Fodera Unveils Masterbuilt Series Woodblock Emperor II 5 Elite Bass

Fodera “Woodblock” Emperor II 5 Elite Bass Body

Fodera has unveiled the latest in their Masterbuilt Series with the “Woodblock” Emperor II 5 Elite. Limited to four basses per year, the Masterbuilt series is described as the pinnacle of what their custom shop can produce.

Woodblock was created as a collaborative design with Vinny Fodera and luthiers Vadim Medved and Patrick Blaney, who found inspiration in historic art. “In early 2017, Patrick had brought in some books and images of Japanese Woodblock prints, particularly those of famed artist Toshi Yoshida, and discovered that he and Vinny shared a mutual love for his historic artwork,” Fodera writes. “While Yoshida painted a variety of subjects throughout his career, it was his vibrant landscape prints that inspired our team to create an instrument paying homage to this artistic work. The image that Vinny chose to draw on this instrument was adapted from a photograph taken by Vadim of a Ukrainian Church in his hometown of Kiev. Vadim visits Ukraine often and the area surrounding the church adapted in the drawing is where he was born and raised.”

Fodera picked a Holly top to draw the image on with Prisma colored pencils to replicate color tones from Yoshida’s work. The rest of the bass is built with a walnut body, ash toneblock, 9-piece maple/purpleheart neck, and a Macassar Ebony fingerboard without inlays. It is fitted with a Fodera/Duncan dual coil pickup housed in a Holly pickup cover that continues the top’s image. Furthermore, the Fodera/Pope custom preamp’s controls are tucked inside the control cavity. “Three discreet holes drilled on [the control] cover allow the eq to be set with a small screwdriver,” they explain.

Fingerstyle Sample:

Slap Style Sample:

Fodera’s Masterbuilt “Woodblock” Emperor II 5 Elite is currently available. Pricing and more information are available from Fodera directly.

Fodera’s Masterbuilt “Woodblock” Emperor II 5 Elite Bass Specs:

Strings:5
Scale:34″
Body Shape:Emperor II
Body:Walnut
Toneblock:Ash
Top:Holly
Neck:9-piece Maple / Purple Heart
Fingerboard:Macassar Ebony
Frets:24
Inlays:Blank
Pickup:Fodera / Duncan Dual Coil
Electronics:Fodera / Pope Custom Preamp
Controls:Custom control layout

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