I think that pretty much says what is going on. No way they would not start/finish a bass unless something was up. Not good IMO.
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Is Modulus still in Business?
- Thread starter Baird6869
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I think that pretty much says what is going on. No way they would not start/finish a bass unless something was up. Not good IMO.
You would think Modulus would want to post an official statement regarding this entire debacle. But who knows?
WRONG!
Actually, Modulus' SAP implementation went terribly, their whole supply chain and distribution was effected and now hence, they are having problems.
Ahh yes, the dreaded DB3 to Foxpro conversion - gets 'em every time!
They probably CAN'T right now for legal or other reasons - I'm sure there will be an official announcement at some point soon. They haven't posted or responded to anything on their facebook page since early January, and you know what that means.... Nothing at all!
Has anyone else thought that perhaps a lot of what is going on between Modulus and Bass Central might be a payment problem between the two companies?
Perhaps Modulus has to restructure largely because there was a lot of non-custom product sent to distributors like Bass Central that was never sold/paid for? I think it is fairly common for high end bass builders to send non-custom builds out basically on consignment. Modulus may not get paid completely until the basses are sold and I am sure they don't get all the money up front for a custom build either.
If Modulus had a cash flow issue due to large amounts of unsold stock and was leaning more heavily on distributors like BC to pay up it would partially explain why BC put the notice up about Modulus no longer taking orders or making basses. The "Modulus is no longer in business" notice (which seems inaccurate at the very least) certainly helped them clear out all the basses they had in stock (despite also jacking the price up). Funny how the "no longer in business" notice was removed after the instruments were sold.
I see it as a good sign that BC gave the customer a refund for the bass ordered in late Dec. and don't see where it indicates any problem with Modulus beyond what we already know... they are restructuring and are trying to get caught up with work already under way. The fact that they hadn't started to build the bass that was ordered in December does not mean they intended to cancel the order, just that the customer would have to wait longer which they no longer wanted to do after finding a similar build currently available elsewhere.
Like everyone else here I still am not 100% sure what is going on over at Modulus but I don't think the company is going out of business. Based on what I have read in this thread I would still buy another Modulus bass but doubt it would be from Bass Central.
Well Guitar Center owes Fender a small fortune, maybe something similar is happening to Modulus and they can't operate because of it.
In the retail world it typically works like this: Retailer orders product, vendor supplies product, vendor mails invoice often with payment terms ot Net 10 days or Net 30 or whatever, meaning retailer has that long to pay, retailer waits until net period is near end to maximize invested dollar, then dealer pays invoice.
It is very easy for a retailer to get behind if they choose, they just stop paying. They already have the goods.
In the retail world it typically works like this: Retailer orders product, vendor supplies product, vendor mails invoice often with payment terms ot Net 10 days or Net 30 or whatever, meaning retailer has that long to pay, retailer waits until net period is near end to maximize invested dollar, then dealer pays invoice.
It is very easy for a retailer to get behind if they choose, they just stop paying. They already have the goods.
You are correct. Of course, "out of production" and " not taking orders" are two different things. Any manufacturer that ceases to create its product will soon cease to be in business....doesn't matter which product.
Actually this bass is light and very resonant, my Q6 is alot heavier than my TBX.
It was really strange because when Joe called me he said after his tech had got the bass all set up and strung and was playing on it he thought the bass sounded incredible and had called Joe to tell him about it and Joe calls me and ask me if he could have the bass for an extra couple of days so he could play on it and I said sure, Joe calls me back 2 days later and tells me that the bass sounds awesome and he felt that there was something very special about the bass and it was one of the best sounding TBX basses he had ever played, he wasn't sure if it happened to be the piece of figured Koa with the alder body and the graphite running thru or what, so when I received the bass from Joe I played on it and it definitely sounded incredible, I love it even better than my Q6.
The reason I didn't want to have a complete wood top was that Joe and I had spoken about this numerous times before and we came to the conclusion that when you have a full wood top and you are looking at the bass it looks like a Quantum unless you happen to turn to the side and see the graphite running thru the body, Joe and I thought the graphite running thru the middle in the front showed that it was a TBX thru-body and honestly the graphite thru the body from the front also looks pretty KILLER to me.
I've been talking to Joe about a fretless TBX, and I would most likely do the same thing also.
One very COOL thing Joe did for me also was the front of the bass is gloss, the back body wings are gloss, but the back of the entire neck is satin including the control cavity plate is done in satin not to mention in graphite also.
I have a friend of mine that is going to take some really serious looking pics this Saturday or Sunday and as soon as I get the pics I will post them here on TB, it will show all the nice detailing of the bass from front to back.
You can't tell from the lame shots I posted but the Koa has alot of flame figuring in it, it's pretty serious.
For a small mom and pop shops , yes. This is correct. For a mid to large business not really. Almost all mid- large retailers deal through flooring companies. So the vendor is paid immediately unless there is a dispute.
The retailer then pays the flooring co as time goes on, in part or in full keeping their cash flow for inventory separate from their operating budgets.
Same with the makers, they generally work with a line of credit with a bank to buy materials and machines and keep the operations and savings separate.
All runs really well and capital flows.. But if the credit, flooring, bank or whatever gets nervous for whatever reason, they can immediately stop the flow and demand the co to payoff, pay down the line. This can be devastating or destroy the company.. Daddy's is a prime example of this.
In retail they are called usually called"factors". (Flooring being from Floor Plan, for auto and equipment dealers) Factors take the credit risk off the mfg'er. For a % of the revenue. In the old Bain and other docs on GC, there were some factors mentioned. But also direct obligations to Fender. Really big mfg'ers,often factor themselves
Signed. Guy who owns retail stores and has done factoring
If someone like GC is not paying there will be a lawsuit eventually. Somehow I don't think this is the case
Signed. Guy who owns retail stores and has done factoring
If someone like GC is not paying there will be a lawsuit eventually. Somehow I don't think this is the case
Off track here but I believe they can change the width of the neck in a mold with shims, So that would explain having one mold. What I don't get is if its a quantam neck what is the difference between a right-handed and a left-handed neck besides side markers? Are their necks asymetrical and I never noticed?
I love both my Modulii (***?) their Customer Service breaks my heart.
I checked Snopes and there's nothing there. They must still be in business. 
Sad though. In 1994 I bought an Ibanez bass with a FACTORY Modulus neck. Never seen one before or after (regret selling it everyday). I emailed Modulus about it and got an almost instant response. Sad to hear that's not the case any more.
Sad though. In 1994 I bought an Ibanez bass with a FACTORY Modulus neck. Never seen one before or after (regret selling it everyday). I emailed Modulus about it and got an almost instant response. Sad to hear that's not the case any more.
I think flea really only plays his Modulus' live. Saw him last year and that's all he played all night.
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