£11,000 bass guitar.

[Dad3353]

When my main bass was first introduced, the catalogue price was 52 guineas. I bought mine, second-hand, for £500. In some parts of the world, 52 guineas would seem a fortune, and £500 maybe a couple of years income. Despite this, many (most..?) folks here would look upon my bass as little better than firewood, I'm sure..! All is relative. This funny ol' planet has thousands of examples of perceived extravagance, in so many fields. Fabergé eggs, anyone..?

[12stringbassist]

The most I have ever paid for a bass is £2000.
£11000 is a hell of a price tag.

BUT... Fodera wouldn't charge it if some people were not going to pay it.
And if someone wants to pay it, then it's worth the money to them.

[url="http://fodera.com/instruments-in-stock/deposit-for-a-monarch-4-fretless-standard/"]http://fodera.com/in...tless-standard/[/url]

It looks to me a bit like an unfinished 80's Yamaha bass.

Edited April 5, 2015 by 12stringbassist

[Ziphoblat]

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1428233686' post='2739349']
I used to work for a Rolls Royce dealer, when i first drove their cars I thought they were good but not ten or fifteen times better that a run of the mill normal car so I couldn't get my head round why someone would spend £250.000 on car, but to the people who were spending £250.000 on a car it is the same as most of us spending £500 on a car, the Fodera is probably not worth the money and is certainly not going to be ten times better that a decent Warwick / Spector etc however to those that can afford it it is like most of us buying a cracking Squier bass....I guess if you can afford it enjoy it
[/quote]

Diminishing returns is usually the argument here. However, in this case, I reckon...

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1428237491' post='2739415']
i wonder why the other bass makers in New York don't price there basses in the same way.? I'm sorry but Fodera price there basses very high, because they have very cleverly developed a name for themselves, and a reputation. There is no way Vinnie and his team make an instrument so superior to Roger Sadowsky or NewYork Bass Works, that they need to charge so much more, its just nonsense. they charge that much because they know they can get away with it.
[/quote]

Nail on the head.

[Japhet]

Fine if you're a Pro with a big tax bill and need to write some off I suppose. Wish I could have set my business up with an 11k outlay.

[Delberthot]

I can honestly say that if money was no object - if one of these basses gave me the exact sound I wanted, enabled me to play like on no other bass and felt incredibly comfortable then I still wouldn't buy one unless they made me something that looked a bit more normal and less coffee table.

Looking at all of the bass players that I've listed to over the years there is no one that I am aware of that plays one. I know Anthony Jackson and Victor Wooton play them but I'm not into their style of music - Maybe AJs work with other artists that I'm unaware of but I can't say I've ever consciously listened to a song and thought "that's a Fodera"

That's why I can't work out why they are so expensive because there's no one huge that I listen to that plays one. Wal on the other hand is a bass played by a number of bass players I am aware of and given they're relative scarcity, electronics and the fact that they were briefly not being made - I can understand the fuss, plus I love the sound but lack the cash.

[fretmeister]

£15,000 gets you a halfway good orchestral double bass.
£50,000 gets you a pro level instrument.
Handcarved to your spec.... Do you want a house or a bass?

Bass guitars, even Fodera, are cheap by comparison.

[Dan Dare]

Agree with others' comments about diminishing returns and paying for the name, etc. If you want it and an afford it, why not? I'd rather spend £1k on a car and £11k on an instrument than the other way round (if I had the money of course...)

[LayDownThaFunk]

Like a vintage Fender - overpriced and overhyped.

[M@23]

Never played one, so can't comment on Fodera. But, one the price vs value thing, has anyone ever seen the show 'How it's Made? I remember seeing a few things on there and thinking, 'oh OK, that's why they're so expensive'. The expertise that goes into making some things is probably a large part of what you're paying for, let alone the hundreds of hours of skilled labour and materials.

[leschirons]

I'm missing something here. The bass mentioned in the OP is listed in the current Fodera 2015 price list as $5050
.
Even with import and VAT, where does this £11,000 come from?

[RhysP]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1428241483' post='2739469']
£15,000 gets you a halfway good orchestral double bass.
£50,000 gets you a pro level instrument.
Handcarved to your spec.... Do you want a house or a bass?

Bass guitars, even Fodera, are cheap by comparison.
[/quote]

That's because the work that goes into an electric bass (even a Fodera) is nothing like the amount of skill & craftsmanship that goes into a hand carved acoustic instrument like a double bass or a cello.

Edited April 5, 2015 by RhysP

[Drax]

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1428254678' post='2739644']
I'm missing something here. The bass mentioned in the OP is listed in the current Fodera 2015 price list as $5050
.
Even with import and VAT, where does this £11,000 come from?
[/quote]

The BGM review model is the Amboyna Burl Monarch 4 Elite

No - I'd never heard of him either. Turns out it's a type of wood..

Edited April 5, 2015 by Drax

[ahpook]

If someone buys an $11,000 bass then it's worth $11,000 to them...if you don't think that bass is worth it then you're not the target market.

What something is [i]worth[/i] in comparison what it costs is entirely down to personal choice. My wife spent £600 on a coat a few months ago. I cannot see why it's worth that much, and that's why I wouldn't spend that much on a coat. She loves it and thinks it's worth every penny.

Edited April 5, 2015 by ahpook

[juliusmonk]

I played one Fodera and it was ok. A good bass, nothing special. What pisses me off a bit is how people justify their prices based on quality or skills or craftmanship or costs... It's like all other superb luthiers out there only do a half decent job? No, sorry, there are many excellent builders with extremely high quality products, all done by hand with a small team and most of them come at 2000-4000£, fancy woods and inlays, best pickups available and everything.

So, good for Fodera if they can get away with it, it is a luxury product positioned as such, but I think for that price they should add diamond inlays or solid gold screws or something - would make more sense to me.

[Machines]

Designer basses, like designer goods are by no means more fit for purpose than 'common' goods but satisfy those with a high degree of disposable income who want the elite items.

[Norris]

I'm never going to own one, so they can charge what they like.

If you owned one would you dare to gig it? I wouldn't want it knocked off its stand down the Dog and Duck

[leschirons]

[quote name='Drax' timestamp='1428255292' post='2739652']


The BGM review model is the Amboyna Burl Monarch 4 Elite

No - I'd never heard of him either. Turns out it's a type of wood..
[/quote]

Thanks for the info Drax. Well that's a relief now that I know it's Amboyna burl. For a moment there I thought it wasn't going to be worth the money.

[RhysP]

[quote name='juliusmonk' timestamp='1428256129' post='2739662']
So, good for Fodera if they can get away with it, it is a luxury product positioned as such, but I think for that price they should add diamond inlays or solid gold screws or something....
[/quote]

Or at least get rid of that poxy, tacky looking butterfly on the headstock....

[xgsjx]

If I were playing pro level for a living & had the funds, I wouldn't think twice about spending over £10k on an instrument.
Though Ritter would be my first luthier to try (I love their looks, but I've never played one).

[Drax]

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1428257491' post='2739683']
Thanks for the info Drax. Well that's a relief now that I know it's Amboyna burl. For a moment there I thought it wasn't going to be worth the money.
[/quote]

This stuff doesn't grow on trees you know

[juliusmonk]

[quote name='Drax' timestamp='1428261679' post='2739726']


This stuff doesn't grow on trees you know
[/quote]

Saying that it's amboyna burl has saved many from divorce. Especially if you carefully run your hand over it at the same time and look down in ecstasy when the wife asks about her 11k£...

[Muzz]

I can see why people would spend that sort of money on a Ritter, they really do transcend the bass guitar into a piece of art, then suddenly all bets are off as to what it costs or what it's worth, but Foderas? They don't even look like all the money, at heart they're such a tedious design, and yeah, the butterfly does look like something a Chinese factory would add these days...

[Drax]

Seems this bass isn't £11k.

The BGM review takes place at BassGear who've brought the bass into the UK.

In the back cover of the same issue, BassGear are advertising it for (only) £8,750.

Slightly lame for BGM, given they're running the whole '£11,000' schtick on the cover.

[juliusmonk]

Bargain - of course when you add the optional amboyna hard case and allen keys, it is 11,000 anyway 😔

Edited April 5, 2015 by juliusmonk

[The Badderer]

think about where they are. New York, where i'm sure there are plenty of Wall Street types some of who will play bass. When mega bonuses paid out guess how many treat themselves to a trip to the Fodera workshops? $11K is peanuts in that city. Sure there will be some high end professionals who make mega bucks or get an endorsement deal, but i'd imagine most of those Foderas go to city types who want to show off their $30K Fodera (which was then being sold on the 2nd hand market 3 months later.... true story from a few months ago on here after someone posted one for sale 2nd hand on talkbass). There will also be high end musicians around the world on big bucks deals where they can afford to buy (or their record label buys them) a Fodera, and why not if it inspires you and you want to chuck money around? Will it do anything that a well set up £1-4K bass built by a good small luthier won't do? Nope, but it's up to them.