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Then I turned it down and fiddled for the tone I like, or close enough.
Please let me know via PM if any of you are offered a USA NS-4 and want to be sure it is legit.
It would seem that someone purchased an NS-4 from a Spector Dealer here in the USA and then returned it for a refund.
But they didn't return it. They returned a Euro model in its place. The dealer recognized that their NS-4 hadn't been returned and they notified Spector immediately.
I've been sitting on this information for a while... quietly hoping this NS-4 would show up here.
It also helps that the buyer was identified so Spector knows who this person is. The police and of course the dealer that got taken for a ride are watching this person. PJ Rubal involved the Spector Pimp (before he told me about it but that's because he knows I get REALLY ANGRY about stuff like this and he didn't want me going after them... LOL). Sam and I have been quietly lurking around several online locations where Spectors are bought and sold hoping that the holidays would prompt the thief to try and sell it.
I think they may just be planning on keeping it for themselves. Sam thinks they may be getting it refinished. There's a lot of theories. I figured it was time to go ahead and let everyone know about it.
I also want to warn you all because if that bass surfaces, even if the person that took it has it refinished (which would be even more of an insult and a disgusting thought really) and tries to sell it; if it is ever identified the police will get involved and the poor person who purchased it would be out their money and the bass because the bass would be confiscated as evidence. The buyer could try to get their money back, but the thief would be in a world of trouble at that point... so good luck getting anything back.
This is why you have to be careful buying used but really valuable guitars; ask to see the receipt where the person purchased it to make sure it's legit.
I really want this person to get caught with it. I want to see them go to jail... and they will go to jail.
It's felony theft by conversion and would fall under federal jurisdiction because the transaction crossed State lines (my wife is a former FBI and GBI analyst and knows her criminal law... (GBI = The Georgia Bureau of Investigation - she's originally from Georgia and I lived there for 20 years).
So keep an eye out for a new but used NS-4. If any of you have seen a "great deal" on an NS-4 or if you've been approached about one on the down-low... please PM me. Anything and everything will be kept confidential.
If any of you would like more info, please PM me or send me an email to my Spector email address: [email protected]
I have to say that stealing another person's property (even if it is a "company" and not an individual) is so vile and disgusting to me. And it's a slap in Stuart's face for all the hard work and love he and the guys at the NY Workshop put into these basses. They are meant to be owned and enjoyed by honest people, not thieves. Plus there's a Spector Dealer that's been cheated out of a USA NS-4.
Thanks everyone, back to the regular programming...
Even better. I like the non-soldering approach.
Thank you, Godfather. I'm not worthy.
Just out of curiosity, how many of you guys are running your Fortes at 18v? This will have to do until the US9V pre's turn up for sale again...
I did with both Forte 4/5. The Aggies really open up at 18V!
Absolutely love everything about them and they last for YEARS! 
I'm going to give it a try with mine too. Radio Shack here I come
Yeah I had to go listen to it myself. I learned the record note for note based on the transcription book so I was surprised since I didn't remember a drop tune. That's not to say those books weren't wrong sometimes but I think that was known to be one of the better books. I'm sure it helped that the bass was very easy to hear.
And yeah awilkie84, GNR was 1/2 down on the whole record. I assume to facilitate vocals but who knows. Personally I hate 1/2 tuning - really messes with my ear.
Which reminds me., I filled in for a big cover band around here once (Infinity for those in the Chicago area who might know them) and they tuned flat. Their singer likes to kind of just call out songs and they don't really rehearse, so I just kind of came into the gig ready to go on what tunes they told me. So they decided on the spot to play "Talk Dirty to Me" and I knew it so no problem, right? Except they were playing it a position lower (so essentially starting on the "B" or 2nd fret of the main riff). When I heard I was off on the first few notes, I adjusted based on my ear, which landed me on the 1st fret instead of 2nd because my ear heard "Bb". Ugh. Thankfully I recovered within a bar or two, but damn, I don't want to be a bassist who f's up a Poison song. They played "Foreplay/Long Time" in A position instead of Bb too, which kind of bugged me. Ok end rant.
So several months ago, Sam put me onto this SSD posted on Craigslist that he was interested in b/c he was on the hunt for a Czech SSD. I drove out met this guy from Dallas, GA who was selling a Czech SSD for $600. I show up wanting to know whether it has the rare Czech 9v preamp copy or not. So it does, which is awesome, and it's blue, which is great, and he even had the hardshell case, which was sweet. Then I see the headstock and there's a chip out of the top. No biggie. Then I sight the neck and you could launch arrows off it. Why? Because all of the relief had been taken out to accommodate the place where the fretboard had completely separated from the neck at the first fret when the headstock chip happened!!!!
So I'm completely disappointed because it's a hair away from being parted out and thrown away. Someone had tried to repair it, but had used Gorilla Glue (which expands when it dries) so it was... gross. Basically you could look inside this giant hole between the fretboard and the neck where all of this glue, dirt, and other shmutz had piled up.
But I knew I was holding something rare (not Brooklyn NS-1 rare, but rare enough for what it is) and that if I could get the NS-2A that I started with restored, I could probably get this restored.
So I talk him down in price by about $100, and walk off with the bass. I let Sam know I got it, but that it's gonna take time, money and a lot of skill to get it back to playability, never mind restored, and that I may have to part it out if my guy couldn't do it.
But he could. And did. Meticulously. Over I don't know how long it's been, but probably close to 4-5 months (Sam, please correct me on this if I'm off).
I got it back today and it is beautiful. He left the "love taps" like a small dent at the bottom if the body and the burnishing on the bridge, but the headstock and fret board and neck have been completely and totally restored. It's a weird blueburst color that fades to a dark, dark almost black shade of blue, so it was a tough color to match. He maintained the SSD logo perfectly. There is no way to tell unless you know exactly where to look that anything had ever happened to this bass. And the Czech copy of the US 9v circuit? Well he restored that as well - totally cleaned out all of the rusted solder joints and ends, replaced all of the wiring and cleaned and re-soldered the entire preamp (which is V-V-B-T, by the way). The EMGs are the originals and the logos are still in great shape as well. It sounds absolutely phenomenal. Somewhere between a trim pot Tone Pump that's dialed in perfectly (which I am never quite capable of doing, unfortunately) and the USA 9v circuit. The only "buts" that he advised were not putting anything heavier than a .110 on the E because the truss rod is just about out of room in terms of rotation and as long as it has been setting (months) the glue and wood are still in the process of bonding together/curing, so going anything lower than drop D would potentially compromise the repairs. Not a problem for me as I don't ever tune lower than that (that's what the 5 is for, for me). But otherwise, this rescue puppy Czech SSD is back to how it looked when it first went to whomever it went to. No serial# anywhere which is apparently common, but it's the real deal. He even did a fret job on it just to get it perfect. It's awesome. All original everything (yes, I do have the Schalller strap buttons but have Dunlops on it for now so I can use a regular strap).
I'm still waiting to get the "before" pictures from him so you guys can see it as it was, but you won't believe it when you do. Barrett Culpepper. He's the guy who owns Southeast Guitar Repair who does all of my bass stuff that I can't do on my own. He's an extraordinary talent. I couldn't afford the labor cost on it so we worked out some barter (me doing a lot of computer work, basically) deal for it, but he mostly wanted to tackle it to see if he could do it. For him, it was about the challenge, which I thought was pretty neat. And he did it. Patrick has always emphasized that with Spectors, it's important that you have a luthier that's familiar with the brand or is at least non-egotistical enough to go ask questions and research before tackling major repairs because the design dictates that every part be exactly where it is supposed to be or the instrument just will not play true (or at least, not for very long). Fortunately, Barrett is one of those luthiers.
I know I won't end up keeping this bass. It should really go to someone who is a collector or just a bigger Spector-head than me. Someone who will play it, but not take it on tour/rough it up. Oh and it's light! Can't be more than 9.5# if that much.
We never see these on the board very often, and especially not with the Czech 9v copy.
So I'm lucky enough to have a friend who is a genius luthier (and Sam! Cannot over-emphasize the awesomeness of Sam), otherwise this bass would have ended up as trash. It was that bad, and the owner/guy I bought it off of knew absolutely nothing about it. Zero.
Anyway, "after" pics are below, but as soon as I get the "before" ones, I'll throw them up. You won't believe it. And please forgive the photo quality; everyone in the world (including people who don't have cameras) takes better photos than I do.
GHS Precision SS Flats!
P.S. Highly recommend the "Light" set
