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Modulus Mob
- Thread starter rockstarbassist
- Start date
Neck thru. These were super expensive new.
Male sure you know what you have.... It ain't a Q4 and your bass is very rare.
I thought all Q4's were neck thru in '91. Tell me more about it please.
Guess I'll also shoot off an email to Modulus next week and see what they can tell me.
Guess I'll also shoot off an email to Modulus next week and see what they can tell me.
Have you considered the Babicz FCH bridges? I have them on both my Modulus basses and get the string height down to 4/64 across the board without a problem, could even go lower with the necks set at .008" relief.
Never noticed a difference with different bridges. Some will say sustain improves, with a heavier bridge, etc. - but I don't know how much more sustain you could get with a Modulus or that you would want to - mine rings out for days on end.
rockinrayduke said:
Check out the talkbass 'tbx pics' for fun. Sorry i didnt link but im on an ipad and am not quite sure how to do it
Not all neck thrus were TBX models. I owned a late 80s model neck thru and it was pre-TBX. Awesome basses and I hate that i haven't been able to get it back. That one looks great. If you can get it in the $1200 range then it is a good deal.
Yes, that's what I'm trying to figure out, just because it's a neck thru are there any other characteristics that identify it as a TBX? Very curious now! 
rockinrayduke said:Yes, that's what I'm trying to figure out, just because it's a neck thru are there any other characteristics that identify it as a TBX? Very curious now!
I think it depends on the year. Email Joe or Anderson and one of them should know. Joe Permanent worked there in the 80s.
I think technically they weren't even called "Q4s" in 1991; that designation evolved a couple years later. "Q" is short for Quantum, and in the late 80s/early 90s there were
Quantum-* SP,
Quantum-* SPi,
Quantum-* SPX, and
Quantum-* TBX
(where *=# of strings).
[edit: except for the TBX, all of those had bolt-on necks.]
In the late 1980s, before all those letter designations appeared, some of the neck-thru instrument were simply referred to as Quantum *. And I think there was a period even earlier when Modulus made neck-thru instruments without the Quantum name...they were pretty much all custom at that point.
Yours definitely looks like a Quantum-4 TBX, but I could be wrong.
My understanding is that the only thing that explicitly differentiates a Quantum-4 TBX from a non-TBX neck-thru is when it was made, and possibly who it was made for. Prior to the TBX naming convention I don't think Modulus instruments were popular enough to buy one off-the-shelf, and so every bass was made to order.
Thanks, Roscoe! I'll give Modulus a shout later this week. Or would calling Geoff Gould be a better idea?
Had a great chat with Geoff on FB tonight and he gave me some info about my bass.
You guys are right, there wasn't too many of the 4's made. He says it couldn't have been more than a handful. Says that most TBX's were 5 and 6 strings. Bridge made by ABM in Germany. He says the neck probably made from the 5 string mold with some mold inserts to make the neck narrower.
Thanks for the tip to contact him, he couldn't have nicer on a Xmas eve than to answer some questions about one of his basses. I changed the strings, set the string height and intonation tonight and spent a couple of hours diggin it.
You guys are right, there wasn't too many of the 4's made. He says it couldn't have been more than a handful. Says that most TBX's were 5 and 6 strings. Bridge made by ABM in Germany. He says the neck probably made from the 5 string mold with some mold inserts to make the neck narrower.
Thanks for the tip to contact him, he couldn't have nicer on a Xmas eve than to answer some questions about one of his basses. I changed the strings, set the string height and intonation tonight and spent a couple of hours diggin it.
I'll have to check them out, they look pretty interesting. I'll wait out with the bridge swap until I get the neck straightened out, though. I think it might just be enough for this situation.
I mailed Modulus, but it's the holidays so they might not reply for a while... VJ owners, do you have any input / info about the truss rod allen key size? I got a bunch of original paperwork with the bass, an allen key for the bridge and keys for the hard case but no key for the truss rod.. what would really be enough is just knowing if the key is measured in mm (these I have plenty) or inches (gotta go shopping)
I'll have to check them out, they look pretty interesting. I'll wait out with the bridge swap until I get the neck straightened out, though. I think it might just be enough for this situation.
I mailed Modulus, but it's the holidays so they might not reply for a while... VJ owners, do you have any input / info about the truss rod allen key size? I got a bunch of original paperwork with the bass, an allen key for the bridge and keys for the hard case but no key for the truss rod.. what would really be enough is just knowing if the key is measured in mm (these I have plenty) or inches (gotta go shopping)
And don't forget NAMM is coming up, they tend to get busy around this time as well.
As far as the allen key for the truss on the VJ, I use a 3/16". I usually set mine up for .008" relief by placing a .008" shim over the sixth fret (or where one would be on a fretless) and then place an 18" square blade on top of that centered on the neck between the A and D running length-wise starting at the nut. If there's any rocking of the blade, I add relief. But, If the shim slips out easily, then I decrease it. Quickest and most consistent way for me to get the neck set.
That's true. I didn't remember that NAMM was coming too. But thanks, that info Explains why the 4mm key is too small and the 5mm key is too large (if I calculated right, that rounds up to about 4,76mm). So, I will go shopping after the holidays.
