So this thing was in rather rough shape. I hope the previous owner just had no clue what a gem they had cause this bass is BEAT.
Warning: I am posting "BEFORE" pictures first so if you are upset by pictures of bass neglect, LOOK AWAY!
Before:
Might have been played by a lefty at one point with these side dots painted on the opposite side. Unfortunately they painted clearcoat over them so I have no way to remove these dots without further damaging the clear on the neck.
The tuners are all mixed up, all strings should have a straight pull from nut to tuner. One tuner is a wrong-side replacement so is upside down, the other is just wound backwards.
Also tip of the headstock has some paint chippage.
This is the gross mess I found when looking for the original color under the pickguard. The metal screw retainer has pulled out of the pickup so half the pickup dangles into the bass. Pickguard screws rusted like crazy, rust residue everywhere.
AFTER! Here begins the cleanup, fixing the pickup and cleaning the gunk. Appears to be sharpie for where the body paint showed in gaps in the pickguard.
This was the only leftover strap I had, very cheesy fitting in with the 80's "style" of this bass. I love the mini-dot inlays.
This is how the headstock SHOULD look...mostly. I only had a spare Schaller tuner in CHROME so I mix and matched parts to get it as close to stock looking as I could, not bad at a distance but obviously not correct.
Does anyone know what is causing the discoloration on the E-string tuner ear? It doesn't appear to be rust and does not seem to want to clean off.
Incorrect colored tuner obvious here. #68X!
The back is in surprising good shape, just a bit broken off the battery cover but screws still hold it.
The previous owner never used a stand apparently, this is the WORST of the damage, just wrecked to the wood.
While faded, you still see most of the Spector logo, and I still love these knobs that have been around since the early days
Overall with the set of spare strings I had (unknown make, and not sure how dead they are) the bass sounds great, similar to my Euro with the EMG pickups, but the bridge pickup is MUCH more useable IMO. I hopefully should have real strings this weekend and get some recordings in.
The bass is pretty comfortable, I wear it differently than my other Spectors, with the bridge close to my right hip, and the neck pointed outwards slightly. It's a bit heavier than I expected for its size (maple, go figure!!) but balances so nice I dont notice it when its strapped on.
The tight spacing (1-3/8" at the nut and 16mm string spacing at the bridge!) is actually really nice once I get used to it, it can be pretty quick, especially when using the pickups as a ramp. (I might see about installing a ramp on the pickguard between the pickups, with some sort of adhesive so as not to damage anything)
Overall I'm pleased with the bass. It is fun, plays ok (I need the truss adjusted, but its the ancient type with a + head instead of a hex! Anyone know what tool I need to do this? A screwdriver will probably just strip it out and ruin it!) and sounds great. The tone control is as I expected, just wiring EMGs volume-volume-tone no preamp just the active pickups with a tone knob. It's a bit snappy when on full, and a but boomy when off all the way, but there are nice spots in between.
Does anyone know if plastic expands/contracts with age? The pickguard seems like it no longer is fitting the bass properly, and I might have to shave down some areas of it to keep it from rippling.
Sorry for such a long post guys, but as one of 107 ever made, I've never seen any info posted in here about these babies!
Warning: I am posting "BEFORE" pictures first so if you are upset by pictures of bass neglect, LOOK AWAY!
Before:
Might have been played by a lefty at one point with these side dots painted on the opposite side. Unfortunately they painted clearcoat over them so I have no way to remove these dots without further damaging the clear on the neck.
The tuners are all mixed up, all strings should have a straight pull from nut to tuner. One tuner is a wrong-side replacement so is upside down, the other is just wound backwards.
Also tip of the headstock has some paint chippage.
This is the gross mess I found when looking for the original color under the pickguard. The metal screw retainer has pulled out of the pickup so half the pickup dangles into the bass. Pickguard screws rusted like crazy, rust residue everywhere.
AFTER! Here begins the cleanup, fixing the pickup and cleaning the gunk. Appears to be sharpie for where the body paint showed in gaps in the pickguard.
This was the only leftover strap I had, very cheesy fitting in with the 80's "style" of this bass. I love the mini-dot inlays.
This is how the headstock SHOULD look...mostly. I only had a spare Schaller tuner in CHROME so I mix and matched parts to get it as close to stock looking as I could, not bad at a distance but obviously not correct.
Does anyone know what is causing the discoloration on the E-string tuner ear? It doesn't appear to be rust and does not seem to want to clean off.
Incorrect colored tuner obvious here. #68X!
The back is in surprising good shape, just a bit broken off the battery cover but screws still hold it.
The previous owner never used a stand apparently, this is the WORST of the damage, just wrecked to the wood.
While faded, you still see most of the Spector logo, and I still love these knobs that have been around since the early days
Overall with the set of spare strings I had (unknown make, and not sure how dead they are) the bass sounds great, similar to my Euro with the EMG pickups, but the bridge pickup is MUCH more useable IMO. I hopefully should have real strings this weekend and get some recordings in.
The bass is pretty comfortable, I wear it differently than my other Spectors, with the bridge close to my right hip, and the neck pointed outwards slightly. It's a bit heavier than I expected for its size (maple, go figure!!) but balances so nice I dont notice it when its strapped on.
The tight spacing (1-3/8" at the nut and 16mm string spacing at the bridge!) is actually really nice once I get used to it, it can be pretty quick, especially when using the pickups as a ramp. (I might see about installing a ramp on the pickguard between the pickups, with some sort of adhesive so as not to damage anything)
Overall I'm pleased with the bass. It is fun, plays ok (I need the truss adjusted, but its the ancient type with a + head instead of a hex! Anyone know what tool I need to do this? A screwdriver will probably just strip it out and ruin it!) and sounds great. The tone control is as I expected, just wiring EMGs volume-volume-tone no preamp just the active pickups with a tone knob. It's a bit snappy when on full, and a but boomy when off all the way, but there are nice spots in between.
Does anyone know if plastic expands/contracts with age? The pickguard seems like it no longer is fitting the bass properly, and I might have to shave down some areas of it to keep it from rippling.
Sorry for such a long post guys, but as one of 107 ever made, I've never seen any info posted in here about these babies!
