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SPECTOR® Club - Part 32

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I had that made for the NAMM Show. When things settle down PJ and I are supposed to talk about the new T-Shirt designs.

I've also developed an Alex Webster Spector T-Shirt with the blood graphic I designed for Alex's Signature Bass. Alex has said he'd be interested in letting us put his signature on the sleeve.

I did a series of "Demo" shirts for the NAMM Show. PJ Rubal and I each had one.

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I'll take one of each!! :bassist: ...I also really like the crown inlays down the back of the Alex Webster shirt!!!
 
AWESOME!! Thanks for the info! To me, that is an incredible process. I have seen the roughest/beat-up fret boards look brand new and sound amazing after an epoxy job!

I have always wanted to convert/epoxy a fretted bass! I believe that I will be looking for a 5 string Spector to mod in the near future! :bassist:

It makes a lot of sense to me to get a nice used Euro to do this with...

I had thought about doing the USA NS-4 with the Piezo bridge. But Stuart has discontinued the piezo bridge option. It seems he had a certain number of those bridges made for him by Fishman and because demand is so low he's run out and doesn't plan on getting any more made (at this time... who knows what the future will bring). So I had to remove that option from the site recently.

But I looked at a $5000 bass I'd play perhaps 10-20% of the time and then came across this beautiful NS-2A that had trashed frets and thought... Mmmmmmmm....

So it made more sense to me to to convert the NS-2A, which when said and done I've got $1200 invested in it.

I want to drop a USA 9v Circuit (Haz) in it and I got a USA Bridge for it... which for me that's a simple thing...

It's not about making the bass look like a USA... it's about the bridge material and the weight. The USA Solid Premium Brass Bridge weighs in at 2lbs. Thats TWO POUNDS... And it's solid brass, a material known for its tonal warmth.

Part of the "signature" Spector sound's formula is this heavy, solid bridge which provides a sound, solid anchor to the body for the strings, lessening string vibration energy loss. Greatly improving sustain and frequency transfer in the string between the bridge and the solid brass nut (or your finger in the case of a fretless, or a fret).

I really believe that in the USA Neck-Thru models this is an important component in the overall tone that people love.

So my choice to put a USA Bridge on it has to do with tone, not cosmetics. Because honestly, the solid black bridge that's on it cosmetically looks great to me.

I just know that to do the USA bridge on an NS-2A you take the chance that your E and G strings will sit too close to the edge of the Fingerboard. So until I can really sit down and devote some time to figuring out if this is going to be any issue, I haven't messed with it.

I know one person who did this USA Bridge install and didn't have any problem. And I know another that did and the bass wasn't playable. Now was that a Sammick NS-2A vs. the more common Spector factory model? Don't know. And am not sure that the guy who claimed his was fine wasn't just saying that. I never saw that bass. I did see photos of the one with the strings hanging right on the side of the FB. So I know this is a real possibility that you simply can't do this.
 
Lots of people besides Abe own one... as far as who on this board has one... don't know.

But Spector Artists... Doug Wimbish has a Coda-5 he loves, Matt Sinner, Dave Moody, Scott Snyder (Great White), Lane Baldwin, and I think Carlton Armstrong may be taking the plunge soon if he already hasn't. And he's on this forum...

That's cool...but yeah, we were referring to this forum club members.
I know that on Facebook Carlton was wanting one...that's cool that Doug Wimbish has a Coda 5! Since his influence is the reason I bought Spector's. Love to see Doug play one! I believe possible the popularity will increase with the intro of the Coda Deluxe. The highly figured maple and multiple colors make a difference in the appeal. Plus JPS's awesome photography capturing their beauty!!! I'm glad I waited until after NAMM 2012 before buying a Coda! :bassist:
 
It makes a lot of sense to me to get a nice used Euro to do this with...

I had thought about doing the USA NS-4 with the Piezo bridge. But Stuart has discontinued the piezo bridge option. It seems he had a certain number of those bridges made for him by Fishman and because demand is so low he's run out and doesn't plan on getting any more made (at this time... who knows what the future will bring). So I had to remove that option from the site recently.

But I looked at a $5000 bass I'd play perhaps 10-20% of the time and then came across this beautiful NS-2A that had trashed frets and thought... Mmmmmmmm....

So it made more sense to me to to convert the NS-2A, which when said and done I've got $1200 invested in it.

I want to drop a USA 9v Circuit (Haz) in it and I got a USA Bridge for it... which for me that's a simple thing...

It's not about making the bass look like a USA... it's about the bridge material and the weight. The USA Solid Premium Brass Bridge weighs in at 2lbs. Thats TWO POUNDS... And it's solid brass, a material known for its tonal warmth.

Part of the "signature" Spector sound's formula is this heavy, solid bridge which provides a sound, solid anchor to the body for the strings, lessening string vibration energy loss. Greatly improving sustain and frequency transfer in the string between the bridge and the solid brass nut (or your finger in the case of a fretless, or a fret).

I really believe that in the USA Neck-Thru models this is an important component in the overall tone that people love.

So my choice to put a USA Bridge on it has to do with tone, not cosmetics. Because honestly, the solid black bridge that's on it cosmetically looks great to me.

I just know that to do the USA bridge on an NS-2A you take the chance that your E and G strings will sit too close to the edge of the Fingerboard. So until I can really sit down and devote some time to figuring out if this is going to be any issue, I haven't messed with it.

I know one person who did this USA Bridge install and didn't have any problem. And I know another that did and the bass wasn't playable. Now was that a Sammick NS-2A vs. the more common Spector factory model? Don't know. And am not sure that the guy who claimed his was fine wasn't just saying that. I never saw that bass. I did see photos of the one with the strings hanging right on the side of the FB. So I know this is a real possibility that you simply can't do this.

I would also find it difficult to mod a $5000 bass! LOL! I believe it was a good move choosing the NS-2A! $1200 all in is not a bad price for a nice fretless! I agree that the heavier bridge plays a part in the Spector sound, but personally would not chance it if the string spacing was different...unless it was a direct replacement that did not require modding!

I think when I get my US BO fretted, I will save for a fretless, and then possibly have it epoxied...but even that makes me nervous! :hiding:

Do you have any vids/audio of you playing the NS-2A? I would like to hear it if you do! :)
 
Someone had mentioned... or asked how tall Chris Kael is in the last version of this forum. It think it was John D.

Anyway... I'm 6'2" and Chris either looks me eye to eye or is a little taller. He may be 6'3"

He's a big dude. And unlike me... because I'm skinny... he's ripped and pumped up. He obviously works out a lot.

Super nice guy. Sincerely a very fun-loving, pleasant and friendly guy with a lot of good energy.

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DieChris is a shorter guy... :P But man is he strong. Hawaiian God-Like for sure. :D His arms are bigger than mine and Chris Kael's put together. LOL.
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Hmmm....that got me a-thinkin'. I will have to check with my go-to luthier to see if he's game... :hiding:

I say go for it!!!! I have my name on HG Thor's list. He does some of the best conversions out there. I'm still like a year and a half out and its gonna be around $400! :bawl:

It's a good thing I live near a big music city that has several top notch luthiers, because I'm not that patient!! :D
 
I would say yours is definitely considered a Zebop since it's made with Zebrawood. The natural wood ones seem to be more popular but black gloss Zebrawood still shows up on the Spector site as an available finish so I don't think they are special order. JPS can definitely give more info on that though but I love the look of yours.

Bass Central has a green one too with Zebrawood which looks really sweet.

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i seen that. thats pretty sweet, john. it would go good with what you have ;)
 
I would also find it difficult to mod a $5000 bass! LOL! I believe it was a good move choosing the NS-2A! $1200 all in is not a bad price for a nice fretless! I agree that the heavier bridge plays a part in the Spector sound, but personally would not chance it if the string spacing was different...unless it was a direct replacement that did not require modding!

I think when I get my US BO fretted, I will save for a fretless, and then possibly have it epoxied...but even that makes me nervous! :hiding:

Do you have any vids/audio of you playing the NS-2A? I would like to hear it if you do! :)


I followed the JPS idea and I ended up buying Black NS-2A that needed new frets for very cheap and I de-fretted it myself.

Its not nearly as pretty as the Pro job that JPS has.
But it really sounds great. :bassist:

I rarely play fretless but just wanted to have one with the comfortable Spector NS body feel.

In the future I will most likely get a pro touch put into it with the epoxied fretboard.

I say, keep your eye out for a cheap NS-2A that needs work and slowly fix her up.
 
I had that made for the NAMM Show. When things settle down PJ and I are supposed to talk about the new T-Shirt designs.

I've also developed an Alex Webster Spector T-Shirt with the blood graphic I designed for Alex's Signature Bass. Alex has said he'd be interested in letting us put his signature on the sleeve.

I did a series of "Demo" shirts for the NAMM Show. PJ Rubal and I each had one.

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I want to make these red inlays larger. The shirt printer for the show made them too small.

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AND NO... This shirt will never be available. Chuck would want some cash for using his name like that.
But anyone who wants to print one for themselves... I'll be glad to give you the design for free. :D
The Red Alex Webster Spector Logo with blood drip is on the center of the back, large like on the front of the Alex T-Shirt above.

i would so want one of the alex webster shirts!!!:hyper::bassist:
 
My first and only Spector. I'm likely going to give this one to my daughter - I paid $200! Still thinking about buying another NS... something. :cool:

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Nice fretless conversion JPS! About 20 years ago, I had my aluminum neck Kramer converted by a former Hamer employee. He filled the slots with a mixture of wood glue and maple sawdust. I also had EMG P/J pickups and BT pre installed. Turned out great! For as often as I play fretless, it's probably all I'll ever need.

Hear here - Lunation -A Different Day.wmv - YouTube
 
To be fair Patrick your hair gives you a 2-3 inch advantage lol...

Haha, good one Chris. It's funny that you said that though because the movie Fletch was on yesterday (yeah, i am showing my age) and your comment reminded me of the part where he is dreaming that is he playing for the Lakers. They announce him as 6 foot 5 but 6 foot 9 with the afro.

Sorry, I know most of the people reading this are going to be like "what is wrong with that John guy?" :)
 
Haha, good one Chris. It's funny that you said that though because the movie Fletch was on yesterday (yeah, i am showing my age) and your comment reminded me of the part where he is dreaming that is he playing for the Lakers. They announce him as 6 foot 5 but 6 foot 9 with the afro.

Sorry, I know most of the people reading this are going to be like "what is wrong with that John guy?" :)

Love that movie, especially on family guy when the Dyslexic Film society shows "Feltch".
 
hahaha I haven't watched Fletch in ages... Chev was the man back then.

Love that movie, especially on family guy when the Dyslexic Film society shows "Feltch".

I'll have a steak sandwich and a steak sandwich. And put it on the Underhill's bill.

Love me some Fletch! Chevy Chase was great back in the day!!! We need more movies like that these days!

Man, I am laughing out loud on my laptop about this now :) There are so many great lines in that movie that I need to watch it again. The part when Underhill knocks on the cabana is when I tuned in but now i have to watch the whole thing again.

Chris, I haven't seen that Family Guy but I am going to search Netflix for it right now.
 
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