Fodera vs Sadowsky maple fretboard sexiness

[DiMarco]

These are my two main axes.
Which one would you choose?

 

[thodrik]

Both gorgeous but I am very biased towards Sadowsky and both my Sadowskys are sunburst with maple necks...

The figuring on the Fodera neck is very nice too though...

[TheGreek]

Haven't tried either so on aesthetics alone I'd go with the Sadowsky with the smaller body - suggesting "lighter".

[DiMarco]

59 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Haven't tried either so on aesthetics alone I'd go with the Sadowsky with the smaller body - suggesting "lighter".

That is actually an interesting topic. The Sadowsky is indeed lighter, but the Fodera is very resonant and deep sounding (also very loud acoustically) and more responsive where the Sadowsky is more tight sounding. The Fod which I named 'Big Red' because of its massive body makes me come up with lots of bass parts since it is so responsive - it really translates my vibe to music very easily. So which aspect is more important - the weight or the character of the instrument? I guess that's a different story for each musician. For the audience there won't be much difference, only for the musician.

I have only owned the Sadowsky for a couple of weeks now but I really love that instrument, too. It just works well within any setting with its PJ pickups. The red one has a distinct 'Jazz on steroids' kinda tone.

 

Edited March 31, 2021 by DiMarco

[ezbass]

I've played a Sadowsky, but not a Fodera. I'm also not a fan of gold hardware, therefore, if I had to pick one, it would be the Sad. Having said that, one of the few bass tones that have emanated from the TV that has really made me sit up to see what was being used, was a Fodera (Marc van Wageningen with Tower of Power on Later with Jools).

[Hellzero]

Mine (soon for sale) meets the two worlds as it's a 1997 Fodera NYC Empire 5 with a same period Sadowsky preamp. And a fantastic cocobolo fretboard.

[Reggaebass]

4 hours ago, DiMarco said:

the Fodera is very resonant and deep sounding

That’s really interesting, I like Fodera’s but I’ve never pulled the trigger on one because I always thought they were bright sounding, perhaps it’s because all the demos I’ve seen on them tend to emphasise on the highs 🙂

[LukeFRC]

6 hours ago, DiMarco said:

That is actually an interesting topic. The Sadowsky is indeed lighter, but the Fodera is very resonant and deep sounding (also very loud acoustically) and more responsive where the Sadowsky is more tight sounding. The Fod which I named 'Big Red' because of its massive body makes me come up with lots of bass parts since it is so responsive - it really translates my vibe to music very easily. So which aspect is more important - the weight or the character of the instrument? I guess that's a different story for each musician. For the audience there won't be much difference, only for the musician.

I have only owned the Sadowsky for a couple of weeks now but I really love that instrument, too. It just works well within any setting with its PJ pickups. The red one has a distinct 'Jazz on steroids' kinda tone.

 

I love a resonant, acoustically loud bass