SPEAR BASS..DOES ANYONE OWN ONE?

[Kink Rimson]

A youthful bassist informed me my spear bass looked a lot like what a German custom luthier is putting out, Jens Ritter. The Ritters are light years ahead of the spear, but they share many design traits.

Ritters are custom made to order and start at around 8k and go up.

I'll try to post pix of the two basses. On the left, a Ritter Okon 5 string, on the right the NAMM show Spear S1-SP from ebay.

If anything, I'd say they were both 'inspired' by Carl Thompson basses.

 

[tdbass2]

Spear is out of Korea, and yes it is a lot like a Carl Thompson. Just a whole lot cheaper, and a real player. See photo of CT bass with some obscure bassist (the bass was custom made for him)

Of course it's the great Les Claypool from Primus

 

[can_v]

Actually, if I remember correctly only the earlier productions were made in Korean. Now, they're all made in Vietnam. But it's still Korean brand though. Their constructions are pretty solid. Their low Bs aren't steady enough for me. But it can be easily fixed by changing the Pups and electronics. I know a guy who did that, it sounds awesome. Compare to the prices they're one hell of a bass for people who prefer out of ordinary looking bass.

 

[tdbass2]

Spear is out of Korea, and yes it is a lot like a Carl Thompson. Just a whole lot cheaper, and a real player. See photo of CT bass with some obscure bassist (the bass was custom made for him)

Of course it's the great Les Claypool from Primus

Still rocking the Spear SP-1. Neck-thru still holding up. Love this axe.

 

[tdbass2]

Actually, if I remember correctly only the earlier productions were made in Korean. Now, they're all made in Vietnam. But it's still Korean brand though. Their constructions are pretty solid. Their low Bs aren't steady enough for me. But it can be easily fixed by changing the Pups and electronics. I know a guy who did that, it sounds awesome. Compare to the prices they're one hell of a bass for people who prefer out of ordinary looking bass.

You are correct. The shipping box was from Viet-Nam.

 

[Bass V]

thanx for resurrecting this thread, I'm now a Spear fan!
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[M-rek]

View attachment 3293123 Still rocking the Spear SP-1. Neck-thru still holding up. Love this axe.

Aye, thanks for the discussion so far and for reviving the thread and reassuring us, @tdbass2 !
I just stumbled over these basses while browsing for a 6-string... In Germany, there's a retailer, ML-Factory. Looks cool, I think I might wanna try one of them in the near future...
Though I'm more interested in their S-2 model, which is a single cut. Love the look of it!

 

[semiprohooker]

I had a flex tool a while back and thoroughly enjoyed it. I swapped the pickups for Seymour Duncan quarter pounders all around. Coil tap on the MM pickup. Even passive, it was one of the most versatile bases I've ever owned. All pickups on full was a very forward and aggressive sound.

For the money, it was well worth it.