Modulus Graphite (formerly, ''Modulus Guitars'') is an American manufacturer of

musical instruments A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

best known for building

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

s with

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

necks. The company, originally called Modulus Graphite, was founded in part by Geoff Gould, a bassist who also worked for an

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astr ...

company in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

, and coworker Jerry Dorsch. When they split, Jerry started Graphite Guitar Systems in Washington state.

History

The name is a reference to

Young's modulus Young's modulus E, the Young modulus, or the modulus of elasticity in tension or compression (i.e., negative tension), is a mechanical property that measures the tensile or compressive stiffness of a solid material when the force is applied le ...

, a measure of the stiffness of an elastic material, used in the field of

solid mechanics Solid mechanics, also known as mechanics of solids, is the branch of continuum mechanics that studies the behavior of solid materials, especially their motion and deformation under the action of forces, temperature changes, phase changes, and ...

. Carbon fiber has an exceptionally high modulus. Traditionally,

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

and bass necks are made from

hardwoods Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

(such as

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

or mahogany) reinforced with an adjustable steel "

truss rod The truss rod is a component of a guitar or other stringed instrument that stabilizes the lengthwise forward curvature (also called ''relief'') of the neck. Usually, it is a steel bar or rod that runs through the inside of the neck, beneath the fi ...

." Wood, being a naturally occurring material, is prone to variations in density and flexibility. This, coupled with the high stresses created by stretching steel strings across them lengthwise, makes wood necks prone to certain unpredictable and undesirable qualities. Among these are twisting, incorrect "bowing" (either too pronounced or too subtle), and "dead spots," or areas on the neck where notes are quieter or more indistinct compared to other areas. Non-traditional neck materials such as carbon fiber and aluminum are attempts to correct these issues by replacing wood with lighter, stiffer and more uniform components. Gould was inspired to experiment with non-traditional materials after attending a 1974 Grateful Dead concert, at which he marveled at the size and complexity of Phil Lesh's heavily modified bass (customized by Alembic) and began to consider the possibilities of lighter, stronger materials. After being passed over by his employers in the aerospace industry, the project of creating hollow, carbon fiber bass necks was brought to fruition by Gould and Alembic, who built a bass with a prototype neck and displayed it at a trade show in 1977. Immediately after the trade show, the bass was purchased by Fleetwood Mac bassist

John McVie John Graham McVie (born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fle ...

. Gould and some of his colleagues in the aerospace industry founded Modulus Graphite and began to make necks for Alembic and other companies before moving on to making entire instruments. December 20, 2013 Modulus Guitars LLC was placed into voluntary Chapter 7 arrangements.

Instruments

*SP and SPX (bolt-on and neck-through models) *BaSSStar (both bolt-on and neck-through models, some headed and headless necks were also available) *TBX (through body experimental); it is rumoured, that only 11 four-string, 85 five-string and 90 6-string basses were made before year 2000 - production has started again *Quantum SPi bass (SPi = integrated, bolt-on neck; basic version has two EMG pickups, custom options include exotic wood tops and electronics; Turbo model has the neck pickup moved closer to the bridge pickup; 4, 5 and 6 string models, 5-string has 17, 19 or 21.5 mm bridge spacing options) *M-92 (Sweet Spot bass = single EMG pick up, bolt-on neck, pickguard; in production since 1992) *Sonic Hammer (like M-92, but bartolini pick-up and electronics, quilt top, no pickguard) *Genesis Bass (bolt-on neck with carbon core, wood sides and fretboard; co-designed with Michael Tobias) *Modulus VJ Bass (Vintage J, bolt-on, active or passive electronics) *Funk Unlimited (formerly Sonic Hammer and the Flea Bass, bolt-on neck; also available as chambered & lightweight RevOLite version) *Funk Persuasion (single pick up, passive electronics, bolt-on neck; also available as chambered & lightweight RevOLite version) *Vertex (single pick-up, bolt-on)

Formerly

*Modulus Genesis I Electric Guitar (G1) *Modulus Genesis I Electric Guitar with tremolo (G1T) *Modulus Genesis II Electric Guitar (G2) *Modulus Genesis II Electric Guitar with tremolo (G2T) *Modulus Genesis III Electric Guitar (G3T) *Modulus Genesis III Electric Guitar Carved Top (G3CT) *Modulus Genesis III Electric Guitar Semi Hollow (G3SH) *Modulus Genesis III Electric Guitar Full Hollow (G3FH)

Notable players

Musicians that play/have played Modulus instruments are: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Rock in Rio Madrid 2012 - 11

* Steve Rodby -

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

David Ellefson David Warren Ellefson (born November 12, 1964) is an American musician, best known for his long tenure as the bassist for thrash metal band Megadeth. Ellefson initially became an accomplished bassist and honed his songwriting skills while leadi ...

- Megadeth *

Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

* Phil Lesh - Grateful Dead *

Darryl Jenifer Darryl Jenifer (born October 22, 1960) is an American musician, widely known as the bassist for the hardcore punk band Bad Brains and for the rap-rock group The White Mandingos. He appeared in ''TV's Illest Minority Moments presented by ego trip' ...

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this t ...

* Bob Weir - Grateful Dead *

Oteil Burbridge Oteil Burbridge is an American multi-instrumentalist, specializing on the bass guitar, trained in playing jazz and classical music from an early age. He has achieved fame primarily on bass guitar during the resurgence of the Allman Brothers Ban ...

Allman Brothers Band Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Gregg Allman Band People *Allman (surnam ...

* Stefan Lessard -

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...

* Me'shell Ndegeocello, *

Mike Gordon Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He ...

- Phish *

Dave Schools David Allen Schools (born December 11, 1964) is a bass player and founding member of American rock band Widespread Panic. He is also a record producer, songwriter and journalist with articles published in a wide variety of music magazines. Schoo ...

Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and g ...

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as the bassist of the American rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Prior to his wo ...

- Pearl Jam *

Pete Sears Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock o ...

- Rod Stewart -

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

- Jefferson Starship -

David Nelson Band David Nelson (born June 12, 1943, in Seattle, Washington, U.S.) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a co-founder and longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage. Career Nelson started his musi ...

* Chad Urmston and Pete Francis Heimbold - Dispatch *

Alex Webster Alex Webster (born 1969) is an American bass player who is best known as a member of the death metal band Cannibal Corpse. He is one of two remaining members of the original lineup of the band, along with drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz. He is al ...

- Cannibal Corpse -

Hate Eternal Hate Eternal is a death metal band from St. Petersburg, Florida. The band currently consists of founding guitarist/vocalist Erik Rutan and bassist J. J. Hrubovcak. To date, Hate Eternal has released seven studio albums: ''Conquering the Throne' ...

* Wil-Dog Abers -

Ozomatli Ozomatli is an American rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and incorporating a wide array of musical styles – including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, hip hop, and others. The group ...

Futoshi Uehara , born April 15, 1980 and also known as , is a Japanese bassist and current member of rock band Maximum The Hormone. He was the last to join the band in replacement of their former bassist "Key" who departed the band in 1999. He is the younges ...

Maximum the Hormone is a Japanese heavy metal band from Hachiōji, Tokyo. Their lineup has consisted of vocalist Daisuke-han, drummer Nao, guitarist Maximum the Ryo-kun, and bassist Ue-chan since 1999. Each member alternates singing lead vocals, often within ...

Tad Kinchla Thaddeus Arwood "Tad" Kinchla (born February 21, 1973) is an American musician, who is the bassist for the jam band Blues Traveler. Early life He was born in Princeton, New Jersey, Kinchla is the younger brother to long-time Blues Traveler gu ...

- Blues Traveler * Alphonso Johnson * Divinity Roxx * Christopher Rapkin

References

External links

Official website
{{portal, Companies Guitar manufacturing companies of the United States