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Modulus Mob

#7,621
iriegnome said:
Could be the strings. Could be the pickup height. Could be the high mid is up to high.. Could be carrots in the cauliflower
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Alright... I have very little experience with setting up instruments, and I'm not very good at setting up amp settings/ bass settings.
Would you reccomend taking it to a music store with a tech? Also, what would you, or anyone, recommend to learn how to set up instruments and amp/instrument settings? My amp has a 6 band EQ and it's a little bit overwhelming. Found something that sounds good to me, but it was all trial and error.
 
#7,624
BadWithNames said:
Hey, so the Modulus I have sounds pretty good, but there's a little bit of a sharp sound that is a little too extreme for my tastes. I don't know what it's strung with, as they were on it nearly new when I bought it about a month ago. They have a darker color, and are pretty stiff. If I had to guess, I'd say they're Nickle or Cobalt, but I've never played those types before, I don't believe, so I don't know. What would you reccomend for a slightly warmer sound?
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What kind of strings do you usually use? What kind of amp do you have? I have a Quantum 5 with EMG pickups and 2 band eq, I usually have everything flat though. I use DR strings, I have stainless steel Lo Riders on there now and I don't getn any harsh highs. I'm playing through a Mesa Subway 800+, using their "rock" eq setting...

Also, there are PLENTY of videos on youtube about doing your own set up. Modulus neck are very consistent and stable, if you find a set of strings you like and use that same brand/size forever, you may never have to adjust the neck again. But if you're uncomfortable doing it, a set up isn't that expensive. Have someone reputable do it though- personally I wouldn't trust the guy at Guitar Center...
 
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#7,625
loveandbass said:
i believe your bass has a BTS preamp on it so if you open the control cavity you will see a few dipswitches that you can switch to adjust the treble response...check out this link:
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I'll check that out when I get it out tomorrow. It's kinda late tonight. Would that preamp use stacked knobs? Because the only knob that I know for sure what it is is the volume knob...
 
#7,626
MattLplaysBass said:
What kind of strings do you usually use? What kind of amp do you have? I have a Quantum 5 with EMG pickups and 2 band eq, I usually have everything flat though. I use DR strings, I have stainless steel Lo Riders on there now and I don't getn any harsh highs. I'm playing through a Mesa Subway 800+, using their "rock" eq setting...
Click to expand...
Depends on the bass. My short scale Has Blue Steel on it, while my ICB200BS I don't know exactly, as a local music store put them on when it was getting set up a few months ago. My 5-string has Elixers, same story. My amp is a Acoustic B200 MkII, and it's set up mostly flat, but with slightly higher bass, lower mods, and lower highs. The sound is really faint, but it's there no matter what I do. It's not too bad, but once I noticed it, it's hard not to hear it. I'm also not entirely sure if one of my knobs works, as it doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference when turned...
 
#7,627
BadWithNames said:
Depends on the bass. My short scale Has Blue Steel on it, while my ICB200BS I don't know exactly, as a local music store put them on when it was getting set up a few months ago. My 5-string has Elixers, same story. My amp is a Acoustic B200 MkII, and it's set up mostly flat, but with slightly higher bass, lower mods, and lower highs. The sound is really faint, but it's there no matter what I do. It's not too bad, but once I noticed it, it's hard not to hear it. I'm also not entirely sure if one of my knobs works, as it doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference when turned...
Click to expand...

You have the two stacked knobs, so you have the emg bqc. One of the knobs is the mid frequency, the other one is the boost/cut (on the same stack). The other stack is bass and treble.

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#7,628
MattLplaysBass said:
Here's the Quantum manual, if that's any help to you. I haven't adjusted mine either, but thankfully it was set up great when i got it so I haven't had to adjust it.
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Also, i posted the manual for the Quantum basses on page 320, it has the factory specs and set up info. I'm on my ipad and can't figure out how to repost it from here (so much for me being a know it all), but it's a downloadable pdf in the post, so you can just grab it from there.
 
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#7,629
A few thoughts for you... Modulus basses have a very full sound so I personally like to scoop the mods by turning down the low-mid EQ on my Mesa D-800 at least 3/4s and turning up the bass EQ on my Flea about the same. I also have the treble on my on board EQ turned almost all the way down.

You have more EQ control than I do but note that it took me some experimentation to find out how to make my bass and amp work together so don't be afraid to boost, cut and tweak. If the high end is too hard, pull down those top bands (and also try playing in a more relaxed fashion).

Two other thoughts: when you buy a used active bass, throw in some fresh 9-volts as you never know how long they've sat.

Also experiment with strings. DR lo-riders are great for me, but I've also tried DR Black Beauties, which darken the sound quote a bit.

Enjoy!
 
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#7,631
Bioflava said:
A few thoughts for you... Modulus basses have a very full sound so I personally like to scoop the mods by turning down the low-mid EQ on my Mesa D-800 at least 3/4s and turning up the bass EQ on my Flea about the same. I also have the treble on my on board EQ turned almost all the way down.

You have more EQ control than I do but note that it took me some experimentation to find out how to make my bass and amp work together so don't be afraid to boost, cut and tweak. If the high end is too hard, pull down those top bands (and also try playing in a more relaxed fashion).

Two other thoughts: when you buy a used active bass, throw in some fresh 9-volts as you never know how long they've sat.

Also experiment with strings. DR lo-riders are great for me, but I've also tried DR Black Beauties, which darken the sound quote a bit.

Enjoy!
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Alright, I'll have to try some of that. I might even get those strings when I change them.

EDIT: Edited to erase all traces of my stupidity...
 
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#7,632
BadWithNames said:
Alright, I'll have to try some of that. I might even get those strings when I change them.

EDIT: Edited to erase all traces of my stupidity...
Click to expand...
Concerning your sound, you want to start with your basic EQ. First off, you NEED to figure out what your knobs do, otherwise you can't effectively use them. That should be something you do before even buying a bass, but better late than never.

Next: Set all the knobs flat (nothing boosted or cut) to begin with, then boost or cut the desired frequencies as desired. If the sound is sharp to you when the EQ is set flat, you want to roll back the treble a bit. If you want more bass, nudge it up a little and see how that sounds. Lastly, to find what midrange sound you want, turn up the mid gain knob halfway and sweep through the frequencies with the bottom knob of the stack and see what position it is that you want to boost or cut.

One reason your sound might be sharp is that even if your treble isn't boosted, your mids might be set to the high range and is boosting some sharp mid frequencies. So, yea, always start with flat eq.
 
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#7,633
Ballin'bass said:
Concerning your sound, you want to start with your basic EQ. First off, you NEED to figure out what your knobs do, otherwise you can't effectively use them. That should be something you do before even buying a bass, but better late than never.

Next: Set all the knobs flat (nothing boosted or cut) to begin with, then boost or cut the desired frequencies as desired. If the sound is sharp to you when the EQ is set flat, you want to roll back the treble a bit. If you want more bass, nudge it up a little and see how that sounds. Lastly, to find what midrange sound you want, turn up the mid gain knob halfway and sweep through the frequencies with the bottom knob of the stack and see what position it is that you want to boost or cut.

One reason your sound might be sharp is that even if your treble isn't boosted, your mids might be set to the high range and is boosting some sharp mid frequencies. So, yea, always start with flat eq.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I spent some time messing with the settings over the past few days. Got it sounding a lot better to me. Not perfect, but I've always been the kind of person to continuously mess with the settings, trying to get an unobtainable perfect sound. Also, the sound I want changes a little bit everyday, so...

I thought I knew what the knobs did when I bought it, but I was wrong... I didn't play it a whole lot before buying it, as I liked the feel of it as son as I touched it. I thought the two non-stacked knobs were volume for each pickup, and the stacked knobs were bass and treble levels. The link to the preamp that was posted a little while ago helped a lot, though!
 
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#7,634
Taking some pics for insurance and such- the quilt just blows up in the sun! Makes me realize how crappy the lighting is in the basement/practice area...
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#7,640
Modulus Mob, I come bearing treasures from Geoff Gould era Modulus Graphite. Cream of the crop is this catalog. It's undated but probably from 1992-1993 as it has the older MODULUS GRAPHITE logo (as on the Quantums, page 2) and the newer MODULUS one (as one the Primes, page 3) that my 1993 Quantum 5 had.

This is the first time I'd ever seen spalted maple on a guitar or bass and what caused me to order my spalted maple Quantum 5. I was hoping for something like the strat on page 4. It boogie woogied on my brain! Mine ended being more like the Prime on page 5 but I love it to this day!

Modulus 1 copy.jpg
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