Fodera 2010 price list

[Chris2112]

There are of course many alternatives to Fodera through the old "Fauxdera" builders. R basses was the big one I think, saying as the luthier started off as renting space in the Fodera workshop, using their tools and wood stocks to make his own basses. IIRC the deal went pear shaped after a while; he was using Fodera shapes like the Imperial and Monarch and aparently the quality of his builds was so good that Fodera customers were coming to him! He did move on and set up his own shop in Puerto Rico which just drove his prices down even further whilst maintaining the same quality of product. In the end I think he started using his own designs but the heavy Fodera influence is obvious (saying as he learned his trade from Vinnie and Joey) and I think he'll still make basses with a Fodera body shape.

Aside from that, there are many other builders across the world who will make Fauxdera basses for a fraction of the price. Chris Stambaugh and Nikolai Goliaev for two. You don't even need a Pope preamp, saying as the best sounding Fodera basses I've ever heard have had EMG, Bartolini or Hazlab preamps!

[maxrossell]

Hey, you know, they're running a business. It all depends on who they want to cater for.

When I see someone with a £5,000 watch when a £50 watch will do, with a £200,000 car when a £20,000 car will do, with a £200 handbag when a £20 handbag will do, or with a £12,000 bass when a £1,200 bass will do, I think one thing.

And that thing is "bell end".

[BassBus]

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='951364' date='Sep 10 2010, 12:53 AM']What makes them cost so much.?[/quote]
The people who buy them.

[7string]

I hope any prospective buyers haggle hard

[bartelby]

[quote name='maxrossell' post='968250' date='Sep 26 2010, 11:33 AM']Hey, you know, they're running a business. It all depends on who they want to cater for.

When I see someone with a £5,000 watch when a £50 watch will do, with a £200,000 car when a £20,000 car will do, with a £200 handbag when a £20 handbag will do, or with a £12,000 bass when a £1,200 bass will do, I think one thing.

And that thing is "bell end".[/quote]


But what if you earned £250,000 a year, not £25,000 or £1,000,000 a year, not £45,000?

It's all relative really.


I'd not buy a Fodera because I don't like how they look.

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='bartelby' post='968734' date='Sep 26 2010, 07:50 PM']It's all relative really.[/quote]

+1. I mean many non musicians/bass players think that £100 is too expensive for a bass! It's all about what you're prepared to pay and if people are buying them then why should they not charge that much?

[molan]

[quote name='maxrossell' post='968250' date='Sep 26 2010, 11:33 AM']Hey, you know, they're running a business. It all depends on who they want to cater for.

When I see someone with a £5,000 watch when a £50 watch will do, with a £200,000 car when a £20,000 car will do, with a £200 handbag when a £20 handbag will do, or with a £12,000 bass when a £1,200 bass will do, I think one thing.

And that thing is "bell end".[/quote]

You know, I genuinely think this is one of the most ludicrous comments I've ever seen on BC, lol.

I'm assuming you have a £5 plastic Watch, drive a Trabant, keep your money in one those fabric and Velcro wallets and play a £50 Chinese made bass - after all, each these will 'do' the job for which they were intended. . .

Personally if I met someone with all of those expensive things you listed I'd assume they'd worked bloody hard, been very successful at their careers and were reaping the benefits - and good luck to them, that's what I'd say

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='molan' post='968866' date='Sep 26 2010, 09:36 PM']You know, I genuinely think this is one of the most ludicrous comments I've ever seen on BC, lol.

I'm assuming you have a £5 plastic Watch, drive a Trabant, keep your money in one those fabric and Velcro wallets and play a £50 Chinese made bass - after all, each these will 'do' the job for which they were intended. . .[/quote]

To be fair, if you paid £100 for a bass it would more than likely be twice as good as the £50 bass. But is a £6000 bass ten times as good as a £600 bass?

[quote name='molan' post='968866' date='Sep 26 2010, 09:36 PM']Personally if I met someone with all of those expensive things you listed I'd assume they'd worked bloody hard, been very successful at their careers and were reaping the benefits - and good luck to them, that's what I'd say [/quote]

Yeah or they might be rich for some other reason. I usually assume people who spend tonnes of money on status symbols are just a bit naive and didn't realise they could get their tiny penis enlarged for as little as £5000.

Edited September 26, 2010 by thisnameistaken

[Chris2112]

[quote name='molan' post='968866' date='Sep 26 2010, 09:36 PM']Personally if I met someone with all of those expensive things you listed I'd assume they'd worked bloody hard, been very successful at their careers and were reaping the benefits - and good luck to them, that's what I'd say [/quote]

To be honest, I think we'd all be so vulgar if we could afford it!

[molan]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='968922' date='Sep 26 2010, 10:21 PM']To be honest, I think we'd all be so vulgar if we could afford it![/quote]

I totally agree.

I've always found that the only people who bitch about other people who own beautiful and expensive things are those that simply can't afford them themselves - the ones who shout the loudest are usually the young who don't understand the concept of accumulated wealth, or those who have reached a stage in their lives when they realise they are unlikely ever to be able to afford them.

Both groups usually then resort to 'knob' jokes - still, if it keeps them amused then so be it . . .

[thisnameistaken]

Let's just agree that we're jealous of your extravagance and you have a tiny winkle, I suppose that makes us even and we can get on with talking about something more interesting.

[BigRedX]

If you're sensible you just spend your money one the things you like.

I don't care much for cars or watches so I don't own a car and my watch that I hardly ever wear cost about £40.

On the the other hand I do like musical instruments and clothes so if I see something I really like I'm prepared to spend more than most people would.

[molan]

I have to admit that this thread has actually renewed my interest in buying a new Fodera - watch this space for 'incoming' messages

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='molan' post='968866' date='Sep 26 2010, 09:36 PM']You know, I genuinely think this is one of the most ludicrous comments I've ever seen on BC, lol.

I'm assuming you have a £5 plastic Watch, drive a Trabant, keep your money in one those fabric and Velcro wallets and play a £50 Chinese made bass - after all, each these will 'do' the job for which they were intended. . .

Personally if I met someone with all of those expensive things you listed I'd assume they'd worked bloody hard, been very successful at their careers and were reaping the benefits - and good luck to them, that's what I'd say [/quote]

No, I think claiming a Trabant is the automobile equivalent of a £1200 bass guitar (let's say, oh, a Sandberg or a Shuker) is actually the most ludicrous comment on here

And some (not all) of those Fodera prices are effing ridiculous (truss rod cover?!). Of course anyone is entitled to buy such a status item and if it floats your boat great, but you can't have it both ways, everyone else is entitled to think what they like when they see it. You'd better play extremely well indeed if you don't want some of them to think you're a bit of a wally!

[Marlat]

Why does anyone care how other people choose to spend their money? Let's be honest, if they don't spend it it's not like you are going to be given it.

[maxrossell]

[quote name='molan' post='968866' date='Sep 26 2010, 09:36 PM']You know, I genuinely think this is one of the most ludicrous comments I've ever seen on BC, lol.

I'm assuming you have a £5 plastic Watch, drive a Trabant, keep your money in one those fabric and Velcro wallets and play a £50 Chinese made bass - after all, each these will 'do' the job for which they were intended. . .

Personally if I met someone with all of those expensive things you listed I'd assume they'd worked bloody hard, been very successful at their careers and were reaping the benefits - and good luck to them, that's what I'd say [/quote]

Actually I don't own a watch or a car or even a wallet for that matter, and my bass is indeed Chinese and I actually paid £20 for it. It's very nice.

Not that I couldn't afford a watch, a car, a wallet or a more expensive bass, but, as you say, it's a matter of having what I need versus satisfying an urge to spend.

I know people who own £50 watches, £20,000 cars, £20 handbags and £1,200 basses, and they're people who work bloody hard, are very successful at their careers and are reaping the benefits. Most people would think that those things are very nice indeed. But everyone I've ever met who owns £5,000 watches, £200,000 cars, £200 handbags and £12,000 basses inherited their wealth and hasn't done a proper day's work in their entire lives.

Edited September 27, 2010 by maxrossell

[molan]

[quote name='maxrossell' post='969082' date='Sep 27 2010, 07:12 AM']I know people who own £50 watches, £20,000 cars, £20 handbags and £1,200 basses, and they're people who work bloody hard, are very successful at their careers and are reaping the benefits. Most people would think that those things are very nice indeed. But everyone I've ever met who owns £5,000 watches, £200,000 cars, £200 handbags and £12,000 basses inherited their wealth and hasn't done a proper day's work in their entire lives.[/quote]

Maybe that's why we differ in opinions - I haven't met anyone with a £200K car (there really can't be many of these out there?) but I do know plenty of people who've had £40K - £60K cars, £200 is nothing out of the ordinary for a handbag for a lot of people I know (the last one my wife bought was £350 in the sale!), £3K+ watches are definitely pretty common where I work and, mostly through BC, I've met quite a few people with basses worth loads of money.

Without exception every single one of these people has worked very hard indeed have enough money to buy these things. . .

[molan]

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='969060' date='Sep 27 2010, 01:24 AM']No, I think claiming a Trabant is the automobile equivalent of a £1200 bass guitar (let's say, oh, a Sandberg or a Shuker) is actually the most ludicrous comment on here

And some (not all) of those Fodera prices are effing ridiculous (truss rod cover?!). Of course anyone is entitled to buy such a status item and if it floats your boat great, but you can't have it both ways, everyone else is entitled to think what they like when they see it. You'd better play extremely well indeed if you don't want some of them to think you're a bit of a wally![/quote]

Sorry - I thought the point was that if you were only buying things because they would 'do' the job they were intended for then you'd go for the lowest cost option.

I'm a very average player so obviously I'm not allowed to buy nice basses because people will think badly of me

I'm afraid I still think that calling someone a "bell end" simply because they own something expensive is a ridiculous way to behave, especially in a public forum where some of those people might see the comment and be offended.

[maxrossell]

[quote name='molan' post='968937' date='Sep 26 2010, 10:35 PM']I totally agree.

I've always found that the only people who bitch about other people who own beautiful and expensive things are those that simply can't afford them themselves - the ones who shout the loudest are usually the young who don't understand the concept of accumulated wealth, or those who have reached a stage in their lives when they realise they are unlikely ever to be able to afford them.

Both groups usually then resort to 'knob' jokes - still, if it keeps them amused then so be it . . .[/quote]

Also, it's easy to chalk up any form of criticism to jealousy and/or ignorance.

I may be young but I have a decent grasp of the concept of accumulated wealth, and I have no idea if I'll ever be so rich I can blow what I currently make in a year on a single instrument, although I sincerely hope not.

It's not exactly bizarre or unreasonable to object to the concept of the profit margin on an item vastly exceeding the cost of parts and labour. I'm not criticising the idea of Fodera deliberately making his instruments less affordable if the reason is that he needs to clear a log of back orders and doesn't want to have to increase the size of his business. A business which has a blanket policy of drastically overpricing its products so that only wealthy status-hungry pinheads buy them, however, is banking on materialism, greed, vanity and envy, and perpetuating cultural aspiration towards worship of the rich. People who buy £5k watches don't get them because they have a pressing need to acquire a really good watch.

[maxrossell]

[quote name='molan' post='969091' date='Sep 27 2010, 07:44 AM']Maybe that's why we differ in opinions - I haven't met anyone with a £200K car (there really can't be many of these out there?) but I do know plenty of people who've had £40K - £60K cars, £200 is nothing out of the ordinary for a handbag for a lot of people I know (the last one my wife bought was £350 in the sale!), £3K+ watches are definitely pretty common where I work and, mostly through BC, I've met quite a few people with basses worth loads of money.

Without exception every single one of these people has worked very hard indeed have enough money to buy these things. . .[/quote]

The really begs the question then, I suppose, of why you'd work all that hard just to spend all that cash on a handbag?

I've met a few people who own £200k+ cars, and all except one of them had inherited the wealth. The one who didn't directly inherit the wealth was born into an extremely rich family and fast-tracked through all the best schools into a high-paid city job.

People can't exactly help their circumstances, I suppose, but specifically in the case of a handbag, where there is literally no meaningful difference whatsoever between a £20 one and a £200 one, why [i]anyone[/i] would choose to blow £200 is completely beyond me.

[maxrossell]

[quote name='molan' post='969092' date='Sep 27 2010, 07:50 AM']Sorry - I thought the point was that if you were only buying things because they would 'do' the job they were intended for then you'd go for the lowest cost option.

I'm a very average player so obviously I'm not allowed to buy nice basses because people will think badly of me

I'm afraid I still think that calling someone a "bell end" simply because they own something expensive is a ridiculous way to behave, especially in a public forum where some of those people might see the comment and be offended.[/quote]

That's not really the point, either. I said £1,200 on a bass as a rather arbitrary figure, but let's assume for the sake of the argument that for £1,200 you can get a really amazingly high-quality bass (I don't think that's a particularly outrageous statement). Or more to the point let's say that for £1,200 you can get a bass that will perfectly suit your purpose, whatever that happens to be. Or let's even extend it to two grand, for which you can get a bass made from what you want, in the shape you want, the colour you want, with all the appointments you want.

What exactly then is the point of spending the extra £10,000, apart from being able to tell people that you're loaded enough to own a £12k bass?

[Marlat]

[quote name='maxrossell' post='969097' date='Sep 27 2010, 07:59 AM']People can't exactly help their circumstances, I suppose, but specifically in the case of a handbag, where there is literally no meaningful difference whatsoever between a £20 one and a £200 one, why [i]anyone[/i] would choose to blow £200 is completely beyond me.[/quote]

I have to assume:

1. You are very young; and

2. You are not married.


My wife has handbags that range in price from £50 - £2500. She uses them all and she buys them because she enjoys them. I have bass gear that ranges from pedals that cost £30 to basses that cost Fodera like money. I use them all and buy them because I enjoy them. You may think we have "blown" a lot of money on these things, but it doesn't always work that way. You can easily prioritise your life to spend the money on the things that bring you pleasure and avoid spending on things that don't. For example, my wife's car (I don't need to drive) is worth about £100 (seriously), she buys lots of clothing from H&M and Gap. OTOH, I don't buy clothing from theose shops, but I have far less clothes. In the end, its just a matter of how you choose to spend your money. We are comfortable, have savings and give money to charity. We also choose to spend [b]our[/b] money how we want. Get over it.

[ezbass]

And being that this is a US price list it will be net of tax!

[Marlat]

[quote name='ezbass' post='969118' date='Sep 27 2010, 08:34 AM']And being that this is a US price list it will be net of tax![/quote]

Its only net of tax if you buy in NYC (once the bass is shipped across state lines, its sales tax free). Its also worth remembering that they are the retail prices. IIRC the actual selling prices are about 30% less than the retail (depending on your dealer).

Jason from Fodera posted on their pricing model on TB:

[quote name='Managing Partner at FOdera']Now, to the discussion of price. If you check out the Fodera Club threads (use the search and read back through the first, second and third threads too), there has been a TON of discussion about our pricing. Believe me, if we could figure out how to keep our quality at the level we demand of ourselves and make them more affordable, we would. None of us are getting rich by making these instruments. We do it because we love it and, thank goodness, the market has been good to the brand and allowed us pricing that keeps the doors open.

All of that said...some facts to help frame the discussion...

1. When you talk about the costs of a Fodera, please keep in mind that unless you start adding options, the street prices for brand new, custom built instruments range from $5,625 for a 4-string Monarch Bolt-on to $8,500 for any one of our 6-string Elite instruments. Those would be configured with an excellent top (non-solid on the Elite) and either EMG or Fodera pups.

2. The prices that everyone talks about above those levels are because players choose to add options. Yes, you could argue that stepping up to Fodera / Duncan (or Aero) dual coils is a "necessary option" in order to achieve a desired tone, but even those only add $450 (4-string) or $550 (5 or 6 string) to the Street Price of the instruments.

3. Because our instruments are all unique and handmade, the Street Prices listed in number one above include many possible customizations that are significant extras for other builders...you can choose your neck profile, string spacing, body size, body thickness, etc., all at no additional charge. We routinely have customers come in with their favorite playing bass and say things like, "when you build my bass, I want the neck to be EXACTLY like this one, I want the body to be 1/8" thinner than your normal thickness and I want it to be slightly smaller all around" and we do it...no questions asked, no charge. That is just part of crafting our instruments.

4. Options like solid tops (on our Elite instruments), exotic wood tops, 5-piece necks (or 9 or even 11 piece necks), matching wooden pickup covers, complicated inlays, Brazilian Rosewood FB's, wooden back plates, etc. all make the instruments highly personal, but they do NOT add to their playability and/or tone. Despite this fact, 90% of our customers avail themselves of at least some of these options.

5. In an age mechanization and factory out-sourcing, our custom instruments remain 100% born and bred right here in Brooklyn, NY and the average Fodera still takes over 40 hours of hand time to create. Think about that...GM takes less than 15 hours to build a car and we will spend an average of 40 hours building your bass.

Foderas are not for everyone and that is okay. Foderas cost what they do because of the way they are made and the materials that we use to make them. But the "real" price for a new Fodera to make music is $5,625 - $8,500...not $12,000 or $15,000...unless you want them to be because you are building your dream bass and want it with options that are important to you. Many of our players see working with us to build their dream bass as both a reward for the thousands of hours they spent honing their art as well as the final piece of the puzzle in having an instrument that exactly meets their unique musical needs.

We remain very thankful that we get to work with many wonderful people and that we love what we do...[/quote]

Source: [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9756138&postcount=47"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php...mp;postcount=47[/url]

At the end of the day if you can afford one and you want one then buy it. If not, don't. Nobody forces anyone to buy these things and its rarely a choice between "buy the FOdera" or "give the money to the guy with the SX". To put the prices in comparison:

Edited September 27, 2010 by Mark Latimour

[maxrossell]

[quote name='Mark Latimour' post='969110' date='Sep 27 2010, 08:27 AM']I have to assume:

1. You are very young; and

2. You are not married.


My wife has handbags that range in price from £50 - £2500. She uses them all and she buys them because she enjoys them. I have bass gear that ranges from pedals that cost £30 to basses that cost Fodera like money. I use them all and buy them because I enjoy them. You may think we have "blown" a lot of money on these things, but it doesn't always work that way. You can easily prioritise your life to spend the money on the things that bring you pleasure and avoid spending on things that don't. For example, my wife's car (I don't need to drive) is worth about £100 (seriously), she buys lots of clothing from H&M and Gap. OTOH, I don't buy clothing from theose shops, but I have far less clothes. In the end, its just a matter of how you choose to spend your money. We are comfortable, have savings and give money to charity. We also choose to spend [b]our[/b] money how we want. Get over it.[/quote]

Assume away. So at what age will I start thinking it's okay to spend two months' wages on a small bag to keep keys and lipstick in? Will I come to the realisation as soon as I exchange rings with my spouse, or is it a more gradual thing? And what exactly is the realisation, is it the belief that it's okay to derive pleasure from owning things that are prohibitively and pointlessly expensive, or is it more to do with the value of money becoming relative when you have lots of it?