SPECTOR® Club - Part 67

[awilkie84]

You should see if Spector will do it for you.

Jo Ann in Spector sales just referred me to Hanser, as they deal with all import-based products & services.

Is there a supplier in your area? As long as you get the right part it doesn't matter where it is from.

No. The nearest Spector dealer is in Alberta, and they never got back to me...so I'm not going to use them.

I really think $95 is a but much for a truss rod. StewMac sells generic truss rods for $15-40. Why should a truss for a specific brand be more than double that?

 

[iceboxbass]

I'm liking the DR Lo-riders I have on Iris, interested in how long they will last.....



I just got my first set of D'Addario Chromes .100/.080/.065/.045 flats for the fretless and so far they sound very nice....time will tell if I like the flats but the rounds started marking the neck and I needed to prevent damage.

If those don't work out try GHS Black Tape wounds...100% safe on Fretless FB.

 

[Torn Bassist]

If those don't work out try GHS Black Tape wounds...100% safe on Fretless FB.

Thank's Ice, I seen a package of GHS at the store as well.....hummmm!

 

[bassgiant15]

Looks like one of my all time fav Spector artists Rex just joined Hartke. I've never checked out those amps...

Anyone have experience with them?

 

[delucajohn2000]

Looks like one of my all time fav Spector artists Rex just joined Hartke. I've never checked out those amps...

Anyone have experience with them?

View attachment 361890

I am doing everything in my power to go to that clinic next week that Rex is having in NYC.

I am probably the worst one to respond to this since I am terrible with amps but I did pickup an LH-1000 head with a Hydrive 4x10 cabinet. I couldn't pass up the price for it but it is way overkill to have a head like that just to be used in my office since I am not in a band

I know some criticize the LH heads since they don't have many EQ options but for someone like me who isn't a tweaker, it is perfect. I love the 4x10 cabinet but if I turn the head anything past 1, my dogs are hiding in corners so I am using a TC RH450 which sounds great with the Hydrive cabinet. I think Rex is using the new Kilo head which has a ton more options to shape your sound.

 

[delucajohn2000]

hate to sound like "captain flats", but another reason to like flats, they get better the deader they are.

Sorry, but I am just not a fan of flats. I tried them once.....just once

Even when I had a fretless, I used rounds since I liked the tone on them much better but hey, that is just me and my preference.

 

[bunkaroo]

Sorry, but I am just not a fan of flats. I tried them once.....just once

Even when I had a fretless, I used rounds since I liked the tone on them much better but hey, that is just me and my preference.

I have some Chromes on one of my old Carvin for the heck of it, and I liked them on a P bass I had for a little while. But I don't think I could do them on one of my fretted Spectors.

I'm planning on using rounds on my incoming fretless - Sunbeams to be exact. I had them on my departed Carvin fretless and loved the "mwah" they gave me. We'll see if I see any significant marking in the ebony from the Sunbeams. Might give the DR flat Hi-Beams a shot then.

 

[MikeBass]

Jo Ann in Spector sales just referred me to Hanser, as they deal with all import-based products & services.



No. The nearest Spector dealer is in Alberta, and they never got back to me...so I'm not going to use them.

I really think $95 is a but much for a truss rod. StewMac sells generic truss rods for $15-40. Why should a truss for a specific brand be more than double that?

I'm having my SSD truss rod being fixed right now, so don't know how close the truss rods are, but they are installing a new double action rod (the original was only a single).
Anyway- from AllParts- $20 for the rod.

If yours can be easily removed, as I understand thay all can be, I'll order it and sent it to you.
$95 seems nutty high.

Some of the experts here can chime in and see if the same one will work on your bass.

 

[5string_phunk]

I use Hi-beam rounds (40-120) on my fretless and I've noticed only a little bit of markings over the past 6 months, but I think much of that is from the slapping and poor vibrato technique more than the strings.

I plan on having a local tech epoxy my board next year once my fretted is delivered. He uses the same epoxy recipe and application technique that Jaco used on the Bass of Doom.

 

[bunkaroo]

I use Hi-beam rounds (40-120) on my fretless and I've noticed only a little bit of markings over the past 6 months, but I think much of that is from the slapping and poor vibrato technique more than the strings.

I plan on having a local tech epoxy my board next year once my fretted is delivered. He uses the same epoxy recipe and application technique that Jaco used on the Bass of Doom.

I can't remember - is yours ebony?

 

[5string_phunk]

I can't remember - is yours ebony?

unfortunately no...it's Pau Ferro. I asked for a lined ebony board, but was told they didn't offer a lined ebony.

...then a few weeks after mine was delivered, I saw that pic of Nick Beggs with his newly delivered NS-5H2 with a lined ebony board...guess that's the perks of being a Spector artist!

 

[5string_phunk]

this past weekend I played a pretty sweet fretless with an unlined ebony board and it was much easier to play in tune than I thought...so now I'm thinking of having an unlined J type bass in the collection sooner or later!

 

[awilkie84]

I'm having my SSD truss rod being fixed right now, so don't know how close the truss rods are, but they are installing a new double action rod (the original was only a single).
Anyway- from AllParts- $20 for the rod.

If yours can be easily removed, as I understand thay all can be, I'll order it and sent it to you.
$95 seems nutty high.

Some of the experts here can chime in and see if the same one will work on your bass.

Will an AllParts rod work on my ReBop?? If so, I could order one myself today.
Maybe Patrick can chime in??? ^_^

 

[johnsonabq]

Sorry, but I am just not a fan of flats. I tried them once.....just once

Even when I had a fretless, I used rounds since I liked the tone on them much better but hey, that is just me and my preference.

I haven't used flats since 1980... But then, "I am handicapped, I'm Psychotic!"

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Betrayer_Bass]

I'm starting to think I'm terrible at setups. The neck has quite a bit of a bow in it and the action is craaaazy high around the 12th fret. I have my Warwick setup low as it can go with minimal buzzing, I've tried with my Euro but I just can't seem to get it right.

Tried lowering the bridge block things (don't know the correct term), giving the truss rod a quarter turn, using lower tension strings... I might just take it to the tech here.

Any advice?

 

[johnsonabq]

I'm starting to think I'm terrible at setups. The neck has quite a bit of a bow in it and the action is craaaazy high around the 12th fret. I have my Warwick setup low as it can go with minimal buzzing, I've tried with my Euro but I just can't seem to get it right.

Tried lowering the bridge block things (don't know the correct term), giving the truss rod a quarter turn, using lower tension strings... I might just take it to the tech here.

Any advice?

I alway let a tech set up my bass. I'm OK with bridge adjustments, but not the neck. My guy gives my bass just the right little bit of relief.

 

[awilkie84]

I'm starting to think I'm terrible at setups. The neck has quite a bit of a bow in it and the action is craaaazy high around the 12th fret. I have my Warwick setup low as it can go with minimal buzzing, I've tried with my Euro but I just can't seem to get it right.

Tried lowering the bridge block things (don't know the correct term), giving the truss rod a quarter turn, using lower tension strings... I might just take it to the tech here.

Any advice?

Have you checked your relief? Hold the 1st & last frets down. You should be able to lightly hold a business card under the 6-7th fret.

If it's too high, turn the truss more. 1/4 turn at a time, but you may need more than 1 turn.

The order I do my setups.

1. Restring & give a few hours to settle at tuned tension.
2. Set the action higher than normal.
3. Adjust the truss rod to the desired relief.
4. Set your action to your desired height.
5. Intonate.
6. PLAY THAT MUTHA...

 

[Betrayer_Bass]

Have you checked your relief? Hold the 1st & last frets down. You should be able to lightly hold a business card under the 6-7th fret.

If it's too high, turn the truss more. 1/4 turn at a time, but you may need more than 1 turn.

Just checked, I could probably get about 4 or 5 business cards (not credit cards) under that gap...

 

[maxiegrant]

Just checked, I could probably get about 4 or 5 business cards (not credit cards) under that gap...

The way I like things setup, I can usually sling a copy of War and Peace under my strings without brushing them.

 

[bunkaroo]

I'm starting to think I'm terrible at setups. The neck has quite a bit of a bow in it and the action is craaaazy high around the 12th fret. I have my Warwick setup low as it can go with minimal buzzing, I've tried with my Euro but I just can't seem to get it right.

Tried lowering the bridge block things (don't know the correct term), giving the truss rod a quarter turn, using lower tension strings... I might just take it to the tech here.

Any advice?

I used to have a really hard time myself. The key is to have the proper tools for measuring, and doing things in the correct sequence.

On my Spectors, I check neck relief first by capoing the 2nd fret and holding down the B strings at the last fret. Then I use my .015 feeler gauge (.038mm I believe) to check the gap at the 9th fret. For me if it just barely makes contact with the string, it's where I like it. If I can get the gauge through with no resistance, there's too much front bow, and I then tighten the truss rod just a bit at a time (1/8 turn or so) until I get it where I want. If the gauge pushes the string too much, the neck is a little too flat and I loosen the truss rod. It's good to check this in playing position, not while the bass is flat.

After the relief, I measure the string height of each string at the 12th fret with a 6" ruler. Spector has published string heights for 4-string basses which is what I aim for, and I just give the B string a little more height than the E. I don't know what the metric numbers would be for those. The important thing here is raising the saddle evenly, so I make sure I do it in half turns of each saddle screw, then check. Then finer adjustments once it's close.

Finally the intonation. I simply use the tuner to make sure the open string is tuned, then check the 12th fret. I try to fret it right on the fret and not too hard so I'm not bending the string. If the reading is sharp, the saddle needs to come back some away from the nut. If it's flat, it needs to move towards the nut. Once I have the 12th fret, I usually check the tuning at the 5th, 7th and 10th to make sure the intonation is good there too. The B string can be a little tricky on intonation. I just make sure to not fret it too hard.

Sometimes it helps me to type all this out to reinforce it in my own mind!