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Spector Club Part 6

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#263
JPSBassist said:
It's all good. The nice thing is that you guys shot outdoors with a video camera and the exposure is pretty good.
Usually you'd need fill or bounce boards to get decent lighting because the sun is a very power hard light source (meaning creates harsh contrast and shadows.

I think for a non-pro video you guys did great. And think about this. In a commercial video shoot (where someone, the management, record company, whoever, is footing the bill), the little details matter.

On a set like that there would have been a cut the second you dropped your pick. A PA would give you a new one and you'd be off to the races again.

But no worries. I think you guys did a great job. Oh. And if the drummer bailed before the shoot... next time try to find someone who might be able to pass for an ederly person. You know, get a silver wig or something. And put them in the background with a child's toy drum to beat on. That'll send a message.

I'm teasing. But one time a group I did a photo shoot for here in LA used a homeless person as a stand in for their hung-over and too drunk to show up guitarist. It was pretty classic.
Click to expand...

We were really lucky with the natural lighting we got, as living in Scotland tends to mean the weather isn't the most agreeable for whatever reason. But yeah I'm really surprised by how well it went as well, and the drummer pretty much left us on that day. He did his last show with us a few hours after that, a gig which will stick in my head as the worst one I've ever played.:lol:

And that's got to be one of the funniest band stories I've heard in a while. May I ask where they are now?
 
#264
Callum_Carcass said:
We were really lucky with the natural lighting we got, as living in Scotland tends to mean the weather isn't the most agreeable for whatever reason. But yeah I'm really surprised by how well it went as well, and the drummer pretty much left us on that day. He did his last show with us a few hours after that, a gig which will stick in my head as the worst one I've ever played.:lol:

And that's got to be one of the funniest band stories I've heard in a while. May I ask where they are now?
Click to expand...

They broke up. But the writer/lead singer is a friend of mine. He's always doing 3 or 4 different projects. Right now he's involved in doing some voice-over work for one of the cable networks. It was a funny story.
 
#265
PJ and Stuart spoke about this and Stuart's suggestion was that you can use 0000 steel wool and lemon oil to carefully clean it off.

He is going to follow-up with the Czech factory to see what it might be. There is a possibility that it's actually dried oil from the original conditioning of the fingerboard and not glue. That's a possibility, but for now let's go with your idea that it's glue. Either way, the following solution should fix it:

Stuart says that 0000 steel wool and lemon oil are safe to use on SPECTOR Euro necks to clean any build-up of wax or grime. Just be careful, steel wool is like sandpaper, so don't go wild with it or you can pit/damage the wood of the fingerboard.

If you can get a good, sharp (macro) photo of the buildup and email it to me, that'd be something that we can send to the guys at the Czech factory.

Oh! And for protecting your new bass's finish and the neck, DUNLOP FORMULA 65. The F65 fingerboard conditioner is great stuff. Use the body wax for GLOSS FINISHED Euro SPECTORS, all PRO Series and USA Gloss and Matte Poly finishes. The Hand-rubbed natural oil finishes require different care, and I'm not really sure what (I've never owned one before). I'm going to ask so I can add that to the site as well.
 
#266
JPSBassist said:
Hey guys... DON'T TOUCH YOUR GUITARS YET PLEASE!

I've just spoken with PJ and he's going to ask Stuart in the morning what he recommends.

Once that is passed on to me I'll post it here ASAP and I'll add it to the tech section of the site.

Glue is a common issue with new necks, even our USA models will sometimes have a little extra.

I'm sure Stuart and/or Jimmy will have some good advice. So just hold off another day. I'd hate for you to do anything to damage your new bass.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Thank you!!
 
#267
JPSBassist said:
Glue is a common issue with new necks, even our USA models will sometimes have a little extra.
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How do they get out of the shop like that? Who's doing final Quality Control and inspection? Is it something strange that happens after it leaves the shop?

For the record there were no issues with my Czech-made bass.

EDIT: The post above from JPS came in while I was typing this.
 
#269
marchone said:
How do they get out of the shop like that? Who's doing final Quality Control and inspection? Is it something strange that happens after it leaves the shop?

For the record there were no issues with my Czech-made bass.

EDIT: The post above from JPS came in while I was typing this.
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No worries. Ever been to Eastern Europe?
It's cold and humid. A lot like the Eastern Seaboard in winter.
The issues arrise from building a guitar in a climate controlled environment, packaging it up and then having it sit in a container as it travels across the ocean on a container ship.

Then it is packed onto a transfer truck here in the US (I imagine NY would be the most likely port) and then driven to another warehouse and eventually to the shop in NY, where they are inspected etc...

But then they get boxed up again, the packaging from CR is designed to protect the guitars against moisture, etc... as they travel across the Atlantic. They are again driven across the country, and if you live in the south, man the humidity and temperature variation there is a killer.

My father is an engineer and physicist. I am applying what I've learned over the years being around him.

So my supposition would be, changes in atmosphere (altitude... the CR isn't flat) the containers, even if sealed against moisture, temperatures will fluctuate and if there is air, there is moisture. Period. Then you have the temperatures here, etc... travel, etc...

The trip across the ocean takes 3 weeks to a month including customs and all that jazz. So even with the best precautions, these instruments (made of a porus material that retains moisture) are subjected to enough environmental variables that a little excess glue seeping from under a fret (metal glued into wood... both react to heat/cold differently, expand/contract at different rates)... I hardly say this could begin to constitute a quality control issue.

Common guys. I've seen $250,000 cars that have flaws. Things that are hand-made will.

And think about the Korean Imports. They hit the ports here in LA from a trip twice the distance as the Czech basses and then they are transfered across the US to NY. They go more than 1/2 way across the world.

This is why the necks of import guitars should be conditioned when you first get them. The best made instrument is going to feel the effect of such a journey. In most cases the oils used to condition the fingerboard get dry. How many times has "My new SPECTOR's neck is dry" shown up on this board?

I have two Euro Models... and mine are not flawless, but considering the journey they took to get to me, I couldn't be more thrilled. They are still the nicest basses I've ever owned (until my USA gets here).

And there are some very small imperfections in the finish of my USA ARC6. AND IT IS hands-down the nicest guitar I've ever played.

Sorry. But if I wasn't working for SPECTOR I'd have the same response.
 
#270
petersenbass said:
I've been wondering about that Dunlop Formula 65. Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...

It's what I use. I also have used a product called "Smith Pro Formula Polish" (it's a buffer/polisher for high gloss finishes) and I've put McGuire's high-end car wax on a high-poly gloss bass.

The Dunlop stuff, I really cant' tell the difference... I like that it comes packaged, one stop for all you need. I get the kit with the neck and string formulas and cleaning/polishing/wax formulas. It even comes with nice buffing cloths.
 
#271
Played a show tonight... my tone sucked :(

First time in a while Ive been really dissapointed with how Ive sounded. It wasnt from the monitors or out in front, it was straight up out of the amp. I cant seem to figure out what is to blame...

It could be old strings, or that I just didnt dial in the EQ right for the venue.. but no matter what I tried, all I heard was low mids. It was a flurry of this like... rumbly punch. But not in a good way.

Bad tone night :(
Im a sad panda.

Although, my mom supposedly took 100 or so pictures of me JP hahaha, so we should hopefully have something good to use for the artist's section.
 
#272
I love the sweepable mids of the BQS in my Euro5LX. It makes
dialing in room EQ easy.

crimson_basser said:
Played a show tonight... my tone sucked :(

First time in a while Ive been really dissapointed with how Ive sounded. It wasnt from the monitors or out in front, it was straight up out of the amp. I cant seem to figure out what is to blame...

It could be old strings, or that I just didnt dial in the EQ right for the venue.. but no matter what I tried, all I heard was low mids. It was a flurry of this like... rumbly punch. But not in a good way.

Bad tone night :(
.
Click to expand...
 
#274
petersenbass said:
I love the sweepable mids of the BQS in my Euro5LX. It makes
dialing in room EQ easy.
Click to expand...

I have two sweepable mids in my Euro, but I use my Legend 4 Classic in the band I was playing in last night. Standard tone knob and stacked bass and treble boost/cut. The mids were being controlled from my head, and they were cut to about 75%. (It's centered at 500hz)
 
#275
Kramer NS2C arrived yesterday...for $250, I cant help but love it. It has flats on it...and the strings are about half an inch off the neck....thumb wear over the P pickup down to the wood...seller didnt disclose that, btw. But it sure looks good next to my other 2 NS2C's :bassist:

NS2Cx.jpg
 
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