Buying my daughter a Spector

[cc5k]

Nice. It's good to hear that there weren't too many issues with the bass and that she's taking to it really well! I wish my parents would have supported me more when I was living at home...They were worried I would fall into 'the wrong crowd' if I started playing a guitar of any kind.

In regards to the EMG HZ's. I have them on one of my basses and they are a passive soapbar pickup run through a pre-amp. I was really confused about it for a long time also...

 

[darthplagis]

im glad she likes it and that we may well have another in our ranks

if she's got muting nailed early get her on the bootsy

 

[spywebco]

Great buy and a great bass. Jacks can go bad on anything, but note that that is a LOCKING bridge on the Q. You'll need to loosen it on the side of the bridge, then manually move it for intonation, then lock it back down. It won't be going anywhere. If you have any concerns with the bass at all, contact [email protected] they have the very best customer service on the planet, whether you bought it new or used, it's still their product, and they support it well. I've had a couple of these, and they're great basses for the money.

Kudo's for supporting your daughter playing music. I've been playing since I was about 9 (35+ years now) and played tuba through high school and college. It paid my way, and that's the only way I was able to go. Music is a special gift that never gives up on you if you never give up on it.

 

[MIJ-VI]

i wish u were my dad lol my parents dont care about my playing instruments, my dad wouldnt even buy me a cable, but he bought my sister like a 50 dollar hamster

Hi splitcoilsenior.

Your mom and dad might show more enthusiasm for your bass playing if you:

A) Did the research which could prove to them that the employment prospects for competent bassists have been consistently good for decades, and;

B) If you were to show them that your love of the bass includes learning to sight read like a pro so that you can land studio gigs when you are older.

Getting a part-time job to buy yourself some bass lessons would be good too.

It's amazing what a few timely tips from a player who is already where one would like to be as a musician can do for one's progress in learning an instrument.

You can also seize the initiative on advancing your bass playing by exploiting the wealth of links which TalkBass member Stumbo has compiled.

--------

I won't wish you luck, because life's achievers make their own luck...

 

[Double Agent]

I then went to check the intonation and was shocked at the poor design of this bridge. I should have looked more closely at it! It wouldn't have stopped me from buying it, but jeez, a bridge with saddles that are held in place by friction only? That is pathetic to say the least. They could easily come out when changing strings, so setting up the intonation could be a common thing with this bass. I mean it's not like she'll be changing or breaking strings often, and i'm happy to set it up for her, but what a poor design.

Actually, there should be a small hex screw on the bottom of the bridge (G-string side) that, when tightened, will lock the saddles in place. When locked, those saddles will NEVER move. You won't have to do intonation very often. I've had 3 Spectors and on each of them, I've done the intonation when I first got it and never had to touch it after that. I think its a great design.

The review of it on e-bay said it was passive pickups! I'm impartial but it's a bit annoying there was mis-information on the bass.

EMG HZ pickups are passive. The preamp is active. You could, theoretically, remove the preamp and put in passive tone control and the bass would work fine. You could NOT do that with active pickups like EMG DCs. So, the battery is for the preamp only, not the pickups. The seller was correct.

In any case, you're a cool dad and that is a sweet bass. I hope your daughter enjoys it for a long time.

 

[djero44]

Actually, there should be a small hex screw on the bottom of the bridge (G-string side) that, when tightened, will lock the saddles in place. When locked, those saddles will NEVER move. You won't have to do intonation very often. I've had 3 Spectors and on each of them, I've done the intonation when I first got it and never had to touch it after that. I think its a great design.



EMG HZ pickups are passive. The preamp is active. You could, theoretically, remove the preamp and put in passive tone control and the bass would work fine. You could NOT do that with active pickups like EMG DCs. So, the battery is for the preamp only, not the pickups. The seller was correct.

In any case, you're a cool dad and that is a sweet bass. I hope your daughter enjoys it for a long time.

Aha! See, this is what I need you guys for. I didn't look that close at the bridge, I am just used to the screw types. I was able to move it with my fingers, so i'll just need to lock it in place now that they are set. That's more like it. I should have looked closer, and I should have known that a reputable company wouldn't use a design like I thought it was (although it made me think of violins, or an archtop guitar with a floating bridge.....)

As for the pickups, I understand that now too. I guess I am not clear on the passive pickup/active preamp setup, but it does make sense. My old five string must be the same way, it actually has a little switch and a red light on the front, so it works either active or passive. Voila! The battery on the preamp did go out, and I found the passive tone to be a bit muddled, but replaced her battery this morning and it is better than ever. The bass is actually growing on me, I enjoy playing it quite a lot. So does she!

The best news continues, though, and she and I have been jamming every night, switching off on bass and drums. She is playing a number of songs now, each in different styles. And heck yes i'll get her into some Bootsy!


You guys rock, thanks for the advice.

 

[djero44]

Oh yeah, also, while I was inside the bass I made a small bend on one of the wire terminals at the input jack, it hasn't made a pop since. We'll see if it holds up.

Looks like any minor issues I had were resolved (or were my misunderstanding), so the review is all positive now.

Wootah!

 

[millsbass5]

i wish u were my dad lol my parents dont care about my playing instruments, my dad wouldnt even buy me a cable, but he bought my sister like a 50 dollar hamster

You could kidnap the hamster,field-dress it,and make you some gut-strings out of the intestines.

Sorry,P.E.T.A.