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SPECTOR® Club - Part 36

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#521
brotherbassj said:
Played a Spector Legend five at the local GC.....gave it 30 minutes.....not a fan of the non trim tone pump. Maybe it's because I am used to MEC and Aguilar preamps? I like the option to cut or boost. I was not a fan of my G&L pre for the same reasons? As Sam and Jaymi and Steve have pointed out to me, the Legend series is not going to draw me away from the Warwicks......so I am still trying to get the right funds gathered for a Euro five. I think Smadder is onto something with his setup preamp......but I did not want to bash the bass I played but point out my observations on that model.

The treble hissed a bit too much for me and the pre just seemed a bit too grindy and distortion laden for my liking. Maybe I got a bad bass. On a whole thought it didn't play bad. I still have to get used to gloss necks again.....I prefer the oil finished necks. I'm not done yet.....just reporting my experiences. Happy Friday to those of you that are gigging this weekend rock out!
Click to expand...

The Legend has the TonePump Jr. not many(if any) like that preamp
 
#523
brotherbassj said:
Played a Spector Legend five at the local GC.....gave it 30 minutes.....not a fan of the non trim tone pump. Maybe it's because I am used to MEC and Aguilar preamps? I like the option to cut or boost. I was not a fan of my G&L pre for the same reasons? As Sam and Jaymi and Steve have pointed out to me, the Legend series is not going to draw me away from the Warwicks......so I am still trying to get the right funds gathered for a Euro five. I think Smadder is onto something with his setup preamp......but I did not want to bash the bass I played but point out my observations on that model.

The treble hissed a bit too much for me and the pre just seemed a bit too grindy and distortion laden for my liking. Maybe I got a bad bass. On a whole thought it didn't play bad. I still have to get used to gloss necks again.....I prefer the oil finished necks. I'm not done yet.....just reporting my experiences. Happy Friday to those of you that are gigging this weekend rock out!
Click to expand...

If you tried out a Legend, it was most likely a Tonepump jr. that was installed in it. Older ones had 3 band pre's in them so this was probably one with a jr. If you like to boost or cut, a Euro 5 will have a tonepump in it and those don't give you the option to cut unfortunately unless you do what I did and install an EMG BQC in it. The Haz circuit's, both 9v and 18v, give you the option to boost and cut as well as the OBP-2, and OBP-3 so if you want that ability, those are the pre's you are going to want to try out.

The tonepumps do tend to hiss more when the treble is turned up all the way. I think it has to do with them have a higher treble settings or something but my BQC and 18v Haz don't hiss like that when the treble is turned up all the way.

If you are a fan of unfinished necks, you might want to check out the Rebops or the USA bolt-ons or something with a matte finish. 3 out of 4 of my Spector's don't have glossy necks but to be honest, I don't mind either so it doesn't bother me.
 
#524
worshiprocker said:
The Legend has the TonePump Jr. not many(if any) like that preamp
Click to expand...

+1

They just dont sound very good. All the pre's are boost/cut just no detents on the pump pots. Ignore it , set it where it sounds good, remove and replace the knobs to point at a refrence point on the bass. Done deal. Yeah comming from higher end Wicks don't wast your time with anything under a NT euro imo. Then you'll be like "oh now I get it" :)
 
#526
delucajohn2000 said:
If you tried out a Legend, it was most likely a Tonepump jr. that was installed in it. Older ones had 3 band pre's in them so this was probably one with a jr. If you like to boost or cut, a Euro 5 will have a tonepump in it and those don't give you the option to cut unfortunately unless you do what I did and install an EMG BQC in it. The Haz circuit's, both 9v and 18v, give you the option to boost and cut as well as the OBP-2, and OBP-3 so if you want that ability, those are the pre's you are going to want to try out.

The tonepumps do tend to hiss more when the treble is turned up all the way. I think it has to do with them have a higher treble settings or something but my BQC and 18v Haz don't hiss like that when the treble is turned up all the way.

If you are a fan of unfinished necks, you might want to check out the Rebops or the USA bolt-ons or something with a matte finish. 3 out of 4 of my Spector's don't have glossy necks but to be honest, I don't mind either so it doesn't bother me.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I'm going to try a buddy's earlier rebop five tomorrow. It's a plain Jane model....just natural finish.....no flames
 
#528
worshiprocker said:
The Legend has the TonePump Jr. not many(if any) like that preamp
Click to expand...

Yeah. It's alright, but you really have to use it lightly to get good sounds with it. I pretty much leave it flat all the time. For a grindy sound I'll put the treble at like 60% and the bass at 40%. It's not the best pre, but it's workable. Set flat, i'd say it has kind of a stingray- ish Slight mid bump kind of growl to it. I'm still able to make my legends sound pretty darn good. It's possible that the one he played had a low battery though, the treble on mine doesn't get all that hissy unless it's all the way up.
 
#529
brotherbassj said:
Thank you. I'm going to try a buddy's earlier rebop five tomorrow. It's a plain Jane model....just natural finish.....no flames
Click to expand...

Do you know if it has the crown inlays or just the dots? The reason I ask is I have that exact bass which was made in 2001 and it has that dots. That bass is just amazing even stock but then I had Sam (Limaguy) install a trim pot tonepump and EMG DC's which turned that bass into a beast.

Sam has had my bass for the last few weeks since we didn't have time to finish the install when I went over his house last but he also installed a brand new Euro bridge which he said made the thing even better. The original bridge on it was all beat up and missing screws but the new Euro bridges they sell seem to be similar to the USA bridges and are heavier which is a good thing for sustain.

He recorded clips of all my 5 string Spectors in case you want to hear the differences:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Actually, it doesn't include my newest NS-JH5 so I need to get clips of that too but I am not happy with the strings I have on it now so I am going to change them tomorrow.
 
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#530
delucajohn2000 said:
Do you know if it has the crown inlays or just the dots? The reason I ask is I have that exact bass which was made in 2001 and it has that dots. That bass is just amazing even stock but then I had Sam (Limaguy) install a trim pot tonepump and EMG DC's which turned that bass into a beast.

Sam has had my bass for the last few weeks since we didn't have time to finish the install when I went over his house last but he also installed a brand new Euro bridge which he said made the thing even better. The original bridge on it was all beat up and missing screws but the new Euro bridges they sell seem to be similar to the USA bridges and are heavier which is a good thing for sustain.

He recorded clips of all my 5 string Spectors in case you want to hear the differences:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Actually, it doesn't include my newest NS-JH5 so I need to get clips of that too but I am not happy with the strings I have on it now so I am going to change them tomorrow.
Click to expand...

It's has dots....he says the neck is not as thin front to back as the legend neck profile
 
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#531
sumgruuvz said:
guys. here is a link to the ustream for my band tomorrow night if anyone wants to check it out :) we start at 8:45 p.m. central standard time. hope you guys can check it out.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

Awesome! Assuming I'm not out and about tomorrow, I'll be sure to try and tune in! :bassist:
 
#532
delucajohn2000 said:
Do you know if it has the crown inlays or just the dots? The reason I ask is I have that exact bass which was made in 2001 and it has that dots. That bass is just amazing even stock but then I had Sam (Limaguy) install a trim pot tonepump and EMG DC's which turned that bass into a beast.

Sam has had my bass for the last few weeks since we didn't have time to finish the install when I went over his house last but he also installed a brand new Euro bridge which he said made the thing even better. The original bridge on it was all beat up and missing screws but the new Euro bridges they sell seem to be similar to the USA bridges and are heavier which is a good thing for sustain.

He recorded clips of all my 5 string Spectors in case you want to hear the differences:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Actually, it doesn't include my newest NS-JH5 so I need to get clips of that too but I am not happy with the strings I have on it now so I am going to change them tomorrow.
Click to expand...

He upgraded the bridge to a brass USA bridge also
 
Last edited by a moderator:
#536
LimaGuy said:
I have this same problem with the battery draining too quick on my NS-2A with a BTS in it. and its driving me nuts.

Just to confirm, it is the wires soldered onto the input jack that are making like it has a plug in it all the time, thus being on all the time?
Click to expand...
Yes, that was the issue. I switched the two outside terminals on the jack (Typical Switchcraft style cannon as used by Spector) and all has been fine since then.
grendle said:
Yep. Swap the red wires and you should be good.
Click to expand...
Nope. Not on mine. No red wires involved at all.

Blue wire (second wire in from corner) as shown on Tone Pump diagram should be on jack's center terminal.
When looking at the jack's terminals, turned so that the center terminal is closer to the bottom edge:
Black from the battery clip should be soldered to the left jack terminal.
Black from the Tone Pump (about the 3rd wire in from the corner) should be soldered to the right terminal.

This is all based on a recent trim-pot Tone Pump. I know wire colors and layout have changed several times with this preamp over the years (both trim and non-trim versions alike).
 
#537
worshiprocker said:
The Legend has the TonePump Jr. not many (if any) like that preamp
Click to expand...

While this is true, many have found that it was/is more the EMG-SSD pups than the TP-Jr that is responsible for the duller tone.

When I was experimenting with my first Legend 6, I went from the Jr to an actual TP to a Aguilar OBP-1. The tone was still rather dull compared to my Euro and USA Spectors. It wasn't until I finally went with a set of active EMG's that the tone woke up.

I know the EMG-SSD's are passive, but even my ReBop 5 DLX's passive EMG-Hz's were much closer in tone to my active EMG's than they were to the EMG-SSD's.
 
#538
Some photo GAS for you...


Spector_ocordell.jpg
 
#539
brotherbassj said:
Ok......my mistake.....I do not care for the tone pump jr
Click to expand...
:D Just thought I would mention it since the TonePump is awesome!
brotherbassj said:
Thank you. I'm going to try a buddy's earlier rebop five tomorrow. It's a plain Jane model....just natural finish.....no flames
Click to expand...
I'm jealous, I've yet to play a rebop
brotherbassj said:
he's adding the trim pot tone pump I bought off here last week also!
Click to expand...
booyah!
PhatBasstard said:
While this is true, many have found that it was/is more the EMG-SSD pups than the TP-Jr that is responsible for the duller tone.

When I was experimenting with my first Legend 6, I went from the Jr to an actual TP to a Aguilar OBP-1. The tone was still rather dull compared to my Euro and USA Spectors. It wasn't until I finally went with a set of active EMG's that the tone woke up.

I know the EMG-SSD's are passive, but even my ReBop 5 DLX's passive EMG-Hz's were much closer in tone to my active EMG's than they were to the EMG-SSD's.
Click to expand...

really? I had ssd pups in my performer dlx. they were really midrangey. I went from ssd pups and no pre to HZs and a non trim tonepump and did very much prefer the hzs and TP. But I wouldn't say the SSDs were dull... maybe they don't play nice with active pres.....
 
#540
worshiprocker said:
really? I had ssd pups in my performer dlx. they were really midrangey. I went from ssd pups and no pre to HZs and a non trim tonepump and did very much prefer the hzs and TP. But I wouldn't say the SSDs were dull... maybe they don't play nice with active pres.....
Click to expand...
I probably wouldn't have said they were dull either...until I compared them (side by side) with the others.
They were just not as bright or clear.
Since the pre's don't load the pickups they would have no effect on the pickup's performance.
 
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