| Author | Message | ||
| dirtdoc1
New Username: dirtdoc1 Post Number: 4 Registered: 2-2006 |
There is a Modulus /Alembic Blackknife for sale on eBay. Check it out! | ||
| jsaylor
New Username: jsaylor Post Number: 8 Registered: 11-2006 |
Yeah I saw that. Whats the story behind those? (Message edited by jsaylor on November 11, 2006) | ||
| dirtdoc1
New Username: dirtdoc1 Post Number: 5 Registered: 2-2006 |
Geoff Gould did research in composite materials for high tech stuff (I think for the space program). He came up with the idea of using the material for guitar necks. I think he and others started Modulus or Modulus/Alembic. I don't know if they were one company at the time or teamed up on the Blackknife. One guy said that Alembic just licensed the use of their name, which makes no sense to me. I have an email out to Geoff regarding that question. Anyways they made about 500 and sold them to some big name players of the 70's, Bob Weir, Steve Miller, John Fogerty etc. I got that info from Geoff. The guitar is unique sounding and the graphite has perfect tonation. I don't know if they will just fade from existance or become collectors items. Greg Hanig who knows, or knows of Geoff implied that they were one company in the begining. He is a certified Gibson repair shop and he also makes some very nice guitars. He seemed to know all the guys who were involved with the company in the begining. The people that I have talked to at both Modulus and Alembic were not aware of the relationship of the two companies in the begining. Staff changes over time and people forget. | ||
| jsaylor
New Username: jsaylor Post Number: 9 Registered: 11-2006 |
Thats interesting, Maybe its a fake of both companys? Wouldn't Ron know anything about it? | ||
| fc_spoiler
Senior Member Username: fc_spoiler Post Number: 407 Registered: 5-2006 |
I'ts no fake, try the search option and type Blackknife. | ||
| fc_spoiler
Senior Member Username: fc_spoiler Post Number: 408 Registered: 5-2006 |
Click here Click here Click here started by dirtdoc1 | ||
| pace
Advanced Member Username: pace Post Number: 270 Registered: 4-2004 |
That's a nice guitar.... I have an '88 (emg's, ash w/ maple cap).... The composite recipe definitely changed between this guitar and mine. I wouldnt mind throwing a set of activators in it.... | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 1765 Registered: 7-2004 |
I've been watching this one and emailing with the seller - he's just down the road. If it doesn't get too crazy ....? Bill, tgo | ||
| jsaylor
Junior Username: jsaylor Post Number: 11 Registered: 11-2006 |
So its an Alembic, but then again it isnt? So it just the Alembic name then? Kinda like if I put a Gibson truss rod cover on an Epiphone? | ||
| pace
Advanced Member Username: pace Post Number: 271 Registered: 4-2004 |
Not the best analogy Jordan, but that's one way of looking at it. It's not like the owner of the guitar stenciled an Alembic logo on the headstock just because he knew that Gould/Modulus had a working relationship w/ Alembic.... These things came from the 'factory' like this. This guitar is kind of a crossover. It predates any neck made w/ a straight up Modulus logo on it, and comes after Gould's relationship w/ Alembic was established. Take note of the onboard Stratoblaster..... I wonder if the Barts were "OEM" spec!?! Ironically, because this neck has the Alembic logo on it (w/ a low serial # too!), it will probably sell for more than what we're used to seeing Blackknife's go for... FWIW I paid $800 for mine in '98. Good luck Bill! If this one gets up there in $$$$ I guess it's just a sign of the times.... Best start looking for the mid-80's Ibanez guitars w/ the Modulus necks! | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 1767 Registered: 7-2004 |
Mike: How is the neck on yours? Thin, medium, thick? How about the fretboard radius? How do you like the guitar, an interesting collectible or a real player? Bill, tgo | ||
| 811952
Senior Member Username: 811952 Post Number: 881 Registered: 10-2003 |
Not sure of the specifics of the Modulus/Alembic team, but those are nice instruments. Around that time Geoff was making the Graphite necks for Alembics, and I believe he was pretty close to the Wickershams. I'd love to have one of those basses.. John | ||
| pace
Advanced Member Username: pace Post Number: 272 Registered: 4-2004 |
Bill, my Modulus is a real player~ honestly it's the only strat style guitar I've been inclined to hold on to. The neck is V-shaped (think Clapton model). Radius is standard Fender (12" ?!?... dont know, but it's the same as my Teles). Modulus was finally forced to change the headstock shape soon after mine was made. How many more cool guitars do you have room for???!!!???  -Mike | ||
| dfung60
Advanced Member Username: dfung60 Post Number: 213 Registered: 5-2002 |
I'm close buddies with Geoff Gould and own a lot of Modulus instruments (as well as some Alembics!). The origins of Modulus are loosely but directly intertwined with Alembic. Geoff worked at Ford Aerospace in Palo Alto back in the 1970s as a technician/fabricator. He was a member of a pioneering team that worked on composites fabrication and did a lot of work with early graphite construction. He directly worked on parts that went on early deep space satellites, including the antennae that they used to beam their signals back to earth. They used graphite because it's light weight made these probes launchable. He also built the first composite race car body tub, which is a standard feature of all Grand Prix and Indy cars today. Geoff also played bass and was a big Deadhead. He saw Phil Lesh playing at an SF concert and noticed that he was struggling with neck dive the entire show. Being plugged in to graphite technology, he though that a graphite necked instrument would solve the neck dive problem. Phil's association with Alembic was well known as well as their reputation for being totally cutting edge, and he contacted Alembic to see if there was interest in making a graphite neck. There was interest in building an instrument from Rick Turner who was at Alembic at that time. Modulus necks are built in a mold, so Alembic provided a form to Geoff from which a mold could be made to produce a through-body neck. A neck was produced which Alembic constructed into the first through-body graphite-necked Series bass (Geoff believes this went to John McVie), which were followed by a few more instruments, all of which were labelled Alembics and had necks made by Geoff. Geoff had the ability to produce graphite necks but was not building whole guitars yet, and wanted to produce bolt-on replacement necks. These necks were the BassStar and Blacknife. These first necks are the ones marked "Modulus/Alembic", but they were purely a product of Modulus. I think there had been some hope that the necks would be marketed through Alembics dealers, but I don't think that happened. The cost of one of these necks was around $750, about the cost of a new Stratocaster back then. I don't think there was much involvement from Alembic as Modulus built bolt-on necks, then started producing complete instruments under their own name from Menlo Park, CA. Rick Turner must have provided some encouragement to Geoff, as the Modulus monocoque neck design received a US Patent in the names of Turner and Gould. By 1980, Modulus had stopped labelling the bolt-on necks as Modulus/Alembic and was producing a number of full instruments mostly boutiquish with EMG actives, Stars Guitars brass hardware, and laminated exotic wood bodies. Modulus produced all the graphite necks for Alembic's graphite neck options through the late 80's, including the instruments for McVie, Greg Lake, and John Entwistle, but the rest of these instruments were all constructed by Alembic. It's an interesting story, and the small number of graphite Alembics produced are really totally soemthing else (Geoff doesn't know the exact number but thinks there's around 70 of them). The sound is amazing, but they can be a bit problematic as well, since they can be subject to some of the manufacturing issues with Modulus at the time that had to do with warps and bonding. These instruments don't have a trussrod, so setup can be a real challenge. I've got a lot of Modulus instruments, and one of my very old, plain BassStar-equipped instruments has been a constant favorite of mine, even though I have much fancier instruments. David Fung | ||
| dirtdoc1
New Username: dirtdoc1 Post Number: 6 Registered: 2-2006 |
OK folks I got the answer from Geoff Gould regarding the origin of the Modulus Alembic Blackknife and I STAND CORRECTED. Geoff Wrote: "We supplied Alembic some necks for a while; they were our first customer. For a brief period of time, we paid them a license fee to mark our Strat and Fender Bass replacement necks as Modulus/Alembic. It caused too many identity problems, so we discontinued that practice after a short while." "Geoff Gould" Best Regards to All, Dirtdoc1 | ||
| dirtdoc1
New Username: dirtdoc1 Post Number: 7 Registered: 2-2006 |
So basically what this (my) guitar is, is a Modulus with an Alembic stratoblaster on it and a licensed logo from Alembic. Dirtdoc1 | ||
| jsaylor
Junior Username: jsaylor Post Number: 13 Registered: 11-2006 |
David, This is what Alembic told me today, via email. Hi Jordan, While we had a business replationship with Modulus at the time of the Blackknife project, we did not personally construct any of the graphite necks that were marketed with our name on them. Write again if you have any other questions for us. -Helpdesk So what im guessing is, its a Modulus, with an Aelmbic logo to help sell it. Still they look pretty nice. |
