SPECTOR® Club - Part 22

[Clearwave]

I've been working for months on the 2012 SPECTOR catalog. For the first time in the history of the company the catalog won't be printed. It's going to be a DVD.

The link below is a demo of some animation/masking work I developed as a test. As a DVD there will be menus and the such which means animations and cool stuff like that.

Please ignore the temp soundtrack. That's why this video isn't public.

I wanted to give everyone here a chance to see some of what is coming.

I'll be rolling out a bunch of cool stuff the next two weeks leading up to NAMM.

And I'll be posting live to FaceBook and Twitter at the show. So if you're not friends with me or following me. Time to sign up!



Intro - Demo - YouTube

I like it a lot. It's modern, but classy. As a business owner, I'm pretty critical over marketing stuff.

Sometimes I think Spector is perceived as a metalhead bass. Nothing against metal heads, but they are much more than that. I'd like to see their marketing reflect this.

 

[Basstovsky]

No worries my friends.

First, the SRT has been around several years. Yes... they've had a fully carved bass on the market for years.

It's one of their high-end expensive basses and I don't think many get sold. It's a nice bass. I've actually seen one, held it, but didn't play it. It's nice but not on the same level.

Stuart and PJ know about it.

And funny. No one cares. Which only gives my argument to the WW faction more merit when they say we're over-protective of curved body designs.

And yes... Ned Steinberger, the genius he is, made the very first solid-body electric bass guitar with such a body design... ever. He INVENTED THE CONCEPT and EVERYTHING with such a body style that came after it is a copy.

But the Ibby doesn't LOOK like the NS-Bass. It has a similar body curve profile/angle... etc... But the shape is clearly a Soundgear Ibby style.

So no one at SPECTOR cares. Good for them really.

Sukop basses also have a curved back and face. Not near as dramatic as the NS-Body... but it's scooped out and was inspired by SPECTOR. I spoke with Steve Sukop at BPL and test drove one. Beautiful basses, all hand-made. Really nice. And again, in my opinion a compliment and nod of respect to Ned's design that he likes the idea of a slight scoop to his basses.

And looking at pricing vs. quality... you get a lot more with the Sukop for the price than you would a WW. And that goes for the Ibby SRT. It's way better a value that a low end- bolt-on Streamer in my opinion.

I didn't mean to suggest that they were trying to steal the design or make an NS copy, I didn't want to bring up WW again.

I meant more that manufacturers are starting to take notice that people like the Spector style of body, rounded and contoured. They are the first manufacturer I've seen to make bodies like that outside of Spector, so I really was meaning to imply that Ibanez is taking a shot at being more like awesome Spectors

 

[LimaGuy]

I'm suprised to see that much hi mids and treble turned up on the amp! My Ampeg PF-500, all settings are at 12, except bass and mids at 1:00.

I'm just getting around to listening to this... great tone Sam! I'm a little surprised at having to crank the mids also, but who cares! it sounds great!

The amp sounds great even with the Mids turned down. When I was playing without recording I had both mids at about 2 o'clock

For the recording, it "recorded" better with the mids boosted more, remember recording is a whole different beast.

 

[JPSBassist]

Is that DVD going to be available to us regular joes?

Yes... I think... We've yet to work out how... meaning they're going to be free to dealers and distributors and that's who we are giving them to at the show.

We'll figure it out at the show.

 

[JPSBassist]

I like it a lot. It's modern, but classy. As a business owner, I'm pretty critical over marketing stuff.

Sometimes I think Spector is perceived as a metalhead bass. Nothing against metal heads, but they are much more than that. I'd like to see their marketing reflect this.

Yeah... proof at how powerful marketing can be. The metal thing was a Kramer idea... and they spent 5 years marketing to hard-rock and metal bassists. Now 20 years later SPECTOR is still considered a metal bass in many circles.

In this clip you've got Ra Diaz (hip/hop and rap)
Carlton Armstrong (blues)
Tino DeMartino (metal)
and Ray Scheuring (Bret Michaels who is more a Southern Rock guy than anything)

And basically this is all footage I shot and own. So in doing the right thing by the copyright rules, I'm not grabbing footage from other sources to be used for sales/promotion. So I'm lucky to have a pretty good variety of genres covered.

I totally agree with you... not that there's anything wrong with metal (I like most of it myself), but to sell the SPECTOR bass as a "metal" bass is to sell it way short.

It can pretty much do anything. Gospel, Reggae, Blues, Country, Pop, Rap, Rock, Metal and any other genre you can think of.

Thanks for the compliment. We're getting there.

 

[JPSBassist]

I didn't mean to suggest that they were trying to steal the design or make an NS copy, I didn't want to bring up WW again.

I meant more that manufacturers are starting to take notice that people like the Spector style of body, rounded and contoured. They are the first manufacturer I've seen to make bodies like that outside of Spector, so I really was meaning to imply that Ibanez is taking a shot at being more like awesome Spectors

No worries. I'm actually in agreement. Inspiration can be a good thing. So it's all good.

 

[JPSBassist]

Actually you can buy that bass for under $600 thats not really high end even for Ibanezs... lol
love it!

Thanks!

And that's not as expensive as I thought. Mmmmm... Pretty cool.

And really, Ibby's are so different than SPECTORs in so many ways. But I think I stated before, it might have been on an Ibby post or thread, that I like Ibby. They make great entry level and intermediate/pro basses. They have insanely narrow and thin necks and besides having previously owned one I can say they're perfectly good bass guitars and I have nothing against them whatsoever.

It all comes down to what you like. And I've actually recommended to people who have pre-teens and teens that want to start playing that Ibby's are great first basses because for smaller hands they're awesome.

 

[JPSBassist]

OK... To make sure I've covered my basses... I mean bases...
SPECTOR will present the 2012 Model Lineup on interactive DVD this year. A first for the company. No more paper.
And any SPECTOR owner can submit a track if they want to be considered for use as part of the soundtrack for the disk.

The only rules are:

• It must be ORIGINAL.
• It must be royalty free. So if you've published it and there's a recording agreement in place and someone is going to expect a royalty... don't send it to me.
• It can be a solo bass track, a bass/drum track or can include electric guitar (as long as the guitar is a SPECTOR). So in other words we are promoting SPECTOR basses and guitars. So please use them and nothing else.
• You'll need to agree to letting us use the track free of charge on the disk.

In return you will be identified as the composer and performer of the track on the DVD (as the song comes up, so will your name and the model of bass/guitar you play).

So if you are interested, send me a 48,000kHz 128kb MP3, list your name the way you want it displayed, the name of your track and the SPECTOR Bass(es) and/or Guitar(s) you used (model names).

Email it to [email protected]

 

[worshiprocker]

Thanks!

And that's not as expensive as I thought. Mmmmm... Pretty cool.

And really, Ibby's are so different than SPECTORs in so many ways. But I think I stated before, it might have been on an Ibby post or thread, that I like Ibby. They make great entry level and intermediate/pro basses. They have insanely narrow and thin necks and besides having previously owned one I can say they're perfectly good bass guitars and I have nothing against them whatsoever.

It all comes down to what you like. And I've actually recommended to people who have pre-teens and teens that want to start playing that Ibby's are great first basses because for smaller hands they're awesome.

We are in complete agreement there \m/

 

[PhatBasstard]

[*]It can be a solo bass track, a bass/drum track or can include electric guitar (as long as the guitar is a SPECTOR).

Wow! This rule will unfortunately eliminate a lot of Spector bass tracks from contention. I play with a lot of guitarists on recordings, but let's be realistic, how many of you have done recordings with a guitarist that even owns a Spector guitar? For me? 30+ years pro, I've never even seen one other than in pictures.

 

[JPSBassist]

Wow! This rule will unfortunately eliminate a lot of Spector bass tracks from contention. I play with a lot of guitarists on recordings, but let's be realistic, how many of you have done recordings with a guitarist that even owns a Spector? For me? 30+ years pro, I've never even seen one other than in pictures.

That's why solo bass or bass and drums is better. I've already gotten a bunch of tracks with SPECTOR electrics. Including a member or two from here.

 

[5StringFool]

Alright guys, question for you: How does the Performer series bass stack up?

I'm looking to add another bass to the fold and am wanting something that's completely passive (I'd prefer a split coil pickup but alas this isn't an option with the Performers), and had been considering the Squire Classic Vibe P-Bass, but something keeps me from pulling the trigger. I have a fear that the thing won't set up to my satisfaction (I pretty well gauge everything by my NS-95 now and it sets up great, so I'm kinda spoiled I guess).

Anyhoo, today I noticed that the Performers are passive, have a 5 bolt neck (which I really dig), and just look really sharp for just a few bucks more than the Squire. So, those of you who have experience... how do they sound, how well do they set up, and how versatile are they?

 

[guy n. cognito]

Yeah... proof at how powerful marketing can be. The metal thing was a Kramer idea... and they spent 5 years marketing to hard-rock and metal bassists. Now 20 years later SPECTOR is still considered a metal bass in many circles.

In this clip you've got Ra Diaz (hip/hop and rap)
Carlton Armstrong (blues)
Tino DeMartino (metal)
and Ray Scheuring (Bret Michaels who is more a Southern Rock guy than anything)

And basically this is all footage I shot and own. So in doing the right thing by the copyright rules, I'm not grabbing footage from other sources to be used for sales/promotion. So I'm lucky to have a pretty good variety of genres covered.

I totally agree with you... not that there's anything wrong with metal (I like most of it myself), but to sell the SPECTOR bass as a "metal" bass is to sell it way short.

It can pretty much do anything. Gospel, Reggae, Blues, Country, Pop, Rap, Rock, Metal and any other genre you can think of.

Thanks for the compliment. We're getting there.

I used my Forte the other day while subbing for a wannabe country star playing a "showcase" at one of the downtown honky tonks. When I took it out of the bag, the sound man took a look, looked at the "artist" and said "What kinda music ya'll planning on playing in my bar?" (The guitars was playing a Parker, so we did look a bit out of place.) At the end of the gig, his attitude had changed 100% and he was quite complementary of my tone. I showed him what I did to my eq to get the required tone. Hopefully, I made another convert.

 

[iceboxbass]

I've been working for months on the 2012 SPECTOR catalog. For the first time in the history of the company the catalog won't be printed. It's going to be a DVD.

The link below is a demo of some animation/masking work I developed as a test. As a DVD there will be menus and the such which means animations and cool stuff like that.

Please ignore the temp soundtrack. That's why this video isn't public.

I wanted to give everyone here a chance to see some of what is coming.

I'll be rolling out a bunch of cool stuff the next two weeks leading up to NAMM.

And I'll be posting live to FaceBook and Twitter at the show. So if you're not friends with me or following me. Time to sign up!



Intro - Demo - YouTube

Really cool intro JPS! I like the music track! The one problem I see in all is at one point the SPECTOR word goes completely dark...I love the idea of the SPECTOR artists playing in the background! Awesome job JPS!!!!

 

[guy n. cognito]

I've been working for months on the 2012 SPECTOR catalog. For the first time in the history of the company the catalog won't be printed. It's going to be a DVD.

The link below is a demo of some animation/masking work I developed as a test. As a DVD there will be menus and the such which means animations and cool stuff like that.

Please ignore the temp soundtrack. That's why this video isn't public.

I wanted to give everyone here a chance to see some of what is coming.

I'll be rolling out a bunch of cool stuff the next two weeks leading up to NAMM.

And I'll be posting live to FaceBook and Twitter at the show. So if you're not friends with me or following me. Time to sign up!



Intro - Demo - YouTube

I like it, but it felt a bit long to me.

 

[JeffplaysBass]

Yes... I think... We've yet to work out how... meaning they're going to be free to dealers and distributors and that's who we are giving them to at the show.

We'll figure it out at the show.

Thats why I love the regular Joe shmoes..the ones that 5% or less of their income comes from music...seriously I spend $5k on one dealer for Spector(S) basses and they say sorry we don't have a catalog......seriously dude????....another thing you have the regular joe shmoe who spends more of his disposable income on music instruments then mr. big shot who goes to namm, which probably gets paid to go and spends less on musical instruments. Hell he probably goes for free or gets a tax right off....God Bless the regular Joe Some who can't even get a catalog,...Come'on man!!!

 

[beatdatthang]

I've been working for months on the 2012 SPECTOR catalog. For the first time in the history of the company the catalog won't be printed. It's going to be a DVD.

The link below is a demo of some animation/masking work I developed as a test. As a DVD there will be menus and the such which means animations and cool stuff like that.

Please ignore the temp soundtrack. That's why this video isn't public.

I wanted to give everyone here a chance to see some of what is coming.

I'll be rolling out a bunch of cool stuff the next two weeks leading up to NAMM.

And I'll be posting live to FaceBook and Twitter at the show. So if you're not friends with me or following me. Time to sign up!



Intro - Demo - YouTube

Good stuff! I really like it. When you do decide to finalize the music track, I think it should be more like the last 10 seconds or so with that sweet bass tone and groove.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Thats why I love the regular Joe shmoes..the ones that 5% or less of their income comes from music...seriously I spend $5k on one dealer for Spector(S) basses and they say sorry we don't have a catalog......seriously dude????....another thing you have the regular joe shmoe who spends more of his disposable income on music instruments then mr. big shot who goes to namm, which probably gets paid to go and spends less on musical instruments. Hell he probably goes for free or gets a tax right off....God Bless the regular Joe Some who can't even get a catalog,...Come'on man!!!

It's only logical to give them to dealers that will be selling the instruments. It's also somewhat logical that a dealer may be out of catalogs near the end of the year. Spector had 2011 catalog as of about 3 weeks ago. You might contact them directly and see if they'll send you one.

 

[beatdatthang]

Thanks!

And that's not as expensive as I thought. Mmmmm... Pretty cool.

And really, Ibby's are so different than SPECTORs in so many ways. But I think I stated before, it might have been on an Ibby post or thread, that I like Ibby. They make great entry level and intermediate/pro basses. They have insanely narrow and thin necks and besides having previously owned one I can say they're perfectly good bass guitars and I have nothing against them whatsoever.

It all comes down to what you like. And I've actually recommended to people who have pre-teens and teens that want to start playing that Ibby's are great first basses because for smaller hands they're awesome.

I own both an Ibanez SR and a Spector Rebop and I tell ya, I LOVE the tone of the Spector, but I also LOVE the neck on the Ibby. If I could have a Spector with an Ibby neck profile it would be a match made in heaven for me. (I just don't have the scratch to try to beg Stuart and the boys to build me one - if they even would...)

I've been considering an SRT for some time now for that very reason. EMG PUPs, countoured/scooped body, and a thin neck to boot? Very tempting for a guy like me who can't afford the higher-end Spectors or a custom job (although the black Euro you're selling is giving me serious GAS right now, I just can't afford it).

It sucks to play my Spector and get such magnificent tone and body comfort and then to pick up the Ibby and be able to play so much faster and more precise only to get jipped by weak, thin tone... I want both!

 

[JeffplaysBass]

It's only logical to give them to dealers that will be selling the instruments. It's also somewhat logical that a dealer may be out of catalogs near the end of the year. Spector had 2011 catalog as of about 3 weeks ago. You might contact them directly and see if they'll send you one.

I asked one dealer and he said he hasn't seen a catalog from spector for years.....???????? I personally thought they stopped making catalogs.....but I'm just a joe shmoe that throws my hard earned back breaking money to them....