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Today was a return visit to Fodera. Four basses were on their way back home to get a little TLC -- two of Anthony's (the Fodera Imperial and the blonde Fodera Emperor), my Fodera and Rob's 5 string. Rob joined me, as well as a friend from work. This was my second trip to see Joey and Vinnie. The previous time was a pretty darn incredible experience, and, while I was hoping this trip would be good, I didn't think it would be quite as good as the last time.
We got there a bit late (traffic around Statten Island), and Joey was already working on some other items in the shop. First off, he worked on Rob's bass. The pickup covers exposed the magnet poles, but that can lead to a buzzing when you dig into the strings and the strings come near the poles, it can lead to a harsh song. Joey replaced the pickup covers with a solid face one, which should take care of this problem. While he was doing this, he told us about the history of the bass. It seems it was built for a session musician who wanted the ability to swap the neck from fretted to fretless at will. He then sold it on E*Bay to a gentleman out in Hawaii (who, in turn, sold it to Rob). And, as a side note, it turns out that the Fodera that Joey plays is the same model and type that Rob plays.
Once the pickup covers had been changed, Joey dressed and treated the fretboard. Next on the list was setting up Rob's bass. Since he had bought it second-hand, it had never really been set up to his style of playing. Joey and Rob worked on it for a bit, and I have to say it has never sounded better.
Having finished Rob's basses, it was Anthony's turn. The Imperial was taken up to change the chips in the pre-amp to a more battery conserving form. The Emperor, on the other hand, had been eating batteries at a remarkable clip -- like one set per month (a more typical rate might be about a minimum of eight to ten weeks when playing heavily. Joey swapped out the pre-amp for a new one.
My baby went on the block next. The main reason why I took the bass up to the shop this time was to get the back of the headstock treated. Over the years, I have had two artists sign the back of the peghead on my main bass. It's been a while, and I can see that the signatures have started to fade. How much of that is due to time passing and how much of that is due to the ink being rubbed off is unknown, but I thought getting it protected can only be a good thing. The last time I went up to the shop, Joey told me they could do it, but I'd have to leave my bass with them for a few days. At the time, I didn't have the opening in my schedule such to allow that kind of down time. That's not an issue now, so I can leave it with them for a few weeks. I also asked them to take a look at the top few frets on the neck, as I think they might be a little seperated from the fretboard. I'll head back up to Brooklyn in a few days to pick it back up.
Joey also looked up the build info on my bass. It was completed on October 1, 1996 for Venneman's in Rockville MD. The top is quilted maple with a mahogany body (and spot of walnut here and there); the fretboard is ebony.
Posted by Casper at June 28, 2004 04:45 PM