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Modulus Mob

#10,223
So here's the thing. I want the bass. My luthier can get it all worked out. First it needs a proper bridge. This ESP stamped bridge is kind of killing it. But, the action is really high. Not sure if just a bridge adjustment and a better strings (new strings arrive tomorrow). Not sure I want to have it worked out before I get a different bridge. But the reason it is unplayable is due to high action (I am a super low action kind of player).
 
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#10,224
iriegnome said:
So here's the thing. I want the bass. My luthier can get it all worked out. First it needs a proper bridge. This ESP stamped bridge is kind of killing it. But, the action is really high. Not sure if just a bridge adjustment and a better strings (new strings arrive tomorrow). Not sure I want to have it worked out before I get a different bridge. But the reason it is unplayable is due to high action (I am a super low action kind of player).
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I will be very interested to hear what you think of it when you get it set up the way you like. And I am sorry it did not arrive in the expected state.
 
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#10,225
I would like to find more on these pickups as well. There is a 3 position mini toggle which I think it the pickup selector. Front/both/back. There is a 6 position rotary pot that I believe is for the front pickup, but not sure what it does. The foremost pot is volume. So the last pot I believe is tone?? I didn't hook it up to a real amp to hear the differences
 
#10,226
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Any help to ID and figure out what these pickups and wiring should be would be great! I know now tgat the middle coil isn’t even hooked up.
 
#10,228
Update - Bartolini is no help at all. The front pickup is a 4E pickup. Triple Coil! Not exactly sure why there is a 6 position rotary switch in the bass. Back pickup is a humbucker, dual coil. I need options to add a proper preamp, and wiring to make this work the way it should have when it was built. Even if I pull all the wiring and start from scratch, does anyone have any ideas as to what this may/might have been in 1986 with the 2 pickups I have in it?
 
#10,229
iriegnome said:
Update - Bartolini is no help at all. The front pickup is a 4E pickup. Triple Coil! Not exactly sure why there is a 6 position rotary switch in the bass. Back pickup is a humbucker, dual coil. I need options to add a proper preamp, and wiring to make this work the way it should have when it was built. Even if I pull all the wiring and start from scratch, does anyone have any ideas as to what this may/might have been in 1986 with the 2 pickups I have in it?
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I have some ideas about the pickups (Bartolini used to do a lot of interesting things), but nothing concrete. You should get some of that magnetic viewing film and determine what the magnet structures look like and that might help in determining what the 6 position does. My guess is that they are the original pickups. The real question is, how does it sound?

As far as the high action goes, one of the issues with the earlier basses is that the necks are not inflexible. They can develop various issues, such as a curve in the middle, which leads to what my luthier calls a ski jump from about the 14th fret on. Most of the neck throughs I've played from that era suffer from this to one degree or another, so usually it's a question of finding a good combination of string gauge (I love Sunbeam 120-30s for my 6 strings and 120-40 for 5s), to relieve the tension on the neck and let it straighten out, and bridge height. Apparently you can get someone like Jerry Dorsch to remove the frets (already done in your case), plane the fingerboard, and set it up again. Sometimes new frets can be installed in such a way as to help undo the bow.

I've heard that the problem can come from the composite fingerboard material being susceptible to moisture and shrinking that breaks the joint of the neck with the fingerboard, causing the neck to move, or something like that, but I don't know if that's the case or it's just the luck of the draw with years of string tension pulling the neck. I traded away my 1992 TBX 6 (which sounded amazing) because of the bow issue for a 1993 TBX 5, but it also has a neck issue. Really, the only real cure is to find a bass that doesn't have a neck problem or get a new one with the adjustment capability. Or live with it and try to set it up as well as you can. But, in the meantime, I'm just going to play the heck out of the 1993 because why not? It's still a great bass that does the thing that Modulus does so well and it's a bit easier to wrangle than the 6 string was. I may change it from EMGs to Barts, as I really love that Bartolini sound the 6 had and the EMG DCs seem a bit midrang-ey and harsh in comparison. But I'll gig it before I make a move.
 
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#10,231
I am pretty confident they are the original pickups as well. as for the neck and set up, my luthier is way more qualified than he wants to be with my Modulus basses (over 40). I had replaced the strap buttons with original ones, I will be looking for a set of black Modulus tuners (the ones someone put on there are not) and most of my focus will be on the pickups. Not sure exactly how it sounds because I already know none of the preamp/wiring is correct or even complete. Mr. Gould was kind enough to give me an idea of how it should be run, the goal is to find the proper electronics to run a triple coil (center coil as hum cancelling) neck pickup and the dual coil bridge pickup. All running (per Geoff) with a VVT configuration and a 4 pole 3 position pickup selector switch. At that point, I could then add whatever preamp I want, I would probably add another mini-toggle so I can split that Triple Coil to tonal variations and it should be good. At least maybe!!
 
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#10,233
iriegnome said:
I am pretty confident they are the original pickups as well. as for the neck and set up, my luthier is way more qualified than he wants to be with my Modulus basses (over 40). I had replaced the strap buttons with original ones, I will be looking for a set of black Modulus tuners (the ones someone put on there are not) and most of my focus will be on the pickups. Not sure exactly how it sounds because I already know none of the preamp/wiring is correct or even complete. Mr. Gould was kind enough to give me an idea of how it should be run, the goal is to find the proper electronics to run a triple coil (center coil as hum cancelling) neck pickup and the dual coil bridge pickup. All running (per Geoff) with a VVT configuration and a 4 pole 3 position pickup selector switch. At that point, I could then add whatever preamp I want, I would probably add another mini-toggle so I can split that Triple Coil to tonal variations and it should be good. At least maybe!!
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I had a pair of Bartolini triple coil pickups in my Starfire before I put Alembics in there. They were great! I had a 5 position switch per pickup that allowed series/parallel between the two coils with magnets (the sensing coils) and then various configurations for the humcanceler and one of the sensing coils for different single coil tones. I may have the original documentation somewhere which shows how it should all be wired. I'll look through my files and see if I can find it.
 
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#10,234
Quick shielding question:

I've seen a number of EMG equipped Moduli with no shielding. I'm wondering if the same is true for instruments that came with Bartolini pickups and electronics. I've got an EMG bass and will be swapping out for Barts (the DCs are too harsh with too much high end). I will be shielding it but I'm wondering if they did so.
 
#10,237
I have Modulus basses with both EMG and Bartolini pickups. I have Q5's, Bassstar's, Genesis basses and guitars. Both my G. Goulds have EMG's

EDIT - Please see post #10226 with my 1986 Q5 neck thru with Barts and nothing other than the electronics in the cavity
 
#10,239
edwinhurwitz said:
Quick shielding question:

I've seen a number of EMG equipped Moduli with no shielding. I'm wondering if the same is true for instruments that came with Bartolini pickups and electronics. I've got an EMG bass and will be swapping out for Barts (the DCs are too harsh with too much high end). I will be shielding it but I'm wondering if they did so.
Click to expand...
Every bass with Barts I’ve had/have has a shielded cavity. I thought EMG didn’t recommend shielding as it could short out something, but of course now I can’t find it (haven’t had coffee yet, sorry).
 
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