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SPECTOR® Club - Part 60

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#801
JPSBassist said:
This is one of the most awesome looking Forte-4 basses I've ever photographed and it has a similar sort of figuring...

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I noticed that Forte has vertical wavy lines going up through the wood. Is this a desirable feature? I noticed that the wood I chose for my USA has this too.

e402cf95-c1fe-4215-b02e-74ec7bb44847_zps5192398e.jpg
 
#804
johnsonabq said:
I noticed that Forte has vertical wavy lines going up through the wood. Is this a desirable feature? I noticed that the wood I chose for my USA has this too.
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Yes! It's actually a naturally occurring grain pattern that is part of tube quilt.

Both of my tube-quilt basses, The Black Pearl and The Blue Dream, have pronounced wave patterns running 90 degrees from the "tubes" or "waves" of the quilt.

Which makes them even more beautiful when you get close to them and inspect them.

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#805
brotherbassj said:
See the above.........obp-3 in a Forte 5.......doesn't get much better..........the OBP-3 is an excellent preamp. Like Lee said in another discussion, Stewart brings Aguilar stuff to demo his basses, uses the obp-2 and obp-3 in his basses he makes for us, and has had a long standing relationship with them. You can't go worng installing an aggie pre in a Spector, if that is what you want........just my opinion.
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Understood ! I think that's what I'm gonna go for ! Thanks for the advice, mate !
 
#807
Nuf said:
Understood ! I think that's what I'm gonna go for ! Thanks for the advice, mate !
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I've just ordered a USA Spector Neck-Thru and have requested the OBP-3 in it.

In this video about the TonePump -

I talk about the differences between JFET and OpAmp circuits.

The basics are that OpAmp circuits sound warm and growly and have the tone we most often like, but they oversaturate and loose signal easily.

The JFET circuits are clean, clear and can handle as much bandwidth as you push through them. They are superior technology but they often lack the warmth and growl that bassists desire.

The Aguilar OBP-3 has BOTH JFET and OpAmp circuits inside of it. It's really a great sounding circuit and it can handle deep lows and punchy highs with ease...

It's my 3-band circuit of choice.
 
#812
JPSBassist said:
Jeff,

The original photos of the wings for The Black Pearl look almost identical to the wing set you've got here.

So kudos. You're going to have an amazing looking bass.
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Thanks Patrick. Getting the best wood and workmanship are the main reasons I took the plunge on a USA bass. The workmanship is not something I worry about but the wood is so diverse and so subjective that I don't see myself being fully content with my choice until Todd receives it, sends me pictures, and tells me he's OK'd the whole build. (I don't see myself buying another new Spector from anybody else.)

Ya know, now that you point it out I do see those lines in your basses. I actually sent a pic of Blue Dream to Todd to make sure I made it clear what wood I want. I can't wait to see it with the walnut stain.
 
#813
#815
vin088xk1 said:
Now that I seem to have sorted it out I thought I would put it up here, answered a Craigslist ad for spector bass, no info, no price, after speaking with the owner I found out he was the original owner of an 87 ns2a, bass was in rough shape with what appeared to be a neck twist, ended up getting it for $100, contacted Sam with some pic and his observations were the bass badly needed a setup, truss rod works fine, I loosened it, removed the old strings and just let it hang for a couple of weeks, gave it a good cleaning and followed Sams instructions for setting it up and seem to have a pretty good playing bass, action is not too bad, gotta keep tweaking it, even came with a hsc,, sorry for the long post, sometimes there are deals out there.
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Nice score! I have an 87 NS2A as well. Recently changed to regular EMG's in it and it has made a world of difference. I found that the stock pups lacked articulation when played fingerstyle. When I used a pick it was great. I'm running the Korean 9V copy pre and the 2 sound great together.

Congrats!
 
#818
marchone said:
Do you prefer the OBP-3 over the USA Tone Circuit/9V/HAZ?
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Depends on the application.

Live? No. The USA 9v rules live performances. That's what it was designed for.

But in a studio where you may want to clean or dirty your tone? I think both the USA Spector 18v circuit and the OBP-3 @ 18v offer a lot of dynamic capabilities that the 9v Spector Circuit doesn't.

In other words, you can always DIRTY your tone, but it's hard to clean it if it's naturally dirty. And the USA 9v is gritty/growly and that's what it is.

I find that you can play with the tone of the 18v circuits more.

And to be honest, I'd go with the Spector USA 18v circuit, but with that single MM pup, I want to be able to adjust mids. So that means the 3-band OBP-3 is the best choice.

I ALWAYS design my basses for a specific tonal range and/or quality. Think of it like tools in a tool box.

I have hammers, chainsaws, etc... instead of a bunch of different colored tools of the same kind.

Each one gives me something different, but does so on a familiar platform. A neck and body profile that I love.
 
#819
JPSBassist said:
Ha! I wasn't going to volunteer... but since you asked.

This one belongs to PJ Rubal. It's the first new USA Spector he's gotten since his 30th Anniversary Spector in 2007.
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Nice! The man has exceptional taste. :)

ebradfordrich said:
+1. The wings on my Euro4 have similar types of grain pattern.

IMG_1445-vi.jpg
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One of the sweetest Euros I've ever seen....:bassist:
 
#820
JPSBassist said:
Depends on the application.

Live? No. The USA 9v rules live performances. That's what it was designed for.

But in a studio where you may want to clean or dirty your tone? I think both the USA Spector 18v circuit and the OBP-3 @ 18v offer a lot of dynamic capabilities that the 9v Spector Circuit doesn't.

In other words, you can always DIRTY your tone, but it's hard to clean it if it's naturally dirty. And the USA 9v is gritty/growly and that's what it is.

I find that you can play with the tone of the 18v circuits more.

And to be honest, I'd go with the Spector USA 18v circuit, but with that single MM pup, I want to be able to adjust mids. So that means the 3-band OBP-3 is the best choice.

I ALWAYS design my basses for a specific tonal range and/or quality. Think of it like tools in a tool box.

I have hammers, chainsaws, etc... instead of a bunch of different colored tools of the same kind.

Each one gives me something different, but does so on a familiar platform. A neck and body profile that I love.
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Thanks, Patrick. That's the best explanation I've read yet. Combined with what others have posted here I think I know the direction I'm headed. When I'm ready I'll ask more specific questions.
 
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