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Modulus Mob

I've completed the set so if someone was trying to unload a Modulus/Fender neck, I'd be interested!

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here's a question for the fretless players. how do you maintain your phenolic fingerboards? i know some use roundwounds which chew up fingerboards quickly. i'm assuming phenolic gets scarred up just like ebony and such. do you take steel wool to the fingerboard or go a bit more extreme? light sandpaper (somewhere in the 200 grit range i'd assume)?
 
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i use a green scotchbrite pad with a little wd-40 sprayed on it. don't get too agressive with sandpaper (400 wet dry) and steel wool ends up in your pickups. don't do it so much that you change the shape , contour of the fingerboard. easy does it. I have a fretless neck that is 35 years old that is still great . (phenolis) and I use roundwounds.
 

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Update on my Q5.. Turns out the P'ups and pre's are all good. Bad Jack.. The bass was cuttig in and out due to a worn out jack. Put 4 hours on it after the jack was replaced and it's running perfectly.. I am just extatic.. Since I blew up my amp rig and had to replace my whole rack, replacing all the electronics was a cost I did not have any room for. I am so glad it was just the jack
 
There is a big difference in feel from my TBX to my Quantum. Different, Not better or worse. Since my TBX is way early and there really is no pattern of the graphite that can be seen, mine has a overall solid feel to it. It really give the feeling of being 1 piece. It is very hard to describe now that I am thinking about it.
 
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A tbx is essentially a semihollow bass.

I removed the pickups for a cleaning/tech check and you can basically see (with a mirror and flashlight) from the bridge all the way to the headstock inside the bass. Pretty wild.

Tonally i think the TBX has less bite and maybe just has a slightly smoother attack. It just seems like an incredibly open instrument. The thing that i find interesting is how there is essentially zero body vibration so all the energy is retained in the strings. Its lively, buttery, round, tight, loose....really anything you want it to be.
 
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ok, i'm gonna probably get flamed since the tbx is the unicorn many covet.

i couldn't get into my tbx5. playability was spot-on tho. was one of the most comfortable players i've ever owned. 1 7/8" at the nut and 2 7/8" at the 24th fret. but the tone killed me. i figured it was having the bridge mounted onto the graphite that made it sound a bit 'sterile' and not as woody as i preferred. i guess i could have swapped out the emg's for barts (this was back in the mid-late 90's).

the final straw was when i did a gig and the backline was provided for us. got hooked up to an ampeg svt and was prepared to be floored. almost bawled when the tone that came out sounded like a car horn with a bit of bass dialed in.

i've seen many tbx's since then that utilize a wood block or laminated top over the graphite that extends into the body. i'm sure that would give a more 'organic' tone to a graphite neck-thru.

of course, this is one man's opinion. your mileage may vary.
 
My TBX 6 had a phenolic board with EMG pickups and electronics, and with stainless strings (DR's), it had some zing! It was a really nice, focused sound. Like inthebassclef said.

My Q5, bolt on, also with phenolic and EMG, isn't as bright and clear, and the notes don't "ring" quite as much. By no means bad, but there is a difference.

That being said, like loveandbass said, there was NO vibration transmitted through the instrument. It was almost eerie.