Are you good enough to play a Fodera?

[TrevorR]

Here’s another reason why this question makes little or no sense… let me tell you the story of two of my basses… I’m no Victor Wooten on the bass but a kinda competent pub rocker at best who’s done cover bands and the like in the past.

 

Back in 1993 I saved up for a bass I really wanted. It cost me about £500 second hand. Less than a decent US P bass. Well built and well looked after but deeply unfashionable it was, nonetheless, a bass that I’d seen played a few times and I liked the look and the sound. It’s been my main bass ever since and has done the majority of gigs I’ve ever done - from stately homes to posh hotels to theatres and clubs to scummy pubs and flatbed lorry stages. But I love it.

 

Then there’s my other bass. A hand built, boutique bass which would cost me over £5k to replace with a waiting list/lead time measured in years (if the company was taking orders at the moment). That means I could easily sell it for 6 grand second hand if I so desired. But I love that bass too, so it’s not for sale. 
 

So which one is the right bass for me, given my adequate hobbyist player status? So which one is the more appropriate for my level of player? Maybe it will help if I post a photo of each one to help you decide…

Here’s the one I bought for 500 quid…

 

And here’s the boutique one with a replacement value of 5 or 6 grand…

Edited February 7, 2022 by TrevorR

[Mokl]

I can't be arsed to read through all this,  but I've had a Fodera Monarch for about 14 years now.  When I bought it (used) it was the most I'd put into a bass, flipped a Sei and a Modulus plus added some cash in to get it.  I guess it owes me about 3 grand, but I reckon it's saved me a fortune as it's the bass that pretty much killed gas for me,  and I had a serious churn of high end basses before getting it. Nothing else I've played feels as good,  or frankly does such a great range of tones in a band context.

 

I've no idea whether I'm good enough for it,  and for all the times I've taken it out to gig (dozens and dozens), only one person ever has spoken to me about it cos they clocked what it was.  

 

Could I afford it now,  no! And especially not for what they command these days.  I'm not sure why they get so much stick for what they cost really, value is so subjective, and there are more than a couple high end makers charging close to Fodera money for what are in essence Fender variants. 

 

As I said in a thread a few month's ago, if you're offended that Foderas seem expensive, have you seen the price of bassoons?!!

[40hz]

1 minute ago, Mokl said:

I can't be arsed to read through all this,  but I've had a Fodera Monarch for about 14 years now.  When I bought it (used) it was the most I'd put into a bass, flipped a Sei and a Modulus plus added some cash in to get it.  I guess it owes me about 3 grand, but I reckon it's saved me a fortune as it's the bass that pretty much killed gas for me,  and I had a serious churn of high end basses before getting it. Nothing else I've played feels as good,  or frankly does such a great range of tones in a band context.

 

I've no idea whether I'm good enough for it,  and for all the times I've taken it out to gig (dozens and dozens), only one person ever has spoken to me about it cos they clocked what it was.  

 

Could I afford it now,  no! And especially not for what they command these days.  I'm not sure why they get so much stick for what they cost really, value is so subjective, and there are more than a couple high end makers charging close to Fodera money for what are in essence Fender variants. 

 

As I said in a thread a few month's ago, if you're offended that Foderas seem expensive, have you seen the price of bassoons?!!

In fairness I think Fodera was used as an example for expensive basses by the OP, not targeting them specifically or solely.

[Mokl]

Haha, sorry,  I should have been arsed to read it properly then 😶

[leschirons]

I met a guy in France some years ago with 11 basses, including  three F Basses an Alembic, a Vigier, a Sadowsky and a couple of Fender Jazzes and, he  couldn't play a note, and by that, I don't mean he was a terrible bass player, I mean, he had zero interest in learning, or playing bass. He just loved the things for what they were. He was a lawyer, had plenty of money etc and  when I asked him why, he told me that his brother was a bassist and because there was always a couple laying around, he just sort of fell in love with basses.  So, in response to the OP, "worthy" doesn't even come into it. If you've got the money, why not?  

 

In addition, the question is really only relevant to other players, if you turn up at the Dog & Duck with a £12,000 Fodera, Allison and Fred who run the cattery down the road aren't going to think "wow, he must be good"  You're just another bloke holding another guitary thing to them.

[Woodinblack]

13 minutes ago, leschirons said:

I met a guy in France some years ago with 11 basses, including  three F Basses an Alembic, a Vigier, a Sadowsky and a couple of Fender Jazzes and, he  couldn't play a note, and by that, I don't mean he was a terrible bass player, I mean, he had zero interest in learning, or playing bass. He just loved the things for what they were. He was a lawyer, had plenty of money etc and  when I asked him why, he told me that his brother was a bassist and because there was always a couple laying around, he just sort of fell in love with basses.  So, in response to the OP, "worthy" doesn't even come into it. If you've got the money, why not?  

 

Yeh, I met a guy at a gig that was telling me all the guitars he had, when I asked him what he played he said he never played them, although sometimes just lent them to people to play (he was at the time talking about an EDS-1275 custom shop). He just loved them and put them on the wall.

[Muzz]

12 hours ago, Mokl said:

I can't be arsed to read through all this,  but I've had a Fodera Monarch for about 14 years now. 

Surely you could ask your butler to do it, and give you the precis? 😃

 

'...have you seen the price of bassoons?!!'  Awesome...I'm gonna do that right now...holy cow... £24k for a Thomann one?  😱

Edited February 8, 2022 by Muzz

[BigRedX]

11 hours ago, leschirons said:

I met a guy in France some years ago with 11 basses, including  three F Basses an Alembic, a Vigier, a Sadowsky and a couple of Fender Jazzes and, he  couldn't play a note, and by that, I don't mean he was a terrible bass player, I mean, he had zero interest in learning, or playing bass. He just loved the things for what they were. He was a lawyer, had plenty of money etc and  when I asked him why, he told me that his brother was a bassist and because there was always a couple laying around, he just sort of fell in love with basses.  So, in response to the OP, "worthy" doesn't even come into it. If you've got the money, why not?  

 

In addition, the question is really only relevant to other players, if you turn up at the Dog & Duck with a £12,000 Fodera, Allison and Fred who run the cattery down the road aren't going to think "wow, he must be good"  You're just another bloke holding another guitary thing to them.

 

When I had my Gus G1 guitar made, the finished instrument was delivered to my work.

 

One of the designers thought it was the the most amazing thing he had ever seen and if I ever wanted to sell it he'd buy off me no problem. This was over 20 years ago and back then he had never played the guitar and had zero interest in learning. I saw him last year and he asked me if I still had the guitar and when I told him I did he reminded me that he would still be interested in buying it. He still hasn't learnt how to play and likes it simply because he thinks it is a gorgeous artefact. I think the only reason he hasn't ordered an identical one from Gus for himself, is because he's too embarrassed to buy something from the maker when he can't actually play it.

Edited February 8, 2022 by BigRedX

[Machines]

A lot of this depends on if a guitar is bought for it's quality versus rarity. I imagine there are a LOT of Gibson Custom Shop Les Pauls that are hanging on walls around the world that have never been played beyond a bad version of Smoke On The Water. I think high end obscure basses wouldn't be as susceptible to this however.

 

To answer the question - am I good enough to play a Fodera ? Yes. I can play anything on a Fodera I can on a £200 Yamaha. Would I feel comfortable having such an expensive instrument that I wouldn't reveal the nuances of in my pub rock covers band ? No.

[Muzz]

10 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

When I had my Gus G1 guitar made, the finished instrument was delivered to my work.

 

One of the designers thought it was the the most amazing thing he had ever seen and if I ever wanted to sell it he'd buy off me no problem. This was over 20 years ago and back then he had never played the guitar and had zero interest in learning. I saw him last year and he asked me if I still had the guitar and when I told him I did he reminded me that he would still be interested in buying it. He still hasn't learnt how to play and likes it simply because he thinks it is a gorgeous artefact. I think the only reason he hasn't ordered an identical one from Gus for himself, is because he's too embarrassed to buy something from the maker when he can't actually play it.

 

My other half has no real interest in musical instruments per se, but when we were decorating and arranging the house we moved into a couple of years ago, she suggested I hang my basses on the wall as objects, the luthier (Shuker) ones especially, because she loves the look of them, the woods, the craft...

 

If your friend's aesthetic tastes were different, he'd be at home going to Jon Shuker, who's a luthier who doesn't play an instrument...

[Woodinblack]

14 minutes ago, Muzz said:

My other half has no real interest in musical instruments per se, but when we were decorating and arranging the house we moved into a couple of years ago, she suggested I hang my basses on the wall as objects, the luthier (Shuker) ones especially, because she loves the look of them, the woods, the craft...

 

Most of my basses are on the wall. Some upstairs, some downstairs. The ones downstairs have a veto on whether they were 'ugly' or not - my blonde telecaster was never allowed downstairs (as it was 'unfinished'), and some others were not asthetic enough to be there, so they are upstairs.

[Muzz]

Hahahaaa, yes, the veto...I have an oud, which is pretty much unplayable as an instrument (it cost me about £20 on holiday years ago), but is a rather spectacular thing in terms of wood, and that got the first nod for downstairs...

[neepheid]

This class of instrument simply costs more than I'm prepared to spend on a bass.  Too much responsibility, too much to lose if something bad happens to it.  I had a play of a friend's Ritter a few years back and as lovely as it was (with a finish so deep and lustrous I could have dived into it) I was too scared to breathe on it wrong to be able to enjoy it.  Couldn't get it off me and safely back into his hands quick enough.  Playing an instument shouldn't be that stressful

[RhysP]

4 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Too much responsibility, too much to lose if something bad happens to it.  I had a play of a friend's Ritter a few years back and as lovely as it was (with a finish so deep and lustrous I could have dived into it) I was too scared to breathe on it wrong to be able to enjoy it.  Couldn't get it off me and safely back into his hands quick enough.  Playing an instument shouldn't be that stressful

I bought my dream guitar (a USA Hamer Standard) about 15 years ago & ended up selling it for exactly this reason.

I was so scared of damaging it I hardly ever took it out of the case.

[Boodang]

15 hours ago, Mokl said:

As I said in a thread a few month's ago, if you're offended that Foderas seem expensive, have you seen the price of bassoons?!!

Just because a bassoon is expensive doesn't mean the price of a Fedora is justified. I can see how an acoustic instrument could be expensive but I'm at a loss, given the materials used, to see where the money on a solid bodied bass guitar is spent when they're pushing the prices that Fedora charge. Am I offended? Only mildly as people will pay what they are willing. Is it Fedora value for money, in terms of what it cost to make I very much doubt it, in terms of what it brings to the person who bought... well, if they love it then yeah.

Incidentally I'd love to know how much it costs for Fedora to make one of their instruments. The £12k bass in the SBL video, what do we reckon? 2 to 3 k tops? If that, it is a solid body after all. That's a 9 to 10k profit, quite a mark up!

[funkypenguin]

24 minutes ago, Boodang said:

Just because a bassoon is expensive doesn't mean the price of a Fedora is justified. I can see how an acoustic instrument could be expensive but I'm at a loss, given the materials used, to see where the money on a solid bodied bass guitar is spent when they're pushing the prices that Fedora charge. Am I offended? Only mildly as people will pay what they are willing. Is it Fedora value for money, in terms of what it cost to make I very much doubt it, in terms of what it brings to the person who bought... well, if they love it then yeah.

Incidentally I'd love to know how much it costs for Fedora to make one of their instruments. The £12k bass in the SBL video, what do we reckon? 2 to 3 k tops? If that, it is a solid body after all. That's a 9 to 10k profit, quite a mark up!

 

Fodera make a 10% profit margin on any instrument they build, one of the partners did a fairly detailed breakdown of why they cost so much over on talkbass a few years back. They're based in NYC, only use the best possible materials, pay their builders a decent wage and look after their pension/healthcare, both of which are expensive in the US.

[chris_b]

I'm good enough to play any bass, cos I say so.

 

You can be one of the Fodera crowd, Precision crowd, Yamaha crowd etc etc. Only 2 things matter, can you afford it and does it make you happy.

[Boodang]

14 minutes ago, funkypenguin said:

 

Fodera make a 10% profit margin on any instrument they build, one of the partners did a fairly detailed breakdown of why they cost so much over on talkbass a few years back. They're based in NYC, only use the best possible materials, pay their builders a decent wage and look after their pension/healthcare, both of which are expensive in the US.

That's interesting and, in a way, good to know. Who would have thought being based in NYC and paying a decent wage (good for them) could push the price up so much. That makes the price more palatable, in fact 10% is not much of a profit. I've got more respect for Fedora now, I take it all back!

[BigRedX]

30 minutes ago, funkypenguin said:

 

Fodera make a 10% profit margin on any instrument they build, one of the partners did a fairly detailed breakdown of why they cost so much over on talkbass a few years back. They're based in NYC, only use the best possible materials, pay their builders a decent wage and look after their pension/healthcare, both of which are expensive in the US.

 

Yes they are in NYC, but its Brooklyn rather than Manhattan and in the old docks area. It's a bit like saying your basses are made in London and then finding out the workshop is actually on an industrial estate in Croydon.

[White Cloud]

I know where the OP is coming from.

 

I bought a Wal Custom on HP in 1985 (£750) - traded my Rickenbacker 4001 for it (£300).

 

I was a nifty player - but recall never feeling good enough for the Wal!

[dclaassen]

I got lucky with my MPV....I picked it up almost by accident. The previous owner had beat it up pretty well, but it still has lots of life in it. I wouldn't pay the going price for one now, even though a pentabuzz would be cool. Thinks I really like about it vs a "lesser" bass...

     -Ebony fingerboard...best feel ever

     -access to upper frets

     -tone on the low B..all the way up and down the neck

     -subtle tone control

     -the bridge

 

Most of all, the more I play it, the more I find to like about it. I'll still keep the P bass around though..just because. 

[Russ]

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

 

It's a bit like saying your basses are made in London and then finding out the workshop is actually on an industrial estate in Croydon.

Like GB used to be?

 

To anyone not within the M25, and certainly to anyone from outside the UK, pretty much anything in the entire south-east of the UK is "that London". 

[StickyDBRmf]

I own an almost $4K(US) Chapman Stick and I suck but it's going down with me...

Of course there isn't a Squire version. And Warr guitars are WAY more. 

And there's a Whore and Trumpet here in NJ. (at least I dated one)

Edited February 8, 2022 by StickyDBRmf

[Misdee]

Am I a good enough player to justify owning a Fodera?

 

Well firstly, who am I supposed to be justifying myself to? Certainly not to Fodera, that's for sure. If I were to walk into their HQ with dollars in my hand I'm sure they would be prepared to sell to me.

 

As for other bass players, they can kiss my derrière. If I want to buy an expensive bass I will do so and other folks can say what they want about it. It won't bother me.

 

For what it's worth, by now I have spent most of my life fascinated by expensive musical instruments and equipment. As I have gained more wisdom and experience I have come to the conclusion that very few expensive instruments are worth the asking price. By the same token, very few inexpensive instruments are worth the asking price either. It's just a process of finding a level of dissatisfaction you can live with and enjoy in whichever price range. All this is underpinned by the fact that the musical equipment industry, like most consumer goods industries, relies upon convincing people that they have a problem, whether they realised it or not, and then offering those people an opportunity to buy something which will solve that problem and make them feel better. 

 

And don't lose sight of the fact that buying and selling basses and learning to play the bass are two completely different activities. For most people, the more time you are obsessing about equipment the less time you are stressing about learning to play better, and I very much include myself in that observation. Back when I first started playing I asked a big name bass player who I met backstage after a gig for some advice and he said to me "Just get a Fender and work on your playing." Sage advice indeed. If only it hadn't taken me so long to realise that.😐

[Dan Dare]

Would you ask "Am I good enough" to live in a nice house? To drive a decent car? To have nice holidays? And so on. If you can afford it, have it. Do whatever you want with your money. If others want to twist their knickers about it because they are envious, let them. Smile as they wail and gnash their teeth.