# How good is MODO Bass in comparison to other options?



## motomotomoto (Oct 25, 2019)

I see MODO bass is on sale for 99 bucks. Always wanted that one, but picked up the Scarabee Rickenbocker and Scarabee Electric bass libraries on sale over the past year which have been getting a lot of use for me. 

Is MODO bass a step up for someone who has those NI libraries, or at least a significantly different flavor? I'm tempted to pick it up but curious what others opinions on it may be.


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## Dewdman42 (Oct 25, 2019)

get it


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## Steve Lum (Oct 25, 2019)

For 99 bucks it's a no-brainer. Since it's modeled you get a high degree of control over expression as well as detail, which you can see from their vids. It's a solid vst that can stand with any sample-based library. I will say certain instrument-specific libraries can "peg" a specific sound better (e.g. Jaco fretless Fender sound) but I am certain you won't be disappointed with the Modo purchase. Whether it's a step up really has more to do with your embracing the vst and getting its potential out of it. Just me... I don't use my Scarbee libs anymore. I use Modo or Orange Tree or sometimes Impact Soundworks.


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## R. Soul (Oct 26, 2019)

Modo is awesome. 
Things like age and thickness of strings, changing pick up type, choosing to alternate between fingers or just picking with index finger only, is far beyond the capabilities of any sample based bass. 
At $99 it's a steal.


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## jneebz (Oct 26, 2019)

+1 for Modo Bass....easily replaces all my other bass libraries.


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## X-Bassist (Oct 26, 2019)

Def a worthwhile purchase. Many basses all customizable, replaced most of what I used bass-wise (Trilian, Amplesound, and dozens of Kontakt basses). It has a clarity and transients that cut through a mix like no sampled bass I have.


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## LHall (Oct 26, 2019)

It's the only electric bass VI I ever use now if I'm not playing real bass on something. Take time to learn the keyswitches and options. Truly an incredible instrument.


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## jononotbono (Oct 26, 2019)

Modo Bass is excellent.


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## motomotomoto (Oct 26, 2019)

OK everyone I get it! Will be picking this one up. Thanks for your thoughts.


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## bosone (Oct 26, 2019)

i am tempted, but i wonder that the SO MANY parameters available will make it somewhat difficult to use... don't you get lost when you can tweak the entire world to make a sound?! :-/


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## motomotomoto (Oct 26, 2019)

bosone said:


> i am tempted, but i wonder that the SO MANY parameters available will make it somewhat difficult to use... don't you get lost when you can tweak the entire world to make a sound?! :-/


looks like there are plenty of presets so you can just start there always


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## Polkasound (Oct 26, 2019)

bosone said:


> i am tempted, but i wonder that the SO MANY parameters available will make it somewhat difficult to use... don't you get lost when you can tweak the entire world to make a sound?! :-/



Not at all. For many people, the default sound of each bass guitar will probably work just fine. But when you're listening to the bass in the mix, you can monkey around with the library's parameters in real time while the song is playing to hear how the bass sound changes. On a whim, you can swap pickups, slide a pickup location around, change to newer or older strings, alter the playing style, etc. If you like what you hear, simply keep the changes.


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## TomaeusD (Oct 26, 2019)

It's a great deal, and if you have this you could get Modo Drum at a discounted price down the road. Not sure about the exact crossgrade details, though.


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## decredis (Oct 26, 2019)

Is this quite a rare sale, or can it go something like this low at some point most years?


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## Dewdman42 (Oct 26, 2019)

All ik stuff is priced really high and will go on sale occasionally for a more reasonable price but they don’t have a yearly pattern. $99 is a great price for this software, I had all the scarbee stuff since way before it became part of NI and modo bass blows it all away. Highly reccomend, you’ll probably never need another electric bass instrument.


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## premjj (Oct 26, 2019)

It's almost strange that Miroslav 2/ST4 get so much flak for being lack lustre at so many levels and ModoBass draws praise for being the last bass instrument one might need to purchase.

Same company. Different products.
Why do much disparity in their sound/feature quality?

Edit: Not doubting the ModoBass recommendations that have been posted above. Just a got-me-thinking-aloud post.


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## Dewdman42 (Oct 26, 2019)

Miroslav is a very old library that Ik concerted into ST format. It’s just a very simple and very outdated orchestral sample library. Not a bad deal at $99 for someone starting out.

modo bass is completely new and innovative modeled technology created by Ik and at this point it’s best of class state of the art for electric bass.

The fact they are both sold by the same company is irrelevant. I agree I have not been too impressed with sample tank or even syntronik. Amplitube is something though and much of t-racks. Modo Bass really blew my mind that IK is capable of doing something truly special.


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## jononotbono (Oct 26, 2019)

I really enjoy playing Modo Bass with a seaboard rise. There’s something great about never being able to hit each note in the exact same way and never having the same velocity twice. An expensive way to play it but if you have a Rise, definitely try it out with Modo.


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## chocobitz825 (Oct 26, 2019)

i hate always using the same VIs on every track, and that's one of the best tricks in the MODO series. You never have to use the same instrument twice. You can change everything about the basses and their playing style to always get the sound you need in the song you're making. On top of that, I found that just bypassing MODO's amp and running it into a better DI and/or Amp modeled plugin gives it even more life. MODO through an ampeg is just gold.


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## mixtur (Oct 26, 2019)

chocobitz825 said:


> i hate always using the same VIs on every track, and that's one of the best tricks in the MODO series. You never have to use the same instrument twice. You can change everything about the basses and their playing style to always get the sound you need in the song you're making. On top of that, I found that just bypassing MODO's amp and running it into a better DI and/or Amp modeled plugin gives it even more life. MODO through an ampeg is just gold.


I did see a post saying the plugin basically uses the amplitube fx and amps (ampeg svx was called out), but I do the same as it provides more options. I haven’t opened a sampled bass since it came out.


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## ag75 (Oct 26, 2019)

I bought it on this sale and after playing with it for an hour erased nearly every other bass library from my main hard drives. How do the MODO drums compare? Hoping there is a sale on Black Friday.


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## chocobitz825 (Oct 26, 2019)

mixtur said:


> I did see a post saying the plugin basically uses the amplitube fx and amps (ampeg svx was called out), but I do the same as it provides more options. I haven’t opened a sampled bass since it came out.



Yeah i dont use amplitube for amp heads. Just the room, cabs and some FX occasionally. plugin alliance and UAD both have really good bass amp, and they add so much punch.


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## chocobitz825 (Oct 26, 2019)

ag75 said:


> I bought it on this sale and after playing with it for an hour erased nearly every other bass library from my main hard drives. How do the MODO drums compare? Hoping there is a sale on Black Friday.



Modo drums are a bit more controversial. They’ve replaced most of my other drums, but its not as simple as modo bass. You really have to take more time to get the sound you want, but instead of EQ-ing after, its easier to just build the kit that gives the right punch and frequency you want for the song you‘re doing. That flexibility, and the ability to program where on the drum head you’re hitting gives for a lot of flexibility.


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## sumskilz (Oct 26, 2019)

ag75 said:


> I bought it on this sale and after playing with it for an hour erased nearly every other bass library from my main hard drives. How do the MODO drums compare? Hoping there is a sale on Black Friday.


From what I've listened to, results with MODO drums come across as anywhere from pretty terrible to mediocre and synthy at best. They remind me of the stock sounds in the first V-drums brain I bought in about 2000. 

Keep in mind however, that drum set is my main instrument, and I come from a professional background of recording live instruments. I also demoed MODO bass and didn't really like it. It's a cool idea and I wanted to like it, but it always sounds a bit fake and lifeless to me. Still sounds way more real than MODO drums does to me. So maybe I'm just being too harsh due to a desire to have VIs that are passable as real instruments. Though I like Superior Drummer 3 a lot, and think I get decent results with Amplesound's basses when I don't have time to learn the part I want on my own bass (which I'm somewhat of a beginner on).


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## DSmolken (Oct 27, 2019)

sumskilz said:


> I also demoed MODO bass and didn't really like it. It's a cool idea and I wanted to like it, but it always sounds a bit fake and lifeless to me.


I can be more specific here - it sounds great for a lot of stuff, but sometimes it _is_ a little too perfect. If you want to hit the strings really, really hard and get grindy fret buzz, it will, but those noises don't vary nearly as much as they do in real life. So it can't really do, say, punk all that well. Inconsistency from fret to fret also doesn't really happen like it would, either in terms of timbre or sustain, like it can on hardware electric basses with slightly uneven frets and dead spots.

So, that's what seems to be missing, and it'll bother some people more than others. And for a ton of music, those things don't matter and are undesirable in the real world. But digging in for one or two notes in a funk phrase, all that works out great, because the noises don't repeat enough to be audibly too consistent.


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## Daniel James (Oct 27, 2019)

Modo Bass is my goto bass guitar now. So flexible!

-DJ


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## elpedro (Oct 27, 2019)

Just got it today, tried it and must say I do like it a lot. Does it sound Infinitely better than sample based libraries? Not better, but different to my ears. It is very flexible and I love tweaking it, so it cuts through in the mix in the right way, that’s where it shines to me. You get a lot of different basses and options, so at this price it’s a real sweet deal. Dunno if I would buy it at full price. Some IK stuff is a bit pricey as far as I’m concerned.


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## nas (Oct 27, 2019)

MODO is excellent. Great sounding, very playable, and good programmable CC options. Do not hesitate to pick his one up.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Oct 27, 2019)

decredis said:


> Is this quite a rare sale, or can it go something like this low at some point most years?


Modo Bass has gone on sale at this price a few times already. But to this date, it has never sold for less.

Is it the best price, though? It depends on how you look at it. IMHO, currently the best deal for any IK product is Total Studio 2 MAX, which will probably go on sale during Black Friday. It would be a better deal for potential Modo Bass purchasers who also want to own stuff like T-RackS, Amplitube, Syntronik, Lurssen, or even SampleTank 3 with many extra expansions. If you already own an IK MAX product, their MAXgrades are particularly good deals.

Personally, I am happy with the bass guitars I have and am holding off on Modo Bass in order to wait as long as it takes for Total Studio 3 MAX, which will also include Sampletank 4, Syntronik Deluxe, Modo Drums, Hammond Leslie, the 4 tape machines, more Amplitube expansions, etc., and more we don't know about yet.


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## chocobitz825 (Oct 27, 2019)

TigerTheFrog said:


> Modo Bass has gone on sale at this price a few times already. But to this date, it has never sold for less.
> 
> Is it the best price, though? It depends on how you look at it. IMHO, currently the best deal for any IK product is Total Studio 2 MAX, which will probably go on sale during Black Friday. It would be a better deal for potential Modo Bass purchasers who also want to own stuff like T-RackS, Amplitube, Syntronik, Lurssen, or even SampleTank 3 with many extra expansions. If you already own an IK MAX product, their MAXgrades are particularly good deals.
> 
> Personally, I am happy with the bass guitars I have and am holding off on Modo Bass in order to wait as long as it takes for Total Studio 3 MAX, which will also include Sampletank 4, Syntronik Deluxe, Modo Drums, Hammond Leslie, the 4 tape machines, more Amplitube expansions, etc., and more we don't know about yet.



I think opinions vary here, but other than MODO Drums, most of the other offerings in total studio Max have been disappointing compared to the competition.


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## dman007 (Oct 28, 2019)

How does MODO Bass compare with other Bass Guitar VST instruments and sample libraries? 

What's it like for short notes, palm mutes and same-note repetitons? 

Does it avoid that machine-gun sound on 8th note repetitions, for example?


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## DSmolken (Oct 28, 2019)

It has enough randomization that 8th notes won't machine-gun, yeah, I've tested this and maybe even included a short video with the review of MODO 1.0 I did for Bedroom Producers Blog back in the day.


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## dman007 (Oct 28, 2019)

Thanks for the replies. How does MODO compare with other products on the market that use samples, like from Orange Tree, Amplesound or ImpactSoundWorks? 

Has anyone used the sampled electric bass from Steinberg?


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## keepitsimple (Oct 28, 2019)

dman007 said:


> Thanks for the replies. How does MODO compare with other products on the market that use samples, like from Orange Tree, Amplesound or ImpactSoundWorks?
> 
> Has anyone used the sampled electric bass from Steinberg?


I prefer Trilian to MODO Bass.


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## dman007 (Oct 28, 2019)

Has anyone used the sampled electric bass from Steinberg? 

Or Waves Bass Fingers?


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## decredis (Apr 20, 2020)

Just been trying out the demo version of Modo Bass and I'm impressed, aside from the obvious flexibility, it just seems to have more rich and complex tones than sampled basses I've used; and I love being able to use the pitch wheel for slides: being able to time the slide wholly naturally rather than a pre-determined length and rate of slide... 

I have a question though: I can't figure out how to play chords high up the fretboard on the highest strings... say I want to play on the tenth fret on the top two strings simultaneously, the engine assumes I'm trying to play both notes on the top string and just plays one of them. This seems to happen as soon as the lower note is high enough that it *could* be played on the top string. Below that point, it works fine. Is there a way around this?


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## Ashermusic (Apr 20, 2020)

I tried the demo, and I think it's great but I have resisted buying it because I already have a lot of good ones.


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## decredis (Apr 20, 2020)

Ashermusic said:


> I tried the demo, and I think it's great but I have resisted buying it because I already have a lot of good ones.


Yeah I had sort of promised myself not to prioritise it, as I was personally quite happy with Evolution Roundwound (and sometimes Shreddage's precision or some of NI's ones), but having tried the demo I'm more tempted than I was from just watching the videos on it. I'll probably still hold off a while, though, as it goes on sale often enough and there are things other than more basses that I'd like to get first.


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## Polkasound (Apr 20, 2020)

decredis said:


> Is there a way around this?



You have to enable Chord Mode. You'll find it in the Control tab.


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## decredis (Apr 20, 2020)

Polkasound said:


> You have to enable Chord Mode. You'll find it in the Control tab.


Bless you, so simple, I didn't spot it, thanks!


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## labornvain (Apr 20, 2020)

I have it. I like it. But I still use Scarbee Black Bass on a lot of stuff.

I was really disappointed that it doesn't have an ADSR. I find it very important to be able to shape the contour of the sustain in a bass. And MODO, incredibly, doesn't allow you to do that.

But some of the models sound really good.


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## Virtuoso (Apr 20, 2020)

I wish they would add fretless and acoustic basses, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with Modo. I have those bases/basses(!) covered with Trilian, VSL and Ujam, but it would be nice to have the tweakability of Modo.


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## Saxer (Apr 20, 2020)

labornvain said:


> I was really disappointed that it doesn't have an ADSR. I find it very important to be able to shape the contour of the sustain in a bass. And MODO, incredibly, doesn't allow you to do that.


Real basses doesn't have an ADSR too. It's not samples, it's modeled. Probably part of the concept. But it's possible to shape the sustain/damping via the mute parameter for shorter decay in notes.


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## labornvain (Apr 20, 2020)

Saxer said:


> Real basses doesn't have an ADSR too. It's not samples, it's modeled. Probably part of the concept. But it's possible to shape the sustain/damping via the mute parameter for shorter decay in notes.


Yeah, for my real basses I've always used dampeners of some sort.

My favorite is an old ragged towel strip that I duct taped across the bridge. Ruined the finish on my Yamaha. Does a great job of shortening the release time though, and it makes kind of a fringy sound which I like.

As for why anyone should give a shit that real basses don't have an ADSR on them, I can't imagine. Real basses don't allow you to move to pick-ups around either, but the MODO does.

Trilian has an ADSR not only for amplitude, but for the low-pass filter as well. It's extremely useful.

My point is that in the Modern Age of software instruments, there's absolutely no reason not to include one. It's a simple bit of code and it allows you to completely transform the instrument in really useful ways.


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## marius_dm (Apr 20, 2020)

For 99 bucks you can buy a real electric bass and learn how to play it.


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## Dandezebra (Apr 20, 2020)

I would like to see you give that same advice to everyone on every thread here... 😉


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## Rilla (Apr 20, 2020)

It's good, but I heard a lot of synthiness in the lower notes when adding a 5th string. It doesn't 100% sound like the real thing. I would say 98%. BUT if it's not being used as a solo instrument it's synthiness probably won't be noticed.


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## sumskilz (Apr 21, 2020)

labornvain said:


> Real basses don't allow you to move to pick-ups around either...


Sure they do, it just takes a lot more of an investment of time and money. Although I think that feature is meant to simulate similar bases with different configurations. 

About the ADSR though, there are no samples to apply envelopes to. It models the behavior of a bass, so in that sense, the mute parameter makes sense. Because there are no samples, having ADSR would just be an effect like a transient shaper. I guess including a transient shaper would be fine, but you probably already have one in your DAW.


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## decredis (Apr 21, 2020)

Having played around with the demo a bit the last couple of days, I still really like the sound and the enormous flexibility in that sound, but there are niggles... 

(1) I seem to be getting odd, difficult-to-replicate bugs when reassigning CCs, such as sometimes losing slide or pitchbend even though they're assigned, or sometimes getting pitchbend happening arbitrarily; resolved only by reloading the VSTi. 

(2) sometimes getting hanging notes, although that might just be when I change something in the gui while playing; 

(3) although chord mode permits higher-fret chords on the top strings, you sacrifice legato for it... I may be misthinking this but I don't see why it can't have the same ability to manage legato over chords as it does in lower frets and lower strings; 

(4) I don't think it's possible to have pitch bend only work on, say, the highest/lowest/last-played note in a chord.

(5) quite often there seems to be a 2x round robin on a note, noticeable especially when every other repetition of a note produces the same resonant twang, which kills realism for me, and is surprising in a modelled instrument 

These are all minor enough things that I'll probably still buy this some day (and I may even not be right in thinking these are problems at all), but off-putting enough that I'm not going to make an impulse buy right now.


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## chocobitz825 (Apr 21, 2020)

marius_dm said:


> For 99 bucks you can buy a real electric bass and learn how to play it.



yeah could, but at the end of the day you’d be a decent bass player with a $99 bass...You might nail the part, you’ll probably miss the tone you want for your recording.


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## Mark Schmieder (Apr 21, 2020)

I got rid of mine because it's TOO good, and it was making me lazy about getting around to final miked takes on some material. It's also a good thing I take VERY detailed project notes, because during casual listening to my tracks, I couldn't always identify which was MODO Bass and which was my real bass guitar!

Yes, it is imperfect in some ways -- a few of which were mentioned. And even for placeholder tracks, I too sometimes still use Scarbee Black Bass (about the only one I still use occasionally during early stages of a song). But I think they just did an update a few days ago; I didn't check the details as I don't want to have any regrets about selling mine.

The upcoming EZBass will be sampled vs. modeled, but will also contain pattern and song building tools and MIDI just as do EZkeys, EZDrummer and Superior Drummer. It';s worth considering that aspect, as well as the likelihood that it will initially cover a wider range of TYPES of basses (e.g. fretless). There might already be info at the Toontrack site; I refuse to look because I am wrapping up my MIDI based work and planning to go back primarily to the old ways, once quarantine lifts.


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## ohernie (Apr 21, 2020)

marius_dm said:


> For 99 bucks you can buy a real electric bass and learn how to play it.


Yeah, but you can't play it and right hand keyboard at the same time. I love playing left hand bass.


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## Hoxo (Apr 21, 2020)

The only thing I don't like about Modo Bass is the detach noise. Sounds very synthy. Turning the knob to 0 doesn't completely remove the sound either. Otherwise it's an impressive vst for sure.


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## Mark Schmieder (Apr 22, 2020)

I think it depends on how you play. I was a "modern bassist" (and especially heavily influenced by Jaco) for most of my first 20 years of playing. Then after a fair amount of pro studio work, I had a re-think and went super old-school. So I mute most of my notes and at the very least avoid sustain. I found that MODO BASS was quite good at emulating the vintage playing techniques realistically.


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## decredis (Sep 30, 2020)

I had promised myself to wait until Modo Bass was around 100 quid again in another sale before buying it, since I do have a fair few sampled basses I'm happy with, even though the sheer versatility of Modo is attractive.... but I think I've persuaded myself to go in for their "group buy"... even though I absolutely hadn't been planning to buy their drums and hadn't even heard of their hammond until someone mentioned it the other day here... it still kind of feels like I'm getting the Bass for £100 given that, having played around with the Drum and the Hammond, I do think these are very cool too, and I'll be getting the lot for £330ish.

EDIT: My behaviour and my rationalisations are absolutely typical of addiction. Lol.


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## doctoremmet (Sep 30, 2020)

The MODO range may be the best IKM have ever done. Especially the bass is one of THE best modelled virtual instruments around.


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## decredis (Sep 30, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> The MODO range may be the best IKM have ever done. Especially the bass is one of THE best modelled virtual instruments around.


Yes, I had a lot of fun with it (a few niggles aside, that I mentioned upthread of here) when I demoed it a while back when it was going cheap. I found I could spend hours sculpting and then being inspired by successions of different bass tones, great stuff.


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## ennbr (Sep 30, 2020)

With ExBass now available I would not even look at MODO. I recently was mixing a song the Bass track was a problem so I pointed EzBass to the bass wav file it generated the midi complete with articulations like slides and even ghost notes. Save me lots of time unfortunately I had to tell the bass player what was done but the song sounds better


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## Reid Rosefelt (Sep 30, 2020)

I like MODO Bass a lot and often use it. But it is a bass synthesizer and there are limits to that. It is amazing with smooth sounds like a J-Bass. But...

I had a Rick bass for a dozen years. Load up the Scarbee Rick bass--that's sounds almost exactly what my Rick bass sounded like. The first time I loaded it, I was stunned by how good the basic sound was.

The Modo bass Rick is not even close. Aside from the excellent drawing, it is simply not a Rick bass. It doesn't matter how much you tie yourself in knots adjusting it, you won't get what you get with the Scarbee bass just by loading it. 

I welcome all of you who have played a Rick to put the Modo Rick up against any sampled Rick out there, and tell me what you think. 

You can use Modo Bass to make an infinite variety of sounds and I highly recommend it. Particularly at $100, or as I got it, for $150 with a few dozen other things in Total Studio 2.

But if is important to you to get the most authentic sound possible of a specific bass--you might want to consider a high-quality sampled bass from Ample Sound or OTS or a company like that.


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## doctoremmet (Sep 30, 2020)

TigerTheFrog said:


> I like MODO Bass a lot and often use it. But it is a bass synthesizer and there are limits to that. It is amazing with smooth sounds like a J-Bass. But...
> 
> I had a Rick bass for a dozen years. Load up the Scarbee Rick bass--that's sounds almost exactly what my Rick bass sounded like. The first time I loaded it, I was stunned by how good the basic sound was.
> 
> ...


Looking for a fretless bass that can get reasonably close to a Mick Karn WAL fretless... how is that Ample Sound Jaco one? Ever try it?


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## Reid Rosefelt (Sep 30, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Looking for a fretless bass that can get reasonably close to a Mick Karn WAL fretless... how is that Ample Sound Jaco one? Ever try it?


I wish. I only own the free Amples and the Taylor 12-string.

The only other ones I know of are the Orange Tree Samples Jaco fretless and the Chris Hein fretless that comes in his Bass set.


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## doctoremmet (Sep 30, 2020)

TigerTheFrog said:


> I wish. I only own the free Amples and the Taylor 12-string.
> 
> The only other ones I know of are the Orange Tree Samples Jaco fretless and the Chris Hein fretless that comes in his Bass set.


Cool. I’ll keep my eyes open for a future sale of one of those. Thanks!


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## tcb (Sep 30, 2020)

I have an Ibanez SR300.IK ModoBass modeled the same model（Ibanez soundgear）
They sounds very closely to my ears.Modobass is very easy to use,no latency,very real arcticulations……


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## Mark Schmieder (Oct 1, 2020)

Yeah, like I said in another thread, I sold MODO Bass because it was making me lazy about replacing the MIDI mockups with real bass playing.

As for the Rick, I am not a fan of that bass. It had its day for sure, but even the players who made it famous, mostly moved on later in their careers. I think mostly because of how it feels vs. how it sounds. Everyone will have different preferences, but most of the people I know who play Ricks do so in spite of how it feels vs. actually liking its ergonomics.

Unless going for a stereo sound (and as I recall, MODO Bass is strictly mono), I feel that one can get close enough to a Rick sound with other models (of real bass guitars played and miked live). It wouldn't surprise me if any perception of inauthenticity of MODO's Rick model is related to the mono vs. stereo question.


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## Trace (Oct 3, 2020)

It’s very good.


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## bill45 (Oct 3, 2020)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Yeah, like I said in another thread, I sold MODO Bass because it was making me lazy about replacing the MIDI mockups with real bass playing.
> 
> As for the Rick, I am not a fan of that bass. It had its day for sure, but even the players who made it famous, mostly moved on later in their careers. I think mostly because of how it feels vs. how it sounds. Everyone will have different preferences, but most of the people I know who play Ricks do so in spite of how it feels vs. actually liking its ergonomics.
> 
> Unless going for a stereo sound (and as I recall, MODO Bass is strictly mono), I feel that one can get close enough to a Rick sound with other models (of real bass guitars played and miked live). It wouldn't surprise me if any perception of inauthenticity of MODO's Rick model is related to the mono vs. stereo question.


I love the NI scarbee Rick


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## Monkberry (Oct 4, 2020)

Totally agree on the Scarbee Rick vs IK: Scarbee nails it, IK totally misses it. MODO Bass options are super impressive and you can get decent results but I find myself reaching for Ample J Bass most often, Trilian for Fretless Jaco sound (as well as Ample Fretless Jaco Bass) and for upright I have replaced Trilian with Ample Sound's upright.


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## Monkberry (Oct 4, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Looking for a fretless bass that can get reasonably close to a Mick Karn WAL fretless... how is that Ample Sound Jaco one? Ever try it?


The Ample Jaco fretlees has a great J bass sound, but I never like their modwheel vibrato implementation and I feel that is crucial to any fretless library. You should definitely download the trial. I bought the Ample Masterbuilt fretted J Bass after getting the fretless so I go for that if I don't need the scoop/glissando from the fretless. It definitely does not get the Nick Karn fretless tone out of the box but you might be able get close adding appropriate effects and EQ.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 4, 2020)

Monkberry said:


> The Ample Jaco fretlees has a great J bass sound, but I never like their modwheel vibrato implementation and I feel that is crucial to any fretless library. You should definitely download the trial. I bought the Ample Masterbuilt fretted J Bass after getting the fretless so I go for that if I don't need the scoop/glissando from the fretless. It definitely does not get the Nick Karn fretless tone out of the box but you might be able get close adding appropriate effects and EQ.


Thanks! I will definitely have a look. Really appreciate this.


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## zeng (Oct 4, 2020)

Is $99 discount still valid?


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## doctoremmet (Oct 4, 2020)

zeng said:


> Is $99 discount still valid?


I don’t think so


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## Ashermusic (Oct 4, 2020)

It’s a great library, but I already have so many I like.


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## I like music (Oct 4, 2020)

Do they do BF sales?


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## doctoremmet (Oct 4, 2020)

I like music said:


> Do they do BF sales?


Absolutely. Never not buy their stuff on sale.


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## Rilla (Aug 23, 2022)

I revisited Modo. I was wrong about this plugin. I'm not saying all the basses are good, but the ones that are good are REALLY good. You can really tweak this thing. Being able to drag the pickups up and down to get a better sound?? Amazing!!


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## gedlig (Aug 24, 2022)

Rilla said:


> I revisited Modo. I was wrong about this plugin. I'm not saying all the basses are good, but the ones that are good are REALLY good. You can really tweak this thing. Being able to drag the pickups up and down to get a better sound?? Amazing!!


Ye it's pretty good, though I really wish IK didn't limit the tuning options to only standard or dropping the low string a tone. Really missing the ability to tune to drop c, drop b, drop a on a 4 string, and drop e, drop d, drop c on a 5 string


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## I like music (Aug 24, 2022)

Are there companies doing other kinds of modelled guitars?


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