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Alembic Club » Miscellaneous » Archive through November 20, 2014 » How did I miss this! Modulus Graphite RIP « Previous Next »

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funkyjazzjunky
Senior Member
Username: funkyjazzjunky

Post Number: 930
Registered: 5-2007
Posted on Thursday, September 18, 2014 - 2:41 pm:   Edit Post

Just heard that Modulus Graphite is defunct. Wonder what happened?

VMG
sonicus
Senior Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 3615
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Thursday, September 18, 2014 - 2:55 pm:   Edit Post

I am not sure as to the details however several months back ( many ) I remember seeing their molds and equipment being auctioned off on ebay for cheap ___ .
bigredbass
Senior Member
Username: bigredbass

Post Number: 2243
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Thursday, September 18, 2014 - 5:49 pm:   Edit Post

Sometimes, when it comes to very 'specialist' gear, once everybody that wanted one got theirs, that's that, if you keep to your original vision strictly.

Or you can have a very original vision, sell all of that you can, then morph the name and product to keep going, like Fly guitars that look like Teles instead of Parker's original, or Hartke cabinets that don't have aluminum drivers.

Of course, the third option is becoming increasingly popular: Sell your company to Gibson or FMIC, get a big check, hang around a year or two as a 'consultant' (at least you can come back from Tahiti or the North Shore to get trotted out at the NAMM Show in the booth), then go back into business after the non-compete runs out. Not bad work if you can get it.

J o e y
peoplechipper
Senior Member
Username: peoplechipper

Post Number: 479
Registered: 2-2009
Posted on Thursday, September 18, 2014 - 11:42 pm:   Edit Post

Ever watch those Aluminum drivers die? I watched my old bass players' cab go from four intact drivers down to one in THREE hours; the speakers fell apart in front of me; no wonder the aluminum cones aren't the main thing with Hartke anymore; it sounds great, but has a very finite lifespan and when it goes, it goes now...Tony
jimmyj
Senior Member
Username: jimmyj

Post Number: 539
Registered: 8-2008
Posted on Friday, September 19, 2014 - 12:34 am:   Edit Post

I kinda think Geoff is still going here:
http://www.ggould.com/home.html
... but not sure. I believe musical instruments were always a side project for him. I found him to be a really nice guy but reluctant to deal with the "selling" side of the biz.

Jimmy J

(Message edited by jimmyj on September 19, 2014)
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 5831
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Friday, September 19, 2014 - 9:28 am:   Edit Post

It appears the last update to the site was five years ago.

I recently built a guitar using a Modulus graphite neck, a Warmoth custom body, and Alembic electronics. (You can see a shot of me playing it in the NorCal 2014 Gathering pics thread). I LOVE the graphite neck.

Bill, tgo
tomhug
Intermediate Member
Username: tomhug

Post Number: 141
Registered: 7-2008
Posted on Friday, September 19, 2014 - 1:16 pm:   Edit Post

I dunno, the Retail Price List is effective 8/5/14, so someone must be maintaining something...
adriaan
Moderator
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 3149
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Friday, September 19, 2014 - 1:52 pm:   Edit Post

Tom, though Geoff Gould founded Modulus back in the day, his current operation is G. Gould Guitars. Nothing to do with Modulus, which is well and truly defunct.
tomhug
Intermediate Member
Username: tomhug

Post Number: 142
Registered: 7-2008
Posted on Friday, September 19, 2014 - 1:56 pm:   Edit Post

Yeah, no argument about Modulus being part of history now.

I must have misunderstood Bill, tgo's comment about "the last update to the site". I thought he meant the ggould.com site, which does appear current.
funkyjazzjunky
Senior Member
Username: funkyjazzjunky

Post Number: 931
Registered: 5-2007
Posted on Friday, September 19, 2014 - 7:29 pm:   Edit Post

Oh man, loved the sound of Aluminum cone speakers (with a passive bass) but man did they fail.
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 5833
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Saturday, September 20, 2014 - 1:26 am:   Edit Post

The guitar section states it was last updated in 2009. That's where I was looking - who woulda thunk it? Doooooh!

Bill, tgo
bassman10096
Senior Member
Username: bassman10096

Post Number: 1320
Registered: 7-2003
Posted on Saturday, September 20, 2014 - 4:07 pm:   Edit Post

Too bad for Modulus. My main bass was a Q5 for a few years. It was the most dependable instrument I've owned. Also had a G. Gould graphite 4 string, black with a cocobolo fretboard. It was my main bass for another couple years (a pattern was developing). Both cool basses and much more versatile than most people seemed to recognize. Both are gone and I miss them, but my Brown Bass and a new walnut Rick 4003W are serving really nicely in rotation. In time, I could see myself swapping a Status graphite J neck (flawless build-quality and great sound) onto a Fender clone just to get some more of that composite love...
stephenr
New
Username: stephenr

Post Number: 1
Registered: 9-2014
Posted on Tuesday, October 07, 2014 - 11:27 am:   Edit Post

Geoff doesn't do much to keep his website up-to-date. To keep track of what he is up to you need to go to his Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/ggould.music

His Facebook page is kept current with pictures and info about the various instruments he is building. He recently gave a shout out to Alembic for the Rolling Stone article.

I own a GGi5 with a cocobolo top and matching headstock. It was built in 2003 before he started making instruments with graphite necks again (I am guessing he had to sign a non-compete clause when he sold Modulus which later expired and allowed him to start making graphite necks again). Beautiful looking, playing and sounding instrument. I previously had a GGj5 with a walnut top, also with a wood neck, his take on a Fender jazz bass. Geoff does some nice work for sure and one of his basses would be an excellent choice for someone who misses Modulus.

I still play my Gould era neck-through Quantum five-string, built in 1988. I had Alembic make custom pickups for it and love the way it sounds... the B string on that bass coupled with the Alembic electronics is just massive sounding.
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 11543
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Tuesday, October 07, 2014 - 1:47 pm:   Edit Post

Hi Stephen; welcome to the board!
peoplechipper
Senior Member
Username: peoplechipper

Post Number: 485
Registered: 2-2009
Posted on Tuesday, October 07, 2014 - 10:12 pm:   Edit Post

Hello Stephen, and welcome!

I've played both old Kramer aluminum neck basses and Modulus and the funny thing is my anchor thumb tells me right away 'this is not wood!'...not that it's a problem, but it is funny how foreign it feels...the carbon less than the aluminum, but still weird...Tony
kilowatt
Intermediate Member
Username: kilowatt

Post Number: 140
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2014 - 7:11 am:   Edit Post

Stephen,

I have always dreamed of putting Alembic electronics and pickups in my Modulus Q5. Please post some pictures, when you get a chance, and welcome to the club.

Regards,
Pete
pace
Senior Member
Username: pace

Post Number: 1077
Registered: 4-2004
Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2014 - 9:27 am:   Edit Post

DO IT PETE!... You will not regret it!....

And while we're at it, let's start a petition for Mr. Lesh to do the same w/ one of his TBX's..... I mean, now that he's got the Alembic, he's gonna need a backup w/ a 5-pin too!... Right?!?

:-)
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 11545
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2014 - 2:43 pm:   Edit Post

Well Mike, I'm thinking the more practical solution for Lesh would be to sell off his other basses and order another Alembic!
stephenr
New
Username: stephenr

Post Number: 2
Registered: 9-2014
Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2014 - 4:17 pm:   Edit Post

Thanks for the welcomes! Not sure I will ever hit the post counts that most of you have but will post when I feel I have something to add to a discussion.

Pete... I am going to try to post a picture of the front of my Quantum bass. I couldn't find info on how to do that or maximum image size so this post may have no pics. One piece of info to consider about adding Alembic pups to your Q5. I called Geoff and Alembic before buying the bass so I could determine that the Bartolini's in the Q5 could be replaced without routing the body. Geoff had already sent Alembic molds of the pickups he was using at the time and Alembic confirmed they had the molds and could make the pickups. Depending on what is in your Q5 it may be more complicated. Now to try to attach an image.

modulus front.jpg
edwin
Senior Member
Username: edwin

Post Number: 1845
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2014 - 9:03 pm:   Edit Post

Pictures need to be less thank 150kb in size. I'd love to see what you tried to post!
adriaan
Moderator
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 3153
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2014 - 11:49 pm:   Edit Post

It's the picture gremlin again. If memory serves me right it was a bright red one with three AXYs.
stephenr
New
Username: stephenr

Post Number: 3
Registered: 9-2014
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2014 - 10:02 am:   Edit Post

Weird, I already posted the picture and now it is gone. Maybe it was too large and a moderator pulled it? I'll make it smaller later and try again. The first time I tried to post I kept getting a file locking error and after giving up was later surprised to see the post and the picture.
keith_h
Senior Member
Username: keith_h

Post Number: 2099
Registered: 2-2005
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2014 - 10:08 am:   Edit Post

Stephen,
You would not have been able to post the picture if it was too large and the moderators wouldn't normally remove a picture. On the other hand the forum has had a gremlin for some years that steals pictures at random and has eluded capture to date.

Keith
adriaan
Moderator
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 3154
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2014 - 10:15 am:   Edit Post

Stephen, the forum software is a pretty antiquated one, and we are looking at replacing it. One of the issues is that sometimes pictures get lost. We're not sure how it happens, just one of those things we hope to iron out in the near future. There was definitely no objection to the picture as such.
adriaan
Moderator
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 3156
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2014 - 10:16 am:   Edit Post

Keith beat me to it. :-)
stephenr
New
Username: stephenr

Post Number: 4
Registered: 9-2014
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2014 - 12:26 pm:   Edit Post

Thanks Keith and Adriaan!

Will try again but post links to the photos stored on my server.

http://www.stephenramirez.com/web_photos/modulus%20front.jpg

http://www.stephenramirez.com/web_photos/modulus%20full.jpg

http://www.stephenramirez.com/web_photos/Modulus%20back.jpg


The pickups were custom made, I asked them to wind them like Distillate pickups but after 20+ years it is hard to remember all the details. I do remember hating the sound of the Barts and suddenly loving the sound of the bass once I installed the new pickups. I would not have bought the bass if the music store hadn't called both Geoff and Alembic to confirm the pickups could be replaced. At the time I was playing a Series I five-string and had owned a four-string Distillate before that and I wanted to continue to use Alembic pickups/electronics.
tomhug
Intermediate Member
Username: tomhug

Post Number: 149
Registered: 7-2008
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2014 - 12:41 pm:   Edit Post

That's a very intriguing looking instrument. The back's as beautiful as the front.

How does it sound? Any sound clips, youtube vids, etc available?
edwin
Senior Member
Username: edwin

Post Number: 1846
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2014 - 12:49 pm:   Edit Post

Nice! Neck-through plus Alembic pickups and electronics plus pickup placement must make for some great, deep, and clear tones. I had a neck-through 6 string for a while and I miss the clarity of the low end that it gives the B string.

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