Agreed. He must’ve caught him at the right time.This amazes me.
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Modulus Mob
- Thread starter rockstarbassist
- Start date
I have always had great communication and service from Tony over the years, despite me being a pain in his ass at times. MUCH better than the service of the defunct modulus company.
I hear ya & agree. This was in around 2010 or so when I placed the order. However, it's right the time when the Modulus company started not answering the phone, emails, customers etc. & then shut the doors & slithered away into the woodwork. I since bought a used Modulus VJ bass in July of 2019 from GC w/ active EMG's w/ EMG preamp with controls for master volume, blend, bass & treble, gloss finish & Chechen fingerboard option in near mint condition for $1499 + shipping. That's how I was able to get into the Modulus family as I'd never afford what they charge these days. Funny to think that in 1995 and 1998 when I was single & in my 20's that I was able to afford a brand new Zon Sonus V and a Zon Sonus Special IV. But once I became a dad (twice) that put a crimp on buying brand new basses in that type of price range. But I love my 1997 VJ - It's all the options that I would have asked for in a brand new one.
Their lack of response goes back a lot further than that, early 2000s. I too was too broke to join the club back then. My first I traded a repainted stingray five to someone who offered me a 98 flea 5 with the land poor in black sparkle. It was a huge win trade-wise even then, and I am not sure how I even horse traded my way into a SR5 back then with the limited budget I had. I wish I still had that one but I don't. The second one I afforded by buying Flea's main touring bass that he smashed, gave to a friend who passed it onto a moron. I picked up a donor body and pieced a bass together using the neck from it. I still have that smashed bass, am putting it all back the way I got it and Flea left it. It was the only way I could afford an FB4 back then. I have had dozens of moduli since then but that one was always special to me. That is why I bought the vertex for the neck, they are the only ones that used the same neck as the FB4 and it will be going to my baby so the Flea owned bass can be left alone as it was when he destroyed it. I still can't believe I paid that much for essentially just a neck, but over the years my bass has become very sentimental and I don't mind having a little too much into it. Marty Bell did the silver flake and it looks insane in person. Original lane poor goodness, etc. Anyway.....I hear ya on the prices and wish there were other alternatives. The only other neck for sale worldwide is a 99 on yahoo auctions japan which is a fatter version of the FB4 necks and by far my least favorite of the three shapes they had over the years. It was beat up, color matched headstock that doesn't match my bass, the clear coat is significantly clouding.....and the seller is stuck at $1000 USD plus duties, shipping to USA, etc. It made more sense to buy a neck in great shape on a much better neck profile with a KLD headstock that will look great on my silver flake. Even if it did cost too much for a neck, I am sick of shopping and wanted to be done with the search.
Not mine. This one is. He chucked one into the crowd in an earlier tantrum in the night. Honestly not a fan of this destruction at all. But, it is history.
This would have been when I had them make my Genesis 4. Anderson was near impossible to get in touch with, but I happened to be at NAMM and talked with him. A lot... Got mine done the direct way.
Even more notorious...and sacrilegious. But hey - it's just wood and money.
Yep, there are some very distinct mods and damage on this particular one, it was his #1 from 97 until this night in 99. Was also used to record the californication album, at least some as I have a pic from the sessions with him using it. Oof. I hate how it ended but I would have never ended up with it otherwise.
Great story & thanks for sharing. Your basses look great. The first time I ever picked up a Modulus was at a music shop in Brunswick, Maine, it was an M92 in around 1991-1992 & I think it was brand new. But I ended up buying a crimson colored Stingray with the mid option & black pickguard brand new at a different music store in Maine. That was my first high end bass. I always was a fan of graphite and liked Zon's headstocks and ended up buying those later. I'm glad you are happy with your purchase and are getting the neck that you like the best.
If I had an extra $4000 burning a hole in my pocket I'd buy this (just found it on Reverb a minute ago);
Modulus Funk Unlimited 2022 - Blue Flake | Reverb
Modulus Funk Unlimited 2022 - Blue Flake | Reverb
Yep, pretty sure that was made for the AR guy who was with Modulus for several years.....thought it got the legacy lane poor robbed from it that came in it.
This is one of the best looking Quantums I've ever seen...and I have a blueburst/blue neck Q6. Nice.
Many cool stories there, Tim!
Regarding that neck in Japan - I spoke to the previous seller (the guy who sold it to the current seller; priced more reasonably than it is now), and could not get any details as to whether it's straight/not, whether the trussrod works/not, etc. It sold to someone else while we were discussing the details... Current listing says it has a back-bow, but doesn't mention whether it has any 'twist' or not, and is woreded in quite a roundabout way (though, trussrod adjustment nut seems to be in ok shape). so perhaps worth being cautious, if anyone does decide to pursue it.
Interesting, I didn't understand the listing nor ever see anything about the backbow. He keeps relisting it and adjusting the price.....it was as low as 750 at one point but even if straight it looks pretty rough. I always avoid any of them with clouding clearcoat and that one looks significant....plus I hate the shape of the 99-02 (or whenever that version ended) necks. Thanks for the info! PS, what was it priced at previously?
I got lucky a few years ago and found a poor shape neck from the same era, it had a pretty nasty chunk out of the clear right in the middle of the neck that someone poorly "filled" with rough, poorly fitted black epoxy. But it was like 300 bucks so I jumped. I asked if he happened to still have the body and he did for another 150 bucks lol. I missed out on the lane poor and bart pre as he already sold that for like 150 to someone else. So I still didn't end up with a cheap neck, but had almost everything I needed to make it a complete working bass again so I did. I had like 540 bucks in a complete modulus flea. Discounted it heavily due to the poor repair in the clear and still made a ton on that one. Around the same time I was googling for a case and the search found a nice 2000 flea with case for 1250. Wait, that says still in stock??????? So I called the store and they still had it, couldn't get my credit card out fast enough. Kicker? That was 1250 canadian, I scored that one for like 975 bucks. Ending up trading that one off for another flea that is long gone now. All of these were just 3-4 years ago.
So that is partially why I can stomach ending up with like 1625 in a bass just to harvest the neck.....the Modulus gods have been kind of to me and it is my turn to pay up lol.
If memory serves me right, it was about half of what it is now, and given the shpe of the clearcoat, and ambiguity of info, i wasn't sure it was 'great value' at the time... your comments are making me think that perhaps I should have gambled on it...
I was considering using the neck for a DIY twin for my somewhat-ratty SonicHammer/Pre-Flea - one of those basses I don't play that much, but can't quite get myself to part with for sentimental reasons (it's sort of my 'first bass').
edwinhurwitz
Supporting Member
Speaking of buying necks, my first Modulus was built from a neck I got back in the days of the Bottom Line, when I was a moderator (ca. 2000). I was pretty down on them, prior to that, although loved what Oteil did with them (my band, Shockra, played a few shows with Aquarium Rescue Unit). But, I was listening to an ARU bootleg and thought "I have to get that sound!" The next day, a Bottom Line member contacted me to see if it was OK if he listed his Q6 neck or if I wanted it. He had a Q6 and loved the body but hated the neck, so I bought it for a few hundred. Then I had to figure out how to get a body. There used to be this guy, Larry Pogreba, who built guitars, mostly dobros and the like, up in Lyons, CO. He was a quite a character who had a cannon that shot bowling balls that would fly 5 miles. When the bowling alley in Lyons closed, they agreed to sell him all the balls, but he had to take the shoes as well, so for a while, everyone in Lyons walked around in bowling shoes. But I digress.
So, he a 100 year old mahogany door and he cut out a body for me and routed for the neck and pickups. Then, Harry Fleishman hooked me up with a bridge and tuners and I got a pair of Lane Poor pickups (had a great time visiting him at the factory). After a few weeks of sanding and finishing, I finally had a bass.
I built a plate for the front of the bass so I could try swapping out preamps and did a bunch of other mods on it and finally I decided that I wanted a more professionally built body, so I got in touch with Jack Read and asked him to make one. Well, it turned out that he had Modulus body lying around, although it was for a 5 string. He had customer who loved the neck, but the body was too heavy (opposite of the guy I got the neck from). So I sent him the neck and for a very reasonable price, he adapted the body for it.
Now it looks like this (the bass in the center), although in some ways, I think the mahogany sounded better.
So, he a 100 year old mahogany door and he cut out a body for me and routed for the neck and pickups. Then, Harry Fleishman hooked me up with a bridge and tuners and I got a pair of Lane Poor pickups (had a great time visiting him at the factory). After a few weeks of sanding and finishing, I finally had a bass.
I built a plate for the front of the bass so I could try swapping out preamps and did a bunch of other mods on it and finally I decided that I wanted a more professionally built body, so I got in touch with Jack Read and asked him to make one. Well, it turned out that he had Modulus body lying around, although it was for a 5 string. He had customer who loved the neck, but the body was too heavy (opposite of the guy I got the neck from). So I sent him the neck and for a very reasonable price, he adapted the body for it.
Now it looks like this (the bass in the center), although in some ways, I think the mahogany sounded better.
The story and those instruments are amazing.
Let alone the Alembic, just by itself.
