SPECTOR® Club - Part 51

[smadder]

Patrick, I think this is a question that you and possibly Todd may know the answers to the best.

In the range of non-active Spector pickups (or "Select", or "Designed by", etc) that came out with the Kramer era guitars in general and specifically the basses, even the Spector getting it's own passive treatment with the "Spector by EMG pickups".

To your knowledge, (and if I missed this someplace obvious, then please tell me and I'll shut up) do you guys know what the big differences were between these pickups? I've been told that they are all passive, but this was a random question moment, not a group of knowledgeable people

So with the Spector brainpower floating around here, could some one explain the history and even reasons behind the pick up choices that were made outside of the USA basses?

And by the way, my friend's daughter who I will be giving lessons to got her 1st bass over the Xmas weekend: a black Spector Performer 4! And let me tell you: these basses are the best you can find in this price range and in several above it. Excellent sounding passive bass, the woods were top quality, the hardware wasn't cheap either. And it's got plenty of space for an active preamp and the routes would fit a standard EMG 35 casing, I believe) I'm not talking Schallers, but I'm not saying generic closed-seal style either. And the tone, when not plugged in, has great resonance. Oh and the neck: great profile - not too big, not too small, just right. And the 5 bolt neck joint is dead-solid perfect. I'd be watchful over the fretboard drying out and would oil once a week to start off with and then back off to twice weekly for the neck 6 months, then once a month for the next year from then on. But for a bass in the $299 price range.... you can't get much better than that (just my opinion).

Anyway, sorry for lumping two things into one, but they kind of go together and EMGs have been a part of the Spector tone signature for such a long time. I thought it would be cool to see what Spector decided on what to use for which models and why.

Originally Posted by JPSBassist

Wow. Great video! Thanks for sharing that one!

This is an early NS-1 *you can tell because of the hexagon pup cover. It was something Stuart came up with to be different.

Under that cover was a DiMarzio P pickup.

He used a number of different circuits... the only NS-1 that I've gotten to play around inside the control cavity had a home-made-looking circuit Stuart referred to as a "Yellow Thumper". See the attached photo.

This circuit was finally being replaced. Actually the bass was going to be all passive. This circuit had died and was being removed. So I got to see it, hold it and take photos. I later asked Stuart, "What was that thing?" He told me the story that the guy he got them from made them by hand and wrapped them that way to insulate them.

I need to double check the name of the guy who designed them. The funny thing was this circuit looked like a piece of meat or something wrapped in wax paper. It was really odd, but very organic looking *meaning it looked like something that was grown in the ground then wrapped in cloth for cooking for something. LOL.

Here's photos of it.

Todd Cooke has one of the largest (if not the largest) collection of NS-1 and early NS-2s I know of.

Perhaps he can shed some light.

[GangstaBean]

I went to go see the Trans Siberian Orchestra tonight. They were pretty awesome. In the first song, I look at the bass player to see what he's playing. I noticed it was a contoured body and neck through (I was right of the stage), so I narrowed it down to either Warwick or Spector (hoping it was the latter ). Then he turns and I see the crown MOP inlays. I originally thought it was a natural Euro 4(lx) because it had a shiny bridge, but then I may have seen an SSD logo so I wasn't completely sure. Regardless, it was nice to see and hear a Spector.

[Profania_bass]

I can't wait to get my Euro out live. I just can't wait! Why does writing albums take so god damn loooong?

[catcauphonic]

I know this has been covered before, but I'm going to ask once more because this thread moves fast & searching back is laborious!:

Is the USA18v louder & clearer sounding as opposed to the USA9v's growl? Or do I have that wrong??

As always, thank you gentlemen for your expertise

[smadder]

Originally Posted by catcauphonic

I know this has been covered before, but I'm going to ask once more because this thread moves fast & searching back is laborious!:

Is the USA18v louder & clearer sounding as opposed to the USA9v's growl? Or do I have that wrong??

As always, thank you gentlemen for your expertise

That seems to be the general consensus, yes.

[catcauphonic]

Thanks for the confirmation smadder

I just had new Roto nickels put on my Forte-X while I was away. I'm just blown away at how thunderous & crisp. this bass sounds!
It makes me wonder what other strings Forte owners here with a similar setup (EMG soaps/Aggie OBP-2) prefer on their own bass??

[delucajohn2000]

Originally Posted by GangstaBean

I went to go see the Trans Siberian Orchestra tonight. They were pretty awesome. In the first song, I look at the bass player to see what he's playing. I noticed it was a contoured body and neck through (I was right of the stage), so I narrowed it down to either Warwick or Spector (hoping it was the latter ). Then he turns and I see the crown MOP inlays. I originally thought it was a natural Euro 4(lx) because it had a shiny bridge, but then I may have seen an SSD logo so I wasn't completely sure. Regardless, it was nice to see and hear a Spector.

Did he have blonde hair? If so, that was probably Johnny Lee Middleton. I know he used a red NS-2 when I saw him play with Savatage way back in the day so he has been playing them for a while

[brotherbassj]

Originally Posted by awilkie84

Gorgeous, but I'm definitely not a fan of the holes.
Makes me want to avoid putting an 18V in my ReBop, for sure.

18 volt Spector circuit in a euro lx I own....extra hole is now a kill switch wired inline with the jack. Works extremely well!

[bunkaroo]

Originally Posted by delucajohn2000

Did he have blonde hair? If so, that was probably Johnny Lee Middleton. I know he used a red NS-2 when I saw him play with Savatage way back in the day so he has been playing them for a while

I think that guy David Z still tours with them on the east coast run too - he has dark hair and I know he plays Spector. He's listed on the Spector site. He's also in that ZO2 band that has that show Z-Rock on IFC.

[bunkaroo]

Originally Posted by brotherbassj

18 volt Spector circuit in a euro lx I own....extra hole is now a kill switch wired inline with the jack. Works extremely well!

I'm sure I've said this before but man that is a nice flame - one of the best Euro flames I've seen.

[tomydacat]

JAMIE ....DAYUMM SEXY BASS THERE

[morebassbaby]

Hey Everybody,
Just picked this up a few months ago. It's a Ns4h2 from Namm 2012. This thing is unbelievable! I swapped out the emg's for Talkbasser MPU's Wal style pickups in EMG casing, then I threw an ACG EQ01 filter Pre in there instead of the Aggie preamp.

Picture from the dealer:





My shot:



Action Shot:





After having a NS4 neck thru some years back, I always thought that my perfect spector would be a bolt-on...and I was totally right. Don't be put off by buying a Spector bolt-on, especially these awesome US made ones!

[j.kernodle]

I would love to hear how that filter preamp and those pickups sound in that bass. have you recorded with it?

What's your impression of the difference in tone after the swap?

[ynot12]

Originally Posted by catcauphonic

Thanks for the confirmation smadder

I just had new Roto nickels put on my Forte-X while I was away. I'm just blown away at how thunderous & crisp. this bass sounds!
It makes me wonder what other strings Forte owners here with a similar setup (EMG soaps/Aggie OBP-2) prefer on their own bass??

On my NSCRFM with Aguilar OBP-2 (poor mans Forte) I have SS DR High Beams and they sound great. Plus the tension is good for me. Not too high, not too low... Just right.

[worshiprocker]

Originally Posted by Worldeeeter

Forgot to mention - the LaBella HRS M70 set is designed for D-tuning. They are 054-075-090-111. I tune down a lot, and there is no noticeable change in tension. Love em!

hmm I may have to check those out

Originally Posted by morebassbaby

After having a NS4 neck thru some years back, I always thought that my perfect spector would be a bolt-on...and I was totally right. Don't be put off by buying a Spector bolt-on, especially these awesome US made ones!

Beautiful bass man. With the new in 2013 NS-2-BO. I'm pretty interested too in a USA BO. It could be just the little bit of difference in tone to add to my player pile.

[tomydacat]

MOrebassbay.. all I can say is WOW...just WOW

[morebassbaby]

Originally Posted by j.kernodle

I would love to hear how that filter preamp and those pickups sound in that bass. have you recorded with it?

What's your impression of the difference in tone after the swap?

Sadly I don't have samples yet. I'm sure I'll get to it eventually though.
Man the difference to me is night an day. A lot more versatility with the preamp and more warmth with the new pickups, all while retaining that certain aggressive Spector tone. It sounds now like a cross between a Spector, a Stingray, and a Wal. So good!...and I did go for the shiny Sadowsky style black knobs, which I think look great with the bass, but I definitely needed some kind of indicators on the knobs for figuring out settings on the preamp. There's about a million sounds in there!

[morebassbaby]

Thanks Tomydacat!! I love her that's for sure. I named her "Naturelle" after Rosario Dawson's character in the film "25th hour" As it turns out, this bass is very natural...nice and acoustic in nature and has that beautiful satin feel.

[j.kernodle]

Thanks for sharing the info. Spector + Stingray + Wal... Can't imagine it getting much better than that! Does MPU have a website for his pickups? I could probably do a search, but three letter searches don't work so great on TB.

[morebassbaby]

Nope I don't think he does, but everything went great with our transaction. I found him on the "Won the wal pickup on eBay" thread, where people are on the never ending quest to either make a wal clone or retrofit their bass into one. The pickup is great, has all the aggression of EMG's minus the bit of sterile that I hear, and just a touch more warmth (I'm assuming because he used Alnico instead of ceramic for the construction) The pickups are worth the upgrade to me.