Ever since 1983, when Vinny Fodera and Joey Lauricella opened the doors of their first tiny shop in Brooklyn, NY, renowned musicians have travelled from all over the world for the unique quality of Fodera custom made bass guitars. But what is it about Fodera basses that make them so unique?

Jason DeSalvo of Fodera Guitars shares his insight into the top five attributes that make each Fodera instrument a unique work of art.

1. We personalize every custom-made bass.

Every handmade bass crafted by Fodera begins with a thorough discussion of the musician’s technique, style, and tone preferences.

Since different woods and construction methods will result in different sounding instruments, we take the time to explore all of the available options with each musician, making recommendations for the unique combination of specifications and materials that will not only create the desired tone, but will also be the most comfortable feeling instrument that they have ever played.

Many customers bring their instruments to the shop and play for us to give our team an idea of their technique and style. We talk to them about what their current instruments do well, what they don’t do well and other basses they like. Then we work to provide them specifications for a bass that will suit their specific needs.

2. Artisans and musicians collaborate to build our instruments.

From day one, Fodera has been focused on creating instruments that look and sound fantastic.

We have this very unique combination of Vinny Fodera, one of the best craftsmen in the industry and Joey Lauricella, a professional bass player with a phenomenal ear for tone, working together to create custom guitars that are as playable as they are striking.

No matter how aestheticly pleasing the instrument, it takes a player’s perspective and years of hands-on experience to take the instrument to the next level. This factor alone is one of the main reasons why so many people travel from around the world to our shop.

3. Fodera instruments offer countless options for customization.

No two of our handmade bass guitars are exactly alike.

We can customize an instrument based on the types of wood used, scale length, number of frets, neck width, neck shape, body thickness, number of strings and many, many other variables. We build an instrument around what each musician is trying to achieve musically. The result is a level of customization that just can’t be found anywhere else. Our instruments conform to you, NOT the other way around.

4. Multiple neck construction options.

We build our instruments using one of three different methods to attach the neck:

First, there is the traditional bolt-on neck. The next step up in terms of complexity is a dovetail neck joint (used on our "Deluxe" models), in which the neck is glued permanently to the body. Then there is our "Elite" neck, which is one long wooden neck beam that runs the entire length of the instrument. This creates a very distinct tone from that achieved with the traditional bolt on neck.

Although each Fodera is a unique work of art, there is one commonality among them all -- every time we make an instrument, we have one simple goal in mind: to build a bass that looks and sounds great. A bass that players don’t want to put down.

5. Our inlaid Butterfly logo speaks volumes about the pride we take in crafting our instruments.

One of the little details that makes a Fodera special is the inlaid butterfly logo on the headstock of the instrument.

The butterfly logo is what defines each and every Fodera bass as the handmade work of art that it is. Most people are surprised when they find out how extensive the process of creating that logo really is. The process begins with selecting each individual piece of hand cut abalone that will form the butterfly and meticulously matching the pieces so that they look like they have always been part of the same whole. When all is said and done, assembling and inlaying the logo takes approximately four hours from start to finish, which is the amount of time some manufacturers spend building an entire bass!

For more information about Fodera bass guitars, please visit http://www.Fodera.com.