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Learning about graphite necks

#21
Lesfunk said:
Status-graphite make the best in the business
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Agree. They are well built and are nicely shaped necks. Impeccable fret work too. I've had several Status, Modulus and played a Moses and would them in the same order for my preference.

I weighed a fretless status without tuners and compared to a fretted single piece maple Precision neck it weight a few ounces more. So a fretted neck will be just a bit heavier.
 
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#22
I have two Statii and three Modulii 5-strings. CF necks are extremely stable (all but four of them have a truss) and have great sustain. Both of my Statii are headless through-necks and are extremely light and comfortable to play.
 
#23
Gilmourisgod said:
Most of the Fender style Modulus necks with a full headstock I've played were significantly heavier than stock wood necks, and therefore neck divers. The newer versions may be lighter, if so I haven't seen one yet. If you have a well balanced bass, it's not a problem, but Jazz basses in particular tend to be neck heavy already. I've never played a Status headless, I assume they are well balanced. With headless designs like a Steinberger, it's often the other way around, they are body-heavy, which is as annoying for seated practice as a neck diver.
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I have two Fender Geddy Lee bodies with Modulus jazz necks on them and two Modulus Vintage Jazz basses. None of them are any heavier than standard Fender Jazz basses. I have a stock Fender Geddy Lee Jazz that weighs 10 pounds and all of my other basses with the Modulus necks are around the same weight or less. None of them have neck dive.
 
#24
Gilmourisgod said:
Most of the Fender style Modulus necks with a full headstock I've played were significantly heavier than stock wood necks, and therefore neck divers. The newer versions may be lighter, if so I haven't seen one yet. If you have a well balanced bass, it's not a problem, but Jazz basses in particular tend to be neck heavy already. I've never played a Status headless, I assume they are well balanced. With headless designs like a Steinberger, it's often the other way around, they are body-heavy, which is as annoying for seated practice as a neck diver.
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I've heard this about the old fender headstock modulus necks but you are talking about a design that hasn't existed for almost 30 years. The modern modulus necks are hollow shells and very light, at least as light as wood if not lighter. The 4 modulus basses I own have zero neck dive. And they are all within 9.5 pounds.
aproud1 said:
Agree. They are well built and are nicely shaped necks. Impeccable fret work too. I've had several Status, Modulus and played a Moses and would them in the same order for my preference.

I weighed a fretless status without tuners and compared to a fretted single piece maple Precision neck it weight a few ounces more. So a fretted neck will be just a bit heavier.
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I have to disagree with you both. Of all the graphite necks modulus is by far the most comfy, lightest and best looking. They also sound better in my opinion. More character and not as sterile.

Also modulus has several different neck types/shapes. They are incredible jazz necks and the quantum necks are even better (a little chunkier but lightening fast). I've never tried one but I hear the Flea bass necks are the most supremely comfy neck there is, save for some high-end hand made wooden necks.
 
#26
Two Status necks and one Modulus neck later, the two Status-equipped basses are my main players. Better fretwork than the Modulus, a less sticky finish, and personally I think the Status "woven" look is much nicer than the Modulus "dancing ladies" or whatever they called it. My one complaint about the Status necks is that Rob appears to have changed the profile of his Jazz necks sometime between 2004 and 2008, but didn't advertise the difference. My 2004 is a bit deeper and more rounded as the neck transitions into the edge of the fretboard. My 2008 is a more shallow profile with a more angular transition from neck to fretboard. The 2008 is also slightly wider at the nut. All told I like them both for different reasons, but prefer the 2004 model.

Regardless of personal opinions; A Status or Modulus neck will be very high quality, and it's hard to go wrong with either. I've never owned a Moses, Steinberg, Zon, etc. carbon fiber neck, so I won't comment on them.
 
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#27
Ballin'bass said:
I have to disagree with you both. Of all the graphite necks modulus is by far the most comfy, lightest and best looking. They also sound better in my opinion. More character and not as sterile.

Also modulus has several different neck types/shapes. They are incredible jazz necks and the quantum necks are even better (a little chunkier but lightening fast). I've never tried one but I hear the Flea bass necks are the most supremely comfy neck there is, save for some high-end hand made wooden necks.
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Glad you found something that worked better for you. I definitely prefer the Status. The jazz feels like a jazz and the precision like a precision.

Also I dont think you can order Modulus replacement neck anymore? And if my memory serves they were $200 - $300 more than the Status.
 
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#29
Gilmourisgod said:
I love that "snakeskin" pattern on the Status necks, a fine example of maximizing the inherent beauty of a material. Do the status have trussrods? Looks like a nut-end adjustment on the one pictured?
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Both of mine were recently purchased and have truss rods. I think some of the very old Status basses themselves didn't, however.

I added a satin finish on the back of mine and left it glossy on the front btw. They're going on PJ bodies.
 
#30
Lesfunk said:
I can't see where modulus is an option for anyone at this time. That leaves Status and Moses. There's no real comparison Imo
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Yeah, I probably would have ordered Modulus necks if they were available just to save on the overseas shipping but I think they're trying to get the company back on its feet and haven't made it back to the point of producing replacement necks yet. I had a Modulus J-style bass in the 90s (that I sold in a fit of stupidity) and it had a neck that was titanically strong.
 
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#32
Gilmourisgod said:
I want a Status Jazz neck BAD. I have an old Jazz body kicking around for "someday". If they are lighter now, I'm glad to hear it. One thing I can't stand is a neck diver. The body I have is ash, likely to balance well with a Status neck?
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Mine are alder and unfortunately I didn't weight them before I sent them off. But they seemed fairly light so hopefully the Ultralights will help with then overall balance. I also can't stand neck dive, and I'd hate to have to add a high-mass bridge to compensate if it is unbalanced.

I'll know more next week. In the meantime....here's the parts laid out on the black one. There's a white one too....

IMG_4214.jpg
 
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#33
If you want a modulus neck, your best bet is to ask Tony at planetbass if he can sell you one. But they are probably not cheap of he is able to. I've r realized nothing about planetbass is a good price but rather "standard" priced. And when it come to modulus it's a bit over the top because of them trying to restart the company and all the costs that come with that.
 
#34
mysteryclock said:
Mine are alder and unfortunately I didn't weight them before I sent them off. But they seemed fairly light so hopefully the Ultralights will help with then overall balance. I also can't stand neck dive, and I'd hate to have to add a high-mass bridge to compensate if it is unbalanced.

I'll know more next week. In the meantime....here's the parts laid out on the black one. There's a white one too....

View attachment 707850
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Lordy that's nice, looks like an ebony neck, but stable! Love the tort guard on black too.
 
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#35
My mid-eighties Modulus P-style neck has fairly heavy tuners on it and I've had no problems with neck dive. As far as I can tell, the weight of that neck is comparable with my other P-basses.
Older Modulus necks had ebony fingerboards, so re-fretting them is no different than any other bass. Mine is hollow and does not have a truss rod. It has, sadly, warped just a little, but with light strings it sets up fine.

Weight-wise, the only graphite necks I've played that seemed heavy to me were older Moses necks and, oddly enough, Steinbergers. I don't know what those Steiny necks were filled with, but they had some serious weight, even without the headstock!

As far as feel goes, I love the contour of my old Modulus, but recent Status basses I've checked out - both headless and standard - felt really, really good to me. The few Zons I've played felt nice, too. I like wide, flat necks so YMMV.

Speaking more directly to the OP's question, graphite necks tend to give you more sustain and more upper harmonics which some people feel sounds full-range or hi-fi. Others consider it to be too sterile and brittle sounding. Personally, I think it adds more detail but doesn't stray from the sound of wood enough to make it sound unnatural. Everybody's ears and tastes are different.

Graphite necks are also mostly impervious to weather and temperature changes.
 
#37
The Steinberger necks were just solid castings, no voids. I got an unwanted look inside mine when I dropped it and knocked off a big chunk of the gel coat. The inside looks a lot like fiberglass boat hull, except the mesh material is grey-black. A friend had an 80's Moses Jazz that must have weighed 12 lbs., sounded great, but terrible neck dive. By comparison, my Steinberger was really well balanced. The early XL basses had the chest strap swivel mounted right at the center of gravity, so you barely felt the weight. It was a superior strap system, too bad it never really caught on.
 
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#38
I have a Geoff Gould GGi4 and a Zon Sonus Fretless 4. They are both very playable and comparable in weight to wood. The GG is my main player. I like the stable neck with the huge temperature changes we have in Eastern Washington. Up to 40 degrees in a day. The CF neck on my GG seems to have great sustain and I think it is kind of punchy. I really like the "just works" with no fuss or semi-annual truss rod adjustments. It does have a rosewood fretboard. I have a friend with a last of old production Modulus and it is a bit heavy. Can't speak to the new ones. I have no experience with Status or Moses.

And carbon is plastic! A good designer/engineer/manufacturer can make a fantastic CF neck. As mentioned, the cores are usually not CF because resin is very dense and makes the neck heavy. CF is an expensive material to manufacture and finish. I don't know if GG would sell a neck, but worth asking. I can speak for the quality. The GG contains a truss rod, the Zon is older and does not. CF is very brittle in some regards, but usually somewhat elastic, meaning it can take some bending but has catastrophic failure when it is done bending.
 

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