modulus basses

[fizzogy]

Has anyone owned a modulus bass? What are their pros and cons including but not limited to the graphite neck and chechen (or other man-made) fretboard? I really like the stock bart "J" pups...

[landru64]

i have a quantum 5. it has the EMG soapbars. i have found the barts are more fun to play on by myself but the EMGs seem to cut thru better in the mix. it records very, very well. all in all, i think they're great basses. not sure about the J basses, but the Q5 is a 35" scale and it's a bit of an adjustment since i primarily play 4 string.

[Brian Scherzer]

I owned a Quantum 4 in the past and now regret having sold it. Mine had the soapbars and just wasn't the best blues bass for me at that time. It did everything else great and I may eventually justify the cost of buying another one (used). The neck was very fast and the neck was a pleasure to play on. It was a truly nice bass.

[modulusrules]

I bought a VJ from Mars when they closed down (played that thing for 2 yrs before it happened), and it is the best bass i've ever played. Mine has the barts with volume volume tone setup. The tone cuts even at it's darkest setting (can you say rumble), and goes from smooth and dark to crunchy with a nice growl. I recorded direct with it and came to the conclusion that that was the only way it should be done. Only thing I can say is BUY ONE NOW... They are not used openly very much, but I have heard from many pro bassist that they use them to record. When I was in school I had an instuctor offer to trade me straight for a 70's J and I refused. Bad business move? Maybe, but This bass goes to my kids...

[LL1]

yeah Modulus bass is great in the studio and for the road. One of the best feeling and sounding basses Ive played. I have not played many newer ones but this oldy gets alot of use...Here is my main,,,, guitar players even love it to play on it. :BEER
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n66/sshlann/IMG_0064.jpg

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n66/sshlann/IMG_0008-1.jpg

,,, 84' 5 string Quantum. Graphite neck thru, hand carved graphite bridge. I think the inner is basswood, outer seems to be Rosewood or Paduk maybe? not really sure. Seems oily, open grained and not much finish on the red wood.
Controls are,,
master volume
pickup blend
master passive tone
master EMG-EXB control
two 3 postion switch single coil simulators, one for each pickup.
position 1 is full sound, pos 2 has moderate bass cut to sim single coil, pos 3 is even more drastic.

Pros:Plays fast, smooth and articulate. I like the Lesh, Gordon, Oteil type attack and sound it can give. Does great for just about any style though. Very well balanced and slim contour body. Very road worthy.
Worth finding one to play if you get a chance.

Cons would be it does not feel like a wood neck, if that is one of the things you must have. Less wide of a neck than say a 5str. Fender. All depends on what your looking for. No other seemingly bad issues otherwise and its over 20yrs old. :cool:

[fizzogy]

yeah Modulus bass is great in the studio and for the road. One of the best feeling and sounding basses Ive played. I have not played many newer ones but this oldy gets alot of use...Here is my main,,,, guitar players even love it to play on it. :BEER
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n66/sshlann/IMG_0064.jpg

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n66/sshlann/IMG_0008-1.jpg

,,, 84' 5 string Quantum. Graphite neck thru, hand carved graphite bridge. I think the inner is basswood, outer seems to be Rosewood or Paduk maybe? not really sure. Seems oily, open grained and not much finish on the red wood.
Controls are,,
master volume
pickup blend
master passive tone
master EMG-EXB control
two 3 postion switch single coil simulators, one for each pickup.
position 1 is full sound, pos 2 has moderate bass cut to sim single coil, pos 3 is even more drastic.

Pros:Plays fast, smooth and articulate. I like the Lesh, Gordon, Oteil type attack and sound it can give. Does great for just about any style though. Very well balanced and slim contour body. Very road worthy.
Worth finding one to play if you get a chance.

Cons would be it does not feel like a wood neck, if that is one of the things you must have. Less wide of a neck than say a 5str. Fender. All depends on what your looking for. No other seemingly bad issues otherwise and its over 20yrs old. :cool:

thanks for your imput- that's a freakin sweet guitar! I have a carvin 5 string I bought used with barts - a hum & j - and I love it. It's tricky having the action low enough and not getting too much slap sound playing the B string with intensity. I've heard on more than one occasion that modulus basses are known for playing really tight and focused- even the B string. I have my eye on a genesis model with barts- 2 j's - cedar neck/chechen fretboard. I don't know why, but I've always wanted a modulus- particularly a genesis. They're definately a pretty penny, but so far everyone has said that they're road worthy....would you mind expounding on that?

[dave19er]

I've had mine for about 12 years. It's got the EMGs. I love it - it always plays amazing, no dead spots, never have to worry about how humidity affects the neck, stays in tune forever. Just an all around great bass. And the tone really cuts through. I will say, though, that depending on the gig, the tone isn't always what I'm looking for. For the classic rock stuff, I do tend to use my Jazz basses, but for everything else, I pretty much use this.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/216/513163129_c8c9194353.jpg

[ghoti]

Like everything else, some like them, others don't. I think they might be a bit of an acquired taste -- I don't really care for the feel of the graphite necks and the one I played in the store had a sound that was quite decent but not (to my ears) worth the price they wanted for it.

Some people just love them though, and the pictures in this thread are pretty :dude

[dave19er]

I don't really care for the feel of the graphite necks

I was concerned about that before I ordered mine, but I went and played a few, and realized that all you feel on most bass necks - wood or otherwise - is the lacquer. You never feel the wood (unless it's an oil finish or totally worn) - honestly, my modulus neck has a much nicer feel than the thick poly lacquer on my '77 Jazz. I think it's mostly psychological, really - it looks cold and black, so it feels that way (cold, not black). I think people just connect more with wood - it's warm and natural. But have you ever played a Rainsong carbon fiber guitar? They sound amazing. I've always wanted one. But everytime I go to buy an acoustic, I end up with a Martin. Why? Well, I think they sound better, but I think a big part is just the natural wood connection.

I'll stop rambling now.

[frankencat]

I never owned one but I played one regularly when I filled in for the bass player at church for about a year and that was THE nicest bass I have ever played. It was a 4-string Flea graphite. Total awesome haven't touched one like it since :)