Modulus : Introduction
The most important advance since the invention of the bass guitar has been the carbon fiber neck. From that day in 1976 when bass-playing rocket scientist Geoff Gould (yup, he was a carbon fiber designer on the Voyager probe) first wondered, “What if …†the electric bass has been a different animal. The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh played one of the first carbon fiber -necked basses and from that point forward, the most accomplished and creative bassists in the world have played a Modulus...
Seminal players like Alphonso Johnson, David Ellefson and Flea, to present masters like Oteil Burbridge, Mike Gordon and Me‘Shell NdegéOcello.
To this day, Modulus Quantum basses are made using the same aerospace “hand layup†process as in the beginning. We’ve made many subtle design improvements along the way, including the addition of a two-way relief adjustment. Each neck is still hand laminated with layers of carbon fiber “pre-preg†and cured in the Modulus autoclave. The distinctively spacey exterior layer of carbon fiber is known around the shop as KLD,, or “a thousand (k) ladies dancing.†This artistic touch has been a Modulus trademark for over 15 years.
In 1996, Modulus president Rich Lasner designed the Genesis neck system that takes advantage of carbon fiber’s extremely high strength and the sonic benefits of lightweight tone woods. Rich’s carbon fiber skeleton supports the string tension and the tone woods give the neck shape and controlled resonance. When you first pick up a Genesis instrument, you’ve got to look closely to see the carbon fiber. But play one note and you’ll hear it for sure.
While both systems deliver the benefits of carbon fiber construction, each has subtle differences in tone.
We don’t usually like sweeping statements, but Quantum instruments tend to be brighter, with an extended harmonic mix. Genesis instruments tend to be warmer, with a greater fundamental pitch focus.
