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Modulus BASSSTAR Fan Club

#121
Roscoe East said:
Sam Ash on 48th Street in NYC has a BassStar-necked white PJ with EMG Select pickups and a bridge (forget what type) that's been ghetto-modded with one non-matching saddle. I'm pretty sure thay've had this bass on their wall for at least two or three months now.

They're asking ~$1,200 iirc. Too much for a bass with crappy pickups and a hacked bridge imho, but it's still making me think about it. Damn you, Modulus!
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I just happened to by that bass 7 hours ago! I discovered this forum in an attempt to learn something, anything, about this bass I'd never heard of. I guess the hard-to-find are earmarked and duly noted. I agree, the bridge: not a classic and as good as gone (any alt suggestions greatly appreciated!). Overpriced? Apparently so! I don't care in the least.
Again, I'd never heard of this thing before today and I love it so much I could eat it. The neck is straight and I happen to really love the pickups! I found them to be much warmer than a lot of the active boutique 4 to 5K little-bubble-basses I checked out. My main men are 2 Sadowsky P/j's. I love them, swear by them and use the sh*t out of them. So, maybe the crappy pickups here are a blind spot in my taste.
ANYWAY, the frets are a mess. I've got a great guy who can do amazing things, however, I'm curious as to whether sending it to Modulus is the safer bet? Again, advise greatly appreciated! Handy to buy a random bass simply because I loved it and discover a club, peopled with very knowledgable members, dedicated only to their affection for it! Great day, huh?
 
#123
Sorry, I only have a crumby camera phone. Incidentally, I just read that there are more cameras in cell phones than the total amount of "other" cameras ever made.
ANYWAY, aesthetically speaking, my feeling was: If I'm gonna buy a legendary bass made in the eighties, this is about as period perfect and elegant as it gets . . .
 

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#124
I am building a BassStar! I have a 2nd Gen neck that needs the frets tended to. Them I'm bolting this onto a Warmoth body routed for P/J pickups. I'll load the bass with MEC pickups and preamp from an older Streamer Stage I. Not sure whether to go with Gold, Chrome or Black hardware. The body is Blood Red, so all 3 would go nicely...THen I have to choose from a White, Tort, or Anodized Gold pick guard.

Any Thoughts?
 
#127
MaddAnthony_59 said:
I am building a BassStar! I have a 2nd Gen neck that needs the frets tended to. Them I'm bolting this onto a Warmoth body routed for P/J pickups. I'll load the bass with MEC pickups and preamp from an older Streamer Stage I. Not sure whether to go with Gold, Chrome or Black hardware. The body is Blood Red, so all 3 would go nicely...THen I have to choose from a White, Tort, or Anodized Gold pick guard.

Any Thoughts?
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Solid blood red or transparent over figured wood?
 
#129
My Balogna said:
ANYWAY, the frets are a mess. I've got a great guy who can do amazing things, however, I'm curious as to whether sending it to Modulus is the safer bet? Again, advise greatly appreciated!
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Hey, congratulations on nabbing that bass; glad to see it went to an enthusiast who can appreciate it, rather than some Long Island punk teen who just grabbed it while holiday shopping in the big city. :)

re: fixing frets on a BassStar neck, I would definitely talk to Modulus first. No matter how good your local repair guy is, he doesn't have as much experience re-fretting graphite necks & phenolic fingerboards as the Modulus crew. I've spoken to a few hot-shot luthiers in both NYC and Boston, and they all told me they hate having to work on Modulus (and Steinberger) necks, and recommended having the factory do the repair/re-fret.
 
#132
Roscoe East said:
Hey, congratulations on nabbing that bass; glad to see it went to an enthusiast who can appreciate it, rather than some Long Island punk teen who just grabbed it while holiday shopping in the big city. :)

re: fixing frets on a BassStar neck, I would definitely talk to Modulus first. No matter how good your local repair guy is, he doesn't have as much experience re-fretting graphite necks & phenolic fingerboards as the Modulus crew. I've spoken to a few hot-shot luthiers in both NYC and Boston, and they all told me they hate having to work on Modulus (and Steinberger) necks, and recommended having the factory do the repair/re-fret.
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Thank you very much for the advice! I'll definitely call them. It's so frustrating to acquire something so special and then send it away! Undeniably necessary, though. Modulus sounds like a company with great customer service; the fact that they'll even DO it is amazing! As is the support from this resource, due to kind and wiser folk like you. Where were you when I drilled that P-bass neck onto my L-2000?! (It worked. Briefly.) ANYWAY, "Patience attains all it strives for", I suppose. (unless some airline loses the thing on tour. I think I'll carry-on the neck. It's clearly a fantastic murder weapon.). Again, many, many thanks!
 
#133
I returned the baSSStar today. The sad fact is that it's too heavy for me, and so I couldn't have toured with it. It's very frustrating, because I LOVE that bass. GAH! I was even considering having a neck made with wood! Luckily, Sense and Sanity swiftly tapped me on the back. I love this bass, but playing it with a wooden neck would be too absurd and selfish.

I wanted to let you guys know (despite the inappropriately high price) that it's up for grabs again. It's at the Sam Ash store on 48th street between 6th and 7th ave in Manhattan, NY. The frets are a problem. But it sounds great and it looks great and the neck profile feels great. I bought a U.S. bolt-on Spector as a replacement. It sounds great and feels great. But it sure doesn't look like this thing! I'll still be around to look at all of your photos and stuff . . .:bawl:
 

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#134
I just came across this thread and thought I'd be brave enough to actually post this picture in public. Only look at the BassStar, though -- pay no attention to the stupid hair, please!! (This was 1986, OK?)

Anyway, this beauty was my first custom bass. I ordered it after I'd been playing about a year. My bass teacher had a Modulus and he was super cool, so what else was I going to get? :) Bought it from Music Works in El Cerrito, and I put the order in for all black. Then I got a call a few weeks later from Geoff himself who said he could do all black, but they had this great new color, charcoal metalflake, and he thought it "would look killer under stage lights". Sold!

The bass really served me well, through my first few years of gigging and even some studio recording. I actually made a few Modulus converts myself along the way. I sold it many years ago, and though I don't really wish I still had it as it's just not my thing any more, I'll always have a soft spot for that bass.

It was P-J, though I didn't even realize that until years later. I remember the neck had the OSB-looking flake pattern to it. I've got other pictures of it packed away that I'll have to scan and post if I find them.

I always associate that bass with my first good rig too: SWR SM400 and Goliath 410. Also long gone, but those were good bass times. Good bass times...
 

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#135
PlayTheBass said:
I just came across this thread and thought I'd be brave enough to actually post this picture in public. Only look at the BassStar, though -- pay no attention to the stupid hair, please!! (This was 1986, OK?)

Anyway, this beauty was my first custom bass. I ordered it after I'd been playing about a year. My bass teacher had a Modulus and he was super cool, so what else was I going to get? :) Bought it from Music Works in El Cerrito, and I put the order in for all black. Then I got a call a few weeks later from Geoff himself who said he could do all black, but they had this great new color, charcoal metalflake, and he thought it "would look killer under stage lights". Sold!

The bass really served me well, through my first few years of gigging and even some studio recording. I actually made a few Modulus converts myself along the way. I sold it many years ago, and though I don't really wish I still had it as it's just not my thing any more, I'll always have a soft spot for that bass.

It was P-J, though I didn't even realize that until years later. I remember the neck had the OSB-looking flake pattern to it. I've got other pictures of it packed away that I'll have to scan and post if I find them.

I always associate that bass with my first good rig too: SWR SM400 and Goliath 410. Also long gone, but those were good bass times. Good bass times...
Click to expand...

This was a neck through?? 4 string right? Modulus said the Bassstar's did not come with the Quantum type headstock. I have one and it looks like you had one too.
 
#137
iriegnome said:
This was a neck through?? 4 string right? Modulus said the Bassstar's did not come with the Quantum type headstock. I have one and it looks like you had one too.
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Hey iriegnome, sorry I missed your previous post!

My BassStar was a bolt-on, 4-string. My teacher's Modulus had the same headstock, so maybe they made them all that way early on?

MD
 
#138
Most of the Bassstar's were 4 string bolt on with Fender headstocks. It seems that there were a few odd one's that had the headstock similar to mine, which to me seems like a rough version of the Quantum headstock. Not exactly the same, but similar to it
 
#139
Hello, I have a Modulus/Alembic BassStar, neck serial number 57. The carbon fibers are small and in a very fine composition pattern, similar to a Modulus/Alembic Blackknife guitar neck I had many years ago, neck serial number 33 (long since sold). Is the Fan Club open for membership? Thanks!
 

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