Ended up playing a full 4 hour set last night. Man that was fun. Bass played amazingly. Need to readjust the pickups though. It was a little light on the treble side. A quick screw adjustment and we are golden. This one here is a keeper
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Modulus Mob
- Thread starter rockstarbassist
- Start date
Hi Modulus players. I picked up a couple of interesting Modulus basses recently. Here's the low down.
The first is a 1996 Quantum 5 Sweetspot with a quilted maple Amber top. It's equipped with the elusive Lane Poor...in the sweet spot. It's in mint like new condition with a perfect neck and plays and sounds incredible.
The second one is even rarer, a 1996 modulus Flea 4.
It's an interesting combination of features.
Satin Black finish (like a piano) with original non-pearloid white pick guard. I have never seen this finish used on a Modulus before.
Modulus-branded Lane Poor pickup original to this bass.
...and it's a '96!
The neck is straight and true. The bass plays and sounds just fantastic.
Thanks Frankie.
The first is a 1996 Quantum 5 Sweetspot with a quilted maple Amber top. It's equipped with the elusive Lane Poor...in the sweet spot. It's in mint like new condition with a perfect neck and plays and sounds incredible.
The second one is even rarer, a 1996 modulus Flea 4.
It's an interesting combination of features.
Satin Black finish (like a piano) with original non-pearloid white pick guard. I have never seen this finish used on a Modulus before.
Modulus-branded Lane Poor pickup original to this bass.
...and it's a '96!
The neck is straight and true. The bass plays and sounds just fantastic.
Thanks Frankie.
Nice score x2!
And I have seen a satin black Flea before
And I believe, one of the last models to go out of the shop for Flea was satin black as well.
But neither of these was a '96 like yours
And I have seen a satin black Flea before
And I believe, one of the last models to go out of the shop for Flea was satin black as well.
But neither of these was a '96 like yours
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I really, really like the pre-truss rod Modulus necks, and I am partial to the Lane Poor pickups. It's just hard to find that combo at a decent price and in perfect playing condition.
Kinetic Shadow, I would be interested in seeing a pic of the satin black FB4 Modulus made for Flea if you have one. Your blacked-out FU4 is very elegant!
Bet that it sounds awesome. Have you had good luck any time recently with the revived Lane Poor company? I would order a few if I had confidence that it would not become an exercise in conflicted futility!
Kinetic Shadow, I would be interested in seeing a pic of the satin black FB4 Modulus made for Flea if you have one. Your blacked-out FU4 is very elegant!
Bet that it sounds awesome. Have you had good luck any time recently with the revived Lane Poor company? I would order a few if I had confidence that it would not become an exercise in conflicted futility!
Thank you, and it does. I actually found an actual Lane Poor that was a one-off that was made specifically for a Lakland 44-94 so it can be split. I took advantage of that and installed a Mike Pope Flexcore two pickup pre. I wired the Lane Poor as such and now can use the blend pot to use either the front coils, both or back and anything in between 
I haven't tried my luck with the revived company and have heard both good and bad. There's probably a thread around here someplace on it.
Here's a pic doing a quick search: Note his name as fret markers.
I actually spoke with Anderson about this finish a year or so before the above bass was made and he mentioned they were having difficulty getting it right so it was not being offered on custom orders. Then not too long after that I saw this on FB - go figure.
I haven't tried my luck with the revived company and have heard both good and bad. There's probably a thread around here someplace on it.
Here's a pic doing a quick search: Note his name as fret markers.
I actually spoke with Anderson about this finish a year or so before the above bass was made and he mentioned they were having difficulty getting it right so it was not being offered on custom orders. Then not too long after that I saw this on FB - go figure.
Awesome! Here is my (painted by Modulus) FU:
And I think that my bass is one of the only 2 basses, painted by Modulus, in that finish from this century! (You have permission to correct me ;-) )
And another thing: As far as I know, your bass, Kinetic Shadow, is 'satin black' painted by Pat Wilkins. My bass is painted by Modulus and is marked 'Flat Black'. (Or Matt Black)
I was wondering when you were going to chime in
Yes, my bass was painted by Pat and I don't see the difference in reflectivity in the finish of my satin/flat/matte black bass compared to yours or Fleas
Considering Pat used to supply Modulus with their finishing materials, I would venture a guess that the paint and clear coat on the body of my bass are probably even the same as the ones used by Modulus to finish yours.
But seriously, who cares who painted it? That doesn't effect what great instruments they ALL are.
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The "Matte" finish is obviously an exclusive finish achieved by placing the bass "flat" on a "mat" and spraying it satin black! ;-)
I think that Satin black is a more shinier than the Matt black, but as the Matt finish gets worn out, it kinda turns into a satin black bass ;-)
And thanks, Hidesert!
And thanks, Hidesert!
I got to play my Q6 at a gig over the weekend at 123 Pleasant St. in Morgantown, WV. The sound man commented on its evenness for volume and tone across the strings. What a compliment to Modulus! That's exactly part of what Phil Lesh was searching for in his sound over the years. I'm not comparing myself to Phil, but saying that the instrument (neck and phenolic fingerboard) was doing its job as advertised. Here are some more of the specs from Joe Perman: Bartolini M56C pickups with the NTMB 3 band preamp. I plugged into a DI box (not my Eden) and the house speakers.
For the last 5 years I have been using my Bassstar which has Bart soapbar's in it, but has a NTCT preamp system. I don't really know what that is though. Sounds way different than the NTMB system in my Q5
My first Modulus was a 94 Q5 w/Barts and the Bart NTMB. I love that bass!
Such an intuitive, useable, wide tonal range, it's the one I play out
the most often. I really like how warm it can sound. And, while it doesn't get as modern as, say, the Nordstrand/OBP3 combination, it can still get pretty HiFi and present. I would imagine, iriegnome, that the EMG is even brighter and forward-sounding with it.
Such an intuitive, useable, wide tonal range, it's the one I play out
the most often. I really like how warm it can sound. And, while it doesn't get as modern as, say, the Nordstrand/OBP3 combination, it can still get pretty HiFi and present. I would imagine, iriegnome, that the EMG is even brighter and forward-sounding with it.
