SPECTOR® Club - Part 76

[anton72]

Reading all these issues reports of Monster cables I just stopped using them from now on. Although I has not damaged my NS-2 jacks with them (yet) I've just reminded that I had an issue with one of my Euros' jack so now I know why.

 

[Joeykun]

On that note - do most of you guys use a straight plug or right angle at the instrument end?

I have been using Planet Waves Pro cables for years. Right angle to bass-straight to amp. Never had any issues with these.

I had a Monster cable once.......once!

 

[iceboxbass]

Speaking of spilling the beans...

Ice, I gotta ask, but maybe I missed it. What got your panties so tight that you were considering selling big blue? If it's too personal just ignore the question.

"Fretless Fever" After having a taste of a lower priced fretless, I am wanting to buy a higher end fretless now.

Looks like some neck damage there.

View attachment 396906

Appears to be a price tag along side the neck there.

I almost tempted to just buy it and return it if there's anything wrong.

Price seems pretty low, but that being said I haven't seen many for sale used.

The Forte 4's here in our club usually sell for $1800-1900. I sold mine for $1850 and it was only a few months old. Have you looked on the classifieds here? With NAMM basses revealed there's a lot of selling going on.

Not sure...all I see is the GC price tag there.

Totally possible I'm missing something though...

Pretty sure that's what it is too.

 

[iceboxbass]

Hope so. I doubt they'd put that price on something with that kind of damage. I can be a skeptic sometimes.

Yeah Jeff with this blown up picture you can see the plastic loop going around the D&G string fastening on a tag.

 

[johnsonabq]

Yeah Jeff with this blown up picture you can see the plastic loop going around the D&G string fastening on a tag.

Yeah... Should'a paid better attention.

Just not a big GC fan.

 

[worshiprocker]

Nope, only Spectraflex for me.

Monster cables are garbage in my experience, I had more than a few dead right out of the package when I first started playing, and the one that actually did last for awhile eventually broke my basses input jack; Monster uses metric measurements, so their jacks are literally wider than 1/4" and will stretch and eventually break any input jack.

It's not a cable or signal chain issue, or a dead battery, or something that's come unsoldered. The bass is just not producing any signal for some unknown reason.

I would check the connection on the pickup side

Or Planet Waves? I've had similar problems with them on my Warwicks and ibanezes.

Granted that is usually fixed by just reseating the cable, but the symptoms are similar besides that.

Edit: Just saw your spectra flex comment. Guess that's a no!

I only use Planet Waves cables.... no issues in years

 

[awilkie84]

Well sonuvabitch...

Just took the bass apart again, and lo and behold though the battery was not entirely loose inside the compartment as it had been when it arrived, it had in fact come slightly unseated from the pre...looks like I was just rocking too hard

Time find some foam and pack that sucker in there...and on that note, I'm all the more excited for the SS to arrive; it's always nice to be able to simply switch to passive when something goes awry with the battery

I used a velcro cable tie & super-glued it into the battery spot. Now I just strap that around my battery.

 

[iceboxbass]

Well, just had my first unpleasant onstage experience with a Spector last night...

Played the House of Blues again last night with a heavier alternative rock band, and the new HAZ equipped Forte flat out died at the start of the third song; no signal whatsoever.

My only thought was perhaps the fresh battery had come unseated (it was jostled free during it's ride across the country to me), but after taking the control panel off, while the band played through the third number without me, discovered that all was as it should be.

Put it back together, plugged back in, and magically it had signal again

Played through the rest of the set with no other incidents until the final few bars of the last number when it died again; plugged it again when I got home after the gig and again this morning, still dead, no signal at all.

Anyone have an idea what the f*** is going on?

The bass sounded amazing when it was working, which makes all of this even more frustrating

Wow, man that really stinks. :scowl:

You're not running a Monster cable, are you? I learned the hard way that Monster cables & Spector jacks are not good bedfellows....

I didn't know that. Glad I never use them.

Or Planet Waves? I've had similar problems with them on my Warwicks and ibanezes.

Granted that is usually fixed by just reseating the cable, but the symptoms are similar besides that.

Edit: Just saw your spectra flex comment. Guess that's a no!

I have used PlanetWave instrument cables for 2 years now without problems, on Spectors and Ibanez. The only problem I did have was a circuit breaker switch on the right angle end started shorting out. I contacted Jason at BSO and it was replaced quickly. First PlanetWave cable he's ever replaced Jason said.

Well sonuvabitch...

Just took the bass apart again, and lo and behold though the battery was not entirely loose inside the compartment as it had been when it arrived, it had in fact come slightly unseated from the pre...looks like I was just rocking too hard

Time find some foam and pack that sucker in there...and on that note, I'm all the more excited for the SS to arrive; it's always nice to be able to simply switch to passive when something goes awry with the battery

Lol That's great news Matt! I know during a gig one tends to be in a big hurry looking for what's wrong and the simplest things can be missed.
The extra 9V battery in my Coda 5 I wrapped in foam, mostly so it doesn't cause any shorting out but also so it doesn't rattle around.

Ordering one with one right angle plug as we speak.

On that note - do most of you guys use a straight plug or right angle at the instrument end? I end up banging straight angle plugs and breaking them often for some reason.

Right angle at the bass jack. It's easier on the jack also. Straight ends tend to put undue tension on the input jack and prematurely wears them out.

+1

I have 2 monster cables that I use for my pedals and bass connection and I'm having some jack issues. Maybe it's time to retire them and pick up a pair of these cords..

I run right angle off my pedal board so always straight end into my bass or amp. I find I have a lot of Unplugging issues when using the right angle into the bass.

Really...I've not had that issue with right angle ends.

 

[awilkie84]

+1

I have 2 monster cables that I use for my pedals and bass connection and I'm having some jack issues. Maybe it's time to retire them and pick up a pair of these cords..

I run right angle off my pedal board so always straight end into my bass or amp. I find I have a lot of Unplugging issues when using the right angle into the bass.

If it's a recessed jack with a large 90* head, that could be pushing itself out.

Personally, I have not had this issue.

 

[iceboxbass]

Yeah... Should'a paid better attention.

Just not a big GC fan.

Yeah that's okay

Thankfully I've had nothing but excellent GC experiences. Now Musicians Enemy is another story...:scowl:

 

[e.rich]

Well sonuvabitch...

Just took the bass apart again, and lo and behold though the battery was not entirely loose inside the compartment as it had been when it arrived, it had in fact come slightly unseated from the pre...looks like I was just rocking too hard

Time find some foam and pack that sucker in there...and on that note, I'm all the more excited for the SS to arrive; it's always nice to be able to simply switch to passive when something goes awry with the battery

Matt, you obviously need to rock less. Haha.

I'm glad that you got it sorted out. But if these issues continues, let me know, and I will file a claim with Fedex for any repairs. :scowl:

 

[MDBass]

Wow, man that really stinks. :scowl:

Lol That's great news Matt! I know during a gig one tends to be in a big hurry looking for what's wrong and the simplest things can be missed.
The extra 9V battery in my Coda 5 I wrapped in foam, mostly so it doesn't cause any shorting out but also so it doesn't rattle around.

Yeah, when I took it apart in the semi dark side stage at the show I made sure it was seated properly when I had the cavity open, but it was so slightly ajar that I couldn't physically tell that I'd actually reseated it.

When I took it apart again at home in the studio you could tell it was visually unseated, but only if you looked closely.

The battery is now wrapped in electrical tape for insulation and a snugger fit in the harness, and literally taped to the harness itself on top of that.

It's not going anywhere now

 

[johnsonabq]

Yeah that's okay

Thankfully I've had nothing but excellent GC experiences. Now Musicians Enemy is another story...:scowl:

I don't deal with MF anymore either.

I bought a mic stand that was advertised as coming with an adapter for use with European mic clips. You could see it in the pic. I bought it and it didn't come with the adapter. I complained and they got back to me with yeah, sorry, I guess they don't come with that. You can return it if you want.

I went straight to Sweetwater who carried the adapter alone for $1.98 and bought it there with free shipping. It seems MF doesn't carry it.

I have spent over $10K with them and wrote them back saying that for the price of this adapter they've lost the rest of my business. A$$holes! :scowl:

 

[Clearwave]

Back in 2006, I ordered a some bulk Mogami wire are some neutrik connectors and soldered a bunch of guitar cables. My plan was to use the best cable and connectors I could find. I gave a few away, but I've never had one go bad.

 

[cableguy]

I don't deal with MF anymore either.

I bought a mic stand that was advertised as coming with an adapter for use with European mic clips. You could see it in the pic. I bought it and it didn't come with the adapter. I complained and they got back to me with yeah, sorry, I guess they don't come with that. You can return it if you want.

I went straight to Sweetwater who carried the adapter alone for $1.98 and bought it there with free shipping. It seems MF doesn't carry it.

I have spent over $10K with them and wrote them back saying that for the price of this adapter they've lost the rest of my business. A$$holes! :scowl:

That's some good business right there......

FWIW I bought a used Spector Legend 5 from GC. Turned out to have a MM114 pre (which is now in my NS2A) & active DC's. Not a bad deal for $300...........

 

[e.rich]

As someone who works in the cable TV industry, Monster cables are the bane of my existence. My customers constantly believe what the salesmen tell them about these cables being amazing and paying the ridiculous price tags for them. -_-

I usually fix their problems by taking these over-priced pieces of garbage out of their systems.

And I agree on the sizing. Their component & HDMI cables are the worst for breaking input jacks.

The only cables I use now are Yorkville, or non-plated Planet Waves. I find the planet waves cables work very well for my pedals, as long as they're not the gold plated ones.

Preach on, brother! We have this little joke...friends don't let friends buy Monster (ever). I've never used their instrument cables but their audio cable are loathesome. Ridiculously overpriced and mediocre quality. I'm a fan of monoprice.com for all things audio/video cable. Top notch quality and great prices.

 

[Fat240]

I have been stepping on Hosa cables for years. No issues for PA or instruments. Reasonably priced also.

 

[dukeisdog]

Preach on, brother! We have this little joke...friends don't let friends buy Monster (ever). I've never used their instrument cables but their audio cable are loathesome. Ridiculously overpriced and mediocre quality. I'm a fan of monoprice.com for all things audio/video cable. Top notch quality and great prices.

I only picked up my two monster cables because they were on clearance sale locally. I can now see why they were, but I haven't had a problem with the cables at all, just the jacks of my basses because of the cables. I was hoping a new jack was gonna fix the problem but looks like a new set of cables is the way to go too. Lots of options with all of the suggestions being made, too.

 

[johnsonabq]

Is it me or do the pups on the Forte4 SS look closer together than a NS2-JJ?

What does that mean tonally?

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[Torn Bassist]

Well, just had my first unpleasant onstage experience with a Spector last night...

Played the House of Blues again last night with a heavier alternative rock band, and the new HAZ equipped Forte flat out died at the start of the third song; no signal whatsoever.

My only thought was perhaps the fresh battery had come unseated (it was jostled free during it's ride across the country to me), but after taking the control panel off, while the band played through the third number without me, discovered that all was as it should be.

Put it back together, plugged back in, and magically it had signal again

Played through the rest of the set with no other incidents until the final few bars of the last number when it died again; plugged it again when I got home after the gig and again this morning, still dead, no signal at all.

Anyone have an idea what the f*** is going on?

The bass sounded amazing when it was working, which makes all of this even more frustrating

I would load another battery into it and then search the wires around the plug in....I think the plug in might be the problem as it turns the Haz on and off!