New Modulus?

[funkymonk13]

I've seen a couple of Modulus Js on eBay the past few months sell for 1000-1700ish.

I didn't get one because I really wanted the funk unlimited because of the lane poor humbucker. Now that I have one, I can't say enough good things about modulus.

The prices of the new ones are just completely out reach for so many musicians. Looking at it from the "boutique" bass point of view I think they're well worth it compared to any of the builders who charge 5k for a bass. My only gripes with them is they went from a company offering basses teenagers/average Joe can afford to save up for to offering bases only retired hobbyists can afford.

Id really love an import line with high quality Components and quality control. I'd happily pay $2000 for a Well made Korean modulus. The carbon fiber neck really is awesome.

 

[CaptainWally]

They are cool. But, man, they are heavy. Usually 10 lbs. or so.

 

[pablomigraine]

So I checked these out as Summer NAMM last few days, as I was interested to see what was new and what was old (in a good way).. and here's my take for better or worse:

These basses are, for the most part, exactly what they were in their heyday... the ONLY difference being that they have done away with that GODAWFUL (imho) sticky sticky sticky finish on the back of their necks which doubtless launched a thousand Zon orders.... the finish is now silky smoove satin similar to Zon but with the lovely flake pattern we've all loved about the Modulus neck. They also have some kind of gimmick carbon fiber reinforced highly chambered body with is very light and VERY resonant. Other than that.... samesies.... great neck profile, great fretwork, great design, great everything. But imho, not just shy of FIVE THOUSAND BUCKS great ($4,899 for the aforementioned hollowed out model). That's pretty rarefied air for a passive bolt-on bass, carbon fiber neck or no.... They also don't seem to have much of a business plan either... The former crew had top-name endorsers, great marketing, and the same great product... and they still went belly-up selling the exact same instruments for roughly a thousand dollars LESS apples to apples.... and the new crew seems to hope all those very same ingredients, with nothing added except an extra thousand dollars, will result in a win for them...I wish them the best of luck either way, because they're very cool people and very cool basses, but it's a tough world right now in this biz... every dollar someone makes is a dollar and ten cents they're taking from someone else, such is the shrinking nature of the category...

They are not, as earlier stated, a "One Man Shop".... and they are not doing their own finishing and paint. They also didn't have anything at the NAMM show that wasn't plain Ash or Alder either... but holy sticker shock. I'm sure they'll sell plenty of basses... but many you REALLY have to want that exact bass and nothing else will do.... because you can get a whole lotta bass for that kinda money elsewhere.

 

[pablomigraine]

So I checked these out as Summer NAMM last few days, as I was interested to see what was new and what was old (in a good way).. and here's my take for better or worse:

These basses are, for the most part, exactly what they were in their heyday... the ONLY difference being that they have done away with that GODAWFUL (imho) sticky sticky sticky finish on the back of their necks which doubtless launched a thousand Zon orders.... the finish is now silky smoove satin similar to Zon but with the lovely flake pattern we've all loved about the Modulus neck. They also have some kind of gimmick carbon fiber reinforced highly chambered body with is very light and VERY resonant. Other than that.... samesies.... great neck profile, great fretwork, great design, great everything. But imho, not just shy of FIVE THOUSAND BUCKS great ($4,899 for the aforementioned hollowed out model). That's pretty rarefied air for a passive bolt-on bass, carbon fiber neck or no.... They also don't seem to have much of a business plan either... The former crew had top-name endorsers, great marketing, and the same great product... and they still went belly-up selling the exact same instruments for roughly a thousand dollars LESS apples to apples.... and the new crew seems to hope all those very same ingredients, with nothing added except an extra thousand dollars, will result in a win for them...I wish them the best of luck either way, because they're very cool people and very cool basses, but it's a tough world right now in this biz... every dollar someone makes is a dollar and ten cents they're taking from someone else, such is the shrinking nature of the category...

They are not, as earlier stated, a "One Man Shop".... and they are not doing their own finishing and paint. They also didn't have anything at the NAMM show that wasn't plain Ash or Alder either... but holy sticker shock. I'm sure they'll sell plenty of basses... but many you REALLY have to want that exact bass and nothing else will do.... because you can get a whole lotta bass for that kinda money elsewhere.

 

[funkymonk13]

So I checked these out as Summer NAMM last few days, as I was interested to see what was new and what was old (in a good way).. and here's my take for better or worse:

These basses are, for the most part, exactly what they were in their heyday... the ONLY difference being that they have done away with that GODAWFUL (imho) sticky sticky sticky finish on the back of their necks which doubtless launched a thousand Zon orders.... the finish is now silky smoove satin similar to Zon but with the lovely flake pattern we've all loved about the Modulus neck. They also have some kind of gimmick carbon fiber reinforced highly chambered body with is very light and VERY resonant. Other than that.... samesies.... great neck profile, great fretwork, great design, great everything. But imho, not just shy of FIVE THOUSAND BUCKS great ($4,899 for the aforementioned hollowed out model). That's pretty rarefied air for a passive bolt-on bass, carbon fiber neck or no.... They also don't seem to have much of a business plan either... The former crew had top-name endorsers, great marketing, and the same great product... and they still went belly-up selling the exact same instruments for roughly a thousand dollars LESS apples to apples.... and the new crew seems to hope all those very same ingredients, with nothing added except an extra thousand dollars, will result in a win for them...I wish them the best of luck either way, because they're very cool people and very cool basses, but it's a tough world right now in this biz... every dollar someone makes is a dollar and ten cents they're taking from someone else, such is the shrinking nature of the category...

They are not, as earlier stated, a "One Man Shop".... and they are not doing their own finishing and paint. They also didn't have anything at the NAMM show that wasn't plain Ash or Alder either... but holy sticker shock. I'm sure they'll sell plenty of basses... but many you REALLY have to want that exact bass and nothing else will do.... because you can get a whole lotta bass for that kinda money elsewhere.

Thanks for sharing your experience!
How do you think the new basses compare to other basses with similar price-tags?

Im surprised that they arent doing their own finishing and paint. Maybe thats why its so expensive? theyre outsourcing everything. Also, I saw a few pictures of their booth and you're right, looks like mostly basic ash and alder sunbursts and blacks. I thought they'd do a ton of flame and quilt maple tops in exotic colors; not really my thing but most people buying high end expensive basses seem to be in that sort of thing.

I also agree with their business plan being sorta odd. Its a limited pool of consumers with those price tags and i'm not sure how much their basses will appeal to those people. Maybe they'll just keep that 1-2 bass per month model and thats what theyre looking for. Its nuts because they had the most recognizable bassist of the past 25 years playing their stuff almost exclusively for over a decade.

 

[elgecko]

they went from a company offering basses teenagers/average Joe can afford to save up for to offering bases only retired hobbyists can afford.

When was that exactly? I paid $2,400 for my Q5 24 years ago and that wasn't exactly chump change.

EDIT: I ran the numbers and that was the equivalent of $4,120 in today's money.

 

[CaptainWally]

When was that exactly? I paid $2,400 for my Q5 24 years ago and that wasn't exactly chump change.

EDIT: I ran the numbers and that was the equivalent of $4,120 in today's money.

Cept the Q5 is over $6k now. The VJ and GVJ could be had new for < $2k .... as late as 8-9 years ago.

 

[elgecko]

Cept the Q5 is over $6k now. The VJ and GVJ could be had new for < $2k .... as late as 8-9 years ago.

Granted...it's just that I haven't seen many teenagers saving up for $2,000 basses. That takes a lot of lawn mowing!

 

[funkymonk13]

When was that exactly? I paid $2,400 for my Q5 24 years ago and that wasn't exactly chump change.

EDIT: I ran the numbers and that was the equivalent of $4,120 in today's money.

Granted...it's just that I haven't seen many teenagers saving up for $2,000 basses. That takes a lot of lawn mowing!

I think the funk unlimited cost ~$2200 from 1997-2010. Basically the same price right until they went under, which in hindsight was probably their downfall.

So I remember when I was 16 in 2009 they still had them in guitar center, during sales and blowouts you could often get them under 2k. I easily saved that much within a few months of a part time job or 1-2months of a summer job. At that age when you have no other expenses or worries you don't think twice about blowing that much on the bass flea plays haha.
In fact, when I try to find YouTube demos of fb4s, at least half of them are teenagers.

 

[B-line]

Good to see that they are at NAMM; that bodes well.

I paid IIRC about $2600 maybe (5) years back for my RedBurst Flake FU4;
Basslines MM, OPB-2.
Beautiful bass, amazing sound, of course I wish I never sold it, but...
Of course the FU's were the least expensive Modulus; the others got way up there in price.

Modulus was sold at GC, at least the FU's I remember, and I also recall the "waning" days when they were hard to get a hold of, and some started freaking out.

Looks like Tony is instrumental in their return, I'm pretty sure they will sell all 2-4 basses per month that they build.