SPECTOR® Club - Part 48

[iceboxbass]

Steve - great looking install! Nice to see some love for the USA 18-v pre. Like you said, it's not the same as the 9-v, but that's why I love it - it has it's own thing going on, and it sounds thunderous when paired with the EMG DC pups..

Hmmm...wonder if the USA 18V will fit in the Coda electronic cavity? The cavity is smaller than the NS cavity. Have to research that.

 

[worshiprocker]

Hey Sum, you can't go wrong with GK for the money, ive had the 700 rbii and the 1001rbii, loved them both and they last forever, pick up one of these two and invest in the best cab you afford and youll be set.

+1

I love GK amps

+1. I'm rocking an MB500 and dig it. Except I don't get to play it much since my band isn't at the point where it plays out yet, and the only gigs I've been getting have been small jazz ones, so my ibanez combo's been swing more use. I'm thinking of selling the GK and downsizing from a 500 way 4X10 setup to a smaller, 2X10 or 1X12 200-ish watt rig...
That's not to say anything bad about the amp at all- its powerful and sounds great with my spectors, it's just that I don't get to use it anymore.

Hit me up if you are going to sell that amp... I'm looking at getting into a mb500/800 by the end of the year....

 

[Basstovsky]

Is it weird that I don't really have any SAS right now? Or any GAS at all?

I mean the only Spectors I haven't really played are USA models, and the new Rebop MM, and I prefer my modified Korean Spectors to the EMG equipped Euros I have played.

Now I still love beautiful USA Spectors, but I don't think I will ever be able to afford one, I mean paying more than $1000 for a bass when you make less than 30K a year is a bit crazy...

Speaking of which, here are my Korean beauties:

Also, I recall back before I had the ability to record anything there were people asking for clips of how my Spectors sounded with my preamp/pickup swaps, is there still interest for these? I recently recorded clips of each of my Spectors for tone comparisons and could upload and post them if anyone is interested.

 

[worshiprocker]

Is it weird that I don't really have any SAS right now? Or any GAS at all?

I mean the only Spectors I haven't really played are USA models, and the new Rebop MM, and I prefer my modified Korean Spectors to the EMG equipped Euros I have played.

Now I still love beautiful USA Spectors, but I don't think I will ever be able to afford one, I mean paying more than $1000 for a bass when you make less than 30K a year is a bit crazy...

Speaking of which, here are my Korean beauties:

Also, I recall back before I had the ability to record anything there were people asking for clips of how my Spectors sounded with my preamp/pickup swaps, is there still interest for these? I recently recorded clips of each of my Spectors for tone comparisons.

Its not weird dude... I have no SAS at the moment either. I'm in the sub $1000 bass club too.... I plan to stay there until I make a lot of money.... so probably never, LOL

 

[superdick2112]

I'm in the sub $1000 bass club too.... I plan to stay there until I make a lot of money.... so probably never, LOL

I don't know about that.... You keep writing killer songs like the last two that you posted, and we might just see you on the cover of the Rolling Stone soon....

 

[iceboxbass]

Actually... there's another option for you to look at:

The BQC is a great circuit, which does sound great at 18v.

The Spector USA 18v Circuit has a great tone, quality and I honestly think it's my favorite circuit overall.

But recently I had an opportunity to revisit Aguilar's circuits in a new way and I have to admit I was pretty much blown away.

The bass below was made for Quintin Berry. It is a custom job done as a "thank you" to Quintin for all of his years as a loyal, faithful Spector Artist. And Stuart even gave it a special serial number, NS-4Q #1-804. It's NS-4 #804. But it's the first model made with this special control setup. And Stuart realized more people may want it.

PJ hasn't instructed me to change the NS-4 webpage yet, meaning it's not officially being offered as of yet. But I want one. I love the two compact, small knobs and how you get so much beautiful NS-Body wood with this setup.

The two knobs are actually routed into the space that the former (no longer offered) piezo bridge controls fit into.

This NS-4, when I plugged it in and dialed in my Redwood NS-4's settings... sounded just like my Water-Cured Redwood. So I immediately opened the back cover to see how Stuart had shoe-horned the USA 18v circuit into that configuration.

And I was shocked to find an OBP-2 sitting there staring back at me... running at 18v. For the next hour I A-B'd my NS-4 and Quintin's NS-4 and the sound was so close most of the time that I made it a point to talk to Dave Boonshoft at Aguilar during BPL about it.

Here's why I want to try the OBP-3 at 18v now. I didn't realize it... but Dave explained that the OBP-3 is special because they used both Operational Amplifiers (think Spector USA 9v Circuit) and JFET (think Spector USA 18v and TonePump Circuit) to make that single 3-band OBP-3 circuit.

So it's the best of both worlds... the analog, solid-state growl and grit with the clean, powerful, articulate JFET tech.

I've honestly decided to revisit the OBP-2 and OBP-3 circuits because I think when you add the extra headroom of another 9v battery to them it elevates their abilities into a totally different tonal realm.

The EMG is good... but it sounds like an EMG circuit... and I just can't get over how much the 2-band OBP-2 sounded like the 2-band Spector 18v circuit when you run the OBP-2 at 18v.

Link Removed

Oh yeah, that's a gorgeous Spector bass! I ran both former Forte 4 W/OBP 2 & Forte 5 W/OBP 3 at 18 volts. Very awesome sounding I deed! When my Coda 5 Deluxe comes it'll have the OBP 2, ill see if there's enough room for another 9V battery. I'd love to put a OBP 3 in it later on, I love that preamp! Very versatile!

 

[superdick2112]

Hmmm...wonder if the USA 18V will fit in the Coda electronic cavity? The cavity is smaller than the NS cavity. Have to research that.

Ohhhh! 18-v pre + twin Jazz pups.... That I'd like to hear.

 

[cjmodulus]

I don't know about that.... You keep writing killer songs like the last two that you posted, and we might just see you on the cover of the Rolling Stone soon....

I'm in agreement here. You guys are putting out awesome tracks!

 

[iceboxbass]

Hi Spector Crew!

Is nearly time for me to sneak out from under my 'thread-lurking' stone after a long time of enjoying the rapid Spector threads.
I regretted not picking up a stunning Spector many years ago that I was absolutely in love with. The only thing against it had been that it was an unlined fretless and I was only really getting the hang of fretted back then....... And still am to some extent! Haha!

Shortly I'll be joining your happy ranks as my first Spector has been on order since early September. Have gone straight for a U.S. bolt-on after several years of trying out every model I could find, then met Stuart at the UK Bass day that finally sealed the deal for me. What a wonderful Gentleman Mr. Spector is!

In response to Patrick's post about the Aguilar pre-amp, My preferred set-up for many years in all my basses has been one EMG TW pickup along with the OBP-3 running at 18v. The extra boost in voltage is quite noticeable (have tested 9 and 18v extensively in my basses).
Looking forward to testing some other circuits from the detailed descriptions heard here but will take a lot to convert me away from this super combo!

Think you'll like some of the specs on the new custom..........

Will be plenty of 'Tone' and 'Punch' haha! (Loved that vid!)

Welcome Andy! And congrats on your first Spector that's coming!
Great taste in preamps! I'm also a lover of the OBP 3. By chance, are your choice of strings be Flats? Tell us about the specs of your new Spector.

 

[anton72]

on another note...I just placed an order for a Markbass CMD102p...if this can satisfy my monitor needs the Thunderfunk 550b and Bergantino 425 might be moving...

You'll like Markbass. I also play through Markbass. I have LM250 head and Club121 cab, the lightest 400 Watt cab ever. I wanted to go for a combo at first but didn't like their piezo tweeters, they hiss.

 

[iceboxbass]

Welcome to the ranks! a US bolt on is high on my SAS list. Can't wait to see some pics and to hear your thoughts on it!

And on the pre amp subject- I've been toying with the idea of gettin either the OBP 2 or 3 for my legend 5... I really like the sound now, but I miss being able to boost and cut. So is the 3 band worth the extra coin? Is the difference very noticeable? I'd appreciate any input you guys have!

The OBP 3 in the Forte 5, solid maple wings, made a big presence and especially in the mids. I never had to roll much past flat as it'd will add a significant amount of mids to your tone. When modding to 18V, even more so! I positively believe its worth the price difference. I tried ordering it in my new Coda 5 but they said I'd lose the passive/active switch...don't know why still...it has 5 knobs...the OBP 3 uses stacked treble/bass pot. I'm still not giving up on it though!

 

[PhatBasstard]

You'll like Markbass. I also play through Markbass. I have LM250 head and Club121 cab, the lightest 400 Watt cab ever. I wanted to go for a combo at first but didn't like their piezo tweeters, they hiss.

Tweeters cannot "hiss" on their own.
If you're not hearing the same hiss from another tweeter (using same amp), it's because it's incapable of producing that frequency.
The amp produces the hiss.

None of my Markbass amps (several 500 watt models) hiss with any of my Markbass cabs or any other, FTM.
But I held off buying a SD1200, when Guitar Center online had them marked way down (+ coupon code brought it down to $570 shipped ), because the 2 I demoed in store both had a hiss in every cab I tried.

 

[iceboxbass]

He has a custom USA Bolt-On NS-4H2 with two 60's Aguilar J pups, all passive. It's black gloss finished with a maple neck.
It has the Leo Quan Badass Bridge and the neck has the Doug Wimbish (1.5" nut) Jazz bass profile.

Sweet!!! Beat that has a tone of its own. Thank you Patrick!

 

[iceboxbass]

Is it weird that I don't really have any SAS right now? Or any GAS at all?

I mean the only Spectors I haven't really played are USA models, and the new Rebop MM, and I prefer my modified Korean Spectors to the EMG equipped Euros I have played.

Now I still love beautiful USA Spectors, but I don't think I will ever be able to afford one, I mean paying more than $1000 for a bass when you make less than 30K a year is a bit crazy...

Speaking of which, here are my Korean beauties:

Also, I recall back before I had the ability to record anything there were people asking for clips of how my Spectors sounded with my preamp/pickup swaps, is there still interest for these? I recently recorded clips of each of my Spectors for tone comparisons and could upload and post them if anyone is interested.

I really like the colored strings on your cherry burst, cool!
I'd love to hear your blue NS-2A with the white Duncan's!

 

[Andy Will]

Welcome Andy! And congrats on your first Spector that's coming!
Great taste in preamps! I'm also a lover of the OBP 3. By chance, are your choice of strings be Flats? Tell us about the specs of your new Spector.

Thank you very much Sir!

Was gonna keep it under wraps, but here are the specs (all very carefully planned):
4 String USA bolt-on
Single EMG 35TW Bridge position (Custom placement)
Flamed 5A Maple top
Walnut Body
BEM fretboard w/Abalone inlays
Aguilar OBP-3 with voltage doubler (18v, one battery)
3 knob electronics layout
Matte Ultra-Amber finish
Hipshot D-tuner & Black Hardware

Really excited to see how it turns out!

Cheers,

Andy

 

[Clearwave]

I just noticed the Spector online store says:

Due to Sandy and other unrelated health issues (illness) at our NY Workshop, orders may be delayed by 10 -14 days.

Everybody ok over there?

 

[smadder]

Very cool. Is that a GK mb500 in on the GB stack? you play it through that?

Yep. I have two Shuttle 2x10 Genz Benz cabs (each only weighs between 35-40 and has just a top strap-style carrying handle). The model itself is new (STL-2-210T EXT) and was updated and redesigned when they recently re-did the entire shuttle amp and cab line. I originally had the 6.2 combo and I was running my Spectors too hot so no matter what, they were making my cabs fart out, even at low volumes. So, I sold the Shuttle 6.2 combo and used the money to get a MB800 (only $499 at the time off of Amazon) and a new, matching 2x10 shuttle cab which normally go for close to $800 (the relatively recent neodymium rarity and US manufacturer must be why they are so much $, but I got a great discount through someone who owns a music shop and needed work done which I happily did in exchange for the cab) and got the GK MB800 which amongst other features has a nice -10db pad at the input. Plus, running it with both cabs gives me the full 800 watts (each cab takes 400 watts, has a fully adjustable tweeter and is rated at 4 ohms) that the amp can generate and what the cabs are rated for when paired together. It's one of the best amp set ups I've ever had while also being quite loud and musical at the same time. And let's not forget the weight factor, which is a huge selling point with this particular set up. It's so nice not to have to beg someone for help getting a ride to and from practices and/or shows. Now I can focus that energy on helping my drummer get unpacked and set up

The other cool thing: 800 watts. 800 very full, very loud, very well-defined, very lightweight watts of bass amp power. It's a dream rig, honestly Donny. The only thing that sounded better to my ears (or as good, let's say) was the DB750 and two GS 2x10 (all Aguilar), my EBS HD350 into two Aguilar GS112s, and the ultimate rig (when I didn't worry at all about the weight of anything) which was my Q10BX-D Bag End 105 pound 4x10 with a coaxial tweeter and an original, 575 watt (WAY, WAY underrated on those power specs) England-made Ashdown ABM 500 (in the original baby blue rack chassis).

 

[sumgruuvz]

thanks guys. so many of you are pro gk. is it because of the price or what is your determining factor? is it the sound with spectors? let me in on it now.

 

[smadder]

Awesome Patrick! You had mentioned this briefly in a recent posting and now that you've fleshed it out, it sounds VERY interesting indeed. Like you, I think the secret is getting the EMG humbuckers running at their full 18v load so that the preamps built into them are working at their full potential, which simply adds to the Spector tone. Can't wait to hear someone try it out at the full 18 on something like a Euro and let us know how it works out. If ever given the opportunity to own and upgrade another Euro 5 of some kind and am unhappy with the pre, I will definitely be choosing a OBP-3 run at a full 18v.

But my dream American Spector is still a white NS-2 or a tube-quilt blue NS-2 like supes'. But another Euro 5 of some sort comes across my table, I will be trying the Aguilar combination you described.

Actually... there's another option for you to look at:

The BQC is a great circuit, which does sound great at 18v.

The Spector USA 18v Circuit has a great tone, quality and I honestly think it's my favorite circuit overall.

But recently I had an opportunity to revisit Aguilar's circuits in a new way and I have to admit I was pretty much blown away.

The bass below was made for Quintin Berry. It is a custom job done as a "thank you" to Quintin for all of his years as a loyal, faithful Spector Artist. And Stuart even gave it a special serial number, NS-4Q #1-804. It's NS-4 #804. But it's the first model made with this special control setup. And Stuart realized more people may want it.

PJ hasn't instructed me to change the NS-4 webpage yet, meaning it's not officially being offered as of yet. But I want one. I love the two compact, small knobs and how you get so much beautiful NS-Body wood with this setup.

The two knobs are actually routed into the space that the former (no longer offered) piezo bridge controls fit into.

This NS-4, when I plugged it in and dialed in my Redwood NS-4's settings... sounded just like my Water-Cured Redwood. So I immediately opened the back cover to see how Stuart had shoe-horned the USA 18v circuit into that configuration.

And I was shocked to find an OBP-2 sitting there staring back at me... running at 18v. For the next hour I A-B'd my NS-4 and Quintin's NS-4 and the sound was so close most of the time that I made it a point to talk to Dave Boonshoft at Aguilar during BPL about it.

Here's why I want to try the OBP-3 at 18v now. I didn't realize it... but Dave explained that the OBP-3 is special because they used both Operational Amplifiers (think Spector USA 9v Circuit) and JFET (think Spector USA 18v and TonePump Circuit) to make that single 3-band OBP-3 circuit.

So it's the best of both worlds... the analog, solid-state growl and grit with the clean, powerful, articulate JFET tech.

I've honestly decided to revisit the OBP-2 and OBP-3 circuits because I think when you add the extra headroom of another 9v battery to them it elevates their abilities into a totally different tonal realm.

The EMG is good... but it sounds like an EMG circuit... and I just can't get over how much the 2-band OBP-2 sounded like the 2-band Spector 18v circuit when you run the OBP-2 at 18v.

Link Removed

 

[cjmodulus]

thanks guys. so many of you are pro gk. is it because of the price or what is your determining factor? is it the sound with spectors? let me in on it now.

I picked up mine before my first Spector, mostly because it had a lot of power for the price. When I got my legend and ran it though the GK, I really dug the sound. The MB series seems a tad cleaner sounding than the rbs, but with a Spector can still get a nice grit.

The OBP 3 in the Forte 5, solid maple wings, made a big presence and especially in the mids. I never had to roll much past flat as it'd will add a significant amount of mids to your tone. When modding to 18V, even more so! I positively believe its worth the price difference. I tried ordering it in my new Coda 5 but they said I'd lose the passive/active switch...don't know why still...it has 5 knobs...the OBP 3 uses stacked treble/bass pot. I'm still not giving up on it though!

Thanks for the info. I think a preamp swap may be in the future then...