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At a crossroads with my Modulus...

B

bobbykokinos

Dec 2, 2004
1,882
4
#1
I had a gig tonight. Usually I take my Lakland 5501 to jazz gigs but tonight I brought my Modulus Q6. My Modulus is a sweet spot with turbo option (extra pickup between the SS and bridge). For the life of me, I just could not get the sound out of it that I wanted. It was just very thin sounding. I know the 5501 isnt top of the line, but it just had a way more thick sound that the Modulus did.

Maybe I'm having a hard time convincing myself that I like the sound of a $700 bass more than a $3000+ bass. I've had my Q6 since 1996 and I'll never get rid of it but the sound I'm getting out of it just isnt pleasant anymore.

Right now it has barts in it with a bart preamp. Is there anything I can do to "spruce" up the sound a bit or am I realizing the limitations of a graphite neck??

What is a bigger factor? The fact that basically has no neck pickup or the graphite neck??

Any help?? Again, I'll never get rid of this bass but I need to do something to it. I hate to have an expensive bass here and not play it.
 
#3
It's not the limitations of the graphite neck, but of the Modulus itself. I owned a Quantum 5 for a couple of months and at first, was enamored with it. It was really solid, and I brought it with me all over the place. At one point, I had my Sterling with me and was playing with an ensemble. I plugged the Sterling in and immediately turned heads. After, I was pretty much told not to bring the Quantum again. I decided to A/B the basses after and man, the Modulus just had no punch/character at all. It was a very clean sounding bass, but it really did not have any of the sonic characteristics of a special instrument. Fast forward a couple of months later and now I own a Zon Legacy Elite 5. To put it simply, the bass blows the Modulus out of the water. It also has Bartolini pickups.

I think for the most part... the Bartolini pickups enhance the overall quality of the instrument for better or worse. My Zon has a Mahogany body with a Spalted maple top. It sounds very smooth, and warm but can dial in cutting highs for slap. Again, the Bartolini setup, with a bit of tweaking brings out those characteristics.

In your situation I would look into swapping the pickups with some Nordstrands. Maybe even consider swapping the preamp as well if it is also the Bartolini preamp. Ever thought of an Audere setup? Or if you want something really unique, you can get Sadowsky soapbars (if they fit) and the Sadowsky preamp.
 
#4
fraublugher said:
i played a modulus for over ten years , and when i went back to wood i figured it out , it's like vinyl and digital.
it's the graphite , it doesnt respond like wood , almost as if every note is an open note.
my $0.02
Click to expand...

Sadly, I think I'm coming to this conclusion. I love the way the neck feels, I love that the neck never moves, I love the sustain, I love the low B.. I just don't like the sound of the bass.

I'd even go as far to say I enjoy the sound of my $400 Schecter California Custom 4 over the Modulus..

:(
 
#5
Marcus Alan said:
In your situation I would look into swapping the pickups with some Nordstrands. Maybe even consider swapping the preamp as well if it is also the Bartolini preamp. Ever thought of an Audere setup? Or if you want something really unique, you can get Sadowsky soapbars (if they fit) and the Sadowsky preamp.
Click to expand...

You are exactly right when you say that it has no punch. Actually, I was playing it tonight up by the neck and thinking to myself "Geeze, this sounds like someone walking a bass line on a B3".. It has no tone or "grit" to it. It was just pitches coming out. Does that make sense?

I talked to the folks at Nordstrand and I believe they were out of the pickups that would fit.. I havent considered an Audere yet but have heard great things about them..
 
#6
I know exactly how you feel. If you really are opposed to selling the bass, I would really recommend waiting for Carey Nordstrand to make pickups for your bass. Audere makes a very nice preamp that can achieve a great variety of tones with the z-switch. It's very transparent. I've coupled an Audere pre in the past with Nordstrand single-coils and had great results. Again, the one thing that bugs me about Modulus basses is that they really lack character. It produces the sounds of a bass, but not "the" sound.
 
#7
Pickups won't make a difference. The placement of the pups is your problem. With both your pups so close to the bridge you'll never get a round sound like you get from a bass with pups located in more of a Fender placement. As it is now, your Mod has the perfect recipe for a thin tone.
 
#8
Peter Parker said:
Pickups won't make a difference. The placement of the pups is your problem. With both your pups so close to the bridge you'll never get a round sound like you get from a bass with pups located in more of a Fender placement. As it is now, your Mod has the perfect recipe for a thin tone.
Click to expand...

The thing that gets me is even when I solo the sweet spot pickup, I still get a pretty thin tone. I played several basses that has pickups in similar positions (MM, Modulus Flea, etc..) and none of them sounded so thin.

For reference, here is a pic:
Link Removed
 
#9
I think you buy a Modulus for the "no hassle" neck, not the overall tone. They are a bit dry sounding, but wouldn't say that a wood neck bass sounds better. Very different, however. I've heard and played many that sounded amazing, but probably weren't cut out for every situation. Otiel B. always made his sound great as does David Schools from Widespread Panic. Tone is in the hands, so maybe your hands just don't happen to be the best fit for the bass. Heck, that's happened to me before.
 
#10
steve4765630 said:
Tone is in the hands, so maybe your hands just don't happen to be the best fit for the bass. Heck, that's happened to me before.
Click to expand...

You know, this very well could be.. But, I've had the bass for 11 years now so I think I've had enough time to figure out how to pull out "its" tone. The big thing, though, is the fact that I come to the conclusions above the more I play OTHER basses..

So, as much as I agree that tone is in the hands, the surrounding factors leads me to believe its actually the bass itself.
 
#11
I find Mod sound thin compared to other brands even when the pups located in more traditional locations. Still, your SS pup looks to be a good 1.5/2" back from where it would be on a traditional design. I'd probably add another Bart right where the neck ends and have a 3 pup bass. that would be pretty cool and should give you a much fatter sound.
 
#12
Peter Parker said:
I find Mod sound thin compared to other brands even when the pups located in more traditional locations. Still, your SS pup looks to be a good 1.5/2" back from where it would be on a traditional design. I'd probably add another Bart right where the neck ends and have a 3 pup bass. that would be pretty cool and should give you a much fatter sound.
Click to expand...

Man, thats a different look :)

Link Removed
 
#13
bobbykokinos said:
You know, this very well could be.. But, I've had the bass for 11 years now so I think I've had enough time to figure out how to pull out "its" tone. The big thing, though, is the fact that I come to the conclusions above the more I play OTHER basses..

So, as much as I agree that tone is in the hands, the surrounding factors leads me to believe its actually the bass itself.
Click to expand...

I hear ya. Who knows. It sounds like you're ready to move on to another bass. I had that experince recently with a bass of 8 years. I just dug other basses more, so I sold it.
 
#18
PocketGroove82 said:
moduluses have always sounded overly bright to me, with piano like tones. but this can be tamed, rounded, and warmed up with the right amp/eq.
Click to expand...

+ 1

I thought my Status was a bit "thin" sounding until I tweaked the bass boost a bit. I was so used to leaving preamps flat I never really played with it, but a touch of bass boost added a whole world of bottom and punch.
 
#19
I always thought my older Modulus was dull and dry until I started use halfwound D'Addario strings. Though, I don't think they make those anymore :( Mine had the EMGs in the normal locations. I've always thought that the Modulus I have played with the wooden fingerboards have sounded better than those without.
 
#20
bobbykokinos said:
You are exactly right when you say that it has no punch. Actually, I was playing it tonight up by the neck and thinking to myself "Geeze, this sounds like someone walking a bass line on a B3".. It has no tone or "grit" to it. It was just pitches coming out. Does that make sense?

I talked to the folks at Nordstrand and I believe they were out of the pickups that would fit.. I havent considered an Audere yet but have heard great things about them..
Click to expand...

Bobby

I've been in your shoes bro! IME with Modulus - Quilt maple/chechen board/bart/bart and walnut/chechen/EMG/EMG - By far my best tone has come from EMG bass. That is, after I pulled out the preamp and started playing in a v/v/t configuration (with a kill switch to save battery and fill the fourth hole). This was a really fantastic solution to the problems I was having, which I think might be similar to yours - the bass sliced through the mix instead of punching and ripping and all that. Pulling the pre added some punch, more "meat" to the tone especially on the pridge pup.

So if your head wasn't spinning enough here's another option - go passive.
 

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