SPECTOR® Club - Part 50

[JPSBassist]

So, is this process just Spector putting on the correct gauge strings and a setup? What are you getting for 150.00? I have a Euro 4 34" setup for A with a .158 drop tune set. Taking the time to get the proper gauge and setting up the bass you can pretty much tune to whatever you want. Setup is the key you don't have to run as heavy of a gauge with a proper setup.

The B,E,A,D setup cost was added because all of the 35" Euro4LX models were come from the CR factor set to E,A,D,G.

The $150 fee covers the time and materials to have one of the guys at the NY Workshop change the nut (to a new one) and set the slots to fit the larger strings, set the bass up (again) because the truss would need more tension to compensate for the heavier strings, etc... put a fresh set of strings on it and send it on its way.

There are only 3 people in NY who can do this sort of thing. And to take them away from building USA Basses to do a "custom setup" costs time, and therefore money. So it was decided that a fee should be associated with that sort of custom setup.

I've said this before and I don't mind saying it again... if you are looking at companies that often charge money for things that honestly don't cost them any extra money; they just do it because they can and it's a way to make easy cash... that is NOT how Spector operates.

If there is a fee associated with something there is a legit reason for it. It either takes time or costs in materials or both and because Spector isn't some huge company like many other guitar companies, taking time for anyone in NY to stop and do something other than build NY Woodstock Spectors, is very costly.

For decades Gloss white was the most expensive color to order. And not because it was the most popular (because of Sting), it's because to paint a bass gloss white you have to break down all the painting equipment and clean it. No traces of any other color can be in the gun, nozzle, can, etc... White is an unforgiving color. So that added a bunch of extra time in the setup to do the white finish. People didn't understand why. But up until about 10 years ago, Stuart did all the finishes for Spectors in the NY Workshop himself (or with Jimmy Eppard). This is just an example. But there's always a fair reason for a cost associated with any option Spector offers.

 

[JPSBassist]

Hi guys! I'm finally able to let you all know, I'm a member of the Spector family!

Welcome to the family!

Your new bass has a sick/beautiful top. Congrats! That's a super-sexy Euro5LX!

 

[73jbass]

Just picked up a Euro 4 a few weeks ago,and the pickups are really close to the strings. Is there a starting point for string/pickup spacing?

 

[ynot12]

Been away for a bit and just got caught up with the new thread. Congrats to all the guys with the NBDs over the last week. Lots of gorgeous Spector goodness!

Now, off to check out the new Spector site.

 

[Jaymi]

about to be something VERY black coming my way!!

 

[Betrayer_Bass]

Welcome to the family!

Your new bass has a sick/beautiful top. Congrats! That's a super-sexy Euro5LX!

Thanks! I am enjoying this thing soooo much.

I've aleays had the sound of the perfect bass tone in my head, I've spent countless hours trying to get it out (even with my beloved Warwick) and bow that I have this.. well it didn't take long. Maybe an hour of pushing, pulling, twisting, playing. I have the tone. It was in my head for so many years and now it's real.

I am blown away!

 

[iceboxbass]

That's why I put it in quotes. I'm definitely a fan of the Legends, but I'd play a Euro or US if I was given a budget that allowed for 1 or 2.

+1! I know what you mean.

 

[JPSBassist]

Thanks JPS. I'm still a little hesitant going the active route as the ones I've dinked around with were a bit on the sterile side. Does the OBP-2 give a bit more of that analog goodness that so many actives lack? I have yet to hear an Aggie product I don't like.

Also, should I start with just swapping the pre first to see if that fixes it, or is it better to plan the pre and pups at the same time?

Thanks

For sure... You can change out the circuit first and see what that gets you.

If you are more accustomed to passive pups then you can try the circuit change and see what that gets you.

Aguilar circuits are very clean. I think they are better suited for musicians who want to play in multiple styles with one instrument. You can color your tone with pedals/ etc... once you take the signal from the bass.

What you're getting is a very clean, articulate signal to do that with.

The Spector JFET circuits are colored to sound more growly and gritty, for that's always been a trademark of the Spector tone.

 

[JPSBassist]

Thanks! I am enjoying this thing soooo much.

I've aleays had the sound of the perfect bass tone in my head, I've spent countless hours trying to get it out (even with my beloved Warwick) and bow that I have this.. well it didn't take long. Maybe an hour of pushing, pulling, twisting, playing. I have the tone. It was in my head for so many years and now it's real.

I am blown away!

I know EXACTLY what you mean.
For me it's always been the tone.

I couldn't really see Sting's bass from where I was standing in the crowd in the Omni in Altanta in 1983. I knew his bass was white. I could see it had something shiny on the neck from the way the inlays caught the light.

What I did know was the growly tone from that bass was perfection as it blasted into the arena over the screaming of nearly 50,000 fans.

And that single concert set in my mind what the perfect bass tone was. Which led me to here.

Congrats! I sincerely couldn't be more happy that your search is finally over!

 

[JPSBassist]

Just picked up a Euro 4 a few weeks ago,and the pickups are really close to the strings. Is there a starting point for string/pickup spacing?

You can lower them down if you like and then adjust them until they are at a place that sounds/feels best for you.

Really they can be as close to the strings as you like. You get better transmission of the string vibration to the pickups that way.

You only need to lower them if you're hitting them when you are playing.

Also you can put them at different heights to augment the type of tone you are looking for. I have my bridge pups sitting a little higher than my neck pups in my setups. It's just so I can get cleaner harmonics when I do them.

There's no right or wrong... there's only what works best for you.

 

[Splods]

I should probably post my bass in here now, seeming as I've been talking in here just a little bit.

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I know it is just a Performer, but I still think that it is very nice. The sound and feel of it is just amazing. I just wish that I could reach the upper frets without completely changing my hand position (So a Neck through is on the list)

Unfortunately there are some things that annoyed me.

The finish in some places has specks of black paint in it, which I find very frustrating to look at.

When I took the trussrod cover off, I found that there was what seemed to be baby powder n the cavity, and a decently sized chipout of the finish.

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The sound more than makes up for those things though, and I am intending to buy an upper quality bass soon.

 

[worshiprocker]

I should probably post my bass in here now, seeming as I've been talking in here just a little bit.

I know it is just a Performer, but I still think that it is very nice. The sound and feel of it is just amazing. I just wish that I could reach the upper frets without completely changing my hand position (So a Neck through is on the list)

Unfortunately there are some things that annoyed me.

The finish in some places has specks of black paint in it, which I find very frustrating to look at.

When I took the trussrod cover off, I found that there was what seemed to be baby powder n the cavity, and a decently sized chipout of the finish.

The sound more than makes up for those things though, and I am intending to buy an upper quality bass soon.

I started out with a performer also.... Still a great bass

 

[cyclopsbookworm]

Aguilar circuits are very clean. I think they are better suited for musicians who want to play in multiple styles with one instrument. You can color your tone with pedals/ etc... once you take the signal from the bass.

What you're getting is a very clean, articulate signal to do that with.

The Spector JFET circuits are colored to sound more growly and gritty, for that's always been a trademark of the Spector tone.

Thanks again. I'm still a ways away from pulling the trigger on this, so I have plenty of time to research (I'm a bit OCD when I buy stuff).

My rig is setup to have that great 'ground zero' starting point. It's a GK 1001 to (2) MM Audiophile cabs, no pedals (yet, tho there's a few I'm looking at). So the Aggie sounds pretty good. On the other hand, I bought the Spector just cuz the way it sounded, so the Spector pre sounds good too. Decisions decisions!

That said, I'm still a ways away from affording more gear and in the meantime, the scratchiness seems to be getting better as I've played this beast almost every day since I got it. I'm getting more certain it's the pot itself which is bad....years of sitting in a case. Who knows, maybe I'll work it out and then won't have to buy anything.

 

[TinIndian]

OK. I have a little quandry. Since the correct tuners are nearly unobtanium for my Euro4 I'm putting back together,which way do you guys think I should go. I have a black Schaller M4 set that would require a different screw hole. Not too big of an issue since I'm refinishing the whole thing. Or I could drill out the headstock and use a set of black Gotohs I have. They are a little different with an H as the only marking on the back of the seal.

I think I'd rather go with the Schallers, but what do you guys think?

 

[JPSBassist]

I should probably post my bass in here now, seeming as I've been talking in here just a little bit.

Sweet! I guess this makes you legit!!!

I know it is just a Performer, but I still think that it is very nice. The sound and feel of it is just amazing. I just wish that I could reach the upper frets without completely changing my hand position (So a Neck through is on the list)

OK... sorry. "It's just a Performer..." It's a Spector. Entry level Spector or not... You are a Spector owner and that's something to be proud of. I started out with a 10 year-old Q4-Pro, then an NS-2A (which I still own) and then a Legend Custom, then my first Euro... You have to walk before you can run. So good for you. I'm very happy you like your Performer.

I actually designed the truss rod cover for your bass and designed the Performer by Spector logo.

I watched the development of the new generation Performer from the ground up and that is a VERY nice bass for the money. And Stuart was very hands-on in the design and build process. You are playing a bass designed by Stuart Spector.

Unfortunately there are some things that annoyed me. The finish in some places has specks of black paint in it, which I find very frustrating to look at.

Yep. This is some of the things that happen with mass produced instruments. The Performer is available in a metallic red or black. So you probably have a bass from a batch that was done right after a black batch and someone in that factory didn't take the time to clean the paint guns out and get the black all out before spraying the red.

It happens. If it makes you feel any better I've seen older USA NS-2s which were supposed to be white with small color defects. I actually talked about that earlier today.

When I took the trussrod cover off, I found that there was what seemed to be baby powder n the cavity, and a decently sized chipout of the finish.

Yeah. This is common and actually easy to do with any Spector. I have a chip under the truss of my water cured redwood NS-2 when I bumped the truss rod hex wrench I was using against the edge of the cutout. And if you tighten your truss rod cover screws down to far you can crack the finish under the screw. I've seen that more times than I can count.

The baby-power like material is dried rubbing compound. The high gloss finish of your bass gets a high-speed buffing with a semi-wet super fine rubbing compound and often some of the compound while it is still wet will collect there, then dry and turn back into powder.

This is also common of ALL Spectors. I've seen this on Euro and USA Spectors before too. And when I had the black high gloss finish on my 24 year old NS-2A buffed, guess what I found after getting it back from the finish shop.

The sound more than makes up for those things though, and I am intending to buy an upper quality bass soon.

Really the tone and how it plays is all that counts. My NS-2A is 24 years old, scratched, banged up and plain looking, but it plays like butter and sounds amazing. So who cares?

 

[JPSBassist]

OK. I have a little quandry. Since the correct tuners are nearly unobtanium for my Euro4 I'm putting back together,which way do you guys think I should go. I have a black Schaller M4 set that would require a different screw hole. Not too big of an issue since I'm refinishing the whole thing. Or I could drill out the headstock and use a set of black Gotohs I have. They are a little different with an H as the only marking on the back of the seal.

I think I'd rather go with the Schallers, but what do you guys think?

If the pin hole is directly below the tuner (see attached photo), then go with the Gotoh tuners.

I actually prefer them. They have a 20:1 turn ratio and allow for more precise tuning adjustments.

The peg holes may need to be widened some. The shaft of Gotohs is traditionally larger than Schallers.

I'm seriously considering putting a set of Gotoh sealed 510 Tuners (22:1 ratio) to replace the black Schallers on my NS-2A. They're 1/2 the cost of the replacement gold Schallers:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[JPSBassist]

Thanks again. I'm still a ways away from pulling the trigger on this, so I have plenty of time to research (I'm a bit OCD when I buy stuff).

My rig is setup to have that great 'ground zero' starting point. It's a GK 1001 to (2) MM Audiophile cabs, no pedals (yet, tho there's a few I'm looking at). So the Aggie sounds pretty good. On the other hand, I bought the Spector just cuz the way it sounded, so the Spector pre sounds good too. Decisions decisions!

That said, I'm still a ways away from affording more gear and in the meantime, the scratchiness seems to be getting better as I've played this beast almost every day since I got it. I'm getting more certain it's the pot itself which is bad....years of sitting in a case. Who knows, maybe I'll work it out and then won't have to buy anything.

You know a quick fix would be to order a new replacement pot for $10 from Stewmac. That might answer a lot of questions for you...

 

[smadder]

I started out with a performer also.... Still a great bass

Amen. They're incredibly well built. There's nothing I feel competes in that price category in terms of features, consistent construction quality, great hardware and awesome tone.

 

[smadder]

So while this isn't directly Spector-related, it kinda-sorta is.

The master luthier and owner of Southeast Guitar Repair (this is the guy who sets up all of my basses and the basses I sell - he's extraordinarily talented and an insane musician to boot) asked me if I would teach his daughter how to play bass.

And my jaw just dropped open and I couldn't think of anything to say.

I'm a perfectly decent bass player, ear trained but know keys enough from 25ish years of playing. So basically, jazz/fusion is way out of my league, but rock, R&B, funk, groove metal, pop, disco, country pop (painful, but that's the deal sometimes) - I can hang.

But I've never taught anyone to play before. So I'm so honored that this guy thinks enough of me as a bass player/musician and as a person to teach his daughter how to play any way I want, regardless of my lack of formal music knowledge.

Isn't that something?

And I will be teaching her on Spectors, of course

But I do want to look into one of those Fender amps that teachers love? The one you can load MP3s on, has drum tracks, etc... anyone out there in the club that teaches have any suggestions?

 

[Fat240]

The B,E,A,D setup cost was added because all of the 35" Euro4LX models were come from the CR factor set to E,A,D,G.

The $150 fee covers the time and materials to have one of the guys at the NY Workshop change the nut (to a new one) and set the slots to fit the larger strings, set the bass up (again) because the truss would need more tension to compensate for the heavier strings, etc... put a fresh set of strings on it and send it on its way.

There are only 3 people in NY who can do this sort of thing. And to take them away from building USA Basses to do a "custom setup" costs time, and therefore money. So it was decided that a fee should be associated with that sort of custom setup.

I've said this before and I don't mind saying it again... if you are looking at companies that often charge money for things that honestly don't cost them any extra money; they just do it because they can and it's a way to make easy cash... that is NOT how Spector operates.

If there is a fee associated with something there is a legit reason for it. It either takes time or costs in materials or both and because Spector isn't some huge company like many other guitar companies, taking time for anyone in NY to stop and do something other than build NY Woodstock Spectors, is very costly.

I figured that the cost was from your explanation. Reason that I asked was that, I was talking to someone recently and they thought that BEAD was a special bass designed just for that tuning. I get asked about my tunings a lot and show people how to get setup for lower tunings and it amazes me how many people don't know how to set up their bass. I think that it is fair charge to take the time from production to do that. I personally have never got a bass that was setup the way I like and by time it ships and I get it the intonation is off and of course I have to run my brand of strings.