Spector Club - Part 11

[Versatek6]

Your sounds cool. Thanks for your reply. Flats...? I'm a roundwound guy
Also...blend knob?

Flats on this one, Black Beauties on my EP52 and 55-02, and I'm trying to settle on a string for the EP4 (Markley's Randy Jackson's right now).

Blend knob = brain fart. This one had a bad volume pot on the piezo. The EP52 had a bad blend pot. Learning to solder and run a VOM when I was a kid has been such a blessing!

 

[delucajohn2000]

I don't claim to have great slap tone, but here is a rough mix of a track from my bands (The Icarus Effect) album that will be out soon.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Oh an if you ever get tired of that NS2A Spector I'd be happy to buy it

Great track!

I am a terrible slap bass player but when I slap on all the the Spector's I have tried, I sound much better for some reason

 

[Trailight]

**COUGH COUGH**
Gents, I first of all would like to thank all of you for giving me some SERIOUS gas!!!!! Bloody hell, all I've been seeing, dreaming and fantasizing about is a bloody Spector NS-2!!!! Thanks to JPS here for that final blow

I have been enjoying my Forte-4 SO very much! It's amazing how this bass makes me feel. Something about the craftsmanship and the sound frequency that resonates at the right place in us all I guess...
Even my wife held it for the first time a while back and all she said was "Wow! what good energy!" And she isn't much into musical instruments.
Playing drums since I was 13 until I was 23 and picking up the bass recently (I am 34 now...), I can truly confess that the level of excitement and happiness I got from playing drums all those years is not even close to what I feel while playing the bass now! It's just transcending.

All that being said....I am about to put some money down on a spankin' sexy Spector NS-2 Spalted Maple!!!!!!!!
My bank account thanks you all. This place is Eeeevil!

Kidding, you're all great. A true Spector community.

I am nervous as $#*!...that's a big chunk of moooolah!

 

[stflbn]

Has there ever been a Tone Pump circuit with no output volume trim pot on it? I'd noticed that my Rebop's output was crazy loud compared to my Big Al 5's, so I thought I'd dial back the trim pot, only to find that the circuit box in the cavity does not have a trim pot as shown on the Spector website.

 

[PhatBasstard]

Has there ever been a Tone Pump circuit with no output volume trim pot on it? I'd noticed that my Rebop's output was crazy loud compared to my Big Al 5's, so I thought I'd dial back the trim pot, only to find that the circuit box in the cavity does not have a trim pot as shown on the Spector website.

There were two earlier Tone Pumps.
One had an internal voltage doubler to 18v and was very short lived by PJ Rubals account.
Then the strict 9 volt version.
Neither had trim pots. The trim pot version is a relatively recent addition.

 

[delucajohn2000]

Has there ever been a Tone Pump circuit with no output volume trim pot on it? I'd noticed that my Rebop's output was crazy loud compared to my Big Al 5's, so I thought I'd dial back the trim pot, only to find that the circuit box in the cavity does not have a trim pot as shown on the Spector website.

I believe the older Tone Pumps didn't have the adjustable trim pots. I am not sure when they switched between the two versions though so it sounds like you have to earlier model.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Has there ever been a Tone Pump circuit with no output volume trim pot on it? I'd noticed that my Rebop's output was crazy loud compared to my Big Al 5's, so I thought I'd dial back the trim pot, only to find that the circuit box in the cavity does not have a trim pot as shown on the Spector website.

The TonePump in my Euro5LX doesn't have a trim, either. It's WAY hotter than even my G&L L2500s. I've found myself dialing back the pickup volumes to about 50% or less to keep the circuit from over driving.

 

[jarrod cunningham]

Having had about 10 older euros , with the emg preamp , I can say I am/was no fan of the change to the aggie then to the tone pump . My first Aggie pre distorted to all crap . I didn't like having to pull back on my knobs to dial down the sound ... Those were super hot . I think I just have a flavor for the emg and the haz lab preamps . Still love the basses , but if I get a newer one I will prolly change out the pre . Just my preference .

 

[PhatBasstard]

Having had about 10 older euros , with the emg preamp , I can say I am/was no fan of the change to the aggie then to the tone pump . My first Aggie pre distorted to all crap . I didn't like having to pull back on my knobs to dial down the sound ... Those were super hot . I think I just have a flavor for the emg and the haz lab preamps . Still love the basses , but if I get a newer one I will prolly change out the pre . Just my preference .

The Tone Pump in my 6 is starting to sound good to my ears.
My 4 with the Aggie seems to have a distortion issue when boosting the low end to match the low end of the Tone Pumped 6 if I hit the strings hard (on the 4). I've been trying to nail the problem and you now have me thinking it's the Aggie.

 

[jarrod cunningham]

The tone pump isn't bad , I can use them . The aggie , didn't care for in the spectors , had a obp1 in a jazz and freaking loved it !!! May just be the overal combo of wood , pickups , and pre all together . And just to add a little to my strange ear , I could use a cheapo cable and it would cut down a little . But my spectraflex and planet waves cables distorted with the aggie .

Also just to mention I didn't care at all for the tone pump jr that was in a rebop I owned ...

I love the emg rev pre in the legend classics , and the emg in the Rex 5s I have ...


Another thing is the rebop zebra that was on there with the nordy pups is on guitar center used items now ...

 

[lowfreqgeek]

So if I were to replace the TonePump in my Euro5LX with something from EMG, should I go with a BTS (treble and bass only) or BQC (3-band)?

The TonePump is cool - definitely has "the Spector sound", but I'm concluding that I'd be happier with something else. Specifically, I want something that gives me more control in the studio.

 

[LimaGuy]

Has there ever been a Tone Pump circuit with no output volume trim pot on it? I'd noticed that my Rebop's output was crazy loud compared to my Big Al 5's, so I thought I'd dial back the trim pot, only to find that the circuit box in the cavity does not have a trim pot as shown on the Spector website.

My 2004 ReBop dosent have the Tonepump trim and I have to dial back the volume.

My Euro 4LX with the Tonepump output trim at 50-60% is perfect.

My Euro 4 with the OBP-1 does get a bit distorted when I boost the bass too much.

 

[JPSBassist]

Has there ever been a Tone Pump circuit with no output volume trim pot on it? I'd noticed that my Rebop's output was crazy loud compared to my Big Al 5's, so I thought I'd dial back the trim pot, only to find that the circuit box in the cavity does not have a trim pot as shown on the Spector website.

Sorry! My video doesn't really address this clearly. The trim pot was added in 1998. So if your bass is a pre-1998 model, the original TonePumps didn't have that feature... which is why the feature was invented to begin with.

 

[JPSBassist]

So if I were to replace the TonePump in my Euro5LX with something from EMG, should I go with a BTS (treble and bass only) or BQC (3-band)?

The TonePump is cool - definitely has "the Spector sound", but I'm concluding that I'd be happier with something else. Specifically, I want something that gives me more control in the studio.

BQC definitely. It's what goes into the Alex Webster bass. And You'll want to boost it to 18v output. Although you can do 9v if you want.

 

[stflbn]

Sorry! My video doesn't really address this clearly. The trim pot was added in 1998. So if your bass is a pre-1998 model, the original TonePumps didn't have that feature... which is why the feature was invented to begin with.

Confusion... per PJ at Spector this afternoon regarding my Spector Rebop and it's Tone Pump with no Trim Pot.

"TonePump output trim pot was added in 2008...so TonePumps made
Jan 2003 through some time in 2008 do NOT have this feature."

I was told mine was early 2000 (I'll assume 2003'ish) and has no trim pot.

 

[LimaGuy]

Is there any type of Output resistor that can added to the wiring that will act like the newer trim pots?

 

[bobunit]

Is there any type of Output resistor that can added to the wiring that will act like the newer trim pots?

Interesting idea.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Sorry! My video doesn't really address this clearly. The trim pot was added in 1998. So if your bass is a pre-1998 model, the original TonePumps didn't have that feature... which is why the feature was invented to begin with.

My bass does not have the trim pot, but it does have the 3-piece maple/walnut/alder body and the NB6xxx serial number on the back of the headstock. When did those become the standard on the Czech-made models? Based on what I recall reading on the Spector website, the Euro5LX w/3pc body and "NB" serial on the back of the headstock was in the mid-2000s.

BQC definitely. It's what goes into the Alex Webster bass. And You'll want to boost it to 18v output. Although you can do 9v if you want.

The BQC is whats Is been thinkin'. Or a custom jobber that I'd have to design and build. Many times more $$ and several months out at the rate I work, though. I'm an engineer, but I'd rather be playing than designing stuff. I'd definitely go 18V, too. I just put a BTC into one of my G&Ls and the 18V made a big difference in the clarity and transparency of the tone. The volume won't be louder, of course, but the opamps much prefer the increased headroom to operate in their linear region.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Is there any type of Output resistor that can added to the wiring that will act like the newer trim pots?

Interesting idea.

Basically, all you need is a resistor between the pickup and the volume pot. It can be sized such that at full rotation on the pot, you cut the voltage in half (so a 25k pot gets a 25k series resistor for 1/2). A 10k resistor would give you an attenuation of ~30%.

Being that the EMG pickups have a low impedance output and the TonePump presumably has a high impedance input, there shouldn't be any issues doing that as long as you don't make the resistor too big. I may try it on my Euro. I've thought about doing it before...

 

[bassgiant15]

BQC definitely. It's what goes into the Alex Webster bass. And You'll want to boost it to 18v output. Although you can do 9v if you want.

Hey Patrick,
Do you know what Rex Brown uses in his basses? I know at one point i saw him using the 18v USA circuit, but i am mainly just curious if he uses the Tonepump or USA preamps.