Spector Club - Part 11

[Tracebassplayer]

I have to tell you for the longest time I just hated bolt neck Spectors. I just didn't get them given how good the NT's were. But lately I'm coming around and this model is very attractive to me and the contour body is a clincher. Hell, if I'd had a bolt on neck when I snapped my truss rod I'd be in a completely different situation today. Very nice.

How's that coming along anyway?

 

[Tracebassplayer]

It's been a long time in the coming...

Very nice! Looks like mine
Invalid Link Removed

 

[PhatBasstard]

OK. But, you do the math...
The next number available is 238 which has a Square root of 15.42724xxx.

Squared is 64 (already taken).
Next multiple available would be 240 (8x30, available).
8 to the third power is 512 (available, but rather distant).

 

[Tracebassplayer]

Squared is 64 (already taken).
Next multiple available would be 240 (8x30, available).
8 to the third power is 512 (available, but rather distant).

Cool. Then TimWilson is #240
Welcome to the SPECTOR Owners Club!

 

[nervous]

How's that coming along anyway?

A good question and right now I am not sure. If you saw the pics you know that I started the finish stripping process with pretty good results so far. Honestly the pat 4-5 weeks have been a blur with my regular job so the 'Firewood 5' sits patiently waiting for me to continue. I'll continue working on the body and if I can successfully get that to nice, refinish-able bare wood then I'll work up the neck. I want to preserve the face of the headstock though so that will require a bit more hand work to get the layers of finish off. I am mildly optimistic right now that I can turn this back into something both functional and nice looking. This may very well become a fall/winter project when the shorter days move me inside. I'll post updates as they happen.

 

[iceboxbass]

Also agree. I strongly prefer 3-band (or more ) EQs, and that goes for everything with any kind of EQ; basses, amps, car stereos, home stereos, A/V receivers, etc.

+1 On that!!!

 

[iceboxbass]

So, uh... what styles of music are you Spectorholics using your Spectors for, anyway?

As you might recall from a few pages back, I recently picked up a Euro5LX for $600. I do play a wide variety of styles - from jazz to country to hard rock - but most of the videos and demos I see for Spector basses (as well as most of the Spector Artists) are all pretty heavy/aggressive. I've seen some smooth jazz and gospel performed on a Spector, to great effect, but not a lot.

So what are you guys using your Spectors for? IMO, a great bass in the right hands will fit into just about every style of music, but it seems that Spector is marketing to a certain segment of the musical population - and it's not exactly the softer, smoother side.

Mostly CCM(contemporary Christian music) with a heavy aggressive beat i.e. "Third Day", "Todd Agnew","Tenth Ave. North","Delirious". Just a few examples. Once in awhile I'll jam with some guys playing funk or rock.

 

[iceboxbass]

I use mine for a variety of stuff in my rock, soul and blues cover band. I noticed what you also noticed about a lot of the Spector players being metal players but the Euro5LX is really versatile. We can go from: Get Ready to Born Under a Bad Sign to Superstition to Feelin' Alright to I shot the Sheriff and Ain't No Mountain High Enough and the 5LX knocks them all out beautifully.

+1 Rick! Very versatile ! And that's one of the characteristics that I so love from Spector basses!!!

 

[iceboxbass]

After a week of intense internal debate, financial wrangling, and cleaning, setup & testing, I've made up my tortured mind: Natalie stays. Can I git me a number please? I don't know what number is next, but if it's not a number with a square root of eight, can I have the next one that is? (Eight is my lucky number/mystical center/ground control. Don't make me explain it -- it just is)

As a recap/re-introduction: This bass has been languishing in a closet for eight long years (you heard me), given to the new FOH guy at our church by a thankful friend whom he helped through a bad time. He showed it to me and told me what little he knew of it's history: That it was upgraded (with new hardware and electronics) and refinished. The owner told him it was worth a couple g's.

After many detailed photos, Emails to Spector, and queries to you fine gentlemens here at the Spector Club, I have the full story: This is an NS-2A -- one of the very few that features true crown inlays on the board -- not stickers. The pickups were upped to EMGs, the circuit board replaced with an American preamp, all black hardware replaced with gold, a brass nut replacing the original plastic, and the strap pins replaced with Dunlop locks.

In fact, the only part of this bass that retains its Korean lineage is the wood, and it appears that wood was a remnant of the American builds anyway, so for all intents and purposes, this really is an NS-2. And a great one, at that!

As I wrote earlier, I've always been more of a StingRay guy (I mentioned that I wasn't leaving Pam Anderson, but that Natalie Portman keeps flirting with me). Pam's still my best girl -- she's loud, scandalous, and nasty. But Natalie fills a space here, and I'm encouraging the two of them to get to know each other.

Glad to be in the club.

Whew! Very pro photography on that NS-2! Beautiful!!!

 

[iceboxbass]

It'll have to be Monday — I left it at the office (no case).

Congrats Tim on your choice of keeping your gorgeous Spector NS-2! Everywhere I gig I'll have guys come up to me handing me their "Brand X" bass wanting me to play their pride and joy. I'll jam with them for a song or two to give a fair evaluation and make them feel good, then I'll hand them my Spector. They are always amazed with the Spector's low & fast action neck and the awesome tone! I Played a Guild 6 string a couple weeks ago, for my first time. The guy paid $900.00+ and I thought, oh man if he only knew what Spector he could've bought with that $$$!!!! I paid less for my like new Ian Hill! SPECTORS RULES!!!!!

 

[TimWilson]

OK. But, you do the math...
The next number available is 238 which has a Square root of 15.42724xxx.

I'm sure that two more members will pop up soon... When 240 is the next number up, I'll step up to the (insert proper industrial/trade term for that red wheel-shaped number dispenser thing here) and pluck my (insert proper industrial/trade term for the little tabs of paper that have numbers on them that come from that red wheel-shaped number dispenser thing here) #240.

I'll measure the bridge as soon as I get to work Monday. I left my Spector there because I haven't gotten a case for it yet, and I can't bear to risk traveling with it unprotected.

 

[iceboxbass]

I left my Spector there because I haven't gotten a case for it yet, and I can't bear to risk traveling with it unprotected.

Can't blame you there! I wouldn't move any of my Spectors without a hardcase. ONCE I used a gig bag and I was soooo paranoid of damaging my bass. :eeks:

 

[TimWilson]

Whew! Very pro photography on that NS-2! Beautiful!!!

Thanks. The photographers' studio is just below our (graphic designers) offices in our building, so I took advantage of a hole in their schedule to use their equipment for a few shots.

Congrats Tim on your choice of keeping your gorgeous Spector NS-2! ...always amazed with the Spector's low & fast action neck and the awesome tone!

Thanks. I must say, although the sound is still growing on me, what finally sold me for good was the sheer comfort, balance, weight, and simple playability of her. In a way like no other bass I've ever had (and I've had more than I could recount), she just melts into you and becomes part of you. It's a very different feel than what I've always played: I kinda enjoyed the heavy weight and presence of the StingRays and Jazzes — it's kinda like, you strap that anchor on and your body & mind switch into 'bass mode"... Like that weight says to you, "Okay, NOW, it 's time to play."

I didn't expect to be comfortable playing WITHOUT the heavy weight of my regular gals, but I'm finding it very liberating and expressive. Pamela doesn't even seem to mind a new girl. She a freak, that one...

I've done my first recording with her already: My guys are recording a new project, and yesterday's session was "She Said" (We're doing the slower, more soulful Government Mule version of the Beatles classic). As soon as it's ready to share, I'll offer it up (so far, there's only drums & bass)

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

 

[connected2aj]

As per the requests, here's the new bridge in my '87 NS-2. It is the first version with the offset height adjustment screws. It made life so much easier adjusting the intonation, plus for some reason when I went to lock down the original bridge it would always shift sharp. Anybody else ever have that happen? As far as dremeling the body, I was fine with my guy just grinding down the one end of the bridge where the strings enter. There's only one spot where some of the gold is missing. All good because this bass's finish has seen better days. It's good and reliced from years of playing. Also in '87 there was a problem with the blue finish they used, that's why Doug Wimbish's five string looks brown. Mine is starting to fade on the neck.

 

[iceboxbass]

I've done my first recording with her already: My guys are recording a new project, and yesterday's session was "She Said" (We're doing the slower, more soulful Government Mule version of the Beatles classic). As soon as it's ready to share, I'll offer it up (so far, there's only drums & bass)

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

Awesome...looking forward to hearing your bands music recording!
My band is waiting on a recording studio session. My drummer/guitarist wrote 16 original songs back as far as the 80's and has been waiting for the right band to play & record these. I'm excited! These songs are not only great fun to play but they have awesome beats and lyrics! We've recently played a couple of them at a music fest with standing ovations response.

 

[iceboxbass]

As per the requests, here's the new bridge in my '87 NS-2. It is the first version with the offset height adjustment screws. It made life so much easier adjusting the intonation, plus for some reason when I went to lock down the original bridge it would always shift sharp. Anybody else ever have that happen? As far as dremeling the body, I was fine with my guy just grinding down the one end of the bridge where the strings enter. There's only one spot where some of the gold is missing. All good because this bass's finish has seen better days. It's good and reliced from years of playing. Also in '87 there was a problem with the blue finish they used, that's why Doug Wimbish's five string looks brown. Mine is starting to fade on the neck.

Nicely done! Looks great!

 

[PhatBasstard]

As per the requests, here's the new bridge in my '87 NS-2.........It made life so much easier adjusting the intonation, plus for some reason when I went to lock down the original bridge it would always shift sharp. Anybody else ever have that happen?

Yes. Especially on the set screw side of the bridge on the single screw Euro and Legend bridges. It is all apart of the design flaw/balancing act of dealing with the orignal Spector bridge unfortunately.

If your saddles are about dead center where the set screw(s) is, the screw hits them dead center and you should be fine. But if your saddles are farther front or forward or not perfectly side to side level, then the tightening of the set screw tends to push the saddle(s) in the direction they are leaning. This is another big reason the intonation screws are so important to take this bridge out of the stone age of design. Making a super high mass bridge was a great idea at the time. Leaving off possibly the most important element of making a bridge easily workable and stable was not.

PS. That's the first USA bridge I've seen without a set screw on both sides.

 

[JPSBassist]

It made life so much easier adjusting the intonation, plus for some reason when I went to lock down the original bridge it would always shift sharp. Anybody else ever have that happen?

My NS-4 has the same bridge you've got here, the offset screws. My new NS-2, due to ship Monday, arrive Wednesday, will have the newer one with the height adjustment screws both at the front.

And the NS-2 I've purchased from Bass Central has the old, non-intonation screw bridge, which I'll replace, but I want to play with it first to have the experience of adjusting a USA bridge without the intonation screws. I may take the older bridge and look at routing my NS-2A's body out to install it. Don't know yet if I will.

I will check and see if when locking the old bridge down I get the shift issue you mentioned. That'll be a fun experiment.

 

[Christian Waiau]

Patrick, did you have to have a different nut installed in that Euro 4LX-TW-35 to accommodate the BEAD tuning? Also, are you using 5 string bass strings and just not using the G string?

I have been listening to a bunch of Rex Brown's playing lately and he seems to tune his bass to C# for a good amount of the Down material as well as some of the Pantera stuff also. I have been playing it on my Euro 5LX is the standard BEADG tuning but I am curious of everyone's experiences with drop tuning. I have seen threads on this board about how drop tuning is bad and I don't want this to get to that but since Rex does it with his Spector's I was just curious.

In the Diary of a Mad Band DVD by Down, Rex uses all NS-4's(i think) and I am wondering if it is a 35" scale or the standard 34" scale. He supposedly uses Dean Markley strings .45-.105 and I would think those would be a bit "floppy" tuning that low.

I got to talk to Rex at namm about his basses and he lit up when he started talking about his euros and was stoked when I told him about mines.

I currently have my euro 4lx 35" down to a Low A with a .130 and no issues at all. In the past I've gotten a liking to drop C with a .105 on a 35" which is what my Rex5 pro is.

Drop tuning tends to get a bit "loose" in the low end... And I've found if you use string gauges that are too large I feel even though the tension is there... It can sound boomy. ...this is from my experience so YMMV depending on the kind of tone you want. On my euro which is a p-Jazz I roll my p-pup back... Jazz open and boost the bass(tone pump pre) and I can still get that "Spector growl" that seems to get lost when I down tune.

 

[iceboxbass]

My NS-4 has the same bridge you've got here, the offset screws. My new NS-2, due to ship Monday, arrive Wednesday, will have the newer one with the height adjustment screws both at the front.

And the NS-2 I've purchased from Bass Central has the old, non-intonation screw bridge, which I'll replace, but I want to play with it first to have the experience of adjusting a USA bridge without the intonation screws. I may take the older bridge and look at routing my NS-2A's body out to install it. Don't know yet if I will.

I will check and see if when locking the old bridge down I get the shift issue you mentioned. That'll be a fun experiment.

That's very exciting news JPS of your new bass arriving this coming week! Looking fwd to seeing your professional pics and hearing report of playing!

On my euro which is a p-Jazz I roll my p-pup back... Jazz open and boost the bass(tone pump pre) and I can still get that "Spector growl" that seems to get lost when I down tune.

I tend to favor the P pup more so than the J. But lately with my Ian Hill I've been experimenting with the J pup same as you and love the tone difference. It's not quite as deep and thundering as the P but like you said, it has a nice growl. Depending on the tone that I'm looking for the song that I'm playing at the time.