The old ones are great (maybe better) but the necks can go weird any time. My 91 warped in like 2005.
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Modulus Mob
- Thread starter rockstarbassist
- Start date
The old ones are great (maybe better) but the necks can go weird any time. My 91 warped in like 2005.
The non truss necks are a bit slimmer. I've owned both, never adjusted the truss and never had a problem with the non truss neck.
Oh wow, I didn't realize that. Do they react to weather? Or does it just happen on its own?
I've read about modulus necks failing. Doesn't seem very common. Wood necks fail, I'm guessing the replacement cost is higher for graphite.
I have 3 non-truss rod Moduli. One line of thinking goes they were built to withstand string tension unaided and are therefore stiffer. That may or may not have an effect on tone. I can't say since the only truss rod equipped Modulus I've played is a Genesis so it apples to orangutans. If you're a compulsive truss rod tweaker, you want to find a later Modulus. I'm not and am happy with my basses.
It just happened. I had it repaired but it was never the same. I see it just as a risk to understand, you may buy a bass and have it go bad, or if you’re buying sight unseen it might already have twisted or bowed. The 91 is still top 5 basses I ever had. It had lane poor pickups!
I have a post-bankruptcy 34” Q5 that is just as good as that old 91. Truss tod + EMGs.
I thought 35" scale length defined a quantum bass?
I think this topic, that of truss or non truss, came up a couple of months ago and we had the same discussion, likely with the same people involved.
I too have 3 q5's, all without truss and all fine. Never needed anything adjusted. But, by all means, get what you are comfortable with.
Now, the one thing that people were able to point at that caused a neck to change were strings. I *think* they were dr high beams? Someone please correct me. Something about them put more tension on a neck and it bowed. Solution was to not use them and within a few days the neck was back to normal.
The necks can have their modulus (that's lower case) relax and when they do it's a problem.
My short story concerning one is a M92 5'er which does not have a truss rod. I had it tuned a half step down so in my case lower tension didn't help. It needed to be re-planed and that's (hopefully) that.
My '98 Q6, which does have a truss, has never had a problem. I've never even adjusted it from when I got it. Mine has the Bart system and I think it describes the sound you are looking for quite well.
I wish I could say "go a play a few" but I know that's not easy. So I'd say pick one and if you don't like it then pass it along and try the other pickup system!
Lane Poors have a legendary status and I wish I had one with them so I could try them myself!
My short story concerning one is a M92 5'er which does not have a truss rod. I had it tuned a half step down so in my case lower tension didn't help. It needed to be re-planed and that's (hopefully) that.
My '98 Q6, which does have a truss, has never had a problem. I've never even adjusted it from when I got it. Mine has the Bart system and I think it describes the sound you are looking for quite well.
I wish I could say "go a play a few" but I know that's not easy. So I'd say pick one and if you don't like it then pass it along and try the other pickup system!
Lane Poors have a legendary status and I wish I had one with them so I could try them myself!
Hello Modulus Folk. I am looking for a Q5 or Q6 w/EMG pickups.
No truss is fine, but must be straight or minuscule relief when strings are tuned.
No truss is fine, but must be straight or minuscule relief when strings are tuned.
Kinda poking around, looking for new basses that I certainly don't need...
If any of you have ever repaired a chip on the neck of a Modulus, how difficult was it? And were you able to find any repair shops near you that could handle it if you didn't want to or were unable to?
There's a bass listed online that's kinda caught my eye, but it's got a chip that I personally think is kinda nasty looking. Seller says that it doesn't affect playability, but I just know that if I feel it, and I'm confident I will, I'd be annoyed by it at least.
Here's a cropped pic of the chip:
Thoughts?
If any of you have ever repaired a chip on the neck of a Modulus, how difficult was it? And were you able to find any repair shops near you that could handle it if you didn't want to or were unable to?
There's a bass listed online that's kinda caught my eye, but it's got a chip that I personally think is kinda nasty looking. Seller says that it doesn't affect playability, but I just know that if I feel it, and I'm confident I will, I'd be annoyed by it at least.
Here's a cropped pic of the chip:
Thoughts?
Have the Polyurethane layer removed.
Feels like a satin finish and plays faster.
Most techs have a "finish guy" that can do the neck and leave the headstock and heel untouched. The serial number, logo and medalion are decals on the Poly finish.
I'd prefer not to go that far if I don't have to. Always good to have options, but I'd prefer to slap on a perfect patch and leave it as is.
But if I did buy that bass and remove the poly, would it just be left on the Carbon Fiber layer? Or is it refinished with something else?
You can, as some have suggested, go with the cyanoacrylate patch method or either strip and/ or refinish options. In any case it's a somewhat common ocurrence on the carbon graphite necks when the Polyester finish is applied to improperly treated neck.
Edit note Polyester correction.
I seem to recall reading a while ago that the cyanoacrylate patch methods are often rather cloudy in appearance. Something to do with the setting agent? I want to say people were saying to use super glue and baking soda for that method?...
I was kinda hoping someone would be able to say "oh yeah, I took mine to So AndSo at SuchAndSuch Guitar Shop and got it perfectly patched and color matched!" But then again, I'm the kind of person who was thinking it was practical to get a refinish on a $100 bass because "I" dropped it once.
My mental picture of the ease with which patching and refinishing is accomplished is rather unrealistic...
If you’re super picky, then you’re probably not the person who needs a chipped bass. I’d keep looking if I were you.
I bought a VJ years back that had a chip. Without paint/finish experience of any kind and without doing a lick of research, I taped off the neck and started dripping wipe on poly into the chip on a daily basis. After a few weeks, I had built up enough to knock it back down with sandpaper. It's a obvious repair. The new finish is significantly more yellow than the surrounding finish and I did a really bad job of sanding it!
I don't care though. I got a great deal, It's a player, I don't feel it when I play, and I mostly did to prevent the chip from getting any worse. I'm sure there are better, more proper ways of fixing it but it was relatively easy and only cost me a small can of finish.
The man himself chimed in on neck finish issues a few pages back, albeit for a cloudy finish (when moisture gets under the finish), but the same holds true for the chip...
As purely a reference point.
Graphite neck peeling off (Modulus bass)
and resolved it to my absolute satisfaction by removing the Poly finish
from the full radius of the neck. Made more sense than the temporary
less aesthetic/ physically annoying (you can feel the aberration every time
you play over that area) Cyanoacrylate quick fix. An alternative is, of course,
refinishing or replacing the neck (feel like you're drifting further out into the cosmos?).
All I can say is there is a proper fix and there is the short cut. You will have to
live with the outcome. Or resale the bass. Below is a pic of my decision,
with which I'm very happy. <.02
