Well yeah, its always going to be the case that you should select the bass that best suits you......if it's a Fodera, save up for one, if it's a Yamaha then cool .
There are a TON of boutique custom basses that are as good as Fodera, I bought mine because I played it and it blew me away. Others have not had that experience with Fodera, but have loved a Skold or a Shuker, or whatever.
You might even think the Ibanez Volo fits the bill for you, which is basically Ibanez' take on the Janek Gwizdala/Matt Garrison Fodera spec.....although largely agreed to have missed the mark aesthetically I think, probably still a great bass to play.
If you're going to order a custom, know EXACTLY the spec you want! If you're not sure, perhaps buy a stock bass that has similar specs with a view to testing it out and selling it on if/when you order a custom.
I was lucky in that I tried the Matt Garrison Standard Fodera, so I knew that when I ordered mine to be built, the spec would be EXACTLY the same. That's the benefit of the standard series, and there's a lot of cool basses in the standard range now, obviously cheaper than a full custom, but still all hand built in Brooklyn.
Si