funkypenguin

You might struggle to get an aftermarket ready-built neck made of wenge, Its heavy and IIRC really nasty to work with, both on tools and for the people building (the splinters are septic as I recall). your best bet might be to commission someone such as Jon Shuker to build you a replacement neck, I believe he's done this for a few members here Ben

Fodera are great at responding to emails, and although they might not offer authentication on a specific instrument, when it comes to asking if these basses are still being produced I'm pretty sure they will come back with a swift yes or no. AFAIK they were discontinued a long time ago in favour of the standard series of instruments, and everything that now carries the Fodera name is now constructed entirely in Brooklyn.

Thanks! Mine has just started construction and is due for completion in early April, so not too long now

Was it this one?? That was part of the inspiration for my own build The Gallery nailing it there with the URL having it as a Fender monarch btw.... https://thebassgallery.com/products/fender-monarch-6

I'd say keep the 1-2 basses that have the most sentimental value and move the rest on if they're sitting in their cases. This way, as and when you get the desire to play more again (whenever that may be) you'll still have the basses that mean the most to you

+1

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.

You can apply this to virtually any item that isn't necessary in ones life, whether it be a car, a bass, a watch, a home..... That kind of thinking applies far more to the corporate giants who make enough money to end world poverty than the bass player that has worked to be able to afford a top end instrument. Ben

My question in reply would be this. how exactly would you quantify being worthy of a Fodera? what do you have to be able to do on the instrument in order to have one? When all is said and done, music isn't a sports event. its not about the numbers and presenting a rational justification for the gear you own. if you love the instrument and you can afford a Fodera/Alembic/et. al., that is all the justification you should need. Ben

Does that work something like this?? Ben

I'll second ForScore, you can use the scan function to take photos of those cheat sheets and it will save them into the app as a PDF, you can then create setlists and put them in whatever order you choose, then all you have to do is tap page right to scroll through the set. If you have songs that segue one into the other, you can get a relatively inexpensive page turn pedal that Bluetooths to the iPad so you never need to take your hands off the bass. Ben

The whole bass is made from Ebony? That will make it heavier than the sun, surely?!

I've played one other shorter scale Fodera and the B was indeed thunderous Having listened to Tony playing his new headless, the B seems pretty rock solid to me! Only a few months left to wait!! Ben

Thanks, I'm really excited for her to arrive so I can start getting to know her! A lot of stars unexpectedly aligned to make this build possible, and I've got very high hopes! It'll be sometime between Jan and March, depending on Fodera's build schedule, and yes, I'll be sharing pictures and some sound clips once she's here! Ben

I love Warwick, I've used mine for 10 years and its a bass I'll never part with, but seeing the quote from them for something that would have relatively minor alterations really surprised me. Heres the spec for my Fodera Monarch 6 string Elite 32" scale 26 frets 16.5mm spacing walnut body, alder tone block 3 piece white oak neck, thin profile ebony board (side dots only) solid flame koa top, matching peghead Duncan dual coils custom shop preamp Garrison control layout and pickup spacing Ebony ramp and pickup covers black hardware Ben

I've got a Fodera on order right now (due for completion early in the new year) and before I pulled the trigger I looked at what it would cost to spec something v. close with Warwick......and it wound up costing more than 2K more.... Ben

Johns customer service is absolutely top drawer in my experience. When a part broke on my U-retro he had me over to his place and sat me down with a brew while he fixed it for me free of charge even though the unit was out of warranty it also helps that his electronics sound amazing (IMO of course). Ben

All of these less well known players influence different facets of my playing Scott Ambush Munir Hossn Damian Erskine John D'Ercole Evan Marien Tony Grey Nick Blacka Rich Brown Me'shell N'degeocello

I've not gigged my Warwick Hellborg rig yet, the first gig can't come soon enough!!!

Thats interesting WH as far as the pickup types vs string types is concerned The thing that made the biggest difference to my bass was having an East U-retro preamp put it, it totally transformed the bass. To my ears, the MEC pickups/preamp have a thin top end with a harsh edge to it, the East pre really sweetened it a lot while still retaining the Warwick growl. I'd never heard of a Warwick being fitted with alembic pickups before, they must be a rare beast indeed! Ben

Thats Andrew Gouche. And he was the MD when he was playing with Chaka Khan.... If you want to find out what the actual show was like, the record is called All The Hits Live. The band is absolutely smoking IMO. Ben

I'll add Hadrien Feraud, Matt Garrison and Tony Grey to that list not people that need any sort of crutch whatsoever for their technique Ben

Thats what you're saying here.....