Modulus Mob

[bubba-b]

Hello All, I have an '89 I think Quantum 5. I can't really find out that much info after searching for it. I bought it used in 1991. I know the tuners aren't original. Did they come stock with EMG's? I've been using the G Gould strings with the exposed core B & E after they stopped making the GHS progressives with the exposed core B & E. I am thinking of going to flatwounds. Anyone using flats on a modulus 5? If so any recommendations? I have a few pics attached.

using flats, not on one of my modulus 5's but on my gould ggi5 (graphite neck). acoustically, it was a bit too zingy with my dr sunbeams (nickels) so slapped on a set of dr legend flats. sounds great!

 

[StephenR]

using flats, not on one of my modulus 5's but on my gould ggi5 (graphite neck). acoustically, it was a bit too zingy with my dr sunbeams (nickels) so slapped on a set of dr legend flats. sounds great!

I have never tried flats on my Modulus Quantum five-string but put a set of Pyramid Gold flats on my 2003 composite-necked GGi5. There is a certain quality to the high-end of the EMG pickups which I always disliked and couldn't EQ out which has now almost disappeared with the flats. I am actually surprised at how amazing the bass sounds now. It always sounded great with rounds, too, but the high end bugged me, problem solved.

The stock long-scale Pyramid flats didn't fit all that well on my 35" scale GGould so I sent Pyramid exact measurements of the distance from the bridge to the nut, tailpiece to the bridge and nut to each of the tuners. They made me a custom length set at no additional charge and they fit perfectly. I also had Pyramid make me a custom set of flats for my medium-scale Alembic Series I five-string. Great experience with Pyramid customer service both times.

 

[Bob_Ross]

They made me a custom length set at no additional charge

Wow, I am seriously impressed!

 

[skiman]

Great info everyone thank you. I am always eq'ing out the high end from the EMG's on my Modulus. I was playing at a cancer benefit on Saturday and used the amp from the hosting band a Rumble 800. I had the treble and mid at 9:00 and the bass at 3:00 and had my bridge pickup almost off with my eq's flat. I was talking to the bass player who owned the amp and he has a jazz and P five and he had switched to flats and has never looked back. So, I'm gonna get a set of the legends and see how they work out

Bob, it's a black square neckplate with 4 hex bolts so it looks like mine is a Quantum 5-SPX.

One more question, does anyone know which tuners are original? I can't find a picture of the back of a 1989 headstock. The only manual is for the newer models. I would like to install the original tuners. On the Modulus site there are the black Modulus Res-O-Lite & black Modulus GB70 tuners.

 

[bubba-b]

Great info everyone thank you. I am always eq'ing out the high end from the EMG's on my Modulus. I was playing at a cancer benefit on Saturday and used the amp from the hosting band a Rumble 800. I had the treble and mid at 9:00 and the bass at 3:00 and had my bridge pickup almost off with my eq's flat. I was talking to the bass player who owned the amp and he has a jazz and P five and he had switched to flats and has never looked back. So, I'm gonna get a set of the legends and see how they work out

Bob, it's a black square neckplate with 4 hex bolts so it looks like mine is a Quantum 5-SPX.

One more question, does anyone know which tuners are original? I can't find a picture of the back of a 1989 headstock. The only manual is for the newer models. I would like to install the original tuners. On the Modulus site there are the black Modulus Res-O-Lite & black Modulus GB70 tuners.

more that likely, the original tuners were gotoh gb7's.

 

[Tim Schnautz]

As promised in the past, here’s mine

 

[Tim Schnautz]

That Status walks all over the M92...

I have both, Modulus vintage J and a custom with a P profile status neck. Both are super badass and IMO very equally matched. Both are fantastic!

 

[Rlbragg15]

NBD - Modulus FU4

I received this new Modulus back in late August, but haven't gotten around to posting. First, the specs:

• Model: Modulus Funk Unlimited 4
• Body: Two piece swamp ash (non-RevOlite; I feel the added mass is a benefit to Modulus)
• Body Finish: 3-tone sunburst (I was after that "target" Fender finish from around '65-'66 - prominent color bands, as opposed to more of a modern blend, Modulus did a great job here).
• Neck finish: gloss (I'm a big fan of gloss, as much as I love my StingRay Special 4H, I would have had its neck finished in gloss had the option been available back in 2019).
• Pickup: Modulus/Legacy Lane Poor - the perfect pickup for this bass. I don't know of a better humbucker.
• Electronics: Aguilar OBP-1, volume, bass boost, treble boost (I had a then new Modulus FU4 with the OBP-3 from 2011-2016. I never knew what to do with the mid control [still don't on my StingRay] and the boost cut seemed poor. The OBP-1 is a great match for this bass, given the inherent tonal qualities of the pickup and build.)
• Bridge: BadAss II
• Setup: I had Tony aim for my preferred relief of 0.007"-0.008" and they nailed it (as measured from the 7th/8th fret with capo at first and depressing on top of 17th fret, where the neck meets the body). I ended up lowering the action a little bit and it's now sitting at around 4/64" on the E tapering to just a hair above 3/64" on the G (as measured from the top of the 12th fret, no capo). I could probably lower the D and G a tad more, but it's 90-95% there and I'm reticent to touch a good thing right now - I'm sure you all understand.

The build/delivery time on this was about 18-months, but well worth the wait. I've got a 3yr old daughter and a 1yr old daughter, so I haven't been lacking for things to fill my time. As I told Tony, the sound of this bass is MAGIC. I've got a '63 AVRI precision (flats), '64 AVRI jazz, USA Geddy, and MM StingRay Special 4H - they all do their own thing quite well and the Modulus fills its own space.

I'm running the bass through a SansAmp VT Bass DI into GarageBand. The SansAmp settings are as follows (clock settings):

• Level: 2
• Blend: 3
• Character: 11
• Drive: 9.5
• Bass: 11.5
• Mid: 12.5
• Treble: 2.5
• Bite: off
• Speaker Sim: on

In GarageBand, I have a touch of compression mainly for headphone/hearing protection and the low bass and high treble are rolled down, similar to a HPF/LPF. On the bass, I run the volume about 80%, Bass about 60%, and Treble about 40%.

The sound is wonderful. Very clear, but not overly bright - well defined. Warm when playing soft, but digging in, growly, especially on the E and A.

I'm very pleased with the bass and happy to be back in the Modulus fold. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Luke

 

[nervous]

Hi all, I have been away from Modulus for quiet a few years now but every so often I get the bug for another Q5. This is one of those times. Would you have any reservations in purchasing a nice cared for used early 2000's Q5? I haven't followed the closing and reopening and I don't know if there is a 'golden era' for these or the brand. I had an '08 previously that was great. But spending not an insignificant sum on a 20+ year old instrument has me needing to ask the question. I guess it's really the neck I'd wonder if time had any negative impacts. Wood, electronics, finishes I can all manage. Any concerns or considerations? If I recall correctly that era was still a 35" scale?

 

[iriegnome]

The necks are thinner with the truss rods in them. Should be nothing wrong with an early 2000's Moddy. Just like any of them, some are not as great as they should be. I prefer non-truss versions. Pre-1994 is what I seem to gravitate towards. No particular reason. Other than the Vortex, a non-35" scale Modulus are pretty few and far between.

 

[Bassinga]

Hi all, I have been away from Modulus for quiet a few years now but every so often I get the bug for another Q5. This is one of those times. Would you have any reservations in purchasing a nice cared for used early 2000's Q5? I haven't followed the closing and reopening and I don't know if there is a 'golden era' for these or the brand. I had an '08 previously that was great. But spending not an insignificant sum on a 20+ year old instrument has me needing to ask the question. I guess it's really the neck I'd wonder if time had any negative impacts. Wood, electronics, finishes I can all manage. Any concerns or considerations? If I recall correctly that era was still a 35" scale?

I own a 2003 Q5 with a truss rod. If you are physically going to see the bass before you buy it. I suggest you check the neck for any bowing or twisting and ask if the truss rod is fully functional.

The 5-string Moduli are almost all 35" scale.

Contrary to what @iriegnome mentioned, the early 2000s models have thicker necks than the 90s models. I personally prefer the thicker necks as they are more comfortable for me but that's subjective of course.

 

[Modulus 96]

I own a 2003 Q5 with a truss rod. If you are physically going to see the bass before you buy it. I suggest you check the neck for any bowing or twisting and ask if the truss rod is fully functional.

The 5-string Moduli are almost all 35" scale.

Contrary to what @iriegnome mentioned, the early 2000s models have thicker necks than the 90s models. I personally prefer the thicker necks as they are more comfortable for me but that's subjective of course.

I thought this was the case as well - thicker necks when the truss rods were added.

 

[JuanB]

I own 4 modulus basses, all with truss rods. Two of them developed a bow that could not be resolved with the truss rod. They had to be replaned/refretted. What happens is that the phenolic fingerboard can shrink depending on the quality of the material. The two that developed the bow must have been made with the same batch as the serial numbers are only separated by a few basses. My other two modulus basses have been rock solid. The two that were replaned/refretted have been very stable since having the work done.

 

[nervous]

I own 4 modulus basses, all with truss rods. Two of them developed a bow that could not be resolved with the truss rod. They had to be replaned/refretted. What happens is that the phenolic fingerboard can shrink depending on the quality of the material. The two that developed the bow must have been made with the same batch as the serial numbers are only separated by a few basses. My other two modulus basses have been rock solid. The two that were replaned/refretted have been very stable since having the work done.

What year(s) were the two that had the issue?

 

[JuanB]

What year(s) were the two that had the issue?

2009. But this issue is known to have affected the necks throughout the years. They’ve apparently improved the material selection and use of the fretboards in recent years with the rebirth of Modulus.

 

[nervous]

2009. But this issue is known to have affected the necks throughout the years. They’ve apparently improved the material selection and use of the fretboards in recent years with the rebirth of Modulus.

Thank you. I am on the cusp of closing a deal in the next couple days on what appears to be a very nice 2003 Q5 so that is something I can look more closely at when I see it. From it's recent history and descriptions it appears that it should be OK.

 

[bubba-b]

here's one for the modulus sleuths.

guitar center listed this '97 quantum 5. the back of the neck looks "peculiar".

to me, looks like someone applied heat and goofed it up.

i've taken steel wool to the back of glossy necks in the past to knock down thumb drag and the necks didn't look like this.

 

[JuanB]

here's one for the modulus sleuths.

guitar center listed this '97 quantum 5. the back of the neck looks "peculiar".

to me, looks like someone applied heat and goofed it up.

i've taken steel wool to the back of glossy necks in the past to knock down thumb drag and the necks didn't look like this.

View attachment 7076809View attachment 7076810

Perhaps a botched heat treat to straighten a warped neck. Looks terrible.

 

[edwinhurwitz]

here's one for the modulus sleuths.

guitar center listed this '97 quantum 5. the back of the neck looks "peculiar".

to me, looks like someone applied heat and goofed it up.

i've taken steel wool to the back of glossy necks in the past to knock down thumb drag and the necks didn't look like this.

View attachment 7076809View attachment 7076810

I think that the necks have a coating on them and it looks like it has gotten worn.

 

[Bassinga]

Thank you. I am on the cusp of closing a deal in the next couple days on what appears to be a very nice 2003 Q5 so that is something I can look more closely at when I see it. From it's recent history and descriptions it appears that it should be OK.

I own a 2003 Q5 which has been rock solid and I've owned it for 3 years now.