Low-end Machine Designed for Decades of Performance
Since 1983, Fodera has designed electric bass guitars for top musicians like Anthony Jackson, Victor Wooten, and Oteil Burbridge, and they have poured all their experience and know-how into their Monarch 4 Standard Fretless bass. Designed from the ground up for optimized performance, Fodera instruments use only the highest-quality tonewoods. For flawless playability, this Monarch 4 Standard features a comfortable walnut body, a figured walnut top, and a quarter-sawn, 3-piece white oak neck capped with a breezy, fretless ebony fingerboard. The electronics package includes two Fodera/Duncan Dual-coil pickups and a Fodera/Pope Standard 3-band preamp. You'll savor the Monarch 4 Standard's tight low end, liquid midrange, and perfect amount of high end — equaling a fat, punchy, balanced tone that'll grace any track onstage or in the studio.
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Tonewoods that don't mess around
Custom tonewoods meet professional performance in Fodera's Monarch 4 Standard electric bass. A walnut body combined with a 3-piece, hand-carved white oak neck delivers impeccable sustain, rich resonance, and a slightly compressed midrange. The secret of white oak lies in the minuscule air pockets that result in enhanced growl thanks to their resonating, chamber-like quality. All the while the silky-smooth ebony fingerboard, devoid of intruding frets, ensures you find the fluidity to nail everything from rootsy grooves to high-register solos.
Top-shelf Duncan pickups deliver warm, punchy tone
The Monarch 4 Standard packs a pair of dual-coil pickups Fodera designed in collaboration with Seymour Duncan. They're built with passive dual coils, which integrate with the natural qualities of the tonewoods to produce added punch on the low end, focused mids, and smooth highs. At Sweetwater, we love the sound and responsiveness of these pickups. They deliver a beautifully warm and organic tone; and while the coils are wired in parallel for noise-free performance, you'd swear the Monarch Standard Classic was loaded with single-coils.
Fodera/Pope 3-band preamp offers amazing flexibility
While the basic tone of the Monarch 4 Standard is rich, organic, and nuanced, with powerful lows and clear highs, a Fodera/Pope preamp system lets you craft the ideal tone for any live set or studio session. This preamp ensures a strong and clear signal, but it also comes with an active 3-band EQ, which is astonishingly musical. Round out the highs and boost the bass, and you have an ideal R&B tone. Back off the lows and add a bit of a boost to the mids, and your ideal slap-and-pop tone awaits. What's more, you always have the option of bypassing the active electronics, allowing you to output the purest tone possible from your pickups.
Superior playability, sonics, and build quality
The Fodera Monarch 4 Standard gives you the superior playability, sonics, and build quality of the custom models played by the bass gods who endorse the brand, in a more affordable axe. Crafted with the same materials by the same top luthiers, the Monarch 4 Standard offers no customizable options, allowing it to be built in small runs instead of one-offs, thus holding down the cost. There's over three decades of master craftsmanship behind literally every instrument that leaves the shop, and you'll feel it in every note you play. Take a step up to boutique quality with Fodera. You've arrived.
Fodera Monarch 4 Standard Fretless Bass Guitar Features:
- A handcrafted 4-string bass guitar with active electronics and retro vibe
- Gorgeous figured walnut top delivers excellent looks and tone
- Built by top luthiers using the same materials found in Fodera's custom models
- Comfortable hand-selected walnut body offers impeccable sustain, rich resonance, and a slightly compressed midrange
- Hand-carved 3-piece white oak neck with enhanced resonance and growl
- 34-inch scale length; 24 fret lines
- Ebony fingerboard with fret line inlays
- Fodera/Seymour Duncan dual-coil passive pickups deliver warm and full-bodied tone
- Fodera/Mike Pope active preamp includes a highly musical 3-band EQ
