SPECTOR® Club - Part 73

[worshiprocker]

We gotta start 'em young! He does love music. I think all kids do, instinctively. I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times, but I'm curious. At what age did you guys start playing bass? Not piano or guitar. Bass. I started at 16 on a P-bass clone made in Japan by an American company named Hondo.

Full time dedicated bass about 3 years ago.... I had an Ibanez soundgear 5 string in the late 90s that I dabbled on and filled in on gigs maybe twice a year

Both have HAZ preamps.

didn't there use to be a video on youtube of you playing that 4 string?

Ha ha. Actually the Rick was a result of my Chris Squire influence. I bought that Rick the year before Rush put out their first album.

Geez I'm feeling young lol

 

[johnsonabq]

Geez I'm feeling young lol

That's quite enough Donny!

 

[LagBox]

I wonder how you can get fretless "mwah" sound from a fretted bass...Unless you mean something different by "mwah". I have fretless NS-2 and it does that. Lowest action as possible, roll balance knob about 30% to neck pup and play closer to neck.

I'm sure my 'mwah' is coming from someplace other than actual fretless mwah. I get it when I play hard with the balance biased towards the bridge pickup.

 

[bobunit]

hah... the key to a good rock pic is just to open your mouth lol

Like this?

 

[worshiprocker]

Like this?

nailed it

 

[anton72]

I'm sure my 'mwah' is coming from someplace other than actual fretless mwah. I get it when I play hard with the balance biased towards the bridge pickup.

I understand you, it's actually not mhah, but "flanging" effect typical for P picup, more common for P-basses with single P pup.

 

[iceboxbass]

I'm still using the D'Addario XL Chromes ECB81 flat wounds on the fretless, they have a warm mellow tone but the hex core gives these strings the tension and ping.

I tried D'Addario Chromes back a few years ago and they just weren't connecting with me.

We gotta start 'em young! He does love music. I think all kids do, instinctively. I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times, but I'm curious. At what age did you guys start playing bass? Not piano or guitar. Bass. I started at 16 on a P-bass clone made in Japan by an American company named Hondo.

I started playing bass at the age of 49, which is 6 years ago. Which I've been playing Spectors for 5 years next month! My first bass was a Fender Squire IV Jazz bass, MIM. After playing at home for 1 month I started playing in my first band, our Sunday morning church Praise Band, which I still play in. It was their prompting and encouragement that started me playing with them so quickly. Always liked the deeper tone from the bass, probably stemming from playing the Baritone since 5th grade band and into my adult life with Symphonies. I really didn't have any bass heroes at the time. It wasn't until I started playing bass that I started listening and reading about different bassist that I liked James Jamerson and Doug Whimbish the best. Which everyone who has seen "My Spector Story" knows DW was my Spector influence. Which reminds me...we have a lot of new members who should do a short video story on how/why they came to play Spectors. We have gotten away from this for a couple years. It's really a lot of fun to do! What say ya guys/gals! It gets posted on the Spector site along with the big name Spector artists.

Hello all! Quick question. I have a beloved legend fiver that is stock. I'm going to be doing mods to it to tweak its wonderful sound to the next level. First mod will be switching to 18v for a little extra headroom. This looks to be a very simple mod, just run another harness in series with the existing one. Any issues I should know about before I do this tomorrow? I come from a fender background and have tweaked those many times, but this is the first Spector, I'm just wanting any tips from the knowing here. Thanks in advance.

I always recommend to replace the stock graphite string nut with a brass nut. Makes a big difference!

I got my first bass when I was 11, in '81. Started playing shows when I turned 12. Got it because there were bands forming in my school, but not a single bass player. Immediately hooked- such a shortage of bass players in my area I ended up playing in bars with cover bands when I was 16, with 30 year olds.
Then I got into originals only bands when I graduated high school, and hit the road. Been touring ever since.
On a different note, I just realized i've been playing the Spector I recently acquired with the factory setup that it came with, and it plays perfectly… that's a first for me!

How long have you been playing your Spector?

 

[superdick2112]

hah... the key to a good rock pic is just to open your mouth lol

That, or make the "I'm constipated" face....

 

[JGbassman]

I always recommend to replace the stock graphite string nut with a brass nut. Makes a big difference!

Yes that's on the list as well. Over the years I've done that mod to a few basses with enjoyable results. I'm getting ready to do the 18v mod in a few hours just eas wondering if this is as straight ahead as it seems.

 

[MDBass]

We gotta start 'em young! He does love music. I think all kids do, instinctively. I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times, but I'm curious. At what age did you guys start playing bass? Not piano or guitar. Bass. I started at 16 on a P-bass clone made in Japan by an American company named Hondo.

18 for me...I picked up a MIM Jazz at the end of senior year and spent most of my first year of college learning tunes by ear in my dorm room before dropping out

 

[MDBass]

hah... the key to a good rock pic is just to open your mouth lol

How's this Donny?

 

[puremetal33]

Just wanted to mention (know I'm preaching to the choir here) that Todd from Guitar House is the bomb. Been talking with him about getting a Euro 4LX with a maple board and he's been great to deal with. As much as I want a US NS-2, with having to relocate right now, the price point on the Euro is just nicer for my wallet. I can always look for a US 9V preamp in the future (I know, needle in a haystack).

 

[puremetal33]

How's this Donny?

Is that the stock bridge on your Coda? Looks almost like a Babicz bridge from that angle in the pic.

 

[johnsonabq]

How's this Donny?

Perfect Matt!

 

[MDBass]

Is that the stock bridge on your Coda? Looks almost like a Babicz bridge from that angle in the pic.

Good eye brother! Definitely a Babicz

 

[D.A.R.K.]

How long have you been playing your Spector?

This most recent bass (Ian hill signature) was shipped to me just this month. Superb setup, just happens to be how I like it..
last 4 string Spector I had, I bought in '87. It was a less expensive version by Kramer, still a nt and was excellent. I actually forgot I had a brief experience a few years ago with a used euro 5, but didn't like it… i'm more into the 4 strings for ergonomic reasons (although i'm an erb player).
Really want a fretless now...

 

[johnsonabq]

Good eye brother! Definitely a Babicz

Does that still allow the strings to go thru the body?

 

[puremetal33]

Good eye brother! Definitely a Babicz

I have one on my G Lee Jazz, dig it a lot. It's maybe not as sound changing as the advertising claims but in my experience, it beats the BadAss II. Seems like setup would be a pain in the ass but I pay someone else to do that for me.

 

[Relayer71]

I started playing guitar in 1988, must have been 16. Did really well but then I was always pretty musical, so within a few months I got a Tascam 4 track, a drum machine, a mic and a keyboard and started recording my first songs.

A couple of years later, played in a bunch of bands and continued recording my own stuff as well - it was around 1992 that I picked up a P bass. Used it for 2 years, strictly for recording (adding some bottom to the songs I'd written on guitar), though I "messed around" with it a bit and learned a couple of Rush tunes for fun (the easier ones, mind you, heh) but ended up selling it.

Long story shorter, I sort of "quit" music at some point about 10 years ago. Started getting the itch to play again in 2009 but just could NOT get into guitar or keyboard. Having always been a huge fan of bass players (Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, Andy Metcalfe (Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians), Stanley Clarke, Tony Levin and Ray Shulman), I remembered how much fun I had with the instrument many years before. So I joined TB, got myself a bass and though I admittedly don't play as often as I should due to time constraints, I've fallen more in love with the instrument than in all those years with guitar.

As for Spector, I really became a fan of Ibanez Soundgears but I saw a Spector in the classifieds here and it was love at first sight. GASsed for one for a year until I finally got one locally through craigslist - a Zebop. And now I have perpetual GAS for anything Spector!!! Eventually I'll spring for a Euro or a U.S. B.O. As gorgeous as the U.S. NTs are, they're just too damn pricy for me considering that at this stage it's just a hobby (still on a writing hiatus, but thinking of maybe joining a cover band for kicks). So yeah, I guess technically, I've been playing bass 4 years though I had one 20 years ago for a bit.

 

[MDBass]

Does that still allow the strings to go thru the body?

The Coda's don't actually have string through bodies, so no