Fender or Fodera.?

[walplayer]

Fender for me . Easy to record ,makes you popular with engineers and producers

[thisnameistaken]

Fender I suppose. I don't like the look of any of the Foderas. Also I've heard Vic Wooten play one and he gets a sh*t sound - what chance have I got?

I don't really trust Fender to make me a nice bass though.

[Fat Rich]

Don't care which as long as I can play bass. They've both got their drawbacks:

Fodera - sounds and feels great but can't do that classic Fender sound that people always seem to want. Plus there's a sort of reverse snobbery about expensive instruments these days.
Fender - never played a five string Fender that I've liked, I like a low B but can live without it.

If I can't sell it or swap and resale value isn't an issue then I don't care, I can get the job done on pretty much anything.

Edited January 27, 2012 by Fat Rich

[BigRedX]

[quote name='funkle' timestamp='1327653056' post='1514671']
Fender. You can take it anywhere, and no-one will look at you oddly. Everyone knows what to expect and what it sounds like. You do want the gig, don't you?
[/quote]

You wouldn't get the gig with a Fender in my band. You probably wouldn't get it with a Fodera either though...

[molan]

As an owner of both I think it's a tough decision

First thing I guess would be that Fodera can make you a bass that sounds like a Fender if you want but then allow i to have a ream of other tonal options as well.

I heard a guy up close recently playing a modern Fodera Emperor 5 string. He really knew his Foderas having used one for years as his main bass and he's a top session player. With a few flicks of switches and adjusting knobs on the bass, plus maybe the odd amp tweaking, he managed to produce a great old sounding P bass growly thump & then all the way up through a 70's J bridge pickup sound to ultra-modern hi-fi jazzy tones.

Certainly my old '86 Monarch can do a pretty good P bass sound with just the neck P pickup in the mix and tone wound back a bit.

However a Fodera is never going to give you that lovely vibe you can get from a truly classic vintage Fender that you know has been around the block a few times & seen loads of gigs.

Of course, with Fodera's history only going back as far as '83 then Fender have a good 20-30 years of additional history behind them to get that vibe. If the question was - a Fender no older than '83 or a Fodera then the Fodera would win every time.

[waynepunkdude]

Fender, no need to have a pretentious bass, just let your playing do the talking.

[funkypenguin]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1327672371' post='1515146']
Fender, no need to have a pretentious bass, just let your playing do the talking.
[/quote]

What makes playing a fender unpretentious?

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='funkypenguin' timestamp='1327674986' post='1515208']
What makes playing a fender unpretentious?
[/quote]

A checkered scratch plate,

[funkypenguin]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1327675091' post='1515212']
A checkered scratch plate,
[/quote]

[mikeh]

Yep, Fender for me too. A nice 'year of birth' 73 Jazz would do nicely.

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='funkle' timestamp='1327653056' post='1514671']
Fender. You can take it anywhere, and no-one will look at you oddly. Everyone knows what to expect and what it sounds like. You do want the gig, don't you?
[/quote]
Not only do I want the gig, I can do without the worry of who's legging it out of the fire exit with my 6 million dollar Fodera when I'm at the gig.
On that basis alone, a Fender. Although perhaps not a particularly mainstream one. Maybe an Urge or Roscoe Beck...

[XB26354]

Fodera AJ for me. Despite the 6 strings and 36" scale it has a fair few similarities to a P-bass.
As the man himself said, if your playing alone doesn't impress, youve had it anyway.

[Jayben]

Fender. I'm a Jazz man, and there's nothing quite like an old Jazz bass for me.. Nom.

[bubinga5]

its seems by a gnats knacker Fender is on top here, if not level pegging, lets face it a Fodera instrument is way better built with more attention to detail, than any Fender... but maybe pushing a bass design to the limits of craftmanship isnt that important to most of us....

i should have polled it... it does say something about the bass playing public in general i think.. no wonder there are so many P bass and Jazz bass copies

Edited January 28, 2012 by bubinga5

[Jayben]

Well, people like to stick with what works for them. And luckily for Fender, both P and J styles tend to work extremely well for a lot of people..

[Bobby K]

Fender, without doubt. Versatile, reliable, always the bass I come back to. Like others have said, it's like coming home

I've no doubt Fodera make wonderful basses, but the all rounder, that started it all, wins for me.

[discreet]

[size=4]Fender! Precision, in particular.[/size]

Everything I don't like about basses, bass-playing and bass players is represented by Fodera.

*Puts on crash helmet, girds loins and hides in shed*

[Bobby K]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1327771102' post='1516563']
*Puts on crash helmet, girds loins and hides in shed*
[/quote]

quality!

(+1 for the Precision!)

Edited January 28, 2012 by Bobby K

[molan]

So I have an audition on Monday & currently weighing up whether to take my trusty old Fodera, a vintage Fender P, my flashy red sparkle Alleva Coppolo P or my relic'd Steed/Fender stack knob J.

Luckily the Ritter is out on loan as that's probably a bit too flash for an audition

May have to try & suss out if the band are 'traditional' Fender/Gibson types or whether I can get away with the Fodera

[bubinga5]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1327774960' post='1516646']
So I have an audition on Monday & currently weighing up whether to take my trusty old Fodera, a vintage Fender P, my flashy red sparkle Alleva Coppolo P or my relic'd Steed/Fender stack knob J.

Luckily the Ritter is out on loan as that's probably a bit too flash for an audition

May have to try & suss out if the band are 'traditional' Fender/Gibson types or whether I can get away with the Fodera
[/quote]i reckon take the Fender Barrie.. see how it pans out...

[molan]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1327777120' post='1516695']
i reckon take the Fender Barrie.. see how it pans out...
[/quote]

Yeah, but which one:

'63 P
'72 P
'73 J
'78 J
'79 PJ

'59 J replica build by Wes Steed (has a Fender neck & decal so just looks like a heavily relic'd J)

Too many choices

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1327771102' post='1516563']
Fender! Precision, in particular.

Everything I don't like about basses, bass-playing and bass players is represented by Fodera.

*Puts on crash helmet, girds loins and hides in shed*
[/quote]

+1. This is wanted i wanted to say, but feared the backlash!!!

[bubinga5]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1327771102' post='1516563']
[size=4]Fender! Precision, in particular.[/size]

Everything I don't like about basses, bass-playing and bass players is represented by Fodera.

*Puts on crash helmet, girds loins and hides in shed*
[/quote]i know where your coming from, but its a shame to blame Fodera, for your own opinions on what you like about bass in music.. some incredible bass lines are played on them....

[bubinga5]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1327777299' post='1516701']
Yeah, but which one:

'63 P
'72 P
'73 J
'78 J
'79 PJ

'59 J replica build by Wes Steed (has a Fender neck & decal so just looks like a heavily relic'd J)

Too many choices
[/quote] good god man youve got too many great basses!!! i would use the 73 jazz... how come we never see pics of these beauties? or have i missed them?

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1327777299' post='1516701']
Yeah, but which one:

'63 P
'72 P
'73 J
'78 J
'79 PJ

'59 J replica build by Wes Steed (has a Fender neck & decal so just looks like a heavily relic'd J)

Too many choices
[/quote]

I would go with the '73 Jazz, probably the most versatile, and also very cool!!!