Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Modulus Mob
- Thread starter rockstarbassist
- Start date
Looks like you probably have Bartolini quad coil pickups, which were an option; the two switches select between P style split coil, reverse P, and all four coils on.
Very likely that you've got a Bartolini 3 band preamp.
No worries about five knobs, that was also an option.
Make sure your neck bolts are good and snug; it's not uncommon to see small cracks appear in the small section of the body between the end of the neck heel and the neck pickup.
Most importantly - play the hell out of it
If it's not wood, it's definitely phenolic; Modulus didn't use CF for their fingerboards.
Come to think of it, I don't think you could use CF for a fingerboard, at least not a fretted one: Cutting the fret slots would tear the carbon fibers, ruining the structural integrity of the material.
Possibly , only if the fingerboard and the rest of the neck were laid up as 1 piece , if it was laid up separately and bonded on later ( like wood or phenolic ) then it would not be compromised that much . That's why Modulus didn't use truss rods for a while . I work with composites and I must say , that is a crazy weave material they used for their necks !
That weave pattern (Modulus called it "KLD", short for "a thousand ladies dancing") is just the outer layer, cosmetic only. All the inner layers are typical CF weave.
Yeah, I don't think any manufacturers using composites would be content with having their product be "not compromised that much" !!
I didn't mean to suggest that a carbon fiber fingerboard would disintegrate or self-destruct if you tore the fibers when cutting fret slots, just that most of the advantages of having a monocoque fretboard made of unidirectional CF would be lost if you shredded the continuity of those fibers.
That's why you don't see it used very much ! ( cost , having people who know what they are doing etc )
Moses Graphite "Fingerboard: Shift (or) Holographite: Add $90.00 List USD (See Finishes Section)" whatever that means>>>
Here is there fretboard explaination page -
Invalid Link Removed
Here is there fretboard explaination page -
Invalid Link Removed
If I recall correctly they 'bad mouthed' phenolic fingerboards on their site. When I get home I'll have to check.
I'm not sure how much of my Chechen fretboard is bonded to my Modulus neck , but I doubt having frets installed made it any less structurally sound than if it was a Fretless . I'd love to cut 1 open and see what they used for the tuners & mounting bolts , and perhaps burn out a small section to see how many layers ( and what kind of fibers ) were used in their lay-up . My Q5 is very light , yet has great tone and sustain . There is a guy I'm friends with on FB who is doing CF necks in Denmark ... Singdooba basses I believe . 1 of his attempts he didn't use any "uni" and now he is using a truss rod on them . He is also doing them wet lay-up , and not using a vacuum bag . I work with pre-preg and presses and auto-claves . Much better laminates .
Modulus used pre-preg with metal molds and an auto-clave. The headstock, like most of the neck, is hollow - don't over-tighten the nuts on your tuners! Can't really tell how many layers or what kind of fibers were used, but from having a tuner out I could see that the layup is about .125" thick, give or take. At least in the headstock - couldn't really see down into the neck.
Hmmm , that's probably about 14-16 plies of woven , less if they used any uni ( which I'm sure they did . I believe the reason behind their "crazy ply. " is if they had used uni or fabric on the 1st layer and didn't get it absolutely straight , it would appear that the neck might be warping .
Last edited:
I read somewhere that the idea for the KLD layer came about from someone there looking at a pile of trimmings from a layup and thinking "that looks kinda cool"..... so obviously they were using uni for at least some of the layers.
KLD first appeared in the late 80s, not sure of the exact year, but all their early production stuff has the typical CF weave pattern visible.
KLD first appeared in the late 80s, not sure of the exact year, but all their early production stuff has the typical CF weave pattern visible.
Moses Graphite "Fingerboard: Shift (or) Holographite: Add $90.00 List USD (See Finishes Section)" whatever that means>>>
Here is there fretboard explaination page -
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Well there ya have it, guess I was wrong about the practicality of CF fingerboards.
I'm from Denmark! I might want to get to know this friend of yours to check out his CF necks/projects! Do you have any useful information about him?
If you're interested in do-it-yourself CF, do a search over in Luthier's Corner for threads by TalkBass user MPU. He uses a fairly straightforward vacuum bagging technique; not how Modulus did it, but it is really the way to go if you don't have a major amount of money to invest in equipment.
He's not in Denmark, but he is in your area of the planet
