SPECTOR® Club - Part 62

[Scottkarch]

I'm saving up for a new fretless. The Spector Core Piezo looks great. The semi-hollow body looks cool with a single f hole. Single magnetic pickup and piezo sound like a great combo of sounds.

Anyone have one or played one and have any thoughts. Thanks.

 

[JPSBassist]

Hey Patrick: I couldn't find this in the Spector Model History.

Since it's obviously not an NS2J, what was the official model designation for one of these? Do you know how many were made? Thanks.

In reality, it's just an NS-2.

There's been some debate in the past when new configurations of current models are created if that constitutes a new model or that existing model with a new option.

In the case of the NS-2 with the J/J pup selection, Stuart and PJ both have stated to me that it's just an NS-2 with two J pups.

Todd Cooke, on his amazing SpectorWorld.com website, listed these as NS-2JJ models. A name that both PJ and I like because obviously the NS-2J is traditionally a bolt-on neck model.

I've never checked with Todd, but he doesn't usually make things up... so it's very possible that Stuart might have called these models NS-2JJ at some point. But this would have been before he started writing the model names and serial numbers on the headstocks. To my knowledge, he's never written anything but NS-2 on the headstock of an NS-2 with dual J pups.

The telling thing is that my newest NS-2 and PJ's newest NS-2, both with J/J pup configurations, are signed NS-2 by Stuart.

There were a few dozen NS-2JJ models (again, I prefer Todd's name for them) made during the Kramer Era.

Famous bassists such as Ian Hill had them made for them (see the attached photo). And indeed if you are into the J/J tone, they're a great NS-2 option.

Doug Wimbish has the first 1.5" nut J/J NS-2 ever made... in gloss white. It stays in his studio. He has toured with it in the past. But he has kept it as part of his expansive Studio Arsenal for several years. His tech and my good friend Aalics Bronson has played it and has told me it's an amazing bass.

 

[PhatBasstard]

From the video (and a medium amount of stryper knowledge) it looks more yellow then natural and the back is painted black...

look here: Invalid Link Removed

Apparently it was originally that color vvv (see/click thumbnail).
I can't see any of the black lines in the video though.

In reality, it's just an NS-2.

There's been some debate in the past when new configurations of current models are created if that constitutes a new model or that existing model with a new option.

In the case of the NS-2 with the J/J pup selection, Stuart and PJ both have stated to me that it's just an NS-2 with two J pups.

Todd Cooke, on his amazing SpectorWorld.com website, listed these as NS-2JJ models. A name that both PJ and I like because obviously the NS-2J is traditionally a bolt-on neck model.

I've never checked with Todd, but he doesn't usually make things up... so it's very possible that Stuart might have called these models NS-2JJ at some point. But this would have been before he started writing the model names and serial numbers on the headstocks. To my knowledge, he's never written anything but NS-2 on the headstock of an NS-2 with dual J pups.

The telling thing is that my newest NS-2 and PJ's newest NS-2, both with J/J pup configurations, are signed NS-2 by Stuart.

There were a few dozen NS-2JJ models (again, I prefer Todd's name for them) made during the Kramer Era.

Famous bassists such as Ian Hill had them made for them (see the attached photo). And indeed if you are into the J/J tone, they're a great NS-2 option.

Doug Wimbish has the first 1.5" nut J/J NS-2 ever made... in gloss white. It stays in his studio. He has toured with it in the past. But he has kept it as part of his expansive Studio Arsenal for several years. His tech and my good friend Aalics Bronson has played it and has told me it's an amazing bass.

Yeah, NS2JJ seems the most logical.
I guess Todd has been searching for this bass for a long time.
We've been in contact and are working on something to get it to him.

 

[Betrayer_Bass]

Question for my Spector brothers. Who introduced you to Spectors ? Was it your favorite bass player ? For me it would have been the late 80s, I remmeber seeing Rachel Bolan of SkidRow with his white NS 2 in the Youth Gone Wild video. After all these year I finally got my first (and second) Spector this year. No white one though....yet.

It was Alex Webster. I was listening and thinking "Which bass is making that boomy, growly awesome tone?" I found out pretty quickly after, then I was hooked

 

[djaxup]

On my Euro 4LX one pot has a very loose pin and i guess it will break soon. can i do anything about that or do i have to order a new pin?
To clariy: i mean the two pins holding the pot knob in place. One of them is very loose and the pot knob it not turning straight anymore.

 

[Zitch]

I saw a Spector Euro when I first started playing during 2001-2002 (late starter) and I thought it was the coolest looking bass Id ever seen. At that time to me the W&^%$*& ThumbNT and The Spectors id seen were the upper tier of basses to me. Now i know about basses like Fodera, Alembic, Pedulla, Zon ect, but Spector is still my Upper Tier, and Ive got 3 (going to sell my NS20004 soon) that I love and am going to spend the next year paying down my debt on just so I can mostly jam in the bedroom with them, but its totally worth it.

 

[Rebopmass]

Okay I will be the one to say. Two people got me into Spector. My bass teacher buddy Chris Raposa who has played with a few national bands like Machines of Grace. I loved how it sounded when he played that thing. He taught all sorts of lil tricks back then and id watch him play for hrs.

Also I will be the one to say it. Kip Winger was prolly the main reason I bought one. I thought they sounded and looked so cool. Plus being a young 80s pop metal bassist just seemed like the perfect fit. Guess I coild say he was my idol for a while. The dude is a damn good bassist and not the big jerk everyone makes him out to be.

Cool story we opened for him when they were first doing clubs and sat down and had a Spector chat. He told us that he actually had a few ns2as and he modified them all with active emgs and that it was a cheaper upgrade and close to an NS2 and would save us money in the long run. Lol.

So I went out and ordered 3 of them to go along with my black one and 3 of my freinds ordered one too. When all six were delivered the necks were all cracked or broken off somewhere. It was near the end of their run so we would probably not be able to get more of them. Total bummer cause I would have kept one at least.

Just one little story about how I ventured into spector. Since I started playin bass again 3 yrs ago its been basically all spector. Hopefully soon maybe a euro to fo with the rebop and 2 ns2k4s

 

[Bassvirus01]

Hey Guys, this is my first post here and it wasn't quite the first post I was hoping for. Which is why I came here for advice.

My first post was going to be photos showing off my very first Spector Euro 4LX Classic in a Figured Maple Gloss finish. But! When I ordered this beast back in April 2013 I was told by the dealer that it would have to be "made to order" by Spector. Which just boosted my new obsession with Spector exponentially! And I have been like a kid on Christmas Eve ever since!

But time has gone on, the delivery date has been changed several times and having been told it would be ready by the 15th July I have just been informed that it won't be until August now... bit of a dangling carrot theme going on here and am losing faith.

So! I was just wondering if anybody else has had this experience before? Apparently Thomann stock the same bass in a Poplar Burl finish which is very tempting. I'd expect this sort of wait with a NY Spector but a Euro?? Do I wait it out? or cancel the order look elsewhere?

Thanks in advance!

 

[LimaGuy]

A custom order from the Czech shop takes around 4 months. The dealer may have assumed the distributor had one in stock but didn't, so a new order was put in. So if the order was placed in April 2013. August sounds about correct on the delivery date. Are you located in the USA or in another country? If you are in the USA, Czech made basses come in batches.

 

[Betrayer_Bass]

Hey Guys, this is my first post here and it wasn't quite the first post I was hoping for. Which is why I came here for advice.

My first post was going to be photos showing off my very first Spector Euro 4LX Classic in a Figured Maple Gloss finish. But! When I ordered this beast back in April 2013 I was told by the dealer that it would have to be "made to order" by Spector. Which just boosted my new obsession with Spector exponentially! And I have been like a kid on Christmas Eve ever since!

But time has gone on, the delivery date has been changed several times and having been told it would be ready by the 15th July I have just been informed that it won't be until August now... bit of a dangling carrot theme going on here and am losing faith.

So! I was just wondering if anybody else has had this experience before? Apparently Thomann stock the same bass in a Poplar Burl finish which is very tempting. I'd expect this sort of wait with a NY Spector but a Euro?? Do I wait it out? or cancel the order look elsewhere?

Thanks in advance!

I had the same thing when ordering my Euro. Don't worry about it, you'll definitely get your bass and you'll love it!

I know the wait can be unbearable, but its worth it

 

[johnsonabq]

Hey Guys, this is my first post here and it wasn't quite the first post I was hoping for. Which is why I came here for advice.

My first post was going to be photos showing off my very first Spector Euro 4LX Classic in a Figured Maple Gloss finish. But! When I ordered this beast back in April 2013 I was told by the dealer that it would have to be "made to order" by Spector. Which just boosted my new obsession with Spector exponentially! And I have been like a kid on Christmas Eve ever since!

But time has gone on, the delivery date has been changed several times and having been told it would be ready by the 15th July I have just been informed that it won't be until August now... bit of a dangling carrot theme going on here and am losing faith.

So! I was just wondering if anybody else has had this experience before? Apparently Thomann stock the same bass in a Poplar Burl finish which is very tempting. I'd expect this sort of wait with a NY Spector but a Euro?? Do I wait it out? or cancel the order look elsewhere?

Thanks in advance!

Lots of places have Euros. Got mine on Ebay. Here's a nice one. Don't know if you're locked in on maple. ...Just FYI. August is not that far though.

 

[Bassvirus01]

Cheers guys! I'm from South Wales, UK LimaGuy but I think they still ship in bulk here too.

I do really like ALL of the finishes you can get on these basses, but I'd prefer a natural, un-coloured finish. Like the Burls or Maples.

I guess I'm just being impatient, but it would have been nice to have known a solid date much earlier on rather than a string of false dates. It's just frustrating because I've missed a few gigs now that I really wanted to take it to.

 

[johnsonabq]

Cheers guys! I'm from South Wales, UK LimaGuy but I think they still ship in bulk here too.

I do really like ALL of the finishes you can get on these basses, but I'd prefer a natural, un-coloured finish. Like the Burls or Maples.

I guess I'm just being impatient, but it would have been nice to have known a solid date much earlier on rather than a string of false dates. It's just frustrating because I've missed a few gigs now that I really wanted to take it to.

LimaGuy knows his stuff. Your patience will be worth it. We look forward to the pictures.

 

[iceboxbass]

Looking at the options list for the USA Series Coda5's. The 35" scale neck is available only for the Deluxe. So this option not available for the Standard? Just curious.

That's the way I understand it. I've been getting more interested in the Coda and I wouldn't have minded going for the standard with the 35" to keep costs down, and I dig several of the finishes.

Give Pj a call on this...I can't see them denying you a 35" scale as an option on the USA standard series Coda. Let me know if you do contact Pj and what he says as I've been thinking about a standard Coda 5 with 35" scale in either solid black or midnight blue.

 

[iceboxbass]

My church has lost their electric guitarist and still insist on playing Brewster. (one of the reasons I'm looking at a new church) Imagine Brewster with acoustic guitar, piano, drums and a female lead vocal. It was almost lounge.

Nothing wrong with that instrument set, just choose different songs for worship. As a sidenote, one of our old worship guitarist (and my good friend) now plays at bayside, even with Lincoln sometimes.

Sorry for the rant, your cheese comment just hit home.

Back to you Spector talk.......

I feel your pain brother...once a year we play a re-worded "Spirit in the Sky" song but ONLY sounds good with an electric guitar. We have a teen that plays electric guitar that I gave a copy of this song and told him to practice and be ready. I've been practicing the song with my Coda 5XL dialed in "Dirty" and man does it rock the song!

 

[iceboxbass]

Hey Gang,
Just returned from vacation out in LA/San Diego and picked up a rare bird.

Kramer era (1986 I believe) NS2 with JJ's.
Was originally built for Tim Gaines, bassist for Stryper.
The actual bass is the one in this video:


Needs some work to return it to it's original glory
(EMG's, preamp, gold Schallers [chrome Carvins on it now]),
but it plays beautifully.

Originally had a gloss finish that has rubbed off in most places (and looks like it may have had an attempt at reapplication).
I will probably have a pro remove the rest and oil it, although I am personally fine with it the way it is for my use.

Hey Patrick: I couldn't find this in the Spector Model History.
Since it's obviously not an NS2J, what was the official model designation for one of these? Do you know how many were made? Thanks.

PS. I picked this up from some guy up in the mountains "very reasonably" priced for any USA Kramer.
(And "No", I didn't have to squeal like a pig either)

GREAT snag phat! Beautiful! Definitely need gold tuners back on. A backside shot plz? Headstock shot with numbers etc... Is this your first USA Spector? I don't recall you talking of any in your arsenal.

 

[iceboxbass]

I was able to talk to the music director and we switched the piano parts to keyboards, the song was rocked up to the max and sounded great...we have over 600 in service and the room exploded after the song. I hope that your able to convince your director to take notice....

WooHoo! Too bad you don't have a live vid of you playing that...do you? PLZ?!?! I'd love to hear your Spector bass tearing thru the mix with that song!

 

[bunkaroo]

Give Pj a call on this...I can't see them denying you a 35" scale as an option on the USA standard series Coda. Let me know if you do contact Pj and what he says as I've been thinking about a standard Coda 5 with 35" scale in either solid black or midnight blue.

I almost did bring it up with him on a recent email when I had some other questions, but since the price list was specific I thought different of it. I'm not really as concerned with the tension of the 34" vs. 35" as much as I would be having a different feel when I'm not looking at the fretboard.

When I had the Kramer, I did a couple rehearsals with it, and I was getting thrown off when I would look away from the fretboard to sing backups because I was used to the 35" scale fret placement. Sounds weird but it happened. Not sure if that would be an issue with a Coda since it's only 21 frets to begin with and would hang different than the NS models.

 

[iceboxbass]

Just a few pics - much better than from the iPhone. The natural light really helps to see the difference between the Euro black cherry and US black cherry.

Love this shot Bunk...SaWeet!

 

[iceboxbass]

Went to do my first gig with the Euro @18v (all rehearsals 'til now) and they were double booked. :scowl: Already a band on stage. Sigh... At least they bought the band steak meals including beer and wine. That's show biz!

Are you kidding me?!?! That's so wrong...A friend of mine told me about another local band that made a phone call making believe they were my friends band and cancelled their gig date...then called again to book their band in their place! So my friends band shows up and what the heck there's another band on stage.
I'd have a very hard time...and we're talking small town not big city.