SPECTOR® Club - Part 42

[PhatBasstard]

Originally Posted by iceboxbass

Man! I love me a Legend 6 sometime!!! I really love how the body is smaller than the Euros & USA models. It just has that special "NICE" look to it!

That's one of the main reasons I went back to the Legend 6 from a Euro 6 LX. Although I prefer the sound and response of neck thru, with the updated EMG-DC's, Trim-Tone Pump and brass nut, my current Legend 6 is very close.

Since all Spector bolt-ons use the 4 string sized body, if I ever want to move up in a 6 string again, it's probably going to have to be a USA bolt 6....unless they ever do a Rebop 6 (wink, wink, nudge, nudge )

One thing about the Legend 5's and 6's:
I still prefer the traditional Spector "Gumby" style headstock over the "Ibanez Soundgear" style headstock that they have on the Euro and USA 5 and 6's.

[PhatBasstard]

Originally Posted by Gabriel51

I believe your Korean Legend Custom is a "Set neck" not a neck-through.

This is correct.

Originally Posted by wvbass

The body is smaller? Really? I had no idea. I really like my 6.

Originally Posted by LimaGuy

The Legend 6 bodies are the same size as the 4 string models. The USA and Czech 6 String Models are wider then their 4 string versions.

Originally Posted by wvbass

Three things I didn't know: the body is smaller on the legend 6....

Originally Posted by JPSBassist

If you think about it... on a neck-thru, the center part of the body is the neck. And these necks are cut at an increasing width from the headstock to the butt of the neck at the base of the body (following the lines as the neck widens). So if the wings (the upper and lower horns which are fixed onto the neck to complete the body) are the same size for 4-string, 5-string and 6-string Spectors, then the 6-string neck-thru has the widest body because the neck gets very thick towards the 24th fret. Attach wings to that and the center of the bass becomes wider.

So yes, Spector neck-thru models in 5 and 6 strings are wider than the 4-strings, and obviously the 6-string is the widest. Likewise, the bolt-on bodies are all the same size and only the neck socket is routed wider to accommodate the thicker bold-on neck.

A Spector Neck-thru 6-string is a heavy bass.

I've posted an explaination of this several times over the Spector threads. Here's a re-post of the most simplified:

Originally Posted by PhatBasstard

If you'll notice, all Spector NS style bolt ons use a 4 string sized body. They just use a wider neck pocket for the 5 and 6 string necks.

The neck throughs are wider due to the same sized wings glued onto ever widening neck planks for the 5 and 6 strings.

[smadder]

Nope. It's round. Definitely a C profile, though obviously not as big as the one that was on the 5. If it had a flattened strip that would be a huge difference for me, but it isn't. It;s big and round.

Being that this has the intonation screw bridge, I think this is just the new evolution of the Forte 4 neck for Spector unlike the earlier ones. I'm definitely not sending it back to Beaver (I'd have to take the 9v out, buy a 2 band Aggie to put back in, then beg him to take it back way past the return date and place an order for another one w/ a custom neck which will not get here till next year). So she's just either going to work out or not.

But I can see myself ordering the 9v for my other basses now if I got a mind to. I only want three: a Euro 5 black matte, a 4 black matte (a Euro or the Forte) and a white one. I have a feeling the white one will end up being the white DW that's suppose to get here in November (was August, now it's November). I like the white Euro LX I have now, but I think I like the DW neck better. and right now I need the money.

Once I have all three in place , Then depending on what I've got, I may save up and drop the $$ to put the USA 9v in all three. I know the wood on the Forte is adding to that tone a lot, but it also sounds a lot like some of the NS-2As I've played with the Korean copy. It just has "that" sound.

We'll just see how the weekend and Monday play out with it (literally) as I use it to rehearse for a cover band audition. If it doesn't fit and I have to sell it, then I have to sell it, regardless of the tone, but if I do sell, I WILL end up with that tone in my three basses when the first chance presents itself to do so.

And I will talk to my tech (whose mouth also dropped as soon as we plugged it in last night and immediately said "if you sell it, I want to reverse engineer that before it goes" - so I knew it wasn't just me. It was the best open E either of us have ever heard in our lives) about shaving/flattening the back out. We couldn't do it on the Forte 5 because the truss rod was so deep in the neck that we couldn't risk taking wood off for fear of getting way too close to or exposing the truss rod. But for this, I'll ask and check and see if it's possible. I'll do everything I can before selling it to try and make it work for me.

But in the meantime, I am going to put my white LX with the EMG BQC in it up sometime tomorrow for $1000 shipped. It's in as-new condition and plays like butter, but I need the money more than the bass b/c of the Forte.

Originally Posted by LimaGuy

Steve,

Glad you got a chance to experience the USA 9v preamp tone in person.

Just curious, is the back of you Forte neck Flat? My Forte neck is thick but it is flat, which is what I described to MrBassie and he agreed that is how his feels.

Being flat, it helps your hand mold better.

P.S.
You could inquire about ordering a thinner profile Forte neck. I don't think they would do a 1.5 nut, but I am pretty sure they will do a std nut with a thinner front to back profile.

[worshiprocker]

Originally Posted by ubnomnar

I just received "Amber" yesterday... NS-4CR. She seems to have spent many years in the closet

dibs if you ever sell her.... that is stunning. I've never played a CR with the BT in it.... but I love the TP in mine. These basses sound great with any preamp. Congrats brotha!!

Originally Posted by Mr.Bassie720

I would be scared to that myself Phil Jacoby does it for me.

and he does a great job.

Originally Posted by iceboxbass

I saw that one listed on GC and thought about you going to check it out! Haha! I came so very close to ordering one back a couple years ago. I love the looks of it!

anytime, even if you are just curious, I'l go check something out, I got your cd today in the mail. I haven't gotten a chance to listent o it, but I certainly will tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Mr.Bassie720

We all have opinions, and this is just mine. The CRs, all the ones that I have played, are the best value for your dollar. Simply, outstanding instruments. This is an insane, pristine example. Beautiful! Congratulations.

Speaking of that.... new Dunlop Steels installed tonight... I couldn't put it down. It just sounds sooo great. I got some good pics with the new bass for my photo shoot too. The tone is almost identical to jade. Jade has a little more aggressive zing to her. the black bass (need a name) it great, PLENTY of growl in the low mid, mid mid register, boost the treble knob and it just cuts like a mother. These 2 CRFMs are staying... they might get the US 9v someday.... but we will see. I've got a couple other purchases to make first.

[bassmanc]

Originally Posted by smadder

So I just got this Forte 4 from BC. I went with it because I was hoping that the neck would be more comfortable than the Forte 5 I had before. Plus, I managed to get a US 9v in it. When I first played it out of the case, I felt the neck was still to thick for me, but when I went to my tech's today to take pics for you guys, I tried it after it had time to settle and it was a little more comfortable.

Suffice to say: If I sell it, I'll post here first and the Spector Club price will be $2200. It's #41, brand new unregistered Forte 4 with a US 9v "Haz" Circuit professionally installed, new Sadowsky steels on it and a fresh pro set up and Spector hardshell case. Plus it has the new intonation screws bridge.

It's got a blacker than usual stain on it, so the flame is all there (good Lord is it ever) but harder to get pics of because the stain is more black than charcoal.

I want to get it home and play it for a bit before I decide for sure on selling it, but please know that the possibility is definitely there - I just prefer Euro necks... I should be getting it home tomorrow and will let you guys know on Sunday if I'm going to sell it or not. But for now, here are the pics as it's being set up at my tech's shop:

Dude don't sell it!If you like the way it sounds,get the neck sized down!!!

[wvbass]

Originally Posted by JPSBassist

If you think about it... on a neck-thru, the center part of the body is the neck. And these necks are cut at an increasing width from the headstock to the butt of the neck at the base of the body (following the lines as the neck widens). So if the wings (the upper and lower horns which are fixed onto the neck to complete the body) are the same size for 4-string, 5-string and 6-string Spectors, then the 6-string neck-thru has the widest body because the neck gets very thick towards the 24th fret. Attach wings to that and the center of the bass becomes wider.

...

I think your bass was a spec bass. Did you buy it new or used? I'll bet it was used. Spec basses are made by these factories which do work on a batch-contract basis. Recently an "Indian-Made" Legend showed up on Ebay.

And the Performer by Spector models are made in Indonesia currently. All Chinese production/contracts are ended, even the ARC6-Pro is no longer made there. The new ARC6-Pro models are made in Korea at the Spector factory.

To my knowledge production on the Legend has never been shifted to any other Asian factory... the Korean Spector factory has always made the production runs.

So my guess is that your bass is a "demo" build, done to see what quality control at this facility would be. There are too many things wrong which suggest a trial/spec batch or even a single instrument build, such as the logo on the headstock, the routing for the control cavity being wrong... these things scream spec-bass.

I'll ask PJ Rubal and see what he says about your bass. When these get made, sometimes they are given away to people as "gifts" to people who then part with them, as is the case with the "Made In India" Legend on Ebay.

If you did buy that bass from a dealer, I'd love you to PM me and let me know who and when. It really doesn't fit with Spector Quality Control. I've seen Stuart reject shipments of basses because they just were not finished as good as a Spector should be. Which was eventually why he moved production of the ARC6-Pro and Performer from China.

That makes sense about the body width.

I don't think my bass is a "spec bass". And I think PJ has commented on it before. I don't think Spector is proud of this piece of their history. When production of many models stopped in Korea (when the Cort factory closed?) many brands were notified that production was moving to Indonesia. It was not a choice made by the brand names. Some brands (G&L) were patient and gave the new factory time to get up to speed. Others marketed the change as a good thing (Lakland), and in time I beleive it was

Spector did neither. As I recall, when they couldn't immediately get QC under control, they found another option and moved back to Korea. Spector has a higher level of commitment to their product and were unwilling to let bad basses go through because of a change in production that they did not want in the first place. This commitment to quality did result in a pretty big bump in price, but they are still reasonably priced instruments.

I bet PJ will say that the Legends were made in Indonesia for only a short time, they weren't happy, and they moved back to Korea quickly.

My bass came from Musician's Friend. I was aware of the issues within the return window. I kept the bass because it really is a fine instrument in terms of tone and playability. I understand the concern over the minor cosmetic issues, and I applaud Spector for reacting the way they did, but the upside of this bass outweighs its minor downsides. There is still a lot for Spector to be proud of with this bottom-of-the-line bass.

Fwiw, I fixed the minor neck dings (and a couple more that I did!), left the paint smudge alone, reglued the wood block in the control cavity, and I only use one screw to hold the truss cover on anyway. It does make for good conversation, though.

Please correct me if I am wrong about any of this.

[Jaymi]

hmmmmm

[tomydacat]

Is Jaymi thinkin Forte??

[iceboxbass]

Originally Posted by Mr.Bassie720

I would be scared to that myself Phil Jacoby does it for me.

Lol...Do you know how he does it?

[iceboxbass]

Originally Posted by PhatBasstard

That's one of the main reasons I went back to the Legend 6 from a Euro 6 LX. Although I prefer the sound and response of neck thru, with the updated EMG-DC's, Trim-Tone Pump and brass nut, my current Legend 6 is very close.

Since all Spector bolt-ons use the 4 string sized body, if I ever want to move up in a 6 string again, it's probably going to have to be a USA bolt 6....unless they ever do a Rebop 6 (wink, wink, nudge, nudge )

One thing about the Legend 5's and 6's:
I still prefer the traditional Spector "Gumby" style headstock over the "Ibanez Soundgear" style headstock that they have on the Euro and USA 5 and 6's.

Yes, I fully agree with you on this phat. Funny, just 5 minutes before reading this post, I was contemplating if a ReBop 6 had ever been built! Haha! I think that would be an awesome bass if they'd start building the ReBop 6. With the lighter bodies it'd save a lot of weight that sixers normally weigh.

[Jaymi]

Originally Posted by tomydacat

Is Jaymi thinkin Forte??

You just never know...

[ynot12]

Originally Posted by worshiprocker

http://spectorbass.com/professional/...s_kroeger.html

Mike Kroeger (nickelback) signature bass. The Professorial series one, not the USA made one.

It is 100% passive, set neck 5 string Spector with cool inlays

This is the first Spector model I ever played. The have one locally here at GC and from the moment I picked it up, I new I had to have a Spector. Just felt great. And then SAS was born.

[brotherbassj]

Originally Posted by tomydacat

Is Jaymi thinkin Forte??

I'd be surprised if he is......he's had an oil finish.....he's had an 83 Brooklyn.....he had that awesome blue Kramer era ns-2 he sold, for the second time.....I think he has something much different in mind.....oh yes"....and the blue Kramer era had a new Spector 9 volt circuit...HAZ.......so???? I would add all that up and say it won't be a forte........he is taking the ns-4 on the road.....hint dropped

[smadder]

Okay folks. You were all right. After the a setup, the Forte played like a dream. I played it all night. This morning I opened up a medical bill for $32,000. That's for the one trip to the ER I had to make a few weeks back the Monday before we sent Chris everything.

So, I honestly have no business owning more than one bass right now. So I'm going to keep the Euro 5LX so I can still go to these auditions and (hopefully) get some gigs. But the White Euro LX 4 with the new EMG BQC in it and the brand new Forte 4 with the US 9v pre in it are going to have to go.

I'm posting here as well as on the regular classifieds. I'll bring those links over in a later post so you guys can (hopefully), please) help me out with bumps. Please PM me if you're interested in either one of them.

Anyway, here's the white Euro LX 2007, 9.5/10 condition, brand new EMG BQC preamp fresh fret dressing, pro set up with Sadowsky Black Label Steels, board conditioning and body buffing, Dunlop Dual action strap locks and a new Spector Gig Bag. $1000 shipped.













And here's the brand new Forte 4, 10/10 condition, solid flame maple wings, pau ferro board, brass nut, 3 piece rock maple neck, black stain, unregistered, Dunlop dual action straplocks, pro set up with Sadowsky Black Label Steels, with the new intonation screw bridge and the US 9v preamp. Comes shipped with Spector hardshell case for $2200.

[smadder]

Could you guys please help me out and give me bumps on the white Spector LX4

F/S ONLY! MINTY WHITE SPECTOR EURO LX4 W/ NEW EMG BQC PREAMP!

And on the Forte 4?

F/S ONLY! BRAND NEW USA SPECTOR FORTE 4 W/ USA 9V "HAZ" CIRCUIT!

I need the money and I could use the help keeping them up on the lists. I can't afford to drop the prices, especially since I'm including shipping with both. Please help me out if you can.

[ynot12]

Steve, our timing was off by about 8 hours. I would have bought that White in a second, but just sent my PayPal funds from my Warwick sale to pay down debt myself. Ugh. I suppose it's probably better off for me, but would have stepped up to help you if I could. I'll be bumpin' for ya, bro!

[smadder]

Originally Posted by ynot12

Steve, our timing was off by about 8 hours. I would have bought that White in a second, but just sent my PayPal funds from my Warwick sale to pay down debt myself. Ugh. I suppose it's probably better off for me, but would have stepped up to help you if I could. I'll be bumpin' for ya, bro!

Thanks Tony!

[worshiprocker]

Originally Posted by brotherbassj

I'd be surprised if he is......he's had an oil finish.....he's had an 83 Brooklyn.....he had that awesome blue Kramer era ns-2 he sold, for the second time.....I think he has something much different in mind.....oh yes"....and the blue Kramer era had a new Spector 9 volt circuit...HAZ.......so???? I would add all that up and say it won't be a forte........he is taking the ns-4 on the road.....hint dropped

have you met Jaymi? lol needless to say I wouldn't be surprised if he bought a forte and refinished and reshaped the neck. or bought it, tried it, sold it. lol ya the NS-4 is sick and will get even sicker after his live gigging dates. We al have that one bass we base all of our other Spectors on.

[Fat240]

Originally Posted by smadder

Okay folks. You were all right. After the a setup, the Forte played like a dream. I played it all night. This morning I opened up a medical bill for $32,000. That's for the one trip to the ER I had to make a few weeks back the Monday before we sent Chris everything.

So, I honestly have no business owning more than one bass right now. So I'm going to keep the Euro 5LX so I can still go to these auditions and (hopefully) get some gigs. But the White Euro LX 4 with the new EMG BQC in it and the brand new Forte 4 with the US 9v pre in it are going to have to go.

I'm posting here as well as on the regular classifieds. I'll bring those links over in a later post so you guys can (hopefully), please) help me out with bumps. Please PM me if you're interested in either one of them.

Anyway, here's the white Euro LX 2007, 9.5/10 condition, brand new EMG BQC preamp fresh fret dressing, pro set up with Sadowsky Black Label Steels, board conditioning and body buffing, Dunlop Dual action strap locks and a new Spector Gig Bag. $1000 shipped.













And here's the brand new Forte 4, 10/10 condition, solid flame maple wings, pau ferro board, brass nut, 3 piece rock maple neck, black stain, unregistered, Dunlop dual action straplocks, pro set up with Sadowsky Black Label Steels, with the new intonation screw bridge and the US 9v preamp. Comes shipped with Spector hardshell case for $2200.

I love the Forte 4, wish I was able to help out but the bass fund is tapped after picking up the NS-2 and the Rebop. If my Warwick and Bass Whammy moves I could do something, but will ask around for you.

[tomydacat]

Jamie your white Spector right in front of you woaaa she looks sweet... Steve if I had money I would buy the Forte my self .. After looking at the pictures of Lee's Forte and all the others here they get me drooling every time I see one. Wowsa .. Oh and I can see Jaymi gigin with a Forte ?