Spector Club - Part 15

[sifi76]

He told me WW was going to give his clinics more support and more so in Europe. His main points for bass is teaching not with a bass.

With him doing a clinic at BPL so soon.. I'm sure for what he wants to do with his talent.. This is his better route. He's a good friend and has always helped me with tips in playing styles I'm not familiar with.

I know this Spector vs WW thing can get a "personal" feeling.. But a lot of artist change instruments all the time... I personally love my Spector and equally the people that work there... But look at Doug W.? Even he left to ibanez for a stint.. Rex started using ESP for a tour.. Both came back to Spector..

Yeah I remember the doug ibanez model, looked a lot like the srx's before they had that model.. pity the pickups were really weak sounding, and yeah Rex's change to ESP was wierd esp as other than his old stingray from cowboys era I have only seen him play spector's.. I'm thinking it's because Down suited a different more blues-rock sound and he was trying to go for something like that, ya know more of that corrosion sound.. without playing a jazz bass lol

 

[Christian Waiau]

Yeah I remember the doug ibanez model, looked a lot like the srx's before they had that model.. pity the pickups were really weak sounding, and yeah Rex's change to ESP was wierd esp as other than his old stingray from cowboys era I have only seen him play spector's.. I'm thinking it's because Down suited a different more blues-rock sound and he was trying to go for something like that, ya know more of that corrosion sound.. without playing a jazz bass lol

I saw him with down when he had some ESP basses.. He used Spectors still(his euros) and used 8 string ESP and an ESP... Can't recall the model number.. But it looked like a Les Paul. So many bass changes in that ..two hours. Haha

 

[sifi76]

I saw him with down when he had some ESP basses.. He used Spectors still(his euros) and used 8 string ESP and an ESP... Can't recall the model number.. But it looked like a Les Paul. So many bass changes in that ..two hours. Haha

Yeah I know he played a Japanese ESP Phoenix tbird copy at download.. but I reckon enough playing with those would turn ya back round to spector.. I got chrisloe's euro (still at customs grr) and had the opportunity a few days back to play a usa 5 mfb a muso had bought in new york and mannnnnn what a difference from that streamer.. everything was just so flawless, from the finish, to the feel on the neck, the frets, and that tone.. seriously felt annoyed that spector doesn't get enough press over here, or that wick swamps the market with streamers, thumbs and vettes.. I mean I played a top of the line custom wick made for a friend of mine and it still didn't match up to that spector.. so now I just have to wait to get my hands on the wimbish.

 

[sifi76]

I saw him with down when he had some ESP basses.. He used Spectors still(his euros) and used 8 string ESP and an ESP... Can't recall the model number.. But it looked like a Les Paul. So many bass changes in that ..two hours. Haha

And if memory serves the original bassist Todd Strange played an Ibanez ATK and a Fender P at points.. prob why ol Rex has to swap around so many basses cause if ya listen the Nola album sounds completely different in bass tone to Down II etc.

 

[delucajohn2000]

This video shows a bunch of the different basses Rex was using with Down:

FPE-TV Bassist Rex Brown of Down Pantera - YouTube

When he played Download 2009, he had a telecaster shaped ESP but that now seems to be the Spector RX-T model since the ESP was supposedly a prototype from what I read. It seems like Down sticks with the old Pantera syndrome and use a bunch of different tunings but a majority of the music since Rex joined is in C# though I know a few of the songs from NOLA are in DCGF tuning.

I just realized Rex's new band Kill Devil Hill is playing in NJ tomorrow night. I would love to go see them but I doubt that will happen. If you look at their web site, it seems like Rex is playing a white Spector in all of the different pictures but I can never tell if it is a Euro or a USA model. I was hooping to see pictures of him with the RX-T but he seems to be playing that white Spector in all of the pictures.

Sorry but Rex is one of my favorite bass players so I guess I come off a bit like a fan boy With a tone like this, can you blame me? He's even playing his Rex model and switches to finger style for a bit during the solo.

Pantera Live @ Ozzfest- "Cowboys from Hell" - YouTube

 

[JPSBassist]

After reading through the rest kinda realised It might have looked like I had been a bit hard on andy, which wasn't the intention just wondered why he would switch to the streamer.. I guess they are pretty much the same, but I think it's cause I like to believe people retain loyalty to a brand or company when it comes to instruments.. but after reading how spector doesn't endorse monetarily or through free product and andy being a hard working bass player along with everything else he does, I guess I can understand why you would change to another company esp if they were willing to help you along more.

I actually talked with Andy today. He's really more an employee of Warwick now... heading up their clinic/education push. Again, what Andy has always said he wanted to do.

SPECTOR has always had a more direct focus regarding what they do as a company. Too many companies, and I'm not just talking those that make guitars... but in just about every industry... have adopted the "sales through alternative brand placement" strategy in the marketplace.

Instead of just putting their product out there to speak for itself, they do all this razzle-dazzle feel-good, we are great people helping you... yada yada...

And in some cases it works to build the most important thing in the world of branding... a theory called "Top of Mind Awareness". This is the Holy Grail of brand marketing. When a brand has TOMA, it means when the majority of people think of a product, they associate it with that brand.

Name a tennis shoe... 80% of people will answer Nike. And they've spent hundreds of millions of dollars over decades to buy that position in your mind.

For companies that can't spend the money to dominate their market's brand awareness space, they resort to things like "free clinics" to build their brand... celebrity endorsements... etc...

Now think about guitar or bass or drum or whatever... pick an instrument... think of these clinics as a live infomercial.

They're there to teach you a few things and sometimes push product. But really they exist to reinforce their brand in your mind as the TOMA brand.

See Andy teach... like Andy and like what he teaches... what bass does Andy play? Yeah. That's what it's all about; creating an association between a brand and a favorable experience.

Not a bad idea, but Stuart is an old-school guy... he was a poor kid from the Bronx who started making guitars because he couldn't afford to buy the guitar he really wanted. He's a straight talking, no bull sort of guy.

So his attitude is very straight forward... build excellent guitars, treat people right, ask a reasonable price, and they'll pretty much sell themselves.

Andy really wanted to do his clinic outreach program with SPECTOR, but that's not how Stuart and PJ do things. They'd rather spend the money that would be used to hold clinics and buy better wood to make better guitars.

I wish Andy the best, he knows it... I have no problem saying it. I hope he's wildly successful and don't care that Warwick is paying the bills. He's a good guy and he loves music and loves helping people.

And who knows? Perhaps he'll help improve the dipping sales numbers for Warwick here in the States.

As a marketing consultant for SPECTOR I've looked into a lot of different avenues to help increase their brand awareness only to find that the best things a manufacturer can do to support their brand... they already do them.

They build amazing guitars at a reasonable price and they treat people really well. And at the heart of it are a group of people (Stuart, PJ, Jimmy, Jo Ann and the rest of the crew) that really care about what they do and how they do it.

In the great race of success what matters IS how you get there. That determines everything. Eventually what you put out there will come back to you... which is why I'm not worried at all about SPECTOR.

 

[JPSBassist]

If you look at their web site, it seems like Rex is playing a white Spector in all of the different pictures but I can never tell if it is a Euro or a USA model.

Rex's white NS is a Euro4LX. He actually prefers the sound of the TonePump these days.

The RX-T is the only USA SPECTOR that comes with the TonePump as the stock circuit.

Rex has had a lot of medical issues and so the lighter Euro models suit him plus he really digs the tone they put out.

 

[DBH_Bass]

I jammed today with a new band for the 1st time. I LOVE the sound of the Spector Performer I have now that I've properly used it. Previously I've had to play at lower volumes at peoples houses and stuff since I've bought it.

Today I played it with a full stack opposite of me and a loud drummer. My amp wasn't even maxed and the Spector had GOBS of clarity with both tone knobs dimed and both volumes barely up at all. No other bass I've played has had that happen. Usually there's a huge drop off in volume once I've gone more than halfway down on a volume knob but not with this one.

Sorry but I'm ranting. I've just never been in love with the sound of a bass as much as I'm in with my intermediate level Spector.

 

[sifi76]

This video shows a bunch of the different basses Rex was using with Down:

FPE-TV Bassist Rex Brown of Down Pantera - YouTube

When he played Download 2009, he had a telecaster shaped ESP but that now seems to be the Spector RX-T model since the ESP was supposedly a prototype from what I read. It seems like Down sticks with the old Pantera syndrome and use a bunch of different tunings but a majority of the music since Rex joined is in C# though I know a few of the songs from NOLA are in DCGF tuning.

I just realized Rex's new band Kill Devil Hill is playing in NJ tomorrow night. I would love to go see them but I doubt that will happen. If you look at their web site, it seems like Rex is playing a white Spector in all of the different pictures but I can never tell if it is a Euro or a USA model. I was hooping to see pictures of him with the RX-T but he seems to be playing that white Spector in all of the pictures.

Sorry but Rex is one of my favorite bass players so I guess I come off a bit like a fan boy With a tone like this, can you blame me? He's even playing his Rex model and switches to finger style for a bit during the solo.

Pantera Live @ Ozzfest- "Cowboys from Hell" - YouTube

yeah I gotta admit I'm a bit of a rex fan too.. always loved the bluesy feel of the basslines no matter how hard the metal got.. Pat bruders is an 'ok' replacement, mainly cause I liked his sabbth-esque lines with goatwhore but not a patch on the groove and dare I say it 'funk' that rex injects into down. I'm gonna check kill devil hill out as a result.

 

[sifi76]

I actually talked with Andy today. He's really more an employee of Warwick now... heading up their clinic/education push. Again, what Andy has always said he wanted to do.

SPECTOR has always had a more direct focus regarding what they do as a company. Too many companies, and I'm not just talking those that make guitars... but in just about every industry... have adopted the "sales through alternative brand placement" strategy in the marketplace.

Instead of just putting their product out there to speak for itself, they do all this razzle-dazzle feel-good, we are great people helping you... yada yada...

And in some cases it works to build the most important thing in the world of branding... a theory called "Top of Mind Awareness". This is the Holy Grail of brand marketing. When a brand has TOMA, it means when the majority of people think of a product, they associate it with that brand.

Name a tennis shoe... 80% of people will answer Nike. And they've spent hundreds of millions of dollars over decades to buy that position in your mind.

For companies that can't spend the money to dominate their market's brand awareness space, they resort to things like "free clinics" to build their brand... celebrity endorsements... etc...

Now think about guitar or bass or drum or whatever... pick an instrument... think of these clinics as a live infomercial.

They're there to teach you a few things and sometimes push product. But really they exist to reinforce their brand in your mind as the TOMA brand.

See Andy teach... like Andy and like what he teaches... what bass does Andy play? Yeah. That's what it's all about; creating an association between a brand and a favorable experience.

Not a bad idea, but Stuart is an old-school guy... he was a poor kid from the Bronx who started making guitars because he couldn't afford to buy the guitar he really wanted. He's a straight talking, no bull sort of guy.

So his attitude is very straight forward... build excellent guitars, treat people right, ask a reasonable price, and they'll pretty much sell themselves.

Andy really wanted to do his clinic outreach program with SPECTOR, but that's not how Stuart and PJ do things. They'd rather spend the money that would be used to hold clinics and buy better wood to make better guitars.

I wish Andy the best, he knows it... I have no problem saying it. I hope he's wildly successful and don't care that Warwick is paying the bills. He's a good guy and he loves music and loves helping people.

And who knows? Perhaps he'll help improve the dipping sales numbers for Warwick here in the States.

As a marketing consultant for SPECTOR I've looked into a lot of different avenues to help increase their brand awareness only to find that the best things a manufacturer can do to support their brand... they already do them.

They build amazing guitars at a reasonable price and they treat people really well. And at the heart of it are a group of people (Stuart, PJ, Jimmy, Jo Ann and the rest of the crew) that really care about what they do and how they do it.

In the great race of success what matters IS how you get there. That determines everything. Eventually what you put out there will come back to you... which is why I'm not worried at all about SPECTOR.

Hell, when ya put it like that, I'm just thankful Andy isn't endorsing fender lol

 

[iceboxbass]

This video shows a bunch of the different basses Rex was using with Down:

FPE-TV Bassist Rex Brown of Down Pantera - YouTube

When he played Download 2009, he had a telecaster shaped ESP but that now seems to be the Spector RX-T model since the ESP was supposedly a prototype from what I read. It seems like Down sticks with the old Pantera syndrome and use a bunch of different tunings but a majority of the music since Rex joined is in C# though I know a few of the songs from NOLA are in DCGF tuning.

I just realized Rex's new band Kill Devil Hill is playing in NJ tomorrow night. I would love to go see them but I doubt that will happen. If you look at their web site, it seems like Rex is playing a white Spector in all of the different pictures but I can never tell if it is a Euro or a USA model. I was hooping to see pictures of him with the RX-T but he seems to be playing that white Spector in all of the pictures.

Sorry but Rex is one of my favorite bass players so I guess I come off a bit like a fan boy With a tone like this, can you blame me? He's even playing his Rex model and switches to finger style for a bit during the solo.

Pantera Live @ Ozzfest- "Cowboys from Hell" - YouTube

I especially like at 2:19 when he's playing high on neck. Not my genre' but he knows how to make that SPECTOR growl! A great bassist!

 

[iceboxbass]

I jammed today with a new band for the 1st time. I LOVE the sound of the Spector Performer I have now that I've properly used it. Previously I've had to play at lower volumes at peoples houses and stuff since I've bought it.

Today I played it with a full stack opposite of me and a loud drummer. My amp wasn't even maxed and the Spector had GOBS of clarity with both tone knobs dimed and both volumes barely up at all. No other bass I've played has had that happen. Usually there's a huge drop off in volume once I've gone more than halfway down on a volume knob but not with this one.

Sorry but I'm ranting. I've just never been in love with the sound of a bass as much as I'm in with my intermediate level Spector.

That's awesome stuff! First report I've heard here on the Performer being played in a live band from a club member.

 

[JeffplaysBass]

Spector ns2a question....Ok, one of my basses is the spector ns2a (80s) that has spector pickups and korean version haz-lab..bought emg pickups and those damn things dont work...do I have to change electronics to say like a tone-pump?...my guitarist said there is nothing in board(haz-lab) to power pickups?....THANKS!!

 

[PhatBasstard]

Spector ns2a question....Ok, one of my basses is the spector ns2a (80s) that has spector pickups and korean version haz-lab..bought emg pickups and those damn things dont work...do I have to change electronics to say like a tone-pump?...my guitarist said there is nothing in board(haz-lab) to power pickups?....THANKS!!

Did you take the red wire from the active EMG's and wire them to the battery properly? Your old passive pickups didn't have this third/red wire.

 

[JeffplaysBass]

Did you take the red wire from the active EMG's and wire them to the battery properly? Your old passive pickups didn't have this third/red wire.

the passive ones had just one white wire and the emgs have a white and red wire...???

 

[delucajohn2000]

Rex's white NS is a Euro4LX. He actually prefers the sound of the TonePump these days.

The RX-T is the only USA SPECTOR that comes with the TonePump as the stock circuit.

Rex has had a lot of medical issues and so the lighter Euro models suit him plus he really digs the tone they put out.

That really says a huge amount for the Euro line of Spector basses! This guy has been endorsed by them since around 1994 and him preferring the Euro really shows how great the basses are.

Rex needs to take care of himself though since he has had so many medical issues.

 

[PhatBasstard]

the passive ones had just one white wire and the emgs have a white and red wire...???

Uh oh. One white wire?!

Passives have the (usually white) center wire (hot) and the braid (ground).

Actives also have this with a separate third (usually red) wire that comes to the battery to power the active pickups.

The EMG site has many wiring diagrams to assist you.

 

[JeffplaysBass]

Uh oh. One white wire?!

Passives have the (usually white) center wire (hot) and the braid (ground).

Actives also have this with a separate third (usually red) wire that comes to the battery to power the active pickups.

The EMG site has many wiring diagrams to assist you.

Thanks!

 

[LimaGuy]

the passive ones had just one white wire and the emgs have a white and red wire...???

Uh oh. One white wire?!

Passives have the (usually white) center wire (hot) and the braid (ground).

Actives also have this with a separate third (usually red) wire that comes to the battery to power the active pickups.

The EMG site has many wiring diagrams to assist you.

I think remember seeing a previous post saying that the Haz that came in the NS-2A will not work with active pickups.

I have yet to see a NS-2A that had upgraded active EMGs with the NS-2A Haz.

They seem to usually have no pre or a BT Circuit.

I love the sound of the active EMGs in my NS-2A and previous NS-2A with the BT Circuit.
It also sounded great with the Tonepump. (w/trimpot)

 

[CarlosRoberto5]

This video shows a bunch of the different basses Rex was using with Down:

FPE-TV Bassist Rex Brown of Down Pantera - YouTube

When he played Download 2009, he had a telecaster shaped ESP but that now seems to be the Spector RX-T model since the ESP was supposedly a prototype from what I read. It seems like Down sticks with the old Pantera syndrome and use a bunch of different tunings but a majority of the music since Rex joined is in C# though I know a few of the songs from NOLA are in DCGF tuning.

I just realized Rex's new band Kill Devil Hill is playing in NJ tomorrow night. I would love to go see them but I doubt that will happen. If you look at their web site, it seems like Rex is playing a white Spector in all of the different pictures but I can never tell if it is a Euro or a USA model. I was hooping to see pictures of him with the RX-T but he seems to be playing that white Spector in all of the pictures.

Sorry but Rex is one of my favorite bass players so I guess I come off a bit like a fan boy With a tone like this, can you blame me? He's even playing his Rex model and switches to finger style for a bit during the solo.

Pantera Live @ Ozzfest- "Cowboys from Hell" - YouTube

Hell yeah--i'll admit it shamelessly. I love Rex's playing. He's honestly the reason why I started playing bass to begin with. I keep coming back to him as I age musically; I find myself drawing most of my influence from him. He makes his Spectors snarl like it's nobody's business. All the more reason for me to be GASing for a Euro.