How are they? I played one for the first time today when I went to Sam Ash, since the GC I regular never carries them for some reason. I think it was a Legend 4. It was really well balanced, and damn those things are just mean. What do you guys think of their <$1000 basses? How do they size up to the lower end Warwicks? I was planning on getting a Ray34 next, but it's tempting to go the other way.
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Lower end Spectors?
- Thread starter Tupac
- Start date
Every Spector I've ever played - even their entry level basses - has been a stage-worthy instrument.
My main bass is a USA Spector NS-4, and my back-up basses are a Spector CRFM and a Spector Euro. The Euro and CRFM offer about 95% of the tone of my USA bass at less than 1/2 the price. The entry level Spector Legend and Performer series I've played are great basses with killer tone & superb playability, and I would prefer one of them over any of the Ray34s and lower end Warwicks that I've tried. YMMV.
My main bass is a USA Spector NS-4, and my back-up basses are a Spector CRFM and a Spector Euro. The Euro and CRFM offer about 95% of the tone of my USA bass at less than 1/2 the price. The entry level Spector Legend and Performer series I've played are great basses with killer tone & superb playability, and I would prefer one of them over any of the Ray34s and lower end Warwicks that I've tried. YMMV.
I've heard that they're a little "wimpy" sounding, and that they lack the Euro and USA growl. Is that true? It could have just been the Genz Benz, but it didn't sound like it to me.
Perhaps a tad less gutsy than a Euro or USA, but far from wimpy. And there is a significant price difference as well - you are going to get better tone as you go up rungs on the Spector ladder, but the same goes for Warwick & Musicman too.
Less growl? Yes, a touch less, but the Euro & especially the USA models are downright famous for their growl, and a good deal of that comes from the USA 9-volt and 18-volt preamps, & to a slightly lesser degree, the Tonepump preamp found in the Euro. These preamps can be purchased separately & retrofitted to the lower end models, depending on the model's pickups.
As for the others you mentioned, I like the playability of the Ray34, but I own a Musicman Stingray, and it's hard to equal the bite & balls of the EBMM version. The Spector and Stingray sounds are different animals though.
And the Warwicks? Their tone is usually good, but I've just never played a 'Wick with a neck that felt right to me....
I suggest you ask this same question over in the Spector Club thread, and I'm sure owners of the Legend & Performer Series will chime in & give you their honest appraisals of these fine basses too.
My main bass is a spector legend classic 6. The bass has amazing lows and if I decide to go up high the highs sound great as well. The EMG SSDs are great pickups (though I plan to replace mine soon) and the neck feels great.
Really not a fan of the Legend series. They don't really get good until you step up to the Euros, IMO of course.
Diff true imo, theyre rather pedestrian sounding compared to other basses using emg hz pups and preamp. The tone pump junior preamp has also been called the tone suck preamp. I agree with that to. While otherwise very good low price basses, the preamp diff needs tossing out and repalced with better one imo.
In the past, the Performers *were* pretty crappy - I hear they've improved tremendously, but haven't checked one out to verify that yet... That being said, from the Legend on up, every other spector I've ever played have been very well built instruments - I gigged a pair of their 5ers for a few years without any complaints...
- georgestrings
Some of the Chinese Performer series were astonishingly bad with the CNC crossed-up so everything was drilled, inletted and mounted out of kilter with everything else. Really screwy. I've also seen this on other brands with low-end Chinese models. I don't know how they manage to do it, but they do.
These models had all the other spotty quality problems with Chinese instruments from a few years back as well.
There were probably some good ones, but you couldn't take it for granted.
Spectors of any level are badass basses. My old ReBop sounded a little on the stale side of things without a bit of EQing but I tried a Legend 6 a few months back that was just monstrous.
I played a Korean Spector once and wasn't impressed, so much so that I passed up buying it for $300. If you're buying Spector, buy either Czech or USA.
I bought a Legend and loved the way it played. I own several of the older 80's Ns series and a Euro. The bolt on Legend plays great. I'm not a fan of the HZ's so I took them out and put regular EMG's and a preamp in it, and its beyond stage worthy!
I've played several Euro models but never purchased just because I never ran across one I was able to afford. I've owned a Performer and 3 Legends. The current Legend I have is the "Custom" series which I don't think they make any longer. I put in active EMGs and a BQC pre-amp in it and it sounds almost, but not quite as good as the Euro model. I've also owned the "Classic" series and a few of the older Legends that were made of I believe basswood. They had the humbucker in the bridge and the J in the neck position. Those aren't bad basses either, but could use an electronics upgrade.
If you're like me and can't afford the Euro or come across a used one for a good price, the Legends aren't bad basses at all. Especially if you're able to to mod them. I've read of some guys getting those "Custom" models and putting in EMG DCs and the tone pump and saying it was pretty darn close to sound like a Euro.
If you're like me and can't afford the Euro or come across a used one for a good price, the Legends aren't bad basses at all. Especially if you're able to to mod them. I've read of some guys getting those "Custom" models and putting in EMG DCs and the tone pump and saying it was pretty darn close to sound like a Euro.
Yes you can get the EMG 35P & 35J pickups and a Euro Tone-Pump preamp for around $300 total extra and it should have that Spector Growl quality then
I'm planning on getting a Legend fretless and putting those pickups and preamp in it. Should sound great and inexpensive for a really nice Bass
Ds1
Commercial User
- Dec 3, 2008
- 556
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- Owner: Ish Guitars, Inc. Owner: Ish Case, Inc
Doesn't every cheaper bass sound more wimpy than its $3000 USA counterpart?
Also, if you want to swap out the preamp or pickups for a nice Aguilar or EMG system you can have The High Studio do it... They have really good prices for custom work if you buy the bass from them too. www.thehighstudio.com or 315-2OO-3262
