molan

Checked again on Monday and still no definite UK prices or confirmed delivery dates Vague hints they may be more than initially predicted. . .

I see the, not very well known, Mr Sheehan has made the cover of Bass Guitar Magazine this month

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1382453945' post='2252331'] Let me try again. Fodera's FEEL great -- very solid. But it's a bit of an illusion. One can make the comparison to a very EQ'd pre-amp. They may sound louder and sweeter but after a while you might start to hear a falseness to it. It's the same thing with the feel of a lot of these boutique basses. That "solidity " seems attractive for a while, but it can also be a bit stiff for some things. Fodera's also have a lot of sustain, but again, that isn't always preferable, yet at first it seems appealing. This is more the case with the more expensive neck-through basses. Oddly enough, Joey Fodera plays a bolt on. He says he prefers the sound. Funny how the guy who actually makes the specialty instruments prefers a less expensive version. As for the Fodera sound, they have a nice clean tone, but one that doesn't cut through a band or a recoding especially well. I think this is the reason they aren't embraced by a lot of recording artists. I always knew this but didn't want to fully accept it. After a while, I got tired of defending what was SUPPOSED to be a magnificent instrument. The one client who wasn't happy with the sound was simply representative of what I've been feeling. And the fact thjat it was totally unbiased confirmed what i've felt for a long time. Fodera's are a bit toneless. I don;t know if it's the combination of woods, or the design or the lack of finish. With 3 different pups, it was still weak and lacking in character. For me. [/quote] I think the 'for me' is the most significant part of this post. I couldn't disagree more with the rest of it. I gigged a Fodera for years in a soul functions band and it was possibly the best tone I've ever had in a band situation. Able to sit perfectly in the mix and bags of tonal variation that allowed me to cover dirty funk, classic soul and more modern pop with ease. I recently sold it to a top session player who covers mostly jazz, funk and Latin and it can handle those genres just as easily. Sure Foderas cost a lot of money but all these top session guys don't buy them because they look pretty or so they can show off down the dog and duck. They buy them because they have the potential to sound fantastic in the right hands

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1382454522' post='2252340'] And what is that finish? Oil? They are not poly or nitro or any kind of gloss lacquer. That's all I meant. . [/quote] It's a catalyzed acrylic lacquer. Each instrument receives between 10 and 15 coats of glossy finish. They are hand rubbed roughly every 3-4 coats or so. Once the finish is determined to be thick enough they do a final rub out with a succession of finer grade sand paper and pads culminating in a coat of wax that is applied with 0000 Steel Wool. They do not use any wood filler or grain sealer. I think this puts them a few leagues above a cheap thick coat of glossy poly that some people use to hide the wood and build quality

[quote name='Mike' timestamp='1382431210' post='2251933'] Fantastic! Must catch these guys at some point. [/quote] Couple of support gigs coming up (Shalamar at the O2 and Sheila E at The Bridge) but no headliners booked at the moment. Maybe sometihng looming in Paris I saw them play Rhythm Stick live at the beginning of the year - great gig!

I've just been playing a '61 & a '73 and there's definitely some tonal variation in there. I must admit that I tend to use them either wide open or completely closed and don't do much in between The '73 sounds killer wound right down and played aggressively!

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1382312077' post='2250602'] He definitely needs a double dose of Sun Ra. [/quote]

Sums it up for me http://youtu.be/ZBeC-LcLoP0

So today I've been playing an original series 1 MB121P back to back with the version II. The first thing I noticed is that the original combo feels a little lighter than the the newer one. There's not a lot between them and my scales are knackered so I couldn't weigh them but I could feel a difference and my, ever suffering, wife could as well. More interesting is that they sound different. The original version is all round darker and bassier with less of the bright top end of the new one. At identical settings it's also a shade louder. I don't know if this is simply that the older one has had more use and has mellowed a little or that the components have changed over the years. The old one hasn't been used a lot (although it does hold a world record for being used at a faster speed and a higher altitude than any other bass amp, lol) and has only ever been gigged twice. He volume difference is marginal and could just be calibration of the pots or maybe it seems a bit louder because it's bassier. I'm going to rehearse with the older one tomorrow night so that'll be a more representative test Apart from the lack of pre/post DI options mentioned above the original one doesn't have an output control for the line out. Other than that it appears, from the surface anyway, to be the same, albeit a different colour scheme.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1382158382' post='2248754'] And Fodera's don't even come finished! It's bare wood, so it looks worn just a few months after purchase. The funny thing is, besides a few famous endorsees (who I assume get basses for free) it seems that the people buying these instruments are more hobbyists looking for that "dream instrument" than pros who need a solid workhorse. [/quote] Obviously a well informed post, I'm not sure it could actually be more incorrect. Foderas come with amazing, lovingly hand-crafted, finishes. The finish lasts for years without a blemish - I owned a 30 year old one that was near perfect and it had been played a lot. All Fodera endorsing artists pay for their instruments - and they have to get in the queue behind all regular customers as well. I have been recently involved in helping someone buy a new Fodera that costs over £10,000. He's a professional musician who makes his living from playing bass. He will only have one instrument and he wanted the very best he could get. He chose a Fodera and is working every hour he can (including a lot more teaching) to be able to afford it. I've personally sold four Foderas valued at over £5,000 each - every one of them to full time pro players who wanted something really special. Every one of them has kept them for a long time and still owns them. The guys who run Fodera are unpretentious, down to earth, hard-working (they all do long hours and in not great conditions) and universally really nice friendly people. They don't have lots of money and they aren't remotely flash. What they do is love their work with a passion I've rarely seen, strive to do the very best they can and look after each other and their employees. The level of professionalism they show is streets ahead of most custom builders, a truly inspiring business. . .

In general I find jazz just leaves me cold Especially the kind where there's solo, after solo, after solo, after solo, after solo. . . We went to see Gregory Porter at a jazz festival earlier this year and the support groups were full of great technical musicians that just bored me rigid. Completely lacking in any sort of soul or charisma. For me, that was the big downer. It just felt like they were playing for themselves and had zero interest in the audience. Gregory Porter came on and the whole place came to life

[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1382185709' post='2249022'] MB1. I've previously owned an Alembic SC signature and I'm having difficulty seeing any similarity whatsoever? [/quote] The listing says it's a copy of a Lowenhertz and not Stan's Alembic. I'm happy to say that it looks even less like a Lowenhertz than an Alembic! I played a Lowenhertz once, pretty crazy basses

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1382049826' post='2247421'] Trust me, most builders aren't in it for the money. If they wanted to make their fortune they'd take their skills to a real job with a regular income. (we're obviously not talking about the Foderas of this world here) [/quote] I've met the Fodera guys they definitely aren't in it for the money, lol. I really can't imagine any luthier is making a lot out of making instruments.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1382046710' post='2247363'] My understanding is that Fodera took on someone to specifically deal with the customer relations side of running the business. If that's correct, then the above shows very much that it is working. Of course not everyone can afford something like that as a small business... [/quote] Fodera do have someone who manages much of the customer facing business. However he does way, way more than just that. He oversees the complete 'front of house' operation, sorts all the logistics, selects most of the wood they purchase, keeps the staff happy, sorts out the healthcare (a major issue in the US!) and basically lets the two principal builders do what they do best - make basses This has meant their production times are shorter, builds are more controlled and output has increased significantly. [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1382047070' post='2247377'] If I were a small boutique bass maker, like fodera, or even small scale like Letts or something, I would team up with a local shop for each territory and let them do the customer facing side, they get a few instruments in stock for folk to try and so on. the public get to try your stuff, they're happy. the retailer gets a cut and a sale, they are happy, the builder gets to do less talking to the unwashed public - they are happy. [/quote] Fodera do both They have a local dealer in most of their major markets and also have an internal guy who works closely with the dealers and/or deals direct with the public in markets where they don't have dealer representation. He also looks after artist liaison - a much trickier job than many people imagine! Ritter now run a similar system with exclusive dealers outside of continental Europe (basically USA, Japan & UK). Both of them aim to set prices that are identical from their dealers to those they would sell at to direct customers.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1382045162' post='2247317'] Buy yourself a boutique analogue fuzz, envelope filter and pitch shifter for the same money and have a hell of a lot more or, if you want the cheesy sounds, buy a synth [/quote] Or, buy a Deep Impact and swoon every time you hit the 'on' button

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1382044878' post='2247310'] Nope. Not being ironic. Never heard of him. Come to think of it, I had vaguely heard of his signature bass, maybe. He's good though. Have Mr Big or any other bands he's been in ever bothered the charts? [/quote] Definitely in the US. With David Lee Roth he's had #4 & #6 albums. Mr Big have had #15 album and a single that was #1 in USA, Germany, Australia etc and even #3 in the UK All of these were quite a while ago but I think he's got credits on something like 400 recordings! He's pretty famous for live clinics and has done these all over the world. He seems to be playing somewhere virtually every night! Very much a lead 'face' for Yamaha and Hartke.

Nice little story from the 'premier' end of custom building today. Beautiful spec Fodera ready to go into first stage of production next week (necks are put together first). Fodera production team confirm with retailer that final specs need to be confirmed (bang on schedule). Retailer informs customer and a few questions are raised about final selecting of body woods and fingerboard, plus a few smaller bits and bobs. Retailer requests some examples of tonal quality that customer is looking for based on recordings from other players. Customer supplies these and they're forwarded to Fodera. Retailer and Fodera think it will help to set up a 3 way Skype vid call so everyone can go over all possible options, answer questions and nail everything down. Retailer sends notes to all parties in advance of the call so everyone can prepare questions and answers. Retailer initiates call and everyone is present, again bang on time. Production guy and one of the partners from Fodera join the call, both super enthusiastic and helpful. No hard sell for upgrades, detailed explanation of every possible option based on customer questions, really 'sensible' recommendations made based on real world playing experience. Every single question answered professionally in a friendly and helpful manner. Customer quite keen on three relatively expensive upgrade options. Retailer offers to add these to the build at cost without taking any additional income - principally because this is a major investment and it would be a huge shame if the customer couldn't quite afford those last little things (two of them were aesthetic rather than tone altering) that might make him look at the bass in the future and think 'if only I'd added those couple of extra things'. . . Customer accepts offer (works out at three major upgrades for the price of two), retailer informs Fodera and build goes into production on Monday. Almost all of his was achieved in a 3 hour time span in one day (and don't forget that the builder is in a completely different time zone). Net result - customer is over the moon, his dream bass is being built to a very exacting standard with every question answered in advance of production. Retailer is pleased that he's sold a high end bass with a lot of confidence that it will meet the customer's exact requirements - he's taken a slight hit on income but knows it was the right decision. Builder is happy that both customer and retailer have acted professionally, covered all eventualities in advance of production and that everything is bang on schedule. Now that's how things should be done Although a Fodera is a serious high end investment it's still made by a tiny company of enthusiasts working to tight deadlines, they just don't 'screw around' like a lot of other people. . .

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1382040650' post='2247220'] I think that the OP may be the only bass player who has never heard of Billy Sheehan…! [/quote] I just assumed he was being 'ironic'

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1382029889' post='2246949'] Don't get me wrong, I would quite like to own the pedal again, however I wouldn't be prepared to pay more than you would expect to pay for a fairly limited digital effects pedal. [/quote] I'd expect to pay about £600 for one as good as the Deep impact

[quote name='Iana' timestamp='1381988843' post='2246340'] Glad you are diggin it, am intrigued by the ae210 sounding boomy, that is not a description that I have ever heard about that cab! I guess on a wooden floor or powered by a streamliner ..... [/quote] Could be that one person's deep low end is another's boomy, lol. I have heard people say they've had some issues controlling the bottom end of the AE cabs because of the rear porting. I had it a little of this when I was using a pair of AE112's. Started using a Gramma pad and that seemed to cure it. I've used the 210 a couple of times at rehearsals and noticed I've had to cut bass a little on the amp. It was free-standing in the middle of a large room so not effected by rear wall issues. Still sounded great so I'm splitting hairs here

I know someone who loves his Fractal to death but every time I hear him play I'm surprised at how 'processed' his sound always is. Every review I read says they can be incredibly natural sounding but my ears keep telling me different. Could just be that he likes a 'processed' sound I guess N.B. I have tried to broach this subject with him in the past and he always says I'm just 'biased' against rack effects (I'm not!).