Alembic is where dreams are made. With a good imagination, and enough money they can build darn near anything- they built this cute little system for the Grateful Dead, and of course, Phil Lesh's old bass.
alembic.com
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Modulus Mob
- Thread starter rockstarbassist
- Start date
alembic.com
Thanks and muchas gracias to Geoff for making it in the first place, it is a beast of a bass...
Alembic is in Santa Rosa, CA. They do lots of custom work, pretty much each instrument is made to order. I suggest you familiarize yourself with the Alembic electronics. The low-pass filter allows you to change the resonant peak of the pickup giving you a wide range of sounds. The basic Activator circuit, which would not have the bass and treble controls, is simple but versatile. You can order the Activators with the Q-switch which accentuates the center frequency of the filter. I had never heard my bass without the boost, which is built in to the Activator electronics that come without the Q-switch, and as many will agree adding the Q-switch is the way to go.
Took a couple pics as I was putting it away after rehearsal. Just because...
Does the Modulus Quantum typically come with Bartolinis or EMG's? I bought mine used (08' model) and it came with Barts. I'd like to switch to EMG's, but I'm not entirely sure if it's the right move.
Thanks!
Do you know why the Barts were an "upgrade"? Are they considered higher quality pickups?
I guess...but I've never had the urge to swap out the EMGs in the 20+ years of owning my Q5. It sounds fine the way it is.
Cool, thank you. Mine came with the barts and I'm kind of not into them. I think I'm going to swap em out!
GeoffGould
Commercial User
back in the 'old days,' Barts were more expensive for a variety of reasons. They were harder to get, they were a bit more expensive, they were more expensive to install, and so on. But, I always liked them. When a dealer could afford to stock multiple basses, I would recommend they have one bass with EMG's and one with Barts. They tended to appeal to different players.
You don't get much closer to the source than that! Thanks Geoff!
I never liked the sound of EMGs in a Modulus, myself- but some people swear by them. All depends on the tone you like. Just note that EMGs are not a straight swap for Bartolinis, mikeguyfriend- they have different route dimensions. You would have to enlarge the routes for EMGs. The same may be true of other pickups, depending on what you are looking at.
Honestly, I think sometimes you change more and with less hassle by changing the preamp.
I never liked the sound of EMGs in a Modulus, myself- but some people swear by them. All depends on the tone you like. Just note that EMGs are not a straight swap for Bartolinis, mikeguyfriend- they have different route dimensions. You would have to enlarge the routes for EMGs. The same may be true of other pickups, depending on what you are looking at.
Honestly, I think sometimes you change more and with less hassle by changing the preamp.
GeoffGould
Commercial User
initially, Bartolini took my suggestion to make a pickup in the same shape as EMG, which other manufacturers do as well. I guess it didn't work out perfectly.
You seem to know your stuff here, so- Isn't the EMG preamp IN the pickup, so to switch to barts, I'd also need to install a preamp?
Random tangent: I was on a musical theater gig in the LA area a few years ago when the drummer noticed my Modulus VJ and told me his uncle built it. I asked him if his uncle was Geoff Gould and it was!
I can't remember his name...Nick, maybe? But it was neat talking to someone so who really understood the Modulus thing.
GeoffGould
Commercial User
Yes, Kevin Brown is my nephew, and a great drummer! Small world indeed! He also plays in a band called the Show Ponies. [note: of course, if it was made after 1995, I was no longer at Modulus, but it's a nice story nonetheless!]Random tangent: I was on a musical theater gig in the LA area a few years ago when the drummer noticed my Modulus VJ and told me his uncle built it. I asked him if his uncle was Geoff Gould and it was!
I can't remember his name...Nick, maybe? But it was neat talking to someone so who really understood the Modulus thing.
GeoffGould
Commercial User
it depends which preamp you're referring to. Yes, the main one is inside the pickup, but there is also the external EQ.
I'm assuming that since the Hot wire from my batteries goes straight to the pickup, and the only electronics in the cavity is one small board with a dip switch, that to switch to barts I need to replace the whole works...right?
GeoffGould
Commercial User
not necessarily. Sounds like you might have bass/treble controls? They can work with Barts. In fact, there was a period when we used EMG EQ with Bart pickups.
