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Gene Simmons Spector Copy Build

#225
bound'n'blocked said:
That's one of the better representations of KISS I've seen. I saw one that I always called "Fat KISS".

Agreed that the "Ace" in that picture looks like Love Gun era Ace.

Oh, and great job on the bass!

BnB
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I too have seen "fat Kiss".... pretty funny that someone else calls em that!
 
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#227
bassgod76 said:
I'm currently in a Kiss tribute band. Most guys in my scene are playing Punishers & Axes. I've owned both, and never cared for those basses.

I recently built a LoBue copy, and I'm building two more as I type.
View attachment 765355

However, Gene wasn't using his famous LoBue during the later years, which my band dresses as.

Gene was using his Spectors, so I wanted to add a Spector copy to my stable.
View attachment 765357

I was thinking about buying a Carvin through neck blank, and build one form scratch, but I'm trying to make this an economical build.

My guitarist built this Punisher copy for his old bass player.

View attachment 765356 It was an old Aria Pro.

Being that every Aria I've ever encountered was built with superb quality, I had this crazy idea; what if I majorly altered this bass, and made it look like Gene's Spector??

My guitarist gave me his blessing, so here we go!

First, was tear down.
View attachment 765358
Time to unscrew the neck.

View attachment 765359

I have to say that this neck pocket was very tight, and the heel sits well in the pocket. It has a joint like a set neck. Very nice.

The washer shins are from a previous owner, I assume...

View attachment 765360
Not sure how this bridge was bent. Whoever owned this is a moron. I'm planning to use a Fender style bridge, since I need it to fit under a bridge cover.

View attachment 765361
It seems that this body has some nice wood. Maybe a maple core with mahogany wings??

View attachment 765362
This is my 1:1 scan of the Simmons Soector bass. My body and headstock routing template will come from this.

View attachment 765363

Laying my Aria body over the scan, the only area where I may have to add wood, is the upper horn. I'm not jazzed about this, but this is my remedy.

View attachment 765365
I would cut off the corner of the horn, and glue in this piece.
View attachment 765366

This is my idea. If you have a better one, I'm all ears.

Also, the neck had a decent amount of relief. Not the end of the world, but I was told to loosen the trus rod, brace it straight for a bit, then tighten the trus rod while braced. We will see...
View attachment 765367

A note on accuracy:
I realize that the real Spector SB-1 Gene used was neck thru and 24 frets. However, in a KISS gig, instruments are almost like props. It's jus not a gig where you are playing your nice pre CBS Fender with.

I think this will be a cool
And different project. Stay tuned!!!
Click to expand...
Where did you find the scan/template ?
 
#229
bassgod76 said:
Tonight I had to kind of get my workspace in order, before this project begins.

Parts are arriving for this build, but the neck will take another week, so I’m changing gears.

Looking back at my first idea, I decided to fit the routing template to my experimental Spector/Vantage conversion mod.
View attachment 2871541

I think, I’m going to do this project, along with my higher end Spector project. I have a few extra parts for this, so being that I paid nothing for the neck and body, and plan to use mostly spare parts, it should bring me a decent profit.

An awesome Talkbass member just sold me an EMG PA-2 for cheap. The neck-through project just got more fun!
View attachment 2871546
Click to expand...
Where did you come up with the template ?
bassgod76 said:
The past two nights, I have installed my band saw items.
My control cavity cover is sanded and fitted.
View attachment 2899767
Screws in!
View attachment 2899768
There are a few small gaps in the fit and finish, but:
1. I think paint will mute any discrepancies
2. This is a test project for my neck through Spector project.
I think going forward, I will just buy Stew Mac control covers, as I already have the routing templates

Tail piece maple inlays placed and glued
View attachment 2899769
Clamped!
View attachment 2899770

One day later, she is dry.
View attachment 2899772
I then filled the gaps, and gave the pickup rout seam, a second coat.
View attachment 2899773
Lastly, I glued the maple dots into the headstock.
View attachment 2899774
Click to expand...
 
#230
tractortech said:
Where did you come up with the template ?
Click to expand...
I sent a bunch of pictures to a buddy, who Auto CAD’d me the template. I also got with owners of actual Spector SB-1 basses, to check the dimensions, make sure the back of the body was the correct width. One Spector owner was so helpful, he unstrung his bass, removed the tuners, and gave me an exact imprint of his headstock. The Auto CAD template I had was really close, but the genuine shape was 1/8” shorter.
 
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