SPECTOR® Owners Club

[dedpool1052]

Then don't ask.

"Snatch the pebble..."

Alright bro......


I won't bother asking someone who'd rather say "go back and reread" than actually answer the question.

 

[VeryTallBassist]

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Yes I do matter of fact. I had this beauty for a few years. Played incredible and sound incredible. It feels much like a Fender body wise. I t doesn't have that Spector ergonomic curved body. This one had the Aguliar OBP2 Pre and pickups. This one sure didn't sound like a Fender though. I used to receive a lot of comments on it's tone. This particular Coda 5 Deluxe weighed 10# or else I'd still own it. Permanent left shoulder injury and so it was too much on that shoulder. Tried all kinds of various should straps.
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Man, that is pretty! I just picked up a Korean Coda 5 Pro earlier this month. The guy had it listed so low I couldn't say no. It was probably 5 years old but still had the plastic on the pickguard and all the covers. I don't think it was ever really played. Fairly lightweight (I got the white finish over an alder body) but the electronics were garbage SSD pickups and a TP Jr. Lots of buzz and it was even picking up a radio station. Being that it was a budget bass, I figured I'd make it a budget project so I got a set of used EMG J5's off of Reverb and then ordered a BTC system with the stacked bass and treble.

The pickups got here yesterday, and the first problem was that this bass uses pickups that are standard J5 width, but the mounting ears are regular J spacing. The neck rout is oversized because it's beneath the pickguard, but the bridge rout needed some work. So - budget projects = budget solutions. I shaved the pickup as much as possible, and then went Dremel happy on the bridge location. Again, nothing I would ever do on an expensive instrument, but the end result is the pickup fits and it's not too noticeable. I used the Dremel to do the same thing on the pickguard, which was fairly easy to get sized correctly. I wired it VVT last night and left the 4th hole open for the BTC. I'll have to swap out the second V for the blend once the BTC gets here on Monday, but it sounds unbelievably good even with the passive tone control.

I gave the neck a good setup, adjusted my intonation and saddle heights, dressed the frets. (Incidentally, the bridge is exactly the same as what I have on my NS2000/5 except it has a set screw on both sides where the 2K5 only has it on one. I learned the hard way that both screws need to be tight lol.) It needed a bit of elbow grease to get it right, but I don't know if that was neglect or if it came from the factory that way. Either way it plays and sounds incredible right now and TBH scratches an itch I didn't even know I had. Looks like a jazz, feels like a Legend (but in a 34" scale), sounds like a Spector.

 

[hamsterrorist]

You're kind-of missing out not blending towards one or the other from time to time - even 20% in one direction will make a difference.
It sounds like you just have to screw down the bass-side of the pickups to balance them, or bring up the treble-sides.

Yeah good points. Yup there's a bit more on tap when i bring one of the pups down in volume (same as my LT), so will test that out.
Aggie pups tho don't offer as much height adjustment as the usual P/J configuration, but again something to fiddle with while the country is being flooded

 

[bste9]

I tried two Euro 4's today.
One was the poplar burl Euro 4 LX.
One was the Doug Wimbish model.
Both equipped with EMG P/J and tonepump. I was plugged into a Genz Benz Streamliner.

I wasn't sure how I would agree with the narrower nut and fatter neck on the Wimbish. I agreed with it surprisingly well, being a historically P-Bass player. The Poplar Burl LX felt more "familiar" but the Wimbish was aesthetically superior in my eyes, and had just a little something different.

Both sounded more-or-less identical. (and great)

I could see myself buying a Wimbish. I wish there were more tonepump/EMG equipped models with rosewood boards... I really don't much care for ebony boards so I'm left with a few of the Euro 4 LX models, the Ian Hill (hard to find with the two pickup config), the Wimbish, or replacing electronics.

All Euro LX's have rosewood boards as well the Eurobolt and Euro classic. The only Euro with an ebony board is the LT. There are more models with rosewood boards than ebony

 

[Relayer71]

All Euro LX's have rosewood boards as well the Eurobolt and Euro classic. The only Euro with an ebony board is the LT. There are more models with rosewood boards than ebony

The Spalted LE Euro I own (think it came out in 2020) was sold as Euro LX LE, but it has an ebony board, in addition to Agi H/C pickups and OBP-2 preamp.

It's really light and tapping on the body, I get the impression it may be weight relieved like the LT. So it's more LT than LX, but ultimately it's own thing.

 

[bste9]

The Spalted LE Euro I own (think it came out in 2020) was sold as Euro LX LE, but it has an ebony board, in addition to Agi H/C pickups and OBP-2 preamp.

It's really light and tapping on the body, I get the impression it may be weight relieved like the LT. So it's more LT than LX, but ultimately it's own thing.

yes because its a limited edition.

 

[Katoosie]

Threw together another cover thing, using the euro. Obviously.

 

[Hymnofthedoomed]

Septic Flesh are one of my old favourites - killer tone!

 

[DaveParker39]

All Euro LX's have rosewood boards as well the Eurobolt and Euro classic. The only Euro with an ebony board is the LT. There are more models with rosewood boards than ebony

Standard production perhaps, but half the Euro's out there from dealers are not straight catalog options.

 

[fibz]

and a P/J set up instead of the old soapbars

There were also 4 strings Rebops with PJ pickups.

Okay everyone, yes, I searched the googles and came up with not one answer so, I pose the question here.

How do you remove the hot glued tonepump preamp?

I always used a very thin knife, like those carpet cutter (don't know if this is right term, I'm from Germany

 

[PhatBasstard]

Alright bro......


I won't bother asking someone who'd rather say "go back and reread" than actually answer the question.

Yes,
The answer was simply before you.
You just wanted someone to do the work for you....bro

 

[Bassil]

So.....just when I thought I was out....they pulled me back in!
Howdy Spector fans!!!!!
4 plus years in Japan was.....different! Waaaaay too much crazy gear in and out of my hands and here I am without a Spector.....but not for long! Gonna get back in the game.....stand by....

 

[Katoosie]

Septic Flesh are one of my old favourites - killer tone!

I loooove Septicflesh. They keep getting better and better with time. I'm into their modern stuff, although some of the old things they made are still good

Communion is the album I like the most, which I guess is easy to tell since I am covering it song-by-song. Will absolutely die of happiness if I am ever able to see them live with an orchestra.

 

[bste9]

Standard production perhaps, but half the Euro's out there from dealers are not straight catalog options.

I think your "half" is a little bit of an stretch. My point is, there are far more rosewood board Euros out there than ebony as the original comment was about. Happy now?

 

[dedpool1052]

Yes,
The answer was simply before you.
You just wanted someone to do the work for you....bro

We're done here.

 

[Relayer71]

There were also 4 strings Rebops with PJ pickups.

I think that was the transition model a few years ago right before they added Agi electronics and roasted neck. Or do you mean earlier?

 

[beatdatthang]

I go this route as well, but I gotta say it definitely impacts tone and feel. There's a slight delay in the reproduction of your note which makes it feel a bit squishy. The lower you go, the harder it is for these devices to track. I don't think it would work on a low B string at all. I started with the Digitech Drop which seems to be the most popular but now that I have an HX Stomp, I've found that it has an effect (along with a bazillion other things) that works just as well. If I were really concerned about my sound I'd probably bring two basses.

For me, it works fine as long as you don't go more than a 1/2 step up or down. You do get a slight chorus effect but no real latency and it's absolutely nothing noticeable in a band mix. Would I use it for recording? Nope. Rehearsal and bar gigs? All the time.

 

[beatdatthang]

Hey all!

I've owned a Legend 5 Classic since 2017 - it's the red one with the SSD pickups and the Tonepump Jr. Though it sounds mean enough as-is, I bought 2 x EMG40DCs and a BQC preamp with the intent to have it all installed at some stage.

Though it's all relative, to anyone with experience in a similar upgrade, did it make a significant tonal difference? It was the first bass I bought and has a bit of sentimental value. I'd love some opinions before plonking down the dough to the local tech.

I'm curious why the local tech has to be involved at all? Aren't the EMG pups and pre you bought plug and play (literally)? Absolutely zero soldering involved, right? If that's the case, removing the old and replacing with the EMG stuff should take you 30 minutes or so, tops. If you have a couple common hand tools (a small Phillips screwdriver for the pickup screws, an Allen key of the right size to get the knobs off and a wrench or pliers to loosen/tighten the pot nuts), do it yourself!

You can just snip the old wires from the pups - just do it right at the pots so you leave plenty of wire in case you want to reinstall the pups later. If you don't have the tools, a short trip to the local hardware store (or even Walmart) will prove much cheaper to buy them. $20 or less for a set of Allen wrenches, a set of jewelers screwdrivers, and a small adjustable wrench.

Why pay $100 for something you can do in half hour? Go onto the EMG website or YouTube if you have questions about how to install. They typically have videos where a person does an install step by step (and it normally takes her no time at all). EMGs are truly designed for you to do it yourself.

 

[Katoosie]

I'm curious why the local tech has to be involved at all? Aren't the EMG pups and pre you bought plug and play (literally)? Absolutely zero soldering involved, right? If that's the case, removing the old and replacing with the EMG stuff should take you 30 minutes or so, tops. If you have a couple common hand tools (a small Phillips screwdriver for the pickup screws, an Allen key of the right size to get the knobs off and a wrench or pliers to loosen/tighten the pot nuts), do it yourself!

You can just snip the old wires from the pups - just do it right at the pots so you leave plenty of wire in case you want to reinstall the pups later. If you don't have the tools, a short trip to the local hardware store (or even Walmart) will prove much cheaper to buy them. $20 or less for a set of Allen wrenches, a set of jewelers screwdrivers, and a small adjustable wrench.

Why pay $100 for something you can do in half hour? Go onto the EMG website or YouTube if you have questions about how to install. They typically have videos where a person does an install step by step (and it normally takes her no time at all). EMGs are truly designed for you to do it yourself.

I agree. The only possible place of soldering required could be at the jack, but even that should not be a problem. Might take some time for a newbie (like it took me 2 days to switch pickups on a very chill level) but it is very doable. AFAIK EMG also offers plug and play jacks, too. That could be an option

We are literally putting guitar techs out of business.

 

[fibz]

I think that was the transition model a few years ago right before they added Agi electronics and roasted neck. Or do you mean earlier?

That could be. Don't know exactly when the PJ Rebops were released.