Fodera Reveals James Genus Emperor 5 Elite Bass

Fodera James Genus Emperor 5 Elite Bass

Fodera has teamed up with bassist James Genus to release a new signature model of their Emperor 5 Elite bass. Genus, who has worked with the top names in jazz and is currently the house bassist for Saturday Night Live, worked with the company to make the bass comfortable and tonally versatile.

“The James Genus Signature Emperor is designed to offer players a go-to bass, able to cover a wide variety of styles and tones,” Fodera writes. “It has also been specifically designed with comfort in mind giving players a broken-in and familiar feel right out of the case. Blending features from two of his past Foderas, this signature model is the culmination of many smaller details leading up to a simple yet feature-packed bass.”

The comfort factor was achieved by reducing the ash body thickness to 1.5 inches while further rounding the body edges. Its three-piece maple neck has a thin profile for faster playing and the end of the pau ferro fingerboard is rounded, which offers extra room and a smoother surface for slapping. The side dot inlays are extra large aluminum dots for better visibility.

The body’s curly maple top is punctuated with a pair of Fodera/Duncan dual coil pickups to suit Genus’s sound. “[The] pickups were chosen for their growl and vintage correct J-bass tone,” the company explains. “Overall the pickups are placed further towards the neck achieving a fuller sounding bridge pickup tone while also providing a deep neck pickup tone. Paired with our Fodera Custom Preamp, this bass can be dialed in for just about every musical setting or situation.”

The James Genus Emperor 5 Elite is available for pre-order now with a list price of $9,950.

Fodera James Genus Emperor 5 Elite Bass Specs:

Scale:Available in 36″ (James Genus spec) or 34″ scale lengths
Body:Ash with Maple Toneblock
Top:Curly Maple
Neck:3-Piece Maple
Fingerboard:Pau Ferro
Frets:24
String Spacing:19mm
Fret Markers:Mother of Pearl Dot Inlays
Side Inlays:Aluminum
Headstock Inlay:Modern Wooden Butterfly
Pickups:Fodera / Seymour Duncan Dual Coil
Electronics:Fodera 3-band Custom Preamp
Hardware:Gold
Finish:Vintage Tint

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