I recently switched up from a bass I adore with an ebony fretboard to a six-string bass with, well, something that's not ebony. Don't exactly remember what it is (Ibanez BTB1606 is the model) but, to my fingers, the fretboard just kinda sucks. Ebony is fast, smooth, and produces a _really_ nice tone. Anyway, I don't see too many non-fret less basses out there with ebony fretboards, but I'm just curious...what do the Modulus necks/fretboards feel like, and what does the graphite/phenolic do to your overall bass tone? If I can't find a suitable ebony fretboard in the future, I'll be looking for something else to try. Nothing else excites me like the idea of a fretboard without dead spots and frankly I haven't truly loved any other woods I've come across thus far. PS I know there's a thread specifically for Modulus owners where I could ask this question...but it's 300+ pages long and I'm not an owner and I'm afraid to get beat up if I ask a question that was already answered on page 172...
I think the neck itself contributes so much to the sound of a Modulus that to isolate whether any of that is due to the fingerboard you'd have to do a side-by-side comparison of a phenolic fb and a wood fb on otherwise identical instruments. I do think that the phenolic fb on my Modulus feels as nice as the ebony fingerboards on my other wooden-necked basses.
Fretboard on Modulus will have some influence on tone but the graphite neck will dictate most of what you hear as different tone. Its like the difference between hi octane and low octane vs a 4 cylindar and 8 cylindar engine. Many people think ebony imparts a pure but somewhat more sterile tone than maple or rosewood. If you think you like ebony for that reason, then you might not be put off by graphite necks. they are not for everyone, but once you learn the advantages it can serve you well in most styles of music. Def. not something worth talking writing about too much, you gotta try one out.
I am not sure I understand the question. The only way to really rule in or out something would be to try identical models with the different options. So, same model of modulus one with phenolic and one with wood to get any sort of accurate representation of how much the FB actually makes on the sound. But the only way to know is for you to try out an instrument with a phenolic FB to see if you like it or not. IIRC there is/ was a phenolic was marketed at one point as "ebonol" . the idea being that it was marketed as a synthetic ebony. But, personal preference is personal preference. You might find that you love/ hate the Modulus phenolic but love/ hate the Status or Moses Phenolic. For the record.. My modulus has a cocobolo FB and my Status has phenolic.
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