molan

Here's a nice '73 that's pretty standard apart from the knobs (and a little hole in the guard where a toggle switch was fitted). More pics & details here: http://www.bassgear.co.uk/products-page/pre-owned/bass-guitars1/fender-precision-bass-1973-pre-owned/ There's a '72 there as well if you need a reference for one with a maple neck

Here's a little trio of Foderas, in age order from left to right:

Obligatory Foderas on the sofa shot, in age order from left to right

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1340711500' post='1708369'] You mean they don't have a house EACH? [/quote] I will own up that I'm feeling very lucky, and a little bit humble, today. Sitting next to me in my study are three Fodera Monarchs, a Ritter Cora, an Alleva Coppolo RA & two pre-CBS Fender Jazzes (one of which isn't mine!). . . Luckily I have a good insurance policy that covers them all!!

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1340708343' post='1708284'] One doesn't have a Fodera in a house, One has a house AROUND a Fodera [/quote] FoderaS. . .

String spacing is standard 19mm at the bridge but it's a J type neck profile and nut width of 1.5" as opposed to Fodera's morew usual 1.625" on a 4 string. I'm not sure what the finish is but it certainly oozes class Here's what Fodera said about it when it went in to be 're-furbished' "[color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We don't build 'em like this anymore! It has been quite a number of years since a Custom Shop Fodera has been built with a colored finish (in this case Tobacco Burst), but every time we see one of them we love the way the instruments seem like a synthesis of old and new.[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In the tone department, this Monarch Elite has got that punchy, articulate 70's vintage vibe in spades. Of course with our onboard Custom Shop Preamp, you can dial in exactly the right sound no matter what gig you are out on...and have we mentioned that this Monarch Elite is a joy to play??[/font][/color][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/font][/color]

Just received this today & very nice it is too - absolutely stunning birdseye maple neck (looks much nicer in the flesh than the pictures show) & superb craftsmanship. My first through neck Fodera

Just received a stunning Fodera from Jordi. Expertly packed and in fabulous condition with all the 'case candy' intact as well. Jordi was amazingly trusting with such a rare and expensive instrument - absolutely someone you can deal with in confidence. happy to supply a personal reference if anyone wants to private message me

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1340558000' post='1706191'] I think he might have been the bassist at the first gig I ever went to as well! [/quote] Greenslade, Colosseum?

Some excellent stuff in here, I've watched two of the programmes so far & have the Ziggy movie & the live BBc concert to go I have to admit that I always thought Bolder & Woody were 'passengers' in the Spiders but was surprised at quite how badly they seem to have been treated (although we only heard their side of the story). The one thing it bought home to me was quite how young I was when I got my first Bowie obsession, lol. I pre-ordered Aladdin Sane from WH Smith & remember queuing to get it on the first day it was available. Had't realised it was April '73 when I was only 13 The only other album I had at the time was Roxy's For Your Pleasure which came out a month earlier. I'd been buying singles since 1967 (Kinks Waterloo Sunset was my first ever) but our old record player was jammed on 45rpm and I didn't get my first personal one until my 13th birthday. Never missed a Bowie album after that right up until Never Let Me Down in '87. A few clunker tracks here & there but some cracking stuff on the albums in between. I think my most played ones must be Diamond Dogs & Station to Station closely followed by Young Americans & Scary Monsters (love some of Fripps guitar on the latter. Quite a few of the more recent live albums are excellent as well. Gail Ann Dorsey particularly good on some of these

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1340487940' post='1705280'] They seem to be trying their best to, same goes for Tony Reeves up there! Cheers [/quote] Top bass player Mr Reeves - very possibly the first live bass player I ever saw! He was the only person in the band not sitting down - the rest of the band consisted of two keyboard players & the drummer. He managed to fill the 'vertical' role very well & was really inspiring to watch

I'm not sure they are in the retailers yet. There's a UK retailer trade show this week and they are being shown there so I'd assume they'll hit the shops pretty soon

I've only recently got into flats as well & really like them on certain basses. I have found different brands to be really different in feel & tone. Had some D'Addario Chromes and absolutely hated them but then picked up a P bass strung with Thomastic Infelds & thought they were great. On a vintage P & with the tone on the bass wound down there's a great growl from the lower notes. Have also tried TI's on a '63 Jazz which sounded really nice as well. Had a brief blast on some LaBellas which were good but the ones I used were a bit too heavy gauge for me. I gigged my old Alleva Coppolo KBP4 with TI's in a soul/funk/disco band once and everyone in the band loved the sound

Ok - I am going to set myself up for ridicule here I paid about £50 for an original '63 thumb rest to sit on my '63 Jazz. As thumb rests age they tend to warp around the screw holes and original nitro-cellulose pickguards also go out of shape directly in line with the warped shape of the thumb rest. I saw the one I bought on US EBay from a very reputable old parts dealer in Nashville and could see the warped shape looked near identical to the indentation in my original nitro pickguard. Took a flyer on it & it fits absolutely perfectly. You can actually hold the bass nearly vertical without any screws in the thumb rest and the indentations hold it in place without falling off. It was the only thing missing from my '63 & I didn't fell like £50 was much of an investment to finish off the original look. Of course I could have bought a $5 one, screwed it too tight & left it to warp naturally & then roughened it up a bit to make it look like it was nearly 50 years old but I kinda like the fact that it's an old bit of Fender history performing a vaguely useful function - purely aesthetically because I don't even use it to play with

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1340449151' post='1704553'] Is it possible to tell the difference under that horrible stuff they are coated in? [/quote] The newer the Elixirs the better the feel. Original ones were quite 'sticky' but I think the latest ones are really good. Last for ages & easy on the fingers for long gigs or if you don't have really tough callouses

[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' timestamp='1340449053' post='1704549'] Is stainless steel supposed to give a brighter sound than nickel then? [/quote] Obviously a bit of a generalisation but steels are usually brighter, and coarser on the fingers & fretboard, than nickel. I'm sure you could find some nickels that are ultra bright and steels that sound a bit dull but if you get strings from the same manufacturer then the steels will usually be brighter.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1340455129' post='1704646'] Cheers, maybe it's because I'm on an iPad. Anyway - crikey, I wish I hadn't asked! :-) Not my cup of tea at all. I dislike quilted maple anyway, and agree that Fender should leave the fancy stuff to the 'boutique' builders [/quote] Picture is showing as a broken link on my machine too now - maybe it's a Twitter issue. Anyway, I've uploaded it here now as well - have to click to see full size though [attachment=111209:603656953.jpeg]

That's odd - I can see the pic on my machine but not on iPhone! Here's a libk to the page http://twitpic.com/9zegop/full

Whilst I'm a lover of flashy tops on nice basses I always think that a Fender should have a 'classic' colour finish & never sure about their attempts to play the custom builders at their own game. The custom shop have just published pics of this Dennis Galuszka Masterbuilt model - just wondered what people thought of it?