there in New York City, wont even let his serfs drink soda! We would drown the sob in it down here if he tried that.....
Anyway, thanks Jason, and all you people at Fodera for all you do. I know you could be sitting on the porch drawing a wellfare check. Yet you all come to work and do the very best you can to make the finest instruments possible. So you all just ignore the ignorant and keep it up. And hurry up on those Monarch Standards, you hear. At least one of them needs to get to Texas
Best to you all. And let us know when you make the move down here, ok? It gets a bit hot in the summer but it grows on you. You would all be welcomed.
The film business and a guitar are very different things.
"Could" someone have an emotional attachment to a guitar they made for some nameless consumer? Mmmmm....maybe. Is it likely? No. Is it extremely UN-likely? You betcha.
