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SPECTOR® Club - Part 32

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#402
delucajohn2000 said:
Since we are king of on the topic of the whole active/passive thing, I have a question about my Rebop 5. It has the EMG HZ pickups in it with the non-trim tonepump and when I turn up the treble all the way, I notice I get a "hum" that is present and I have heard from people that is due to the passive pickups.

Here is a clip I recorded with the riff from "rain when I die" from Alice in Chains.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Will putting active EMG's in that bass cut down on the "hum" or do you think that could be from something else? Just curious.

On another topic, I have to say that I love the sustain on this bass which you can hear when I hold the last note. If anyone is curious if the Spector bolt-ons don't have much sustain, just give that a listen and that should answer your question. This is an older Rebop 5 from 2001 in case that makes any difference or not.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, when I received my new Rebop several weekes ago, I was having the same problem. I talked a tech guy at the distributor, and he reached out to PJ at Spector. Here is what PJ said:

"OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE:
also first check with him to be sure it's not outside noise. this would be amplified by the TonePump treble. the passive EMG-HZ pickups are NOT noiseless. humbuckers that do not buck all of the hum! if he turns the treble up a little them moves the bass side to side and the noise varies, it's outside interference. surprisingly most players who like EMG-HZ passive pickups just deal with it somehow. others upgrade to active EMG pickups to eliminate that. this is most likely the case."

These bolt on Rebops do have plenty of sustain. Amazing basses for the money, IMO.
 
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#406
Clearwave said:
I doubt a preamp swap is going is going to change the fundamental tone of the bass, therefore probably won't make you happy. You should try a few jazz basses and see what you think. I would also recommend trying some musicman basses. You might be looking for a more traditional bass tone. Report back to us, tell us what you find.

The Fender bass is what a bass is expected to sound like. They invented it and you will find it on more hit records than any other bass, They sound wide and milky to me. The Spector bass is not a traditional sounding bass. It cuts through the mix and is more "rude" sounding.

The Spector Coda is interesting. I've never played one but I imagine they have the comfort and easy playability of a Spector with a more traditional tone of a jazz bass.


or.....could be your amp.
Click to expand...

I should mention that my amp is a Genz-Benz 9.0. IMO these amps let the true tone of the bass shine through. I'm off to try out some Jazz basses among others. I'm lucky enough to live in Seattle so I have quite the selection: http://www.bassnw.com/
 
#407
ynot12 said:
Questions about the Rex. After watching all of those Pantera vids last night, I'm thinking a Rex would be nice addition.

I have c spine issues, so I spend a lot of time sitting while playing. With the body shape of the rex, is it comfortable playing fingerstyle while sitting? Also, what would I be looking to pay for used one?
Click to expand...

They play fine sitting imo. They do want to dive to 90 deg a little, at least mine did. A good leather strap fixes that though.
 
#408
ynot12 said:
Questions about the Rex. After watching all of those Pantera vids last night, I'm thinking a Rex would be nice addition.

I have c spine issues, so I spend a lot of time sitting while playing. With the body shape of the rex, is it comfortable playing fingerstyle while sitting? Also, what would I be looking to pay for used one?
Click to expand...

I have a Rex 5, and I would say it's pretty comfortable to play when sitting and playing fingerstyle. Maybe not quite like the small NS-style Spector bodies, but I do prefer it to a jazz bass. I got mine for $530 used at Guitar Center. It was in decent condition with some minor finish problems.
 
#409
delucajohn2000 said:
Since we are king of on the topic of the whole active/passive thing, I have a question about my Rebop 5. It has the EMG HZ pickups in it with the non-trim tonepump and when I turn up the treble all the way, I notice I get a "hum" that is present and I have heard from people that is due to the passive pickups.

Here is a clip I recorded with the riff from "rain when I die" from Alice in Chains.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Will putting active EMG's in that bass cut down on the "hum" or do you think that could be from something else? Just curious.

On another topic, I have to say that I love the sustain on this bass which you can hear when I hold the last note. If anyone is curious if the Spector bolt-ons don't have much sustain, just give that a listen and that should answer your question. This is an older Rebop 5 from 2001 in case that makes any difference or not.
Click to expand...

Yeah my Forte 5 does that when plugged into the 215 at my bands practice place but when I plugged into my SVT 810e/PF-500, notta! So it must be in the amp. I have Active EMG-40P5/40J's OBP-3 pre.

To be fair John on the bolt-on sustain thing...the ReBop's a set neck, that's almost and practically as close to a neck thru as you'll get. A cross between BO and NT. If you haven't yet, replace the nut with a brass nut. That'll even make a bigger difference. I ordered that one thru Spector as its a Euro and they charged $25.00.
 
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#411
iceboxbass said:
To be fair John on the bolt-on sustain thing...the ReBop's a set neck, that's almost and practically as close to a neck thru as you'll get. A cross between BO and NT. If you haven't yet, replace the nut with a brass nut. That'll even make a bigger difference. I ordered that one thru Spector as its a Euro and they charged $25.00.
Click to expand...

The Rebop's are not set necks, they are bolt-ons. Here is a quick picture I just took with my iPad of the back of my Rebop5:

084dbbdf.jpg


Honestly, with the sustain that I get with this thing, I have no urge to swap the nut out with a brass one. I actually muted that note after a few seconds when playing it but had I not done that, it would have held for a while.
 
#412
gotly said:
Could you post some sound clips? I can go try Jazz basses all day but it's kind of hard to see what a Spector sounds like with passive pickups.
Click to expand...

I don't have a passive Spector, but I'll try and get some clips of the p bass for you. Honestly,why don't you grab a set of EMG HZs and drop those in. They're passive, should be a direct replacement, & I don't think you'll need to solder them. You could try them with your tone pump. if you don't like them you can sell them.
 
#413
superdick2112 said:
iceboxbass - how long did shipping take when you ordered the nut? I only ask because I ordered a replacement bridge for one of my Spector Euros three weeks ago, and I haven't heard anything from them yet...
Click to expand...

Spector usually ships from their store fairy quick. Did you order a replacement bridge with the intonation screws?

On the site it says allow 2-4 weeks for delivery. They add the intonation screws so there is a bit of a wait.
 
#414
ynot12 said:
Never heard of the around-the-waist strap. I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip.


I should tell ya that its not an actual product; Steve Albini figured it out when he was in Big Black.
Go to the music store, find the longest strap they have, wrap it around your stomach so that the ends are behind you, bring them around to the front, then attach them to your strap knobs.
Viola - one around-the-waist strap! I have never tried it, but it works better if it sits on your hips (I need to lose 15-20 lbs. to make that work), and it doesn't work with basses that have strap knobs on the back. If you have a Spector, no worries there!
Click to expand...
 
#415
Walked out with a G&L JB. Something was always a little 'off' about American Fenders for me but I found perfection in the G&L. I'm not selling the Spector. It definitely has incredible tone and playability but not so much when you're focusing on Funk, Jazz and classic rock.

I'll let you get back to your regularly scheduled thread :)
 
#419
Hey JPS - question for you:

What kind of inlays are those on the Alex Webster model? I see them listed as mother-of-pearl on a music store, site, but the Spector site just says "red crown inlays". Are they solid red, or tinted M-O-P? What are they made of?
 
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