Ok my Mob brothers and sisters (and Geoff). I accidentally did a thing here. ID Help would be greatly appreciated. No serial number.
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Modulus Mob
- Thread starter rockstarbassist
- Start date
Ha! If I'd seen all of those pictures on Facebook instead of just the headstock I wouldn't have been so quick to suggest mid-1990s. Body and (especially) that narrow pickup marked "bp" definitely suggest 1980s.
And on here as well. Since this is a Geoff era bass, he may have some insight.
GeoffGould
Commercial User
Yes, it’s from the 80s. If there’s no serial number, it’s before 89 or so. As I’ve said many times before, this is not a TBX. It’s a Quantum 5 Thru-body. Similar to the one owned by Fernando Saunders (now owned by Aardvark bassist Skip Eye). The neck pick up is a triple coil, which is what the mini toggle switch is for, and the bridge pick up is probably a hum bucker. I suggest everybody get some of that magnetic viewing paper!
The very first bass is from this mold, and had a much bigger peghead. One good way to date this, would be to find some pictures of Phil Lesh, if you can date the pictures. In the beginning, the end of ‘82, the bass we made him had the original large peghead. By the time we made the one with the red narra top, like mine, the peghead was smaller. Anyone have any date-identified pictures of Phil Lesh in the mid 80’s?
The very first bass is from this mold, and had a much bigger peghead. One good way to date this, would be to find some pictures of Phil Lesh, if you can date the pictures. In the beginning, the end of ‘82, the bass we made him had the original large peghead. By the time we made the one with the red narra top, like mine, the peghead was smaller. Anyone have any date-identified pictures of Phil Lesh in the mid 80’s?
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Congrats, @iriegnome! I've had my eye on that one for months, was waiting for the price to come down some. And so it did! I will be very interested to read a review when you get it. It was already great to read what Geoff had to say.
And if you ever tire of it let me know, I think it would pair well with my 89 Q5 bolton.
Well, to put my interest into perspective, I spend way more time on the Mediocre Bassists Club than anywhere else on TB. But that said, I love my Q5 fretless, which has become my main axe. Btw if you're wondering about strings, I put TI Jazz Flats on mine, also love how that's working for me.
Anybody know the difference between a TBX and a Q5 Neck Thru? Top? Wing attachment? Body style?
GeoffGould
Commercial User
The original Q5 (and Q6) TB as well as the original Q5 SP (bolt on) were based on 4-string necks. The X came later, when we made the necks eXtra wide. Maybe we should develop a FAQ file?
A FAQ File would be amazing. So many little variations and so little out there that is printed. As always, thanks for the insight
FAQ? I vote for a coffee table book on the history of Modulus Graphite. From the early days down on the peninsula to the joint creations like the buzzard and the b-quad. Of course, pix galore! Plus, anecdotes from working with the likes of Stanley Jordan, John Entwistle, et al...
GeoffGould
Commercial User
Is this a start?FAQ? I vote for a coffee table book on the history of Modulus Graphite. From the early days down on the peninsula to the joint creations like the buzzard and the b-quad. Of course, pix galore! Plus, anecdotes from working with the likes of Stanley Jordan, John Entwistle, et al...
GeoffGould
Commercial User
I can't seem to find the edit button, so I forgot to give photo credit to Trond Braaten for the Entwistle pic.
NBD for me and I am overly disappointed! The bass is unplayable! Which for me is usually no big deal, but it just was so understated the condition of this bass. Bigger yet, it has the wrong bridge on it. So I am asking you all to point me in the right direction. I need a new “original” bridge. Not a clue what to buy. Here is a picture of the offending said bridge
Attachments
I dont wish to aggravate the wound, but what is making it unplayable? Speaking as one with just a single datapoint of his own.
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