I received a Fodera practice amp in the mail today, and it is a fun little bit of gear that was apparently too niche for its own good. It works as advertised, serving as a good headphone amp that will also allow one to play along to music via the aux input (I have not used this feature yet). The sound is fine through middling or better headphones, and the tone quality is much better than using AmpliTube, which I have found disappointing for bass. I tested a few different basses and the tone remains faithful to the bass, with a fair amount of flexibility on tap. This amp will not match the depth of a real amp (mmm, a half-dozen 6L6s through 2 EVM 15s), but it is a good option when silent practice is needed.
The obvious niche is as a travel practice amp, and I think it would serve very well in that capacity. If I had to travel a lot for work I would probably consider using it with something like a WingBass or Mayones Cali bass. I don't travel enough to justify spending that much on a travel bass, but I will sometimes take a full-size bass with me when traveling, and the Fodera practice amp will be a welcome accessory in those instances.
A secondary niche is quiet home practice, but there is more competition in this market, including full-power amps that offer a headphone out. I'll get use out of the Fodera in this way too, but if I was only looking for something for home I might have looked elsewhere.
Overall, I'd like to see more products like this. Perhaps the market can't support much, but I'd like to see good travel bass amp options (Ashdown seems to be trying, otherwise, I don't see much out there now).
The obvious niche is as a travel practice amp, and I think it would serve very well in that capacity. If I had to travel a lot for work I would probably consider using it with something like a WingBass or Mayones Cali bass. I don't travel enough to justify spending that much on a travel bass, but I will sometimes take a full-size bass with me when traveling, and the Fodera practice amp will be a welcome accessory in those instances.
A secondary niche is quiet home practice, but there is more competition in this market, including full-power amps that offer a headphone out. I'll get use out of the Fodera in this way too, but if I was only looking for something for home I might have looked elsewhere.
Overall, I'd like to see more products like this. Perhaps the market can't support much, but I'd like to see good travel bass amp options (Ashdown seems to be trying, otherwise, I don't see much out there now).
