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How Do You View The Spector Name??
- Thread starter Nightsblood
- Start date
I don't believe that their name is cheapened at all. Spector's doing what it takes to survive by putting out quality basses at several different price points. Plus they're establishing brand loyalty with beginners, who will be more apt to buy the higher quality Spectors down the road. I've never considered smart business practices to be cheapening a company's name.
- Apr 29, 2004
- 1,247
- 37
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Spector Basses & Cort Basses
Tring to put my bias aside.....
Since I first started playing 20+ years ago the name Spector has always meant the following to me:
"Class & Quality".
I'd put them in the 'Upper Middle Class', a bit like me 
This puts them in the same company as Pedulla, Wal etc.
The great thing about them is that even with their cheaper/entry level models the build quality & value for money is superb.
I personally play USA & Euro Spectors with the 'Rex' being the only Asian model I play..... I find them to be the sexiest looking & most tonally satisfying basses I've ever owned and I have (or have had) Fenders, Pedullas, Jacksons, Wals, MusicMans etc in my collection....
Girls love the soft curves of the ergonomic design as well
I've never experienced any notable balance/neckdive problems.
Spectors look sexy, they have a full and bold tonal pallete and to my mind are the best overall basses for value for money/build quality and that's why I choose them...
Since I first started playing 20+ years ago the name Spector has always meant the following to me:
"Class & Quality".
I'd put them in the 'Upper Middle Class', a bit like me
This puts them in the same company as Pedulla, Wal etc.The great thing about them is that even with their cheaper/entry level models the build quality & value for money is superb.
I personally play USA & Euro Spectors with the 'Rex' being the only Asian model I play..... I find them to be the sexiest looking & most tonally satisfying basses I've ever owned and I have (or have had) Fenders, Pedullas, Jacksons, Wals, MusicMans etc in my collection....
Girls love the soft curves of the ergonomic design as well
I've never experienced any notable balance/neckdive problems.
Spectors look sexy, they have a full and bold tonal pallete and to my mind are the best overall basses for value for money/build quality and that's why I choose them...
The USA built Spectors are very nice basses. Very high quality build. Very comfortable body contour. The neck is chucky ala P-bass. EMGs are bright and clear. Hardware is top quality. A bit on the heavy side but no neck dive.
No real marketing effort and no high profile endorsers deprives them of a higher profile and greater recognition.
I had an endorsement with Spector/Kramer in the late 80's. I still have a custom NS2A fretless. The bass is still perfect. available too.
I rate them as excellent overall. It's a totally pro grade ax.
I can't comment on the lower grade models but you have some qualified posts that attest they are good for the price point.
No real marketing effort and no high profile endorsers deprives them of a higher profile and greater recognition.
I had an endorsement with Spector/Kramer in the late 80's. I still have a custom NS2A fretless. The bass is still perfect. available too.
I rate them as excellent overall. It's a totally pro grade ax.
I can't comment on the lower grade models but you have some qualified posts that attest they are good for the price point.
I really wanted one and finally got a Euro 5 string. It was very nice but a little sterile for rock music (IMHO). I later got a Warwick LX5 and it had a better tone for rock music and it weighed a little less. I like them, but I found something I like better.
I just got a neck-through NS4CRFM. Haven't gigged with it yet, but so far I'd say it's the highest quality instrument I've ever had. I should be debuting it this weekend, can't wait!
BTW, I have a noob question. Does anyone know what CRFM stands for?
BTW, I have a noob question. Does anyone know what CRFM stands for?
If memory serves, it stands for "Czech Republic Figured Maple." I've no idea if that's been changed for any reason...
I think the name itself is held in high regard. I absolutely love the Euro and USA models. I (personally) think the cheapest models are basically doo-doo, however. I have an NS-2000/5 that I hated. Was SO looking forward to getting it (never played one, but I got a crazy evil-Bay deal), and when it came I was utterly disappointed. So much so, that I used that bass to yank the frets out of. Strangely, I like it much better as a fretless. Hmmmm 
If I was in the market to spend $800-$1,200, however, a Euro would be in the running, no doubt!
If I was in the market to spend $800-$1,200, however, a Euro would be in the running, no doubt!
When I was a kid, Spector was the guitar behind the counter that no one could play and we would all dream about getting. I mean Sting, Cliff Burton, Duff McKagan, Wimbish, Adam Cayton, Newsted- all these guys were jamming these things and we would look at our crappy Kramer P Basses and cry. I've never payed the Korean models, but anything above was always a great performer and very high end in my book. It's just different than the other stuff out there. I get tired of jazz bass copy hell after a while.
If they'd build an NS-JH7, I'd already have one. The US Bolt-ons are some of my all-time favorite instruments (I love the neck-throughs, too, but they're usually too heavy for my back to survive).
I know I'll get dissed for saying this because it has nothing to do with the quality or the playability but to the point of how I view the name, Spector's perceived value is not that great.
They take 33% drop out the door. Personally, I've been test driving LX 4s but haven't pulled the trigger because I don't really know if it's the bass for me. The stores around my area the asking is 1600 + with case. On eBay, they barely bring a grand. You better like one when you buy it because you'll take a hit if you have a GAS attack and flip it.
IMO, the cheap models of any manufacturer diminish the value of the good ones. Look at Fender, G&L, Peavey...etc. In contrast, if John Hall ever started dealing with Korea or China, that's the end of Rickenbacker's "name".
Maybe I'm getting old, but an instrument is a just a tool of my musical expression, as such, value is another component in the buying decision.
They take 33% drop out the door. Personally, I've been test driving LX 4s but haven't pulled the trigger because I don't really know if it's the bass for me. The stores around my area the asking is 1600 + with case. On eBay, they barely bring a grand. You better like one when you buy it because you'll take a hit if you have a GAS attack and flip it.
IMO, the cheap models of any manufacturer diminish the value of the good ones. Look at Fender, G&L, Peavey...etc. In contrast, if John Hall ever started dealing with Korea or China, that's the end of Rickenbacker's "name".
Maybe I'm getting old, but an instrument is a just a tool of my musical expression, as such, value is another component in the buying decision.
The most balanced sounding instrument I've ever played is my guitarist's (who used to be a bassist) US Spector PJ from the early 90's. I'm a 5 stringer and a boutique bass lover mainly into Lakland, Sadowsky, MTD, and the like; however, this little 4 string has more top end sizzle, spank and over all evenness of tone string to string than anything I've ever played. If I could convince him to sell it (I'm still trying), I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Hmmm...great discussion. Here's my take...
Stuart built a very strong reputation making very high-end boutique basses in the same vain as Mike Tobias and Vinnie Fodera (shares much of the same history, as well). However, IMO, he eroded his value in two ways:
1. He was late in joining the market with exotic wood choices as his peers (again, Fodera and MTD, as examples), keeping a simple formula of figured maple bodies, maple necks, and Pau Ferro fingerboards for his US series basses. He did eventually bring exotic woods into the fold, but he was very late in doing so.
2. He introduced the Euro line which maintained a nearly identical recipe to his US series, but at a lower price point. It's this second point that I believe eroded his name value more than the first. I'd go so far as to say, aside from whatever electronics may be in the basses today, there's little difference between the US and Euro versions. In fact, taking it one step further, I'd have a hard time justifying the expense of a US model over a Euro in today's market, given price and quality. Many builders (Lakland and MTD, for example) also produce high quality instruments off-shore, but the quality difference between the offshore and onshore instruments is much more noticeable, IMO/IME.
At the end of the day, IMO, Euro Spectors are the best offshore instruments you can buy, at any price, but his US series just isn't worth the scratch: there's just not enough to differentiate them from their offshore counterparts.
Stuart built a very strong reputation making very high-end boutique basses in the same vain as Mike Tobias and Vinnie Fodera (shares much of the same history, as well). However, IMO, he eroded his value in two ways:
1. He was late in joining the market with exotic wood choices as his peers (again, Fodera and MTD, as examples), keeping a simple formula of figured maple bodies, maple necks, and Pau Ferro fingerboards for his US series basses. He did eventually bring exotic woods into the fold, but he was very late in doing so.
2. He introduced the Euro line which maintained a nearly identical recipe to his US series, but at a lower price point. It's this second point that I believe eroded his name value more than the first. I'd go so far as to say, aside from whatever electronics may be in the basses today, there's little difference between the US and Euro versions. In fact, taking it one step further, I'd have a hard time justifying the expense of a US model over a Euro in today's market, given price and quality. Many builders (Lakland and MTD, for example) also produce high quality instruments off-shore, but the quality difference between the offshore and onshore instruments is much more noticeable, IMO/IME.
At the end of the day, IMO, Euro Spectors are the best offshore instruments you can buy, at any price, but his US series just isn't worth the scratch: there's just not enough to differentiate them from their offshore counterparts.
Respectable, established manufacturer with a number of lines at different price point that all look a bit too similar to me.
The US stuff is stupidly expensive down here and doesn't offer anyhting over the Euro versions that I see. Certainly not compared to the price differential. They don't make anything I particularly want.
The US stuff is stupidly expensive down here and doesn't offer anyhting over the Euro versions that I see. Certainly not compared to the price differential. They don't make anything I particularly want.
I had really bad GAS for em a while back... and played a few when i could find em in GC's I have only played the Legend series ($400-600 price range) and was really blown away by the price to quality ratio that they offered. Compared to other basses in that range like MIM fenders and several Ibanez's that i have played at that same price point the quality of the build and the sound i got were exceptional. I have never played the higher end spector basses but if this is any indication....i would say they are great basses 
i dont know if that helps
i dont know if that helps
