NBD-MOdulus Revolite 4 String

[tleebassist11]

Hey talkbass, just wanted to share with you all how exceptional this bass is! I have recently came back to playing Modulus full time after being a Fodera endorser for the last 5 years. This is the first instrument of Modulus' that I have owned that are being Master Built by Joe Perman, and their resurgence over the last few years.

These Modulus are on a whole new level. This bass is a chambered ash body with a carbon fiber alloy structure so the bass is 6.4 lbs.....by far the lightest instrument I've had. It doesn't feel too light either like I've experienced with some chambered basses that can almost feel like a toy...
The balance is perfect..
The sound is my absolute favorite part. With the Legacy Lane Poor Musicman and P pickup I am able to get an amazing modern version of those two tones. The Epifani preamp is a new feature that I had added on this bass and I love it, reminds me of the Mike Pope with a more aggressive edge. The neck is also really good feeling with the satin finish.
I'm posting this to just let you guys know to not sleep on Modulus because I've owned a lot of great basses and this one is really just blowing my mind. I haven't put it down since I got it and I suggest anybody looking for anything custom with that Modulus sound I would hit up Tony Cimperman at planet bass.

 

[RickBlair]

That's a beautiful bass. Nice to see that Modulus is back in business producing great basses. The color is very similar to my Q5 which is I think a 1992 vintage. I managed to get a couple of Lane Poor pickups from Jack Read while Lane was still making them. I have the Lane Poor preamp also but it is so clean that the only difference between active and passive is the volume.

Rick B.

 

[funkymonk13]

Thanks for sharing man! I'm surprised these basses arent more popular on TB. I sold the one in my avatar because I wasnt playing bass too much, and deeply regretted it. I bought another one as soon as I was able to. I've owned something like 10 basses and modulus has been my favorite by far. IMO they're pretty much the perfect bass. I think the price tag on the new ones is too much for most people but I would love to try the new RevOlite models.

 

[Lesfunk]

Thanks for sharing man! I'm surprised these basses arent more popular on TB. I sold the one in my avatar because I wasnt playing bass too much, and deeply regretted it. I bought another one as soon as I was able to. I've owned something like 10 basses and modulus has been my favorite by far. IMO they're pretty much the perfect bass. I think the price tag on the new ones is too much for most people but I would love to try the new RevOlite models.

To be honest, I think they’re are actually Very popular on TB. (The original Flea)
I don’t think very many are aware that Modulus are back in business.
They don’t have any distribution
I owned several Flea basses and played them for years.
When they do pop up for sale, they don’t seem to last very Long.
The only downside of the new Modulus for me is the very high price tag.

 

[Bob_Ross]

This bass is a chambered ash body with a carbon fiber alloy structure

Is the "structure" you refer to just the neck, or is Modulus also doing something with carbon fiber inside that chambered ash body?

 

[JRA]

nice-looking ax, OP! i'm sure it sounds good in your hands, too. congratulations on your new instrument!

 

[tleebassist11]

Is the "structure" you refer to just the neck, or is Modulus also doing something with carbon fiber inside that chambered ash body?

I'm not exactly sure how they do it from a luthier perspective, but there is carbon fiber in the body as well which shaved more weight off the bass.

 

[tleebassist11]

nice-looking ax, OP! i'm sure it sounds good in your hands, too. congratulations on your new instrument!

Thanks man! My Instagram handle is: Tleebassist and I have a bunch of vids playing it if you want to check the tone.

 

[tleebassist11]

As someone who has owed several Fodera's I can safely say the price tag on these new Modulus' are justified! They feel as top notch as any bass I've owned and the fact that it's so light and so diverse tonally, I almost can't even put a price on how sweet it is!!!

 

[funkymonk13]

To be honest, I think they’re are actually Very popular on TB. (The original Flea)
I don’t think very many are aware that Modulus are back in business.
They don’t have any distribution
I owned several Flea basses and played them for years.
When they do pop up for sale, they don’t seem to last very Long.
The only downside of the new Modulus for me is the very high price tag.

I think they only make a few basses a month, and I'm guessing they sell everything they make. As OP says, compared to other boutique basses im sure they're worth it. Its just most of us dont have 5K to spend on a bass unfortunately. I've read people say that 10 years ago they were being blown out for under 1k which is crazy. I think i've also read the company went bankrupt because it cost them more to produce the basses than what they were selling for.

If they had a more stripped down assembly line version for ~$2500 that would be dope. Or even if they licensed the brand and had a korean line under 2k. To me the main appeal is the carbon fiber neck along with the active humbucker. The body on the FB4 is awesome too; its super comfortable and the bass feels shorter to me than other basses. I bought a used fender flea and hated it; the neck seemed to stick out super far, I hated the finish and it just didnt sound as good as a modulus to me.

 

[JuanB]

How was your experience of working out the specs, prompt communication, build updates, delivery, etc?

Hey talkbass, just wanted to share with you all how exceptional this bass is! I have recently came back to playing Modulus full time after being a Fodera endorser for the last 5 years. This is the first instrument of Modulus' that I have owned that are being Master Built by Joe Perman, and their resurgence over the last few years.

These Modulus are on a whole new level. This bass is a chambered ash body with a carbon fiber alloy structure so the bass is 6.4 lbs.....by far the lightest instrument I've had. It doesn't feel too light either like I've experienced with some chambered basses that can almost feel like a toy...
The balance is perfect..
The sound is my absolute favorite part. With the Legacy Lane Poor Musicman and P pickup I am able to get an amazing modern version of those two tones. The Epifani preamp is a new feature that I had added on this bass and I love it, reminds me of the Mike Pope with a more aggressive edge. The neck is also really good feeling with the satin finish.
I'm posting this to just let you guys know to not sleep on Modulus because I've owned a lot of great basses and this one is really just blowing my mind. I haven't put it down since I got it and I suggest anybody looking for anything custom with that Modulus sound I would hit up Tony Cimperman at planet bass.

 

[tleebassist11]

@JuanB really amazing man. I told them I wanted a flea bass with a Musicman Pickup and a P pickup, 33" scale, and finished in the exact color that Oteil's old signature purple bass was. They fricken nailed it!!!! Very prompt communication and just overall very supportive guys who love what they do. I'd suggest them over any brand out there right now, and I've been fortunate to own all the best stuff.

 

[daddymactx]

Modulus is AWESOME!! They never actually went out of business. They went through a period of a couple of ownership changes which created a bit of instability. But since Tony took over they've been roaring back strong due to the continued innovation, quality and consistency of the product. Most of my interaction has been with Joe Perman who is also a great guy to deal with. Communication, specs, build timing, delivery and all those things we expect when purchasing a boutique custom bass and were excellent..

 

[songwriter21]

To be honest, I think they’re are actually Very popular on TB. (The original Flea)
I don’t think very many are aware that Modulus are back in business.
They don’t have any distribution
I owned several Flea basses and played them for years.
When they do pop up for sale, they don’t seem to last very Long.
The only downside of the new Modulus for me is the very high price tag.

As someone who has owed several Fodera's I can safely say the price tag on these new Modulus' are justified! They feel as top notch as any bass I've owned and the fact that it's so light and so diverse tonally, I almost can't even put a price on how sweet it is!!!

I think they only make a few basses a month, and I'm guessing they sell everything they make. As OP says, compared to other boutique basses im sure they're worth it. Its just most of us dont have 5K to spend on a bass unfortunately. I've read people say that 10 years ago they were being blown out for under 1k which is crazy. I think i've also read the company went bankrupt because it cost them more to produce the basses than what they were selling for.

If they had a more stripped down assembly line version for ~$2500 that would be dope. Or even if they licensed the brand and had a korean line under 2k. To me the main appeal is the carbon fiber neck along with the active humbucker. The body on the FB4 is awesome too; its super comfortable and the bass feels shorter to me than other basses. I bought a used fender flea and hated it; the neck seemed to stick out super far, I hated the finish and it just didnt sound as good as a modulus to me.

If price is an issue at all, look into G. Gould. He started Modulus with Jerry Dorsch.

 

[daddymactx]

Geoff Gould is also Da Man!! Fantastic instruments!!!