Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Wanted & Wishing => Topic started by: jbc123 on June 28, 2012, 03:43:26 PM
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Hello everyone. I'm in the market for a Modulus Q5 or Q6. Semi-hollow would be a plus, but I won't discriminate Thanks.
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I know this isn't a 5 or 6 string, but IT SPARKLES!
http://bassnw.com/New%20Exotic%20%20Basses/modulus_funk_unlimited_4_st_flake_red_sunburst.htm (http://bassnw.com/New%20Exotic%20%20Basses/modulus_funk_unlimited_4_st_flake_red_sunburst.htm)
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Sparkle it does indeed! Thanks, but the Quantum's where my mind is right now.
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Something like this maybe?
http://themiwas.smugmug.com/Music/Basses/Modulus-Q6/ (http://themiwas.smugmug.com/Music/Basses/Modulus-Q6/)
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There's a nice Q6 on eBay now for $1,600. Sorry, can't manage to paste the link. I have nothing to do with the auction, just noticed it.
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2 days left on the auction
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Hey I want one too! Fretless! I got a fretless Zon.... Holy moly that is awesome (never had a fretless before) is there anyone here that can compare Zon and modulus fretless? They have the same pheno fingerboards, right? When I go back and play the fretted basses it's like putting training wheels back on my bike! Lol! Thanks for any help and sorry if I stepped on toes, I was just wondering.
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Mine is still available.
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That's a beautiful bass!
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Zon and Modulus are very different sounding. While the construction is both graphite, the way they lay out the graphite is different and creates a different sound. To my ear, Zon is smoother and darker. Modulus fretlesses are great! However, I love my David King fretless 5 and one of the very best fretless tones I've ever heard came from Jim Cammack's Series I. Check out Ahmad Jamal's Live in Paris '92. Of course, the basses (yes, two) on Ornette Coleman's Virgin Beauty are simply amazing, as well. A pair of Steinbergers on that. Every bass player should have that record. Chris Walker is astounding. Too bad he gave it up to be a smooth R&B crooner, but I can understand the financial decision.
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Thanks for the Information! I'll check out the fretless stuff you mentioned. I guess the only way to tell what manufacturer I like more is to play them but where do I find a fretless modulus in Michigan????? But I will say whole heartedly I love the Zon I have (mentioned to me by trip whamsley, cool guy btw). Maybe it's my ignorance speaking but it seems wrong to use a nice piece of ebony that going to get ruined, when that pheno wood (which I understand it to be basically MDF) I can go through those and it won't bother me at all. Thanks again for the help!
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Why would ebony get ruined?
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It gets grooves from the strings being pushed into it over time. You know? That's what orchestral instruments have to have replaced. And since gabon ebony is harder and harder to get AND i happen to love the sound of the Zon (even if it's made out of bits and pieces.... Kinda like a chicken mcnugget now that I think about it) it sounds awesome! No need to ruin good and rare wood. Am I wrong? I admit it's my first fretless and I don't listen to fretless players, so I don't dream of Jaco's sound or anything. Again any information is good for me. So thanks in advance : )
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Ah, that. Yeah, it's an ongoing subject in the world of fretless bass. My feeling about it is go with what sounds good. What sounds good to my ear and feels good to me is wood and I really having an epoxy coating which protects the wood pretty much completely. However, it does have a particular tone that goes with it. My David King fretless has a bloodwood board with epoxy and it's pretty much unmarked after years of hard service. I also like the Alembic fretlesses I've played with ebony boards that seem more or less uncoated. It depends also what strings you use. I love roundwounds on a fretless. That does create more wear. If I loved rounds on ebony, which I do, I would just do it and then get the board resurfaced and replaced as necessary. Just like I do with frets.
The wood resource is another issue, but the way I look at it is that if you took all the wood that is used for ebony fingerboards every year, you're probably talking maybe half a dozen trees every year. Far more of this valuable lumber is victim of forest clearing to make room for fast food beef or palm oil production. So, I'll forgo eating fast food burgers and use coconut oil. That does far more for the ecology of exotic wood than forgoing an ebony fingerboard that I use for a fretless.
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Well ,____ since we are talking about fretless ,I have 3 . I have a 1990 Pedulla Buzz 4 PJ 4 that has an ebony fingerboard that has a coated fingerboard that is neck through design. The Pedulla Buzz PJ 4 has a sound all it's own. I also have a custom built Fender Jazz bass style bolt on with a coated ghost lined rosewood fingerboard. Number three fretless is a custom built P bass with a solid walnut body and a 1972 Fender fretless Maple neck and fingerboard. Both of the epoxy coated fingerboard bass's are strung with round wounds but the P bass has flat wounds. I have been looking for the right Alembic Fretless for quite a while but have not found it yet. I am considering perhaps a Custom built Alembic Series I Jazz Bass with ghost lines and coated ebony fingerboard at some point perhaps. I am also considering replacing the Bartolini pickups and electronics in my Pedulla Buzz 4 with Alembic Pickups and electronics.
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Hey guys, First we're hijacking this thread.... Probably not cool. But where I'm at is I don't know jack about fretless, what I do know is that I love this Zon bass with a McNugget fingerboard. That they say has a catylized polymer coating (I know what all of those terms mean) but I don't see how a catylized polymer would make a McNugget fingerboard more durable (I'd appreciate input on that) : / it seems like its just supposed to sound impressive so I stop asking questions (which at that point I did) they said they''d re shoot the fingerboard once it wears, and to use nickel round wounds (b/c I hate flats) so that was why I got a non-Alembic for my fretless.
I realize guitar making isn't really a problem of deforestation! Look at the realitivly tiny pieces of wood used in any Bass or guitar and I have about 20 guitars most ppl don't have anywhere near that AND only 12% of the world plays guitar.... So.... No. Guitars are not a significant contributor to deforestation and thus the reason for lame ebony. I'm just saying the Zon rocks my socks and if it happens to be a parts and peices fingerboard with catylized polymer coating if it doesn't give me cancer or mutate my DNA, I'm cool with it : ) just played it today along with a guitar player.... Freakin awesome!
So why worry about getting pure black ebony and paying the extra money for the rare and hard to work wood?
And who has a fretless modulus 5 or 6 for sale? Or a sonus fretless 5?
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My apologies if I followed like a Lemming and took a plunge as well .No intention to Hijack .
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My apologies, too. I had no idea you just wanted to rave about how much you love your bass. I thought you were actually looking for real world experience and advice. Carry on!
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Nah guys I didn't start this thread lol! I just jumped on that I wanted a modulus fretless. It's really my fault, so I apologize. I did learn a lot though : ) fretless is a whole different animal! So far I love it.
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Wookie, I know you're asking about a 5 or 6, but I have a fretless Modulus Q4 that I don't use much, if you're interested. No-line fretboard (I think phenolic), greenburst quilted maple top, active EMGs and electronics, gold hardware. It's in very good condition, no major dings etc., except some idiotic previous owner (for reasons I can't discern) sanded the gloss finish off the front of the headstock. You can still see the logo, however.
send me a private message if you're interested, and I can get some pictures to you.
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I'm done hijacking this thread! Now I'm trying to weasel another bass for my hive! Pm sent to llobster!
wookie- out!
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Hi Wookie, Never heard back from you after I sent the pictures of the bass to you September 1. Are you still interested?
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Hey, I was going to say, there's a new Modulus at BassNW that I thought was a 5-string; either I mis-saw (lighting was bad this AM), or it isn't listed yet on the web site.
Bradley
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It's a six string. Black. None more black. Actually I think it might be a quilt top with trans black.
It was the fretless Epic5 that really called to me. I must resist the GAS.
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Oh, they put up pics:
http://bassnw.com/New%20Exotic%20%20Basses/modulus_quantum_6_water_cured_redwood_burl.htm (http://bassnw.com/New%20Exotic%20%20Basses/modulus_quantum_6_water_cured_redwood_burl.htm)
Pretty hot if you ask me.