why are Foderas so expensive?

[Just Thumpin']

They are amazingly well built basses and play super well.
I wouldn't buy one (even if I were a super rich fella) but they are top notch all along thier specs.
In some cases some gear is more for prestege than not... that part is NOT a cheap shot ... a Seiko watch will tell time as well as a Rolex. it's a matter of attention to detail and craftmanship that drive some gear prices.
MY best friend had a super nice Fodera and I loved it, and he also loved my Peavey Dyna-bass... go figure... if you demand the best it's possibly THE bass for you... for others I felt that Sadowsky is as good for Pbass type copies.
But yeah, I never heard anyone that had one complain about it.

Actually, I joke with a guy at work about his Rolex all the time -- I have an old, cheapo quartz diving watch and he has a $7,000 Rolex. Guess which keeps BETTER time? The cheapo dive watch -- since Rolex's are "chronometers," they rely on springs and gears to keep time -- something they will never do as accurately as a quartz watch (including a Seiko).

And, herein is an interesting analogy -- I DO spend the bucks for a Fodera, but not for my watch. Why? The only real job of a watch is to keep time and if a $250 watch can do it better than a $7,000 watch, I am in for the $250. Same thing goes for my cars -- reasonably priced Toyotas, not BMW's or Mercedes or crazy expensive stuff like that.

When it comes to my basses, however, I just simply have not been able to find anything that comes close to the sound, feel and class of a Fodera, so, for me and IMHO, the Fodera is worth the bucks and NOT in the same category as a Rolex which is gorgeous but doesn't even do its primary function as well as something costing 95%+ less!

One other interesting thing to ponder. In March of 2008 (9 months earlier than this post) I bought a NEW 4-string Fodera Monarch for $4,750 -- roughly $3,650 more than a new, 2008 Fender MIA Jazz (great basses IME, by the way). So, even if I only average an hour of playing a day (I play more), over a 10-year period, my cost of playing the Fodera vs. the MIA Jazz is just an extra $1 per day. Man, I'll pay that buck ANY DAY and EVERY DAY for the difference in what I can do on my Fodera....

 

[Bass Viking]

One other interesting thing to ponder. In March of 2008 (9 months earlier than this post) I bought a NEW 4-string Fodera Monarch for $4,750 -- roughly $3,650 more than a new, 2008 Fender MIA Jazz (great basses IME, by the way). So, even if I only average an hour of playing a day (I play more), over a 10-year period, my cost of playing the Fodera vs. the MIA Jazz is just an extra $1 per day. Man, I'll pay that buck ANY DAY and EVERY DAY for the difference in what I can do on my Fodera....

That's a good way of looking at it. It also sums up why I don't care about resale value. If I play a bass for a few years and then sell it for half of what I paid, the cost of owning it doesn't work out to very much on a daily basis.

 

[Just Thumpin']

That's a good way of looking at it. It also sums up why I don't care about resale value. If I play a bass for a few years and then sell it for half of what I paid, the cost of owning it doesn't work out to very much on a daily basis.

EXACTLY!

 

[KJung]

EXACTLY!

+1... I played my Fodera for about 7 years and sold it for more than I bought if for. When you take into account the tax write-off (in the US) for the original purchase, and also that the government considers the bass to have 'zero capital gains value' after the full 7 year depreciation, I actually was paid about $1,500 to play that bass for all those years

I just sold my Celinder Update 5 after about 5 years of ownership, and even after paying the commission on the sale, pretty much broke even.

Most basses don't hold or increase their value like these two brands, but many like MTD and Sadowsky, hold enough value that you can do fine if you decide to move on after 3 or 4 years IMO and IME.

 

[giovabass]

Thanks for your response Giovabass...I am glad you took my comments in stride and not personally. Cheers and happy holidays!

happy holidays to you too... envy you for having been in such Fodera party with all that fantastic people, I'd wanted to be there too

I would say that it is the other way around; it's Fodera who have benefitted from their association with the players you mention rather than vice versa, although I take the point that if you see a bassist take out a Fodera you expect them to know what they are doing on bass, but at the same time, noone's going to be fooled by the bass if what the player does isn't up to scratch.

In terms of free basses, I have a friend who used to work at Fodera and as far as I know the only bass they have given away was one to Felix Pastorius - and maybe one Yin Yang to Victor Wooten when he broke the headstock off the original Yin Yang. Hey, why not? After all Wooten has done for them. Don't quote me on that though, I could be wrong.

I will also say that most of those players who use Foderas seem incredibly loyal and dedicated to the company. Check out any of Mike Pope's posts here and what Anthony Jackson has to say about them. Bona seems to be the exception; he's been using his bass less and less recently it seems.

Finally, about prices, I'm sure I mentioned somewhere else in this thread that if their prices were lower, imagine what there waiting list would be! If you could get a Fodera for $3000 there would be a 30 year backlog of Victor Wooten classics on order there and they'd have to take on more staff and buy a CNC machine and then people would complain that quality was going down because Vinnie wouldn't be hand carving every single bass etc., etc.

The wait times are bad enough as it is already.

Yeah, I agree about the "vice-versa" thing... i said in an earlier post that in my opinion Fodera - other than making wonderful instruments - did a succesful marketing and P.R. policy so that all the best cats around in the U.S. were using their basses with consequences that you described - high demand --> high prices --> high waiting times, etc.

So at the end, I understand that I have no possibilities of having a free or discounted Fodera...

 

[spade2you]

That's a good way of looking at it. It also sums up why I don't care about resale value. If I play a bass for a few years and then sell it for half of what I paid, the cost of owning it doesn't work out to very much on a daily basis.

Another +1 here. I've only sold 2 basses so far (LOL, working on #3). A few years back, I sold a Kubicki for about twice what I paid and recently sold a Peavey at a moderate loss, but am still ahead by a decent margin. Although if you wanna talk selling at a loss, I would have never touched my Peavey USA and Peavey USA customs!

I know it's not quite possible to know what you'll like in the long haul, if unexpected bills come up, or if you have a gf or wife who simply believes you have too much gear and need to sell it...so I generally find it best to live within one's means to have adequate buffer room to prevent (knocking on wood) in theory, selling your personal dream bass.

As others mentioned, if you took a $1,000 loss on a bass you owned for 5 years, that's only a cost of $200 per year, which isn't THAT bad.

 

[Bass Viking]

As others mentioned, if you took a $1,000 loss on a bass you owned for 5 years, that's only a cost of $200 per year, which isn't THAT bad.

And $200 is less than my annual coffee bill!

 

[Funkster**]

I've been lucky enough to own many boutique basses. Sadowsky, Rob Allen (which is really nice!) Alembic etc. I had a good year and ordered one from Beaver Felton in Fla. A ying-yang became available with options I wanted fairly quickly, Like 2 weeks. Got lucky. Mike Pope's preamp is amazing. The playability of the bass improved even my lame chops.
If you get the chance to play one, don't pass it up.
I agree, almost 8 g's for a bass is out there but, You only live once. Sell off the stuff that's layin around and start your "Kitty". It takes 14 months to get one with the options you want: p/u's fingerboard etc. I'm 46. Nicest object I have ever owned.

 

[gwangi]

What is it that makes them soooo many thousands more?

there are Luthiers that use top knotch woods,
and have flawless reputations,
state of the art electronics
and world class construction that rivals the best of 'em..
but they manage to stay within the $2500-3000 range.

why is this particular brand selling for more than double that?
I can understand some companies use expensive materials.."rockwood" necks..or whatever, technology costs money..
but we're talkin' serious loot here..

not being cynical, I 'd just like to know.

Yes I was too lazy to read thru the entire thread of pages so the only thing that I'll add my two cents and sorry if this has been brought up but have you priced Alembic basses, seriously the price of an Alembic makes Fodera seem reasonably priced if you ask me.

 

[zortation]

Rent ain't cheap in NYC.

 

[gwangi]

Rent ain't cheap in NYC.

Obviously rent ain't cheap in California either!!!!

 

[mbell75]

I read this as why are FEDORAS so expensive. Carry on...

 

[Kmrumedy]

You realize this thread is 10 years old?

 

[zortation]

Obviously rent ain't cheap in California either!!!!

Economies of scale my friend, economies of scale.

 

[EduardoK]

Foderas, Alembics (and many many others) are more expensive each year

 

[nostatic]

You realize this thread is 10 years old?

A commercial member resurrected this thread to criticize Fodera (classy move). Mods apparently removed his posts.

 

[lfmn16]

A commercial member resurrected this thread to criticize Fodera (classy move). Mods apparently removed his posts.

Too bad the mods don't just delete these threads. If someone thinks a bass is too expensive, they shouldn't buy it. It doesn't help to start threads whining about prices.

 

[basses55]

I agree, although some people don't mean harm when asking the question, it would also eliminate the few Trolls in this forum that have axes to grind and add very little.

 

[allenhumble]

I've wondered if the introduction of the standard series basses will hurt the increased resale value of fodera. I see more and more popping up at reasonable prices. I'm sure the standard basses have help foderas overall numbers but as far as resale goes we will see

 

[Dan Knowlton]

I've resisted buying a Fodera for YEARS! Big mistake! I bought one and am using it for everything...and I bought one of the cheapies - Emperor 5 Standard.

Dan