Body: | Handselected 1 piece extra lightweight swamp ash. Semi hollow |
Top: | Figured maple |
Neck: | 3 piece hardrock maple |
Fingerboard: | Bird's eye maple |
Construction: | Bolt On |
Frets: | 24 |
Pickups: | Fodera-Duncan Dual coil x2 |
Electronics: | Mike Pope Standard Preamp, Active-Passive |
Controls: | Volume, Tone, Balance, 3 band EQ, Active-passive switch, SingleCoil-Humbucker switch |
Weight: | 3.58kg |
Neck width at nut (mm): | 39 |
String spacing at the bridge (mm): | 19 |
Scale (inches): | 34 |
More: | Fodera hardcase included |
In this case this is a Standard Special instrument and this means that some special specs have been added to the basic model, making it much more special. In this case a special top was chosen: figured walnut.
These are the special specs that we chose for this bass:
- One piece extra lightweight swamp ash body
- Semihollow body to reduce the weigth and add resonance
- Handpicked figured walnut top (we chose this one among many others)
- Bird's eye fingerboard
- Vinnie Fodera and Joey Lauricella's signature at the back of the headstock
- Black hardware
The swamp ash body and bolt on maple neck is a perfect platform for a very clear and deep sound. The beautiful bird's eye fingerboard is a joy to play and it adds extra clarity to every single note.
We simply love these Fodera/Duncan custom pickups. In Single Coil Mode they really sound and behave as Singles because they are. We have tested a lot of basses with splitable humbuckers where the Single Coil sound was not so good. These are simply impressive. Of course the humbucker mode is also really nice, adding an extra modern character to the sound. The bridge unit has the right amount of midrange that makes it perfect for soloing. The neck pickup is as warm and woody as it gets. Blending both pickups yields an incredibly full sound with just the right amount of bite and detail.
Of course, the Mike Pope Standard Preamp is the perfect match for these pickups. All 3 bands do what they are meant to do in a very musical manner. You get deep yet clear lows, incredibly detailed midrange and smooth highs. We love the fact that the Passive Tone works both in Passive and Active modes. This preamp works at 18 Volts so there's extra headroom in case you need to boost the lows and really dig in when playing. A clean sound is warrantied at all times because of this feature. cool.
The whole bass feels and plays like a dream and we can't stress that enough.
The perfect fretjob and special Fodera bridge mean you can get an incredibly low action with no fretbuzz. This means you can use just about any technique on this bass effortlessly. If you've ever attempted to play a particularly demanding technique on your bass and have quit because it was too hard, just try that on a Fodera bass and you'll be surprised at how much easier it is to play. This is a real game changer.