SPECTOR® Club - Part 70

[johnsonabq]

This is why I concentrate on my tone so much. My playing will never be anything other than average and solid. No flash whatsoever. But every time I play, the other musician always compliment my tone. And I'm OK with that. Wife, kids, mortgage, etc mean I don't have the time to put into great chops. Props to you guys that do. I dig listening to all the material that gets posted here. But for me it's all about Tone & Groove.

+1, Here Here! Copy That. 10-4. Etc...

Just play the best you can and sound the best you can and it's all good buddy!

BTW... On the sound your best part; we're mostly there already with our Spectors.

 

[MikeBass]

Nice! I've alway wanted to spend some time learning to tap like that, but there is so much more I NEED to learn before I do.. Beautiful piece!

Sounds great....

Thanks guys!
That stuff is carry over from younger days. But I still goof around a bit with it.

This is why I concentrate on my tone so much. My playing will never be anything other than average and solid. No flash whatsoever. But every time I play, the other musician always compliment my tone. And I'm OK with that. Wife, kids, mortgage, etc mean I don't have the time to put into great chops. Props to you guys that do. I dig listening to all the material that gets posted here. But for me it's all about Tone & Groove.

And there is a TON to be said for a solid player who has his tone together. You'll get more gigs than the guy who is burning all over the place.

I'm in the same boat...sorta....full time day gig, 3 night a week house band gig, EX-wife ( ) and a 16 year old daughter, mortgage, car & motorcycle payments...and now a fiancee (well since Christmas anyway).

At least your being honest about it too. Just too busy to put in hours to get to a different (not better or worse) place from where you are at.

I run into guys who give the line of "I could play like that if I wanted, I just choose not to. And only worry about the groove...." (not talking about me, more along the lines of chop heavy players in general)
IME, no they couldn't play like that if they wanted to and they lean on the excuse of "its my choice not to"/"I groove" etc....
To be fair, I have friends who really dont give a rats behind about aspiring to be a Wimbish or whoever. And thats cool. They are just like "I just play bass".

Sorry for the OT rant!!!!

 

[Holdsg]

I don't see it as OT. We are all trying to get better at our craft, one way or another. The way I see it, I don't ever want to resort to blaming my gear for my mediocrity. I now have all the gear I will ever need (not saying want) both for bass and keys, and my gear is no longer limiting me. so if I still suck, it's all on me.

 

[Fat240]

Killer Spector growl Coop! Sounds like it should be a National top 20!

Thanks Mike, hope the rest of the album gets this response. It's been pretty good so far.

Anyway, I also found that it's very responsive to tapping.
I recorded a little thingy last night.

Enjoy! (or not!)
Finger Tapping Thingy

Euro sounds great!!

This is why I concentrate on my tone so much. My playing will never be anything other than average and solid. No flash whatsoever. But every time I play, the other musician always compliment my tone. And I'm OK with that. Wife, kids, mortgage, etc mean I don't have the time to put into great chops. Props to you guys that do. I dig listening to all the material that gets posted here. But for me it's all about Tone & Groove.

Tone and solid playing is def the most important to me also. I think we all learn as we go and reach spots where we are ready to move to another lesson or technique that makes our playing unique to us; continuosly making progress. Music is one of those things that no matter how much you know you will never know everything.

 

[johnsonabq]

Just a thought I'm throwing out. I've heard a lot of guys talking about how they want the OBP-3, BQC, etc... so they have a midrange control.

After having an OBP-3 in my Euro I've found more usable midrange tonal variations by favoring the neck or bridge pickup than by using the midrange control. IMHO

I'm just saying...

 

[puremetal33]

Just a thought I'm throwing out. I've heard a lot of guys talking about how they want the OBP-3, BQC, etc... so they have a midrange control.

After having an OBP-3 in my Euro I've found more usable midrange tonal variations by favoring the neck or bridge pickup than by using the midrange control. IMHO

I'm just saying...

I found Jaymi's YouTube vid with the "smadder" spec Ian Hill Euro, with the BQC preamp in it last night. Sounds amazing but very, very different than what I think of as the "Spector" sound for sure.

 

[johnsonabq]

I found Jaymi's YouTube vid with the "smadder" spec Ian Hill Euro, with the BQC preamp in it last night. Sounds amazing but very, very different than what I think of as the "Spector" sound for sure.

Of course I'm speaking only from my own experience. And I admit when using a blend knob to favor one pup over another, the effect on tone is not the same as the effect of a midrange control.

That said, the effect on the sound of the bass when doing that is centered in the mid frequencies and (to me) is a much more usable effect.

And that's another reason I posted this. There seems to be hardly any attention payed to using the blend knob to achieve "your sound". I have always thought the the main components of your sound are in the bass and how you play it. The amp is there to help bring out that sound.

 

[Fat240]

I found Jaymi's YouTube vid with the "smadder" spec Ian Hill Euro, with the BQC preamp in it last night. Sounds amazing but very, very different than what I think of as the "Spector" sound for sure.

I've had the BQC in my matte Euro. I found that I could play anything on it from Raggae to Metal and it cut thru great. For me the treble can get pretty harsh with that setup and def is more piano like clarity. I prefer it over the TP due to being able to tame the highs and introduce more mid range that I feel the TP lacks. But, when I used the Spector 18v I found that to sound more like the "Spector sound" with more clairty and headroom without getting harsh. There is a terminal for a mid control on the 18v but last I heard Spector had not gotten with HAZ on how they wanted to setup that control. The addition of a variable mid control would make that circuit killer.

 

[johnsonabq]

IOW... The amp is not there to give you your sound. It's there to help you present your sound. IMHO YMMV VWPBL

Except for those of you who send your straight bass signal to the FOH. You have placed your fate in the hands of another and I pray for you.

Of course I'm just having fun here. Or maybe not.

 

[Torn Bassist]

I don't see it as OT. We are all trying to get better at our craft, one way or another. The way I see it, I don't ever want to resort to blaming my gear for my mediocrity. I now have all the gear I will ever need (not saying want) both for bass and keys, and my gear is no longer limiting me. so if I still suck, it's all on me.

I have found the need to start over and try to pick up some learning from Scotts bass lessons, I do pick up things from the songs we select in the cover band but I want to get back to running some scales...I can think of many things that can prevent me from spending time doing this but I feel that it has some importance and I want to make the time for it. I know that I will never be the best musician that I can be but I do have the desire to learn and improve along with getting better equipment.

 

[Torn Bassist]

Of course I'm speaking only from my own experience. And I admit when using a blend knob to favor one pup over another, the effect on tone is not the same as the effect of a midrange control.

That said, the effect on the sound of the bass when doing that is centered in the mid frequencies and (to me) is a much more usable effect.

And that's another reason I posted this. There seems to be hardly any attention payed to using the blend knob to achieve "your sound". I have always thought the the main components of your sound are in the bass and how you play it. The amp is there to help bring out that sound.

I agree, it's kind of like picking up someone else's bass thinking you will sound just like them when your picking or plucking style might be very different. If I want a fat sound I play over the P, if I want a brighter sound I play over the J...and...if I want the bass to help provide a difference in tone I use the blend or the bass/treble knobs. The amp I have is pretty flat on EQ except in the 340 and 2.5K, and I want to patch the Para Driver in as a pre-amp signal first to see what it will bring hoping to also mix a post DI mix to improve my out front sound having to ask the soundman to level my channel and just run volume....lots to think about that's for sure!

 

[Coreymcd22]

Sorry for the long inquiry but I'm including alot of detail to get the most out all the knowledge on this forum. I play a Spector Q4 Pro and I've always loved the way this bass feels/plays. The bass sounds great on it's own but I've had a hard time getting my tone to cut through in live mixes. Even on it's own depending how I have the pickups blended the EMG HZs leave a little something to be desired. If I try to boost the midrange to cut through more they pick up too much percussive noise, they seem too sensitive for me to get any growl without also having alot of unwanted, harsh, high-end noise. When I cut the midrange down the tone sounds good but doesn't have the punchy personality of say, a Fender Precision or Jazz bass, it's almost too clean.

I recently played a friend's Fender Jazz (not sure what year or model) that had an Ash body, stock pickups, and Leo Quan Baddass 2 bridge, it sounded almost perfect to me but I love the way my Spector plays too much to sell it and put the money towards a high end Fender. I recently met a local guy who does custom pickups and receives alot of orders around the area, he seems to be pretty reputable and says that he can make me a jazz or precision style pickup to fit my Spector. The price he quoted me is really cheap so I'm considering it.

So my question is: does it sound like different pickups would give my Spector the sound I'm looking for? I'm a big fan of Juan Alderate's P-bass tone to give a better reference. I just don't know if the pickups alone would help that much or if it could be another factor. The Spector also has an active preamp, so is it always going to be too sensitive even after I swap the EMGs for J or P style pickups? Any info or opinions on how a Spector Q4 with an active preamp and J/P pickups would sound would be appreciated.

 

[spector_boogie]

I thought it was pretty difficult to hear the bass on those tracks over the recordings he was playing to.

Geezer Butler is also using Kilos, as are the bass players from Shinedown and Filter.

Vinnie Hornsby from Sevendust is now too who I just saw the other night. He's using some custom Schecter PJs and he had the best live tone I've heard from him of the dozen or so times I've seen them live.

 

[Holdsg]

Sorry for the long inquiry but I'm including alot of detail to get the most out all the knowledge on this forum. I play a Spector Q4 Pro and I've always loved the way this bass feels/plays. The bass sounds great on it's own but I've had a hard time getting my tone to cut through in live mixes. Even on it's own depending how I have the pickups blended the EMG HZs leave a little something to be desired. If I try to boost the midrange to cut through more they pick up too much percussive noise, they seem too sensitive for me to get any growl without also having alot of unwanted, harsh, high-end noise. When I cut the midrange down the tone sounds good but doesn't have the punchy personality of say, a Fender Precision or Jazz bass, it's almost too clean.

I recently played a friend's Fender Jazz (not sure what year or model) that had an Ash body, stock pickups, and Leo Quan Baddass 2 bridge, it sounded almost perfect to me but I love the way my Spector plays too much to sell it and put the money towards a high end Fender. I recently met a local guy who does custom pickups and receives alot of orders around the area, he seems to be pretty reputable and says that he can make me a jazz or precision style pickup to fit my Spector. The price he quoted me is really cheap so I'm considering it.

So my question is: does it sound like different pickups would give my Spector the sound I'm looking for? I'm a big fan of Juan Alderate's P-bass tone to give a better reference. I just don't know if the pickups alone would help that much or if it could be another factor. The Spector also has an active preamp, so is it always going to be too sensitive even after I swap the EMGs for J or P style pickups? Any info or opinions on how a Spector Q4 with an active preamp and J/P pickups would sound would be appreciated.

For a value priced import bass like a Q4, you will never realize any "value" out of your proposed upgrade. In other words, you'll end up spending more than the bass is worth on the secondary market, and you run the risk that you won't like the upgrade. Better to sell it and put the proceeds towards a higher end model with components you are interested in trying. May sound like unsound advice, but take it from someone who has been on the path you describe many times before and has learned from the "experience".

 

[spector_boogie]

I've never heard a "punchy" Pbass so that's weird to me.
I dislike the EMG-HZ pickups very much. Not sure what pre is in there either so may wanna check.
EMG makes P and J pickups in the DC sized housings that you can test out. Lots of folks here do that and could help you out.
You could always save up for a Coda or one of the Euro JJ basses that go for sale every once in a while here. I've had the latter and it's quite punchy.

 

[MikeBass]

Hey all......quick question, anyone tune their 5 EADGC???
Any clips?

I'm kinda wanting a Euro6 and would be willing to trade my Woodstock SSD NS4 for one.
But curious if anyone runs their 5 tuned high.

Thanks !!!

 

[spector_boogie]

So I had kinda decided to originally keep my Lakland and just order a brand new NS5XL and put Brownie away for safe keeping.
However now I'm kinda thinking of selling that and getting an NS5H2. I had one briefly but sold it to get Brownie so it's been a while. It would definitely have PJs still and same configurations but would also save some $$ and be different than what I already have...
But, there really is some magic in the NT models. What do you guise think?

 

[johnsonabq]

So I had kinda decided to originally keep my Lakland and just order a brand new NS5XL and put Brownie away for safe keeping.
However now I'm kinda thinking of selling that and getting an NS5H2. I had one briefly but sold it to get Brownie so it's been a while. It would definitely have PJs still and same configurations but would also save some $$ and be different than what I already have...
But, there really is some magic in the NT models. What do you guise think?

Get the NS-5. Ask for the P/J pups and the USA 9v in the 34" scale. I'm told you'll hardly miss the extra inch. As close to an NS-2 as you can get in a fiver.

Just food for thought.

 

[delucajohn2000]

So I had kinda decided to originally keep my Lakland and just order a brand new NS5XL and put Brownie away for safe keeping.
However now I'm kinda thinking of selling that and getting an NS5H2. I had one briefly but sold it to get Brownie so it's been a while. It would definitely have PJs still and same configurations but would also save some $$ and be different than what I already have...
But, there really is some magic in the NT models. What do you guise think?

I had a USA bolt-on for a while (NS-JH5) and it really was a great bass. The problem I had though, it just didn't have that neck-thru feel or tone so I ended up selling it.

 

[spector_boogie]

Yeah, I'll probably end up wishing I got the NT NS5 in the long run so anyway. Glad I vented and didn't double guess myself lol.