That is just amazing.. My Bassstar doesn't have that Modulus Logo on it.. I dig the Fiesta Red body just sets that neck pattern off.. And with a serial number, it is even better.
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the finish on the body simply isn't properly captured in these photos. these photos don't capture the vintage/somewhat dull quality the guys at MJT have perfected. nor does it show all the tiny little cracks and crackles in the finish. it literally looks like it just fell out of a time machine that just arrived from the 50s.
yup, the serial number is stamped on the heel, similarly to the one in the photo someone else posted recently in this thread.
so do some of the old Bassstars not have the Modulus logo on the headstock?
Not the really early ones. Not really sure when they started using the logo's or when they didn't use them. Mine does not have a logo on it.
I hate this new site... Ok. I did not even realize there was a logo on my bass. Tiny and almost hidden by the neck angle. Duh..
Oh man...good thing I didn't see that earlier! One of the best basses I ever played was an old (late-70s) Schecter rosewood body with a BassStar neck. Been jonesing for one like that for the past ~35 years!
I don't see it up any longer, but I think that just the Bassstar Neck is now up for sale...Looks like a great neck
Long time gone - back with some news.I put my Bassstar away a few years ago after an issue with a loose neck bolt. But I ran across Geoff Gould's web page http://www.ggould.com/home.html and I emailed him with questions about it.
What I thought were helicoils, he said were T-nuts, and with a little encouragement, I was able to separate the neck from the body. I can now begin a repair process. My son, for whom I bought this bass, is happy to think he may have the chance to play it again.
Geoff thought that no pattern on my neck was unusual. In fact, he wondered if it was painted. I'd love to see a photo of iriegnome's bass, as he's mentioned that it too has little or no pattern.
My serial number is also a four-digit number. Geoff said this means it was before the year was included in the number. But he also said that it appeared that mine was from a second-generation mold (not to say it's a "second-generation" model - I haven't made that connection, yet). "The serial number was before we began to start the serial number with the year. The only model designations was based on nut width. There was a point where we changed the mold to a flatter feel, and yours probably is from that mold."
My ESP body was not common "There were some ESP bodies, but not many."
I'm still left with questions, but feel I'm better informed about what I have. I hope this helps others who may have had the same questions.
Ian
SF Bay Area
The more we write and read on these special basses and necks, the more questions come up. I have not seen another headstock similar to mine in a 5'er. I think earlier on in the thread someone posted a 4 banger with the same headstock. Also, you are correct, my Bassstar does not have any real pattern to it. I have e-mailed Geoff a couple of times, but have yet to receive a comment back.
Here is a pretty good shot of the neck thru and the pattern (or lack there of) of the neck
Here is a close up pic of the back of the neck.. I have had the chip repaired but don't have any newer pic's
And as requested, here is a full on pic of the bass
Here is a pretty good shot of the neck thru and the pattern (or lack there of) of the neck
Here is a close up pic of the back of the neck.. I have had the chip repaired but don't have any newer pic's
And as requested, here is a full on pic of the bass
Thanks for posting those, Irie. I know I've seen them before, but it's good to get a better idea of what was going on at Modulus around the time these were made. It seems like there was quite a bit of experimenting at Modulus in their early days, and it helps to know that mine, without any suggestion of pattern in it, has company, and I don't think your neck-thru, 5-string Bassstar is going to soon be matched.
For me, my Fender-style headstock is its main attraction. Geoff had this to say about it... "I don’t have any records from Modulus, but your initial idea of it being around ’83 is reasonable. I remember the rough period of time when we were doing Fender copies. At some point (’89-90) Fender’s lawyers finally suggested we stop!". I was under the impression they were licensed; I guess not!
Ian
SF Bay Area
For me, my Fender-style headstock is its main attraction. Geoff had this to say about it... "I don’t have any records from Modulus, but your initial idea of it being around ’83 is reasonable. I remember the rough period of time when we were doing Fender copies. At some point (’89-90) Fender’s lawyers finally suggested we stop!". I was under the impression they were licensed; I guess not!
Ian
SF Bay Area
Hey guys, I'm posting my c.1986 Modulus BassStar for sale over in the classifieds. It's a great bass and it deserves a home where somebody will play it. Thanks.
Hello all. It's great to find a little corner of the internet where there's a little info on my Bassstar bass, other owners, and photos of other basses. I got mine in 1998, used, at a local shop that was having a super sale. I had just joined a band with a more mainstream rock and pop sound, and didn't think my Rickenbacker 4001 was the right sound for their material.
I remember there being a B C Rich bass with P bass pickup that I was considering, and also this Bassstar, which I wasn't familiar with, but I was quite familiar with Modulus and Alembic. A/B'ing the two basses, it was like night and day. The Bassstar has some of that midrangey tubby P bass tone, but a more hi-fi version of it, and it has huge low end. It sounds like bass pedals on an organ when I sustain notes in the low register!
Some pics:
And some songs I recorded with it:
I remember there being a B C Rich bass with P bass pickup that I was considering, and also this Bassstar, which I wasn't familiar with, but I was quite familiar with Modulus and Alembic. A/B'ing the two basses, it was like night and day. The Bassstar has some of that midrangey tubby P bass tone, but a more hi-fi version of it, and it has huge low end. It sounds like bass pedals on an organ when I sustain notes in the low register!
Some pics:
And some songs I recorded with it:
She is wonderful.. Do you have much info on it?? Body? Info on the Pickup or electronics? Approx year of the neck?
BTW - Sleep.. Have you had many comments on the face that is in the grain of your bass? It is really super cool..
