TECH Hybrid Horizons Inside The New Fodera/Anthony Ja Contrabass Guitar kson Presentation Il Pacts ANTHONY JACKSON'S DOGGED DETERMINATION TO REALIZE (AND LATER, STANDARDIZE) HIS Areaminstrument, he stringcontranass guitar, survived eslydotractore Relucrant builders, closed-minded producers andengineers, threstened to end the vision. That all changed upon and doubting poets —not to mention numerous isal and design dead ends teaming with Podera Basses in 1986. But while the 27-year union hes led to « half-dozen aucceanfl instruments, inducing Jed "No, 10," which Anthony has played exclusively since 1996, he has sintaited his tteless focus whe it comes to refining improving ane evolving his invention, The same an be said of Foders founders and builders Vinny Fodera and Joey Lautiella and parcner Jason ‘So when this talente, titanurn-grade think tank set out to create anew Fdera/Jackson Presentation model, musical and technological boundaries were sre tabe challenged, stretched, and redefined. Wehended averta Fler: shop in Sunsat Pat, Brock’, Desalwe toget an nsidelookcat the new Fodera/Jsckeon Presenttion I Anthony, what led you to decide it was time for a new contrabass guitar? ‘Anthony Jackson Iypt very lucky with No. 10, vhichTweplayedicnger than any other instrument —17 years: [Note:Nb.7, 101968, wasthefirs: Preseneaion mode Llexmed 2 great dealabout the corcect way todesign and enhance the instrument. But then atime comes when you cant make an improvement by simply turning a screw a quarter ofan inch—bigger things have to happen, andl you start 22 fala arninginside about some kind af sucesso: While tryingt puta few ideas on paper, Vinrytold me he'd keto try tbl ll hollonbody version, onathst would kep allehebostqualitiosof my clidbody Pracontation medol butaddmore of n scousticcharactar bassplayer.comRegarding the simple but elegant ‘hand-carved holly top, Jackson says, ‘What inspires plicity—simple iaterials cuperbly selected and taste fully finished. That oes back to the instrument having ne proamp circuit ‘and one properly placed pickup. 1 want the fancine to come when Iplay it and you heart.” Vinny had the idea to. from the ait vibrating in the chamber, and itis more eesonant then ‘Numbers 7, 8and 9, butitsno: a asticute fora full hollowboeyy What was the main challenge? {AJ To getboth the wooden, warm, resonant sound of an acoustic instrument with the response, eveness, custain, and string sound af amber No, 10 to got bit more weed sound _olidbody, Ifyou think ofa cell, the resonance occurs when energy from the strings conducted into the bedy; the body resonates and Araws energy out ofthe string. IFyou can continually feed energy into the string, as you do withabo, then sustain ino problem. Bat you pluck a note, pizzicato-style, it dies right away. Thebody sso resonant it doesnt alow the energy ofthe plucked string okeep the body vbvating. ma sustain fanatic, sowensedd thisinetrument 0 havo enough oustainrosatiegyme, whi thle wooden charac still having cleny discs 1. To achieve a balance between the two was @ very difficult, expensive, long process; and while itis compromise, 1tS a glorious compromise ‘What was your reaction when youfirstplayed inthe shop, and then on a gig with Mike Stern soon after? [AB Uke instanty it was a successful design, which was both 2 sense of rlieFand amsjorvctory. The Stern gig was when ivan able exam, andit to realy relax, because that was the fall-out doctrat passed with fying colors it was amazing! Thad a richer plex soané than anything 'veheard in abass guitar. ts louder,espe- dallyinthemiddleand upper register the sound caries asbeantifuly up thete a it does down lar. When you ge farther up the neck, the strings got thicker and chorter, and normally thee idel charactor {stice go away On thisinstrument ly on the middle four stringsin from the 6th to 14th frets, but all he way up—the no retain their sweet, rich character and touch and sustain. Coupled with the heel-ess access, it never feels or sounds like youite nearing the end ofthe fingerboard. Overall, the sound of wood is there isthe sound ofa ste] roundiound string, but it rcher than Ws the sound ofthe wood and metal together, which was the go ‘You've since used it on tour with the Michel Camilo 1 Band and on recordings with Wayne Krantz and with Mi ‘Stern and Jeff Richman, AJTve offcialyrtired No, 10,and Te been traveling with Presentation Il Thathas requited abit of tweaking, athe inst ‘ment is still breaking in on its way to stabilizing eventually.” ‘main agjustment factor for me is the neck, Ids thebigaest vee played, but the sound and consistancy make it worth my wh had my Meyer Sound system with Michel, which gave me truest live sound, and the studio session for Miko Steen and! Richman, i particular—whore the inatrmont was optimally up—was very revealing, Ivent straight tothe board, andno ‘as used on the tracks. The Presentation {Thad excellent defi ton, with a very strong butight bottom end, ane lots ofsust @ srecirications ANTHONY JACKSON PRESENTATION II Inetramont type 6-rring contrabass hybrid Scale longth 36° Body size 18” wid, 4" thiek Neck width 2.31 at nut: 406" at end of fingsroard Frets 25 Finier Acrylic ones Pickup Seyrrour Duncan Dual Coll Strings Fodera Anthory Jackson Sigrature Set (Other Ttanium tuners, O-:Lner bricae, and trussed FODERA 60. bassplayer.com /and wood, twas success. thathethought would benefit froma moreaccust fal playingitwith fingers squnding instrament: That sparked the ea. M and very suecesefulusing required shore-scalebass, with a small, thinbo apicjthere wasnosenae | andelectronics onboard Weallied the rosulte,a ff thinness or excessive | it led me to think I could apply some of the pr brightness. It balanced | ciples wo Anthony's Presentation series. We agze beautifully, Alloftherust | so go Forward with a 36™scale hybrid that alor cians, expecially the ones _| time client ordeved, essentially funding the ic whom Iwork with regu- | and understanding it would be a prototype. 1 lary bavenoticedthe dit | bess wae very cloas tohitting the mark, excapt ference immediately body as tle too wide for Anthony; he asked Going forward, what | the third hybrid |counting Garrison's bass] to he ‘are your thoughts? the same body profile as his No. 10 solidbedy, Adhe Presentation It | | changed the internal structure accordingly, w fedofnitely handful, an | even hetterresules Anthonylikensit t going fr armfulyalapiul.Butifthe | an upright piano to.a grand piano; i's very pat effortisputin itwillgive | like and very responsive, with avich, round, de you back so much capa has the quid feel, reaction, and arti lation youget from a solidbody. Other than thee pssive pickup to amplity the strings, she inst ment’ tone is purely intrinsic What can you offer about your propriets bracing and neck joint? VE The bracing io something we want oxpl move before we discuss it. The design will get thecesoon enough for players andbullderstoexa fs fine, We deliberately kept the bod lated, sesled ox, with no f-noles or ports, so bass wouldn't feed back at high volume With thie type of bracing,» JOEY LAURICELLA The mstrument wes a xo have a friend over sre re. evn Sell SESW Durcen mace an arene ik ‘ne we cut apart 0 fp $2000 nsurreneBito ctcre| From top loft: bility s.aporforming artist: The timing was right Vinay Fedora, forwhat Vinny, Joey, Jason, andl envsioned:the | Jason DESALVO) Joey Leuricella, fact that Foderaalloyed me to indulge my wildest | ‘Thellguheh poins was Fedctes 2011 Carctimply, Anthony esme up ant Jason DeSalvo, and ideas is absolutely spectacular. Uswithout doubt | put hisargweround Vinys, Joey, and me, endiaaie, "it's tims te work on No.1 fAhony Jackson, amajorachevementin ny secondary only(© |W UW Rjideercep you have” Tht wos he cae. yore wor} hed vot ter when est sung up wa ware tla Vin hol Pye es, tole end Anthony sled on, We oi ou The trent 9 whole fore fore 10 wih mor avons mers evens, more oxpananecs.Tparphaaghligel om Ths Sens Top.no aces to ‘my highpoints asa player. Vinny, what led you to think about this Kind of design? ‘Vinny Federa Mat arrizon approached me 2006 about a hellowedy bass forsome projects G2 bassplayerscomsa very acoustic sound, but with alot of susta ad punch. The carved-out neck joint is heel-ess; Jat came from the single-cutaway solidbody I frst ime up with in the 80s, at Anthony's prodding, nthony has golden care, io a studied perfection ts and always pushes me with aspects of design I ouldn't think of, That's why wemake a great team. Let's talk about the woods involved. ‘VE We opted for alder as the main body wood: hae. nice bace tone, ie etractarally cound and able, and it finishes well. The bracing inside had ‘be a dry, resonant wood; [ went with Honduras u can ever replace the solidbody bass guitar it's 10 good, too practical, ané too versatile But now lere’s a choice for those who want something in stweon an acoustic and.an lectric sound, and we'll sep exploring it. BP “Jackson checks in on the | Pyotentstion It build Detail ofthe alder body and holly top and bock.