Yes, I agree. I've always loved maple boards on my "other" basses....jut something I've always dug. It's great to have a Spector now with a BEM board. To my ear they also take a highly articulate instrument and make it even more so. With my amberburst bass it seems you lose a little in the low mids but you get unreal high mid articulation. Makes slicing through an easy chore if that's your thing.
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Yes, I agree. I've always loved maple boards on my "other" basses....jut something I've always dug. It's great to have a Spector now with a BEM board. To my ear they also take a highly articulate instrument and make it even more so. With my amberburst bass it seems you lose a little in the low mids but you get unreal high mid articulation. Makes slicing through an easy chore if that's your thing.
Yeah that's what I'm hoping for with the BEM 5XL and the 9v. That could wind up being a very angry bass!
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I have always liked maple boards...however they can sometimes be less forgiving....however the articulation seems a little better to me. I find maple boards to make my positioning and technique a little sharper....out of necessity.....but maybe that's just me. I don't slap....but if I did I would play maple exclusively....lol
johnsonabq
Watch out where the huskies go...
Maple fretboards can make a big difference. I'm told that Fender Strats with the rosewood fingerboards play/feel very differently than the Strats with the maple fretboards.
PJ just posted this on the Spector Facebook page but in case you didn't see it, Premier Guitar did a write up of the Coda Pro.
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Alexis Sklarevski (the fellow from this video) is an absolute MONSTER; he was the head of BIT while I was there, just insane chops and the nicest guy to boot.
Check out some of his playing during the credits (around 1:20:50)...he starts out simply and ends up pulling out some ridiculously fast and articulate slap/tap/strumming patterns...if that doesn't make you fall in love with slapping on a Spector, I don't think anything will
Check out some of his playing during the credits (around 1:20:50)...he starts out simply and ends up pulling out some ridiculously fast and articulate slap/tap/strumming patterns...if that doesn't make you fall in love with slapping on a Spector, I don't think anything will
since we're talking about fretboards, I have a survey type question for the group...
I'm starting to get some specs together for my next US BO build. It'll have a dark wood top with a lighter colored body, a single MM pickup powered by the Aggie OBP-3 and will be a bass used predominately for finger funk/slap type music.
The only option I am not 100% sure about is the fretboard material. I'm either going with Ebony or Birds Eye Maple.
I am leaning towards ebony for a couple of reasons... 1) it should be really responsive to slap...similar to maple 2) I think it will look more aesthetically pleasing with the dark wood top and black hardware...which is the direction I am leaning as hardware is concerned.
What do the esteemed members of the Spector club say?
I'm starting to get some specs together for my next US BO build. It'll have a dark wood top with a lighter colored body, a single MM pickup powered by the Aggie OBP-3 and will be a bass used predominately for finger funk/slap type music.
The only option I am not 100% sure about is the fretboard material. I'm either going with Ebony or Birds Eye Maple.
I am leaning towards ebony for a couple of reasons... 1) it should be really responsive to slap...similar to maple 2) I think it will look more aesthetically pleasing with the dark wood top and black hardware...which is the direction I am leaning as hardware is concerned.
What do the esteemed members of the Spector club say?
Alexis Sklarevski (the fellow from this video) is an absolute MONSTER; he was the head of BIT while I was there, just insane chops and the nicest guy to boot.
Check out some of his playing during the credits (around 1:20:50)...he starts out simply and ends up pulling out some ridiculously fast and articulate slap/tap/strumming patterns...if that doesn't make you fall in love with slapping on a Spector, I don't think anything will
Didn't work, I can't force myself to like slap style playing. I've tried but even on a Spector I dislike it.
Alexis Sklarevski (the fellow from this video) is an absolute MONSTER; he was the head of BIT while I was there, just insane chops and the nicest guy to boot.
Check out some of his playing during the credits (around 1:20:50)...he starts out simply and ends up pulling out some ridiculously fast and articulate slap/tap/strumming patterns...if that doesn't make you fall in love with slapping on a Spector, I don't think anything will
I have his slap DVD at home. One of these days I will spend some time with it. Maybe if I get a Coda.
johnsonabq
Watch out where the huskies go...
This is just me now Brad... but I've never liked maple fretboards. Played them but never bought a bass with one. I have, however, had ebony fretboards on my basses from 1989 until I bought my Euro in 2011. And, both my USA's on order will have ebony, so yeah...
Ebony.
Also, get the abalone inlays instead of MOP. They really pop on the ebony fretboards.
This is just me now Brad... but I've never liked maple fretboards. Played them but never bought a bass with one. I have, however, had ebony fretboards on my basses from 1989 until I bought my Euro in 2011. And, both my USA's on order will have ebony, so yeah...
Ebony.
I was never big on maple either. I wound up with maple on my Stingray 5 I bought in 2002 because they were out of the rosewood at Musician's Enemy and I didn't want to wait. I liked it, but I still like the rosewood better on those.
That said, the BEM Spector is offering is too pretty not to try. The ultraviolet just looks so sexy with the BEM. It's like the color was made for it. And that's not to say it doesn't look good with the pau ferro or ebony, because it does. But that BEM just really makes it pop I think.
Also, get the abalone inlays instead of MOP. They really pop on the ebony fretboards.
Big + 1 here. Obviously I don't think you'd want the black MOP on ebony or even pau ferro, but regular MOP, while nice looking, doesn't draw the eye like the abalone does.
My Carvin 6 I had built in 1995 has an ebony fretboard and abalone block inlays. Great combo. If I didn't do an unlined ebony board on my forthcoming fretless, I might have had them do the abalone along with the lining.
Oh man...BEM FB on a black bass, gold hardware, is just plain SEXY! That's what I'd like for my next custom order Coda 5XL
The Matt Freeman Fender P bass I had for a short time last year had that combo and I just LOVED it and it was hard for me to sell it.
I'll have to plead being on painkillers at that time back then lol, and still residual effects (only been 5 weeks clean nowThanks.
Actually I have.
If you remember I said my current Euro4 (early, oil finish, see avatar) actually replaced my NS2 (Kramer) as my #1.
The backside is nothing special. This bass originally was painted, so Spector didn't use any real flamed/figured wood on this.
You can even see the wings are somewhat mismatched (lower side slightly darker).
This is quite common for the ones they know will be painted.
Todd and I spoke again this morning and made a deal.
As soon as the correct, period specific gold Schallers that I got off eBay show up, this bass will be on it's way to Tulsa.
) Wow, that's a lightening fast in/out the door.
Can you say what you traded for? Oh man...BEM FB on a black bass, gold hardware, is just plain SEXY! That's what I'd like for my next custom order Coda 5XL
The Matt Freeman Fender P bass I had for a short time last year had that combo and I just LOVED it and it was hard for me to sell it.
You know, if I hadn't ordered the 5XL as ultraviolet, it would have basically just been a 5-string version of Patrick's Black Pearl. Here's one on the Bass Central site (who knows if they still have it), though it has abalone not black MOP:
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One weird thing I noticed on their site - several of the US BEM basses on there seem to have Schaller straplocks installed, not Dual Design. I wonder why that is. I thought Woodstock changed over to Dual Design before BEM was being produced.
+1 on the string tension, 39 to 49lbs of tension plays the same at 34" as 35" too me. To downtune a 34" B to A is to select a guage that gives you around 40lbs at A# and set the intonation there. You would have to do the same for a 35.
Yeah the only real difference would be the feel of the string. I use a 136 B on the 35", but would use the 142 on a 34". Pretty much the same tension, but a thicker feeling string on the 34". That could bug some players potentially. But that's such a small difference in gauge I don't see it being much different feeling.
True, I thought that it would affect my playing but the difference is really not noticeable and the correct tension actually makes it easier to play with the fact that you can drop the action to make up for it also, you soon forget that you are playing a larger guage.
I'll have to plead being on painkillers at that time back then lol, and still residual effects (only been 5 weeks clean now
Wow, that's a lightening fast in/out the door.
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I too have had an interest in the Coda Pro. This review tells me a couple things I expected........for me. I would most likely want to change the pickups and do an active passive pre.........just my two cents. I am also very interested in the neck profile. The two USA made Codas I have played had chunky necks, not at all like a modern jazz type profile......maybe I didn't play a skinnier neck option if it exists? I like the active Spector tone, however.....if I was looking for a jazzy type Spector, I think I would want to be able to cop the "jazz tone" That being said.........Lindy Fralin's shop is here in Richmond.......I'm sure I could adapt one to my tonal preference.......LOL. Still interested in trying one out though!
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