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Questiong for Spector Users

J

jamesblue

Mar 27, 2005
466
102
Maryland
#1
I just ordered a new old stock Spector ReBop 4. It will be shipped from the factory to me next week. Must have been way in the back somewhere.

Question:

1. Strings, I like DR FatBeams and DA Chromes, which would work best on this bass. I don't slap much and the chromes on my passive jazz style bass sounds good to me.

2. Could I call the factory and ask them to set the bass up for the specific strings I want or at least set-up for a 45-105 set. I'm don't know what the bass is shipped with or even if they will attempt to do a set up before shipping.
 
#2
jamesblue said:
I just ordered a new old stock Spector ReBop 4. It will be shipped from the factory to me next week. Must have been way in the back somewhere.

Question:

1. Strings, I like DR FatBeams and DA Chromes, which would work best on this bass. I don't slap much and the chromes on my passive jazz style bass sounds good to me.

2. Could I call the factory and ask them to set the bass up for the specific strings I want or at least set-up for a 45-105 set. I'm don't know what the bass is shipped with or even if they will attempt to do a set up before shipping.
Click to expand...

I believe Spectors are shipped with medium strings(.45-.105) so you should be set in that regard. Regardless of how it's set up from the factory, different climates and temperatures will throw it out of whack of sorts. After you receive the bass, let it adjust to your surroundings for about a week then set it up.

I like DR Nickel Lo-Riders on mine because they warm up the inherently bright maple. They also tend to bring out the growl of the Spector.
 
#6
Yell03SpecV said:
I rock the D'Addario XL Nickels on both ReBops. I've tried everything but flats, and the DR Sunbeams and XLs take turns between the 2.
Click to expand...

Can you list a few sets you've tried and what you thought.

I used GH Boomers many moons ago, but they have a life span of a fruit fly!

Dean Marklys I just have never liked the feel or sound.

DR High Beams are too bright for me.

How long do the DA XL Nickels last you?:smug:
 
#7
jamesblue said:
Can you list a few sets you've tried and what you thought.

How long do the DA XL Nickels last you?:smug:
Click to expand...



Hi-Beams: Too bright, but good feel.

Lo-Riders: Very smooth sound, but I did not feel that they worked very well with the EMGs. More of a 'scooped' sound than other strings I have tried.

GHS Boomers: Got them for free, and sure glad I did. Short lifespan, almost zero tone, and uneven feel/sound across strings.

Dean Markley Blue Steel: Not bad, but I felt the top end could have been a little more present, considering they were steels.

D'Addario ProSteels: Ugh. Felt like rebar, and had WAY too much going on in the upper register. However, they're good for building callouses, and actually sound pretty wicked on my NS2, which is where they ended up.

DR Black Beauties: Coated strings = lose. Awkward to play, and it was hard for me to get a pleasing high-mid response using my GK setup. Looked cool, though.


I would like to get a chance to try the DR Fatbeams, so that'll be next time around.

And as far as lifespan goes, D'Addarios are very good in that respect, but fall a bit short of DRs.
 
#8
I use Ken Smith Rock Masters on both of my Spectors. I like that I can cover just about any style with just a small tone adjustment.
I usually get 4, maybe 5 weeks out of a set playing 4-6 nights a week.
 
#10
Well, I got my Repop4.
It's great.
I recorded some clips with the same song to compare the strings. The original strings, my Hamer USA Cruise Jazz, and changed the strings on the Rebop to DA Chromes.
All clips sounded good.
The Chromes have a "click" sound to them that's kind of annoying. My Cruise bass sounds good with the Chromes.

This bass has lots of deep lows, that I was looking for.

I think I'm going to go back the the strings that came with the bass for the time being (likely Spector stings).
I'll try the XLs next.

I noticed I've already put two minor dents in the back of the bass. I'm not hard on my gear, the finnish seems a bit thin, it's ok that can add to the sound. I'll just have to be carefull around this bass I guess. This bass is a very dark black stain w/gloss finnish, haven't seen pictures on one like this it's a non maple top. Has the aggie 1 preamp, I think, I looked at it but didn't see any markings except the Aguilar logo. The neck and fretborard were very dry so I put a little bit of lemon oil on it, think it's been sittin in the wear house for a few years.
 
#11
I have a Spector Euro 5 LX and used to have a Spector Q4 Pro (NS-2000).

With the Q4, it sounded best to me with the Spector Nickel strings. I tried Ernie Ball Regular slinkys and didn't like the low tension. The action had to be set too high to avoid clanking against the lower frets. Then I tried D'Addario XL's and I did not like the high tension. Way too stiff for finger style and they sound too bright for me.

With the Euro 5 LX, I wasn't too pleased with the Spector strings because of the abrupt tone changes between strings. Next was a set of Dean Markley Nickelsteel strings. They were nice, but lost their tone to a dull thud in a very short time. Then a set of Dean Markley SR2000 strings. They were okay, but they lacked in low end and growl. Quite frankly, I did not find that the taperwound construction helped with the sustain. Last night, I changed the strings again to Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys. Why if I didn't like them on the Q4? Well, the Euro 5 LX has a 35" scale and I did like the growl. So far, I'm liking these strings a lot. There is a very smooth tone from string to string and the signature Spector growl is back in all it's glory. The extra scale length helped the tension issue experienced on the Q4. Hopefully, the strings will have decent life.

Paul Mac
 
#13
I've tried at least a dozen brands on my Spector in the past 3 years. A few months ago, I decided to try a set of SADOWSKY Stainless(sbs45B), Glenn at Bass Specialties mentioned that quite a few players rave about these strings. Well, I was completely floored by the tone of these strings. I literally have had the same strings on for about 3 months now, with constant gigging and practicing on a daily basis, and I'm just now changing to a new set only because the old ones are dirty.
 
#14
I have always used D'Addario xl170 on my Ns2 and i like them.
I tried ghs boomers and i did not like them.(same reason mentioned above)
I tried some La Bella(hard rocking steels i think) and i was not to impressed with them.

Now...on my Euro5 i have a set of D'Addario slow wound and they sound pretty decent but.....
1-they don't make them anymore
2-i'm still looking for "that" sound
3-I bought a set of Sadowsky's that i want to try,so far i heard really good thing about these string so we'll see.
 
#15
Thanks for all the info.

I put back on the Spector strings, better, but waitin for them to die out.

I've searched throught the TB archives and found that SAWDOWSKI Nickels may be good.

Alot of guys seem to be using nickels and steels with the Spectors.

My pickups are not quite pararllel with the strings, is this normal?
 
#16
Got the setup with the XLs, I don't like them.

Too much buzz for me and the action is high to reduce the buzz, $70 gone.

I think the action (at the nutt) is going to be a bit higher than I like, so I'm going to go with a set of 40-100 DA Chromes flat wound.

With the higher action and lighter than normal strings than I'm accoustomed too, this should work for me.

I just don't like fret buzz and I don't slap much in the music I play. I'm going to use if for some home recordings and to me fret buzz is a distractor. The Chromes have decent growl with little buzz.
 

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