SPECTOR® Owners Club

[jack7265]

I'll have a batch of these coming soon, if you are interested:

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I've got one of these in my NS-2o, along with a set of Lindy Fralin Pickups, and I can say that this preamp is well worth the money, if you're looking for the HAZ sound. The mid control makes it more versatile/flexible when it comes to dialing in a tone.

 

[neptoon]

Happy Thanksgiving guys!
View attachment 2822457

What are the specs on that blue 5 on the bottom?

 

[4stringer711]

Oh really? That's very puzzling. The SSD era 18V is pretty much the same circuit design as the 9V. Which pickups were in your NS4?

35DC
There was nothing wrong with anything. As I played more in church instead of Metallica, my needs changed. When I got the Forte 5 Helium, I changed everything up quite a bit. I love everything about it, but the bass boost just seems very touchy. Maybe I just need to lower the pick up height a little.

 

[SNCpre]

35DC
There was nothing wrong with anything. As I played more in church instead of Metallica, my needs changed. When I got the Forte 5 Helium, I changed everything up quite a bit. I love everything about it, but the bass boost just seems very touchy. Maybe I just need to lower the pick up height a little.

I have never used or analyzed the frequency response of the Aguilar OBP preamps, so I don't have much advice to offer. If you have a semi-parametric eq on your amp, try cutting in the 100-200Hz range to see if that helps.

 

[anton72]

35DC
There was nothing wrong with anything. As I played more in church instead of Metallica, my needs changed. When I got the Forte 5 Helium, I changed everything up quite a bit. I love everything about it, but the bass boost just seems very touchy. Maybe I just need to lower the pick up height a little.

OBP2 has been discussed a lot in this thread before and everyone was complaining about its unusable bass boost control. It gets boomy just with a slight turn of the knob and you can't do anything about it. I also had them in my two Forte basses and swapped them out for DG TC in one case and for no preamp at all in the other case. My last one was Forte-4 with Super Doubles and I really preferred them without the preamp, fully passive. There's a demo of the one I made on my YouTube channel.

 

[4stringer711]

OBP2 has been discussed a lot in this thread before and everyone was complaining about its unusable bass boost control. My last one was Forte-4 with Super Doubles and I really preferred them without the preamp, fully passive. There's a demo of the one I made on my YouTube channel.

Thanks I like the passive mode too. I'm just trying to get the most variability out of the instrument.

 

[rochettem]

Trying to date my NS2A by serial number on electronics cover (NS6162). That makes it made in Korea 1986-1990. Is there a way to narrow down the date by the serial number?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[kev451]

Happy Thanksgiving guys!
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That purple....

 

[Bigbri]

Happy Thanksgiving! fellow Spector family members. And i figured why not take a family picture. My 3 Euros and my Thunderbird, and a Fender Duff McKagen model bass. The white Euro has all Aquilar Pups and Pre amp OBP3 the Cherry Red has the Aquilar OPB3 preamp and stock pups. The Amberburst One is just all stock. But I love them all just the same.

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What is the little switch by the controls?

 

[Bigbri]

Happy Thanksgiving guys!
View attachment 2822457

Why have just one when you can have 5? Two more and you'll have one for every day of the week.

 

[iceboxbass]

Trying to date my NS2A by serial number on electronics cover (NS6162). That makes it made in Korea 1986-1990. Is there a way to narrow down the date by the serial number?

Thanks,
Mark

You'd be best to contact the expert on this and that would be Pj Rubal VP of [email protected]

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

I had a HAZ in my solid maple NS4 with EMG-DC. It was too bright and hard to dial much in that needed. I had the treble cut fully and switched to nickel strings to smooth it out.
What I have now is very versatile, but hard to keep everything in balance. I just need a little less boominess on the bottom.

I have three NS4s with an 18 volt Haz set up. They are all constructed differently. And set up differently. They all have their tonal quirks, but seem to be very wide ranged with tons of control. None have sweet spots I need to be aware of, just real differences that can be a real plus, when playing.

* 2002 NS4 (Curly Maple) fretted round wound Optima Gold Unique strings. Regular DC 35 EMG pups. Killer sound, quite punchy, and maybe the louder of the pack.

* 2010 NS4 Special Edition (only two were ever made) - Fretted Wenge Neck, Redwood Cap on Black walnut, Regular DC 35 EMG pups, with Roto Nexus roundwound strings, killer sound, a little more low end presence, but still real punchy. Not quite as loud as the 2002. Remember a lot of this can be the walnut with redwood cap, or even the special Wenge neck, which is in a class of its own. BTW, Wenge fretboard too.

* 2017 NS4 (Curly Maple), Frettless, La-Bella Purple Haze tape wound strings, New EMG x series Pups, it is far more mellow, but still a super wide range freq. response. No boominess. But certainly not as loud as the other two. But she is a great player and can go from almost an upright sound, to a fretted sound (albeit more of a flat wound because of the strings). Her arched frettless frett-board is incredible. 1st of all I was surprised at the sound of the EMG X series pups. More than I could have ever wanted with the older EMG DC 35s. But maybe the newer HAZ may also be a contributor. Never thought of that.

All I can say is, they are all super versatile. But the 2017 baby is incredible in her control and range of adjustment with any amp I have put her through. I have not noticed any sweet spots that I need to hit, only complete control of my needs.

BTW my treble setting on all of these bases usually set real close to the mid point indent. Sometimes on certain songs I roll up only a slight increase. Bass setting is usually close to the same, slightly above the mid point indent. Every once in a while it may get rolled to almost 3/4 setting up. But I have real good equipment for my amps. And take pride in that. Usually using a Genzler MG 800 head with a dual 12" Schroeder cabinet, and a single 12" Schroeder Cabinet.

 

[GHOST AT]

Brooklyn Beauty #743 on the Bay asking $4200, no affiliation with seller. Only GAS free right now because I'm broke and impending shoulder surgery!

 

[Torn Bassist]

What are the specs on that blue 5 on the bottom?

This is a Forte5 in a special color for the 2015 Spector Hang. I have the Pau Ferro neck that has the shaved front to back, it is loaded with the 9V Haz and active EMG J pickups, I also had it built to the 34" scale versus 35". Hope this answers your question?

 

[Torn Bassist]

That purple....

The Ultraviolet NS2 is the first one I collected versus the NS2A I once had....

 

[Torn Bassist]

Why have just one when you can have 5? Two more and you'll have one for every day of the week.

I did have 7 basses but sold the NS2A so now I've got 6 if the Fender is included...lol

 

[iceboxbass]

Did ya guys see this at BSO? Wish I had the cash for one of the five Forte 5's.

Bass Strings Online teamed up with Spector to produce a limited edition run of Bright Green Forte Basses! No more than ten total will be produced and will only be available in 4 or 5-string models.

These Limited Edition Helium Forte basses will feature a bright green matte finish over a flame maple figured top! Each bass will be hand signed and numbered by Stuart Spector!

 

[Wolf Tower 5]

I love my Forte Helium wit Super Doubles and OBP-2. But the bass boost seems very touchy. Everything sounds great, but for a given combo setting on blend/ treble/ tone there seems to be one tiny sweet spot for the bass. Any more boost and it quickly gets muddy, especially on B and E strings. If any other knobs get bumped or changed then I need to find the new bass sweet spot.

Do you think it's related to the bass control frequency, or some other part of setup? Can the bass frequency be shifted? Or would a 3-band setup give more flexibility with low mid controls? Overall I love the full sound I get, but i would like to find just a touch more clarity on the low end.

The OBP-3 is a fantastic pre. I like the preset 400/800 frequency points. As opposed to the EMG 3-band, which is setup as a mid sweep, which really gets your tone lost if you move that dial. Personally, I liked the push/pull for the mids. The DGTC is also a great option as well. I thought I wouldn't like not having a dedicated low/bass boost cut, but I don't miss it at all with my Forte4SS.

 

[4stringer711]

The DGTC is also a great option as well. I thought I wouldn't like not having a dedicated low/bass boost cut, but I don't miss it at all with my Forte4SS.

Another vote for DGTC...
I always liked how the tone capsule seemed to add just enough color. The Darkglass pedal is a little much for me.
Since the John East system is modular I wonder if it is possible to combine their volume module which has volume/ blend on one control with pull passive and passive tone on another, and pair those with the DGTC as the EQ.
That would give vol, blend/ pull passive, passive tone/ high mid, low mid/ and bass in a 4 knob setup.
Sounds a little like Frankenstein.

 

[yeldarb69 (Brad)]

I am in the market for an ns2a (preferably red ). If anybody has one they might want to let go (no matter the color ) please hit me up...... thank you.