Spector Club

[fishtx]

Originally Posted by Jeramy

Sign me up Please. I have a NSjh5 And A NS5H2.

Very nice!...Question...did you iorder the NS5H2 with no fret markers?...just curious...

I have an NSJH5 and a NS5H2 as well...but they bot have the big Spector fretboard markers...

[p0k]

the NSJH5 i used to have had no fret markers...

[SpectorDetector]

Oh well, the NS-2JA-R had to go back

As a few of you know, the bass came to me with a ding on it and a flaky volume control. I couldn't live with the ding and after knowing it was there and looking at the retailers pics of the bass, there it was, right in front of me the whole time. It just kinda looked like a reflection in the pics.

So, I am waiting for the refund to go through and then I will get another one. I will take the high res pics I promised when the new bass gets here.

It kind of sucks to have a great instrument like that and then have to send it back! I loved everything about that bass, but couldn't live with a ding I wasn't responsible for on a brand new instrument.

[evilgus]

Please sign me up, I just bought a used Euro 5 LX!

It's deep red in colour and would be immaculate, except for the fact that it was damaged in transit to the previous owner. It looks like it was dropped on the ground and ended up with a ding on the lower edge of the body and some stress fractures in the finish around the pots. I'm not too fussed, as it was well priced and I bought it as a player. Will still enquire about getting it fixed though, but it's not a priority.

Have also done the "Tone Dump" and fitted a Seymour Duncan STC-3a pre-amp, the TD really wasn't doing the pickups any justice and the output level was ridiculously high!

A quick question for existing owners - what is the recommended pickup height on these puppies? How much gap should I roughly have between strings and pickups? I've got the string setup quite low, but without putting more padding under the pups, can't get them any closer than around 5mm. I haven't had any EMG pups for years, so maybe that is ok.

Cheers,

EG

[Throckmorten]

Thought I'd ask here first...

On my Legend the bridge pickup is noticably lower than the neck pickup. So the volume noticably less when soloed, which is what got me checking the pickups.

It came from the factory this way. I haven't measured it and haven't checked with Spector for factory specs.

The set up and sound are OK and I don't mind tweaking it a bit to suit myself. I'm just curious if this is stock set up.

[Ian Perge]

Took my first "Family Shot" a few days ago, although it may not stay that way for very long :

1. My Fretted ReBop 5 DLX FM in Black Cherryburst, purchased the beginning of July 2007. Purchase from Jong Lee at Jive Sound, who deserves the largest of plugs. I was undergoing a horrid Special Order from Musician's Friend (I'm disabled and my fiancee's a Doctoral Student, and cash is not in large amounts here so credit is often my path to new gear... but Smart Credit, paid off monthly and by the end of the 12 months so that no Interest accrues) he had read about it here, PM'd me, and offered me the above at a crazy discount (low enough that I don't feel comfortable printing it) that also came at the right time for time, as I believe he'd had it in stock for a good period and so the opportunity to move it out. Still, he saved me far more than typical haggling amount.
   
   She's waiting to undergo a pickup/electronic change I've written about in Pickups that I'm not sure has been done yet to a Spector here - a set of Nordstrand Big Singles and an Aguliar OBP-3. I feeling about the ReBops, and this is confirmed by PJ Rubal, is that they are Spector's "Jazz" bass - Alder & Maple body, bolt-on Maple neck, Rosewood fretboard... all the makings of a Jazz, but with body size, the pickups & electronics (usually EMGs) and intangibles that make a Spector a "Spector". Well, I want to try and see what you get if you shift it a tad to the Jazz side as opposed to the "Spector" by using the "Jazz Bass on Steroids" that Big Singles are suppose to be as opposed to the traditional EMGs. All involved (myself, Carey and Stew, PJ) have good feelings about this idea, and one said this will turn out to be a "Monster of a Mutant Spector... in a GOOD way" Also outfitted with Mother-of-Pearl-topped knobs from http://www.q-parts.com.
   
   
2. My Custom Fretless ReBop 5 DLX FM in Blueburst, ordered the beginning of June 2007... delivered the 20th of November. I had gone with a Special Order from Musician's Friend due to having done so before with my SWR Mini Mo' preamp with no hassle, and thought it would be the same. It wasn't. If anyone remembers the insanity last Summer with MF.com moving wearhouses, my Special Order got stuck right in the middle of it. The CSR handling it did a piss-pour job for about 2 months before being yanked and replaced but a somewhat better Supervisor... but unfortunately The Process had to restart from him taking over which took several weeks to place the order with Spector, who themselves need 2-3 months to basically "built" the bass as it wasn't in stock. In the meantime MF.com attempted to short me several promotional deals that were in place when I had originally ordered the bass, but not when the order was finally placed. Sometimes it was like being in Catch-22.
   
   The one positive thing is the PJ took great pains about the entire deal, and since this was going to be a complete "from the ground up" built he got me a very cool "option" from the Czech factory, and why I add the "custom" tag to the bass: a custom color. "Blueburst" isn't an offered color on the ReBop line (in fact, even simple "Blue" hasn't been offered for quite awhile). But I asked if it would be possible, and he came through for me like the guy he is. This way, I have a "Brother & Sister" team of my 5-string Spector fretted and fretless both having 'bursts. He and the entire Spector group are great people to work with. Along with her "Brother", the fretless will be outfitted with the "Big Single/Aguliar" combo. But that will have to wait until after she returns from HG Thor's shop for his Epoxy fretboard coating....and she sounds good now!! Like her fretted counterpart, she's also outfitted with Abalone-topped knobs from http://www.q-parts.com.
   
   
3. My Fretted ReBop 4 in Natural Oil, purchased in the "For Sale" forum right here the beginning of September 2007. While still fighting on-and-off with MF.com, I saw this 'lil steal of a 4-string, and sold off a non-player to grab it. I didn't exactly need it, but it truly was a steal as the last owner had done the "EMG DC/CD & BTS System" installation already. She's reawakened all of the '80s Spector/EMG-toned songs in my, as well as seeing the benefit of a Hipshot Bass Xtender after 15 years of considering it (I plan to get every bass done at some point). After playing a 6-string only for five years and them 5s for 5 more, it's nice to come back to "Bass Boot Camp" which is what I consider a 4 - you've got limited means to get things done, so be economical. Outfitted with the Ugly EMG knobs because I can't find the incredibly small sized Allen wrench to remove them.

I'd always wanted a Spector - a ton of my influences play then, hell, who didn't play a Spector in the mid-to-late '80s?!? I have no idea except that production happened to have stopped in the '90s when I made my gear decisions then, and when they came back I didn't quite feel the need to get one. You could say I'm making up for lost time with this.

As for the four-string, I'm going to try and convince the SO that once I list and sell the remaining "Generally Good Gear" (as opposed to the true High Quality Gear I've been move toward - my modded-out passive Jazz, my sentimental-yet-never-played six-string, some various others) that I'll have enough after letting the four-string go to pick up one of the Zebrawood-topped ReBops. I can easily see myself pick one up on the 'bay for a much lower than the usual $1249 with any luck. I'm also lucky in that department - she's expressed a like of the wood, and this would lower the "Collection" to a much manageable 5: my 3 Spectors and 2 Mike Lulls, all keepers as opposed to the other basses than will have passed through my life... which isn't that many considering TB standards.

[Buskman]

Ian,

As a fellow Rebop 5 owner (the "Jazz Bass" of Spectors is a very good description), may I say that you have a very nice stable there! Loving the "custom" blue fretless, too!

I'm very curious to see how your Nordy/Aggie mod goes. Please keep us posted (I'm gonna go check out your thread in the 'Pickups' section now...).

[Jeramy]

Hi Fishtx in responce to your question "did you iorder the NS5H2 with no fret markers?" Yes i ordered it without the fret markers on the fretboard but i still have the side marker dots.

[golffoxtrot]

Hi Everyone,

AFter a long wait I finally got my Legend 5 Classic in Slate Grey -- was surprised to notice though that it came with the black plastic knobs like the ones on the Euro series rather than the metal black ones that are pictured on the website. Does anyone know if this is now what Spector does?

Also, are these knobs easy to change? I'd much rather have the black metal ones to match the other hardware...

[EagleMoon]

Originally Posted by golffoxtrot

Hi Everyone,

AFter a long wait I finally got my Legend 5 Classic in Slate Grey -- was surprised to notice though that it came with the black plastic knobs like the ones on the Euro series rather than the metal black ones that are pictured on the website. Does anyone know if this is now what Spector does?

Also, are these knobs easy to change? I'd much rather have the black metal ones to match the other hardware...

Congrats on your new bass. The one I played at Sam Ash had the black metal knobs. Maybe it's something new they're doing? Not sure. They just pull off, so you should be able to change them out easily enough.

[golffoxtrot]

Thanks... its really my first bass, but i wanted something decent to learn on.

Which actually leads me to ask, can anyone tell me what the 4 knobs do? (i know this is prolly a total newb q... but I don't know).

I do know that 1 does volume and there's one that when i turn all the way up, i hear some buzz/hum noise through the amp..

[EagleMoon]

Go here:

http://www.spectorbass.com/NewFiles/about.html

and click on the Owners Manual link. (It's a PDF file) It has information about your bass, and shows what the knobs do.

[Geothermal]

The left (from a playing perspective) and top knobs should be Volume for each of the pickups, corresponding to the pickup location.
The other two should be bass closest to the bridge and tone, the only one that's left

[Planet Boulder]

Though mine aren't in the same league as the US and Euro-builts that many of you have, here they are:

1. Legend 4 with Bubinga top. Modded with Bartolini pickups/3-band, 18-volt pre and Hipshot Ultralite tuners

2. NS2000-Q6. Modded with Gotoh tuners and I made the 18volt mod to the stock EMG pre.




I'm hoping these qualify me for the club.

[Spectordave]

I WANT TO JOIN!

Here's my Spector NS-2J


and my Spector Legend 5


I was after a 5 string and i bought the Spector Legend 5 cause i wanted something different from my usual Fenders and got totally hooked on the company. Soon after i got the NS-2J which is AMAZING. Best bass i've played so far.

[SpectorDetector]

I finally got another NS-2JA-R after returning the first one! It took a while to get the refund and search for a new one. Spector is not expecting a new batch till sometime in July, so I had to locate one from someone who had it in stock. I can't say enough about the Bass Emporium out of Austin Texas. Both John and Chuck are great to deal with and really helped me out, thumbs up to them.

I promised high rez bass porn, so here it is!

[EagleMoon]

That's some major shine on that there bass. Gorgeous!

[SpectorDetector]

Just got my NS2A back today, I had a setup done and upgraded the pots to a EMG BTS system, it has a master volume, pickup blend and separate bass and treble controls. I had it hooked up as an 18 volt system. The bass sounds a little bit more punchy and live now. It had been upgraded to the EMG set back in the day, I have no idea what electronics were in it. This bass plays and sounds so nice, what a bargain!

[CH Design]

I don't want a number but I just scored this beauty (well, not as nice as some if the other Spectors posted on here) for $650. It's an older Spector Euro Neck-thru. Hopefully I'll have it before the end of the week. I believe the stock pickups are active EMG's, but does anyone know what preamp is in there? I've noticed that a lot of people upgrade to an EMG preamp. How would people describe it to some other preamps of similar quality?

Edit: The add said that it comes with the Spector Tone Pump. Is that good or bad? The only other spector that I have played was an old NS-2A. I replaced it's "Spector" pickups with real active EMG's and put an 18 volt Aguilar OBP-3 in it. It sounded much better with the upgrades. How do these basses sound stock?

[Rickett Customs]

Any body who needs the tonepump wiring scheme, here it is: (I drew it up last night)