I hope these "new" Fodera strings will be as good as the old ones. Fodera strings have been my all time favorite roundwounds and I pretty much tried them all.
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New DR Fodera merger
- Thread starter Pyrrho Epoche
- Start date
Maybe it's becoming no longer economically feasible for Fodera to maintain their string making place?
In this 2015 video with Anthony Wellington Fodera's Jason DeSalvo (Meet The Team) says Fodera used to make their strings on site in the Brooklyn shop:
(Archived version of their old website confirms this: Fodera Guitars, Brooklyn, NY )
And then expanded to making them in a barn in western PA with only a handful of people. Real boutique, small batch string operation:
So, yes, Fodera has made their own strings. As for what the Fodera/DR partnership means? Maybe Fodera is phasing out making their own strings since that's not economically feasible for them to do any more and partnering up with DR, who make excellent strings. Yes, it seems a bit "huh?" since Fodera markets themselves as not content to just plop their name on private label strings made by companies like D'Addario or GHS. They liked to do things themselves, be part of every step in the bass building process from soup to nuts. But, again, economic times are complicated now. As for what happens to the barn and the 3 employees in it, I don't know.
I used to love Fodera strings. Whether brand new or dead, they felt and sounded terrific. I thought I had found my string. Of course, they got too expensive for me to afford in recent years, so I've been back on the "gotta try 'em all" quest to find "my" strings again.
In this 2015 video with Anthony Wellington Fodera's Jason DeSalvo (Meet The Team) says Fodera used to make their strings on site in the Brooklyn shop:
(Archived version of their old website confirms this: Fodera Guitars, Brooklyn, NY )
And then expanded to making them in a barn in western PA with only a handful of people. Real boutique, small batch string operation:
So, yes, Fodera has made their own strings. As for what the Fodera/DR partnership means? Maybe Fodera is phasing out making their own strings since that's not economically feasible for them to do any more and partnering up with DR, who make excellent strings. Yes, it seems a bit "huh?" since Fodera markets themselves as not content to just plop their name on private label strings made by companies like D'Addario or GHS. They liked to do things themselves, be part of every step in the bass building process from soup to nuts. But, again, economic times are complicated now. As for what happens to the barn and the 3 employees in it, I don't know.
I used to love Fodera strings. Whether brand new or dead, they felt and sounded terrific. I thought I had found my string. Of course, they got too expensive for me to afford in recent years, so I've been back on the "gotta try 'em all" quest to find "my" strings again.
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Per the Fedora packaging:
I’ve tried a few sets of Fodera strings in the past. They were very nice strings. And definitely on the high side when it came to price. However, I didn’t find anything noteworthy or all that different in terms of tone or feel to some other quality strings already out there. They were just a nice set of strings.
But maybe that's just me.
I’ve tried a few sets of Fodera strings in the past. They were very nice strings. And definitely on the high side when it came to price. However, I didn’t find anything noteworthy or all that different in terms of tone or feel to some other quality strings already out there. They were just a nice set of strings.
But maybe that's just me.
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If this is DR cooking up sets using Foderas recipe I'd call it a win, Fodera Diamond SS impressed me a lot.
This is correct.
Funny, but I noted that to myself this week. Not always, in my experience, but sometimes my old Fodera strings sound and feel almost as good as new. To me, the effect is analagous to the "working edge" concept with blades.
Not really, they had a few videos where they interviewed their "string guy" over the years... It was a tiny operation. Maybe their string guys retired?
If DR can match Fodera's specs, it's not a problem. That's not a given, of course, but Fodera seems like a company that would be reasonably proactive about enforcing quality control, given the reputation they have to uphold.
Fodera may have reached a point where the volume of production wasn't enough, or operating costs got too high, to sustain their own operations. They can charge whatever makes them a reasonable profit on basses -- if that means a 50% price increase in three years, so be it, there's no where else to go to get a Fodera bass. Strings are a much more competitive market and it's possible they couldn't keep up any more.
Fodera may have reached a point where the volume of production wasn't enough, or operating costs got too high, to sustain their own operations. They can charge whatever makes them a reasonable profit on basses -- if that means a 50% price increase in three years, so be it, there's no where else to go to get a Fodera bass. Strings are a much more competitive market and it's possible they couldn't keep up any more.
Or possibly the folks in the string shop weren’t earning enough money, so the decision was made to shut it down.
...or DR bought the enterprise? There's only so many suppliers of raw product to make strings in the US.
Yeah, even in that Anthony Wellington video I posted... towards the end he played his old nickels, fresh nickels and fresh steels... one could argue that his "best" or smoothest tone was with the old strings.
I'm always in the market for bright SS strings... can anyone here compare the feel of 'Fodera-spec' strings ( like these Fodera x DR) to the super-smooth feeling TI Jazz Rounds? I love the feel of those, but they are nickel...
Since when did farming out your string manufacturing sub operation constitute a business merger? 
That’s really cool. I would have never guessed. I learned something new on TB.
As you know, most small string brands and private label brands are made by larger manufacturers. That’s cool for Fodera!
Same here!
I’ve tried a few sets of Fodera strings in the past. They were very nice strings. And definitely on the high side when it came to price. However, I didn’t find anything noteworthy or all that different in terms of tone or feel to some other quality strings already out there. They were just a nice set of strings.
To me, it's the smoothness. I haven't analyzed them compared to other strings, but they're a lot more pleasant to slide around on than other strings. They sound great, of course, but the smoothness is what really does it for me. Plus, they're one of the few brands who sells a five string set with a high C.
I wonder which of the two is more expensive, not to mention hearing an AB test to find out if the price is worth it.
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
Speaking as someone who used Foderas for a while (XL length nickel light gauge), I tried to order a few sets a year or 2 ago and was told that they made them custom, small batch, in-house, and that they were no longer making XLs as a regular thing. I would have to agree to bulk order a box of 10 sets to get them to make XL length. So yeah, they were not made by 'someone else' before now, at least not in terms of a partnership with a larger established brand like DR, GHS, etc. In my personal experience, Foderas and DRs are VERY close in terms of feel and sound. Round core, nickel or stainless wind.... very similar. I switched to DRs so I wouldn't have to worry about them fitting my 35" scale basses thru body. Makes sense that they'd partner with DR now since they were essentially producing the same strings, in theory and in concept at least.
i hope i have the following correct
it’s worth noting that fodera has (had?) a proprietary relationship with seymour duncan for the duncan pickups they used: duncan made the fodera pickups, but couldn’t use that recipe for other pickups.
i would think they might have a similar relationship with dr.
it’s worth noting that fodera has (had?) a proprietary relationship with seymour duncan for the duncan pickups they used: duncan made the fodera pickups, but couldn’t use that recipe for other pickups.
i would think they might have a similar relationship with dr.
There are/were only a handful of folks making the Fodera strings and they have been doing this for a long time- maybe one or two of them decided to retire or move on? Either way, if you source the same materials and follow the same manufacturing process, the product will be the same. Having DR take on production make sense: they likely follow a similar process, as they are not fully automated and they are in close proximity to NYC.
Fodera light nickel are among my favorite sets, along with DR Pure Blues and Sadowsky blue label. I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to buy the Fodera designed/DR’s
Fodera light nickel are among my favorite sets, along with DR Pure Blues and Sadowsky blue label. I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to buy the Fodera designed/DR’s
If they did decide to team up as a permanent solution, DR is one of the best.
