NBD X2 - Spector Legends 4 & 5 Classic
Note: Apologies if this is in the wrong place; maybe it should be in 'Spector Club'?
Those who know me cry, 'Why? Why on Earth Spectors after decades of Fender??' And it's true that I've always been spectacularly unmoved by the whole Warwick Streamer/Spector NS shape-thing (yes, I know they are otherwise very different instruments). Eww! Why the bulbous comedy top bout? Why the vestigial cetacean flipper lower horn? What does that body curve actually achieve? There is no balance, no harmony...
BUT... recently and apropos of nothing at all, I suddenly got huge GAS for a Spector. This is of course inexplicable as anyone who has suffered from GAS will know (and I'm guessing that's everyone reading this). So I bought TWO affordable Spectors in the hope that this would assuage my Spector GAS and I could avoid spending serious wedge on an upmarket USA or Czech model. It hasn't worked. But I AM enjoying the journey, so here are some pics of my new babies.
1. Spector Legend 5 Classic (Korea, circa 2003/4?)
Amber Burst. Three-piece maple neck (35" scale), quilted maple top. One EMG-HZ humbucker at the bridge, one EMG-HZ Jazz-type at the neck. EMG 3-band active 9V EQ, volume/volume/mid/stacked treble&bass. D'Addario Super Light Nickel-Plated Roundwounds 40-125.
I believe this is an earlier Legend. It certainly seems to be unusual. Later models have EMG-SSD humbuckers X2 and a Tonepump Jr. Active Preamp.
2. Spector Legend 4 Classic (Korea, 2009)
Slate Grey. Three-piece maple neck (34" scale) - maple top (not sure if you'd call it quilt or flame or what). In any case you can only really see it in bright light (see pics) otherwise it just looks gloss black. Two EMG-SSD Humbuckers and a Spector Tonepump Jr. active 9V Preamp, volume/volume/tone/tone. Fender roundwounds of unknown origin.
So... I'm enjoying the comfort, particularly after having played a couple of slab-bodied basses for a while! The body curve fits nicely around the old beer gut, and the basses are extremely well-balanced with no neck dive. The necks are not Ibanez-thin (which is a good thing) nor are they baseball bats... I like them very much, they are not too Jazz-like at the nut. Very easy to play and again, very comfortable. Of course the five is wider, as you'd expect.
These are from Spector's Korean factory and you'd expect them to be... budget jobs. They are stupidly affordable second-hand it's true, but the build quality is truly excellent. The finish can't be faulted and the necks fit into their pockets like... T H White's Sword In The Stone.
There is a lot of information online about the EMG-SSD/Tonepump Jr. combination, not all of it complimentary shall we say, but in my experience it sounds great and is the pokier set-up of these two basses. I have dabbled extensively with flatwound and half-wound strings, but I'd say the 'Spector sound' (or at least my limited experience of it) depends on having fairly bright roundwounds fitted - these basses are certainly bright, bouncy and twangy, but they have a very huge and almost sinister all-encompassing pillowy bottom end which is very useful indeed for rock, particularly if you're in a three-piece.
The fabled Spector throaty mid-growl is there too, but without direct experience of the more upmarket Czech and USA models, I'm only guessing that you must get more of this, and everything else, in direct proportion to what you spend. I could be wrong however, as it's difficult to see how the overall sound and the general fit and finish of upmarket Spectors could possibly be that much better than these Legends...
...but then of course they must be or no-one would buy them! One day I will find out for myself...
But from here, I'd say that if you're looking for an alternative to the Fender and Fender-clone thing and want something that looks and sounds quite different to the current crop of uber-fashionable vintage and retro-relic basses in your armoury, then you could do a lot worse than buy a second-hand Spector - particularly as their current used prices are very silly indeed.
You will get what I would call a 'modern' sound that can be immense, complex, thrilling and quite unlike anything else... but the company has been through the mill over the years and Spector do have a relatively long history going back to the late seventies, so their schtick is tried and tested. Got Spector GAS much?? Get one in your stable now before the price goes up! I thank you!
Note: Apologies if this is in the wrong place; maybe it should be in 'Spector Club'?
Those who know me cry, 'Why? Why on Earth Spectors after decades of Fender??' And it's true that I've always been spectacularly unmoved by the whole Warwick Streamer/Spector NS shape-thing (yes, I know they are otherwise very different instruments). Eww! Why the bulbous comedy top bout? Why the vestigial cetacean flipper lower horn? What does that body curve actually achieve? There is no balance, no harmony...
BUT... recently and apropos of nothing at all, I suddenly got huge GAS for a Spector. This is of course inexplicable as anyone who has suffered from GAS will know (and I'm guessing that's everyone reading this). So I bought TWO affordable Spectors in the hope that this would assuage my Spector GAS and I could avoid spending serious wedge on an upmarket USA or Czech model. It hasn't worked. But I AM enjoying the journey, so here are some pics of my new babies.
1. Spector Legend 5 Classic (Korea, circa 2003/4?)
Amber Burst. Three-piece maple neck (35" scale), quilted maple top. One EMG-HZ humbucker at the bridge, one EMG-HZ Jazz-type at the neck. EMG 3-band active 9V EQ, volume/volume/mid/stacked treble&bass. D'Addario Super Light Nickel-Plated Roundwounds 40-125.
I believe this is an earlier Legend. It certainly seems to be unusual. Later models have EMG-SSD humbuckers X2 and a Tonepump Jr. Active Preamp.
2. Spector Legend 4 Classic (Korea, 2009)
Slate Grey. Three-piece maple neck (34" scale) - maple top (not sure if you'd call it quilt or flame or what). In any case you can only really see it in bright light (see pics) otherwise it just looks gloss black. Two EMG-SSD Humbuckers and a Spector Tonepump Jr. active 9V Preamp, volume/volume/tone/tone. Fender roundwounds of unknown origin.
So... I'm enjoying the comfort, particularly after having played a couple of slab-bodied basses for a while! The body curve fits nicely around the old beer gut, and the basses are extremely well-balanced with no neck dive. The necks are not Ibanez-thin (which is a good thing) nor are they baseball bats... I like them very much, they are not too Jazz-like at the nut. Very easy to play and again, very comfortable. Of course the five is wider, as you'd expect.
These are from Spector's Korean factory and you'd expect them to be... budget jobs. They are stupidly affordable second-hand it's true, but the build quality is truly excellent. The finish can't be faulted and the necks fit into their pockets like... T H White's Sword In The Stone.
There is a lot of information online about the EMG-SSD/Tonepump Jr. combination, not all of it complimentary shall we say, but in my experience it sounds great and is the pokier set-up of these two basses. I have dabbled extensively with flatwound and half-wound strings, but I'd say the 'Spector sound' (or at least my limited experience of it) depends on having fairly bright roundwounds fitted - these basses are certainly bright, bouncy and twangy, but they have a very huge and almost sinister all-encompassing pillowy bottom end which is very useful indeed for rock, particularly if you're in a three-piece.
The fabled Spector throaty mid-growl is there too, but without direct experience of the more upmarket Czech and USA models, I'm only guessing that you must get more of this, and everything else, in direct proportion to what you spend. I could be wrong however, as it's difficult to see how the overall sound and the general fit and finish of upmarket Spectors could possibly be that much better than these Legends...
...but then of course they must be or no-one would buy them! One day I will find out for myself...
But from here, I'd say that if you're looking for an alternative to the Fender and Fender-clone thing and want something that looks and sounds quite different to the current crop of uber-fashionable vintage and retro-relic basses in your armoury, then you could do a lot worse than buy a second-hand Spector - particularly as their current used prices are very silly indeed.
You will get what I would call a 'modern' sound that can be immense, complex, thrilling and quite unlike anything else... but the company has been through the mill over the years and Spector do have a relatively long history going back to the late seventies, so their schtick is tried and tested. Got Spector GAS much?? Get one in your stable now before the price goes up! I thank you!
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