SPECTOR® Owners Club

[dedpool1052]

After 20+ years, I'm finally getting my first Spector.

Found a used Bantam at GC.

Been wanting both a Spector, and a short scale.

Two birds, ya'know.

Look forward to getting it dialed in and playin.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I am trying to find the right spot. I started slightly above the hip, but I found out that I feel more confortable a bit lower because being right handed, the left shoulder tension hurts as the nut stays above my eyes, so it makes me lose the natural shoulder relaxed position. I found out that with the neck diagonal to the body, the nut should not be higher than the nose level, so the shoulder is always in its natural position.

I wear my NS4CRFM slightly above my hip. For me, it's my most comfortable 4-string to play standing up.

But I recently found that my Euro 6LT feels more comfortable on a strap when I wear it just a smidge higher than where I wear my NS4CRFM.

Set lower, it wasn't uncomfortable to play, but it feels better to me now that I shortened my strap ever so slightly.

 

[Relayer71]

Same here. I play my basses pretty high on the strap.

I started on guitar and played mostly rhythm and found that chords were easier to play in the seated position with the guitar being high up against me.

Got weird looks from a few people I played with early on, but then I saw that Peter Buck, the (underrated) guitarist from 10,000 Maniacs played that way standing up, and so I did the same and wore it even higher!

And since then, I could never be in the Cool Bassist/Guitarist That Bangs Their Guitars Against Their Knees While Playing Club!

My Spectors feel better played this way (though strapped a little lower than I would a guitar).

 

[rashrader]

I play with bass in the same position standing as it is when sitting. I guess that makes it medium high? I used to play with my bass super high up, but it started to aggravate my right wrist. I had to lower it some.

 

[Vinny Tomassetti]

The first big name using Spector's was Gene Simmons, & I believe he first used his custom SB-1 on the Love Gun album.

I recall reading an [This invalid link has been removed] with Stuart Spector from 7 years ago (great read, btw) where he listed some of the earliest bassists to play a Spector, including Prakash John, Doug Wimbish, etc. I'm curious if anyone knows on which recording (album and/or song) a Spector was first used?

 

[Relayer71]

The first big name using Spector's was Gene Simmons, & I believe he first used his custom SB-1 on the Love Gun album.

Comic Steve Martin used a Spector guitar on his 1978 platinum selling single "King Tut"; it's even on the cover.

 

[Vinny Tomassetti]

Comic Steve Martin used a Spector guitar on his 1978 platinum selling single "King Tut"; it's even on the cover.

View attachment 4939234

Yup! I knew that too. That may be my favorite too! Hahaha

 

[MasterBrianD]

Just got this in today, Spector Euro Doug Wimbish, but the Master Volume pot seems to be VERY stiff compared to the other pots, is that normal?

I'm afraid to touch it because the last time I had a loose pot on my Spector Euro LT4 I tried to tighten the nut on the pot ever so slightly and introduced a scratchy noise to the pot, my local guitar tech even suggested I send it back for repair through warranty as he didn't have a spare compatible part for it and was concerned it was an issue with the circuitry or pre-amp (and this a guitar tech with 20+ years experience), so now I have to ship my LT all the way back to Germany...

Anyway I ordered this Doug Wimbish model a few days before all that trouble above arose through an online retailer with a 30 day money back guarantee on a whim knowing I could send it back if it doesn't live up to expectations.

Now I'm afraid to touch it (tighten or loosen any pot nuts) incase something goes wrong like last time.

The basic QC seems to be pretty bad these days for the Euro line in my opinion, especially letting this out of the factory with such a dramatically tighter pot than the others, any quick check over the bass and this would stand out immediately...

One pot is extremely stiff, the other two have medium resistance and another one is looser than all of them....

Am I just extremely unlucky or what?

This is really annoying me becuase I love Spectors but this is taking the piss now, shouldn't all the pots have an equal "resistance" when being turned or am I wrong?

Both of the above basses were bought brand new for roughly €3000 each. I expect better at this price.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

 

[johndb]

Same here. I play my basses pretty high on the strap.

I started on guitar and played mostly rhythm and found that chords were easier to play in the seated position with the guitar being high up against me.

Got weird looks from a few people I played with early on, but then I saw that Peter Buck, the (underrated) guitarist from 10,000 Maniacs played that way standing up, and so I did the same and wore it even higher!

And since then, I could never be in the Cool Bassist/Guitarist That Bangs Their Guitars Against Their Knees While Playing Club!

My Spectors feel better played this way (though strapped a little lower than I would a guitar).

I believe you mean Rob Buck. Peter was the guitarist in R.E.M.

 

[micahwc]

Thoughts on the NS Pulse 4? My Warmoth build has been giving me issues and instead of throwing more money at it I ordered a purple NS Pulse. Pics when it arrives.

 

[_Some Dude]

I am trying to find the right spot. I started slightly above the hip, but I found out that I feel more confortable a bit lower because being right handed, the left shoulder tension hurts as the nut stays above my eyes, so it makes me lose the natural shoulder relaxed position. I found out that with the neck diagonal to the body, the nut should not be higher than the nose level, so the shoulder is always in its natural position.

I wear mine a couple inches lower than where a Fender would typically sit.

Something about the curved body just makes it feel good being slightly lower.

 

[Relayer71]

I believe you mean Rob Buck. Peter was the guitarist in R.E.M.

Doh! I always got those names confused. Yep, Robert Buck.

 

[Matt-J2]

I received today my 2008's Spector Euro LX with 35' which has probably a 130-45 string gauge from the previous owner (need to ask him) and he had it on B Standard. I need to downtune to G# standard with the hope to learn some Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse stuff, but when I did it the buzz is evident even with the action a bit high, but I guess that is somehow normal in a 35' scale versus Suffo Boyer's panned neck of 37'.

I can live with it but I guess that for my Spector Euro 35' I would need a 135-50 to avoid that fret buzz tuning on G# (which is not that bad to be honest, I will try to find out if I can live with it).

Alex Webster has said before that for G# on his Euro5 LX he uses 130-50 strings, 125-45 for A#, using DR High Beams.

As for positioning the bass it always personal pref, but I keep mine a little lower and central/between the legs(see below), with the neck a bit more upright. To be honest it's because I saw Alex, Olivier Pinard and a few others do it, but once I tried it it felt pretty good. I don't play much standing, so sometimes I shift the bass a bit but I've never quite managed to figure out resting it on my right leg/hip like so many people do. Feels very awkward, regardless of what bass it is.

 

[Kitsapbass]

Comic Steve Martin used a Spector guitar on his 1978 platinum selling single "King Tut"; it's even on the cover.

View attachment 4939234

Shoot….I think I have that one still lol…

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

View attachment 4939263

Just got this in today, Spector Euro Doug Wimbish, but the Master Volume pot seems to be VERY stiff compared to the other pots, is that normal?

I'm afraid to touch it because the last time I had a loose pot on my Spector Euro LT4 I tried to tighten the nut on the pot ever so slightly and introduced a scratchy noise to the pot, my local guitar tech even suggested I send it back for repair through warranty as he didn't have a spare compatible part for it and was concerned it was an issue with the circuitry or pre-amp (and this a guitar tech with 20+ years experience), so now I have to ship my LT all the way back to Germany...

Anyway I ordered this Doug Wimbish model a few days before all that trouble above arose through an online retailer with a 30 day money back guarantee on a whim knowing I could send it back if it doesn't live up to expectations.

Now I'm afraid to touch it (tighten or loosen any pot nuts) incase something goes wrong like last time.

The basic QC seems to be pretty bad these days for the Euro line in my opinion, especially letting this out of the factory with such a dramatically tighter pot than the others, any quick check over the bass and this would stand out immediately...

One pot is extremely stiff, the other two have medium resistance and another one is looser than all of them....

Am I just extremely unlucky or what?

This is really annoying me becuase I love Spectors but this is taking the piss now, shouldn't all the pots have an equal "resistance" when being turned or am I wrong?

Both of the above basses were bought brand new for roughly €3000 each. I expect better at this price.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

The bass boost/cut pot and the highs boost/cut pot on my Euro 6LT feel quite a bit stiffer than the volume pot and the pickup blend pot. All of the pots work fine, so I'm not worried about it.

 

[Katoosie]

The bass boost/cut pot and the highs boost/cut pot on my Euro 6LT feel quite a bit stiffer than the volume pot and the pickup blend pot. All of the pots work fine, so I'm not worried about it.

Theyre different. Slightly.
At least on my euro. It's hard to tell but like... The bushings? They're slightly different sizes. And the mid/Bass ones stick out a bit more. They're close, but not the same.

 

[frankie5string]

View attachment 4939263
One pot is extremely stiff, the other two have medium resistance and another one is looser than all of them....

Check that the knob isn't mashed down tight against the washer holding the pot in place.
Even on my BTC-equipped Spector I had to raise one of the pots slightly so it wasn't creating friction against the bolt holding the pot in place. Try loosening the lock screw and lifting it a millimetre or two.

 

[PhatBasstard]

View attachment 4939263

Just got this in today, Spector Euro Doug Wimbish, but the Master Volume pot seems to be VERY stiff compared to the other pots, is that normal?

I'm afraid to touch it because the last time I had a loose pot on my Spector Euro LT4 I tried to tighten the nut on the pot ever so slightly and introduced a scratchy noise to the pot, my local guitar tech even suggested I send it back for repair through warranty as he didn't have a spare compatible part for it and was concerned it was an issue with the circuitry or pre-amp (and this a guitar tech with 20+ years experience), so now I have to ship my LT all the way back to Germany...

Anyway I ordered this Doug Wimbish model a few days before all that trouble above arose through an online retailer with a 30 day money back guarantee on a whim knowing I could send it back if it doesn't live up to expectations.

Now I'm afraid to touch it (tighten or loosen any pot nuts) incase something goes wrong like last time.

The basic QC seems to be pretty bad these days for the Euro line in my opinion, especially letting this out of the factory with such a dramatically tighter pot than the others, any quick check over the bass and this would stand out immediately...

One pot is extremely stiff, the other two have medium resistance and another one is looser than all of them....

Am I just extremely unlucky or what?

This is really annoying me becuase I love Spectors but this is taking the piss now, shouldn't all the pots have an equal "resistance" when being turned or am I wrong?

Both of the above basses were bought brand new for roughly €3000 each. I expect better at this price.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

FWIW, If its an EMG knob, they'll probably send you a replacement for free.

Check that the knob isn't mashed down tight against the washer holding the pot in place.
Even on my BTC-equipped Spector I had to raise one of the pots slightly so it wasn't creating friction against the bolt holding the pot in place. Try loosening the lock screw and lifting it a millimetre or two.

Or this ^^^.

 

[iceboxbass]

Greetings! Well after a long hiatus from this awesome club I'm back. The other day I read a post by our good friend Omer on FB and someone made a comment about how they love and still to this day own and play a Spector Legend. It made me think of my very first Spector that gave me the Spector G.A.S. In 2007, a Spector Legend 4 Classic, Black Cherry. A few days later I received in my email an ad from ZZounds and on that add was a Spector Legend 5 Standard, Black Cherry, ash body W/Flame Maple top, 35" scale which is what I was looking for with my new band's music. So I pulled the trigger on it. It's arriving today. I have that "New Bass Day" excitement vibe going on this morning, lol. When I receive it I'll post the customary pics. I'm super stoked! I'm hoping and I'm sure it will, fit the niche that I need it for. I go on national tour with my new band "Rusty Drake & The Watchmen" starting in Detroit, Mi. January 28th, our Debut.

 

[MasterBrianD]

The bass boost/cut pot and the highs boost/cut pot on my Euro 6LT feel quite a bit stiffer than the volume pot and the pickup blend pot. All of the pots work fine, so I'm not worried about it.

Yeah the bass and treble EQ knobs are supposed to be stiffer than the volume pots on the LT with the Darkglass Tone Capsule, according to my guitar tech there is a spring in the EQ pots pushing the shaft up against body which explains why they are both stiffer than the 2x volume pots, in my case each of the volume pots which should be the same resistance are completely off.