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Spector Club Part 6

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#501
JPSBassist said:
Perhaps I should have been more clear... I was talking about the current Woodstock Era instruments.

The 3 knob 18v models do date back to 1994-95 with the first USA 18v models. Namely the NS-4 (which remained the NS-4 after the trademarks were recovered) and some NS-5XL models.

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Hmmmm....
I'd seen them on SD basses that far back, but not the NS's (even though you do have pix). Weird that I've never seen them that old over the years.
Even Todd Cook's collection seems devoid of them that far back.

See?!? I told you I was no expert. :D
 
#502
PhatBasstard said:
Hmmmm....
I'd seen them on SD basses that far back, but not the NS's (even though you do have pix). Weird that I've never seen them that old over the years.
Even Todd Cook's collection seems devoid of them that far back.

See?!? I told you I was no expert. :D
Click to expand...

No worries. The NS-4 was from a brochure Stuart had done back in 1994-95

The NS-5XL is Todd's I think. I think that was one of the photos he sent me.

Honestly, PJ will tell you that NO ONE is an expert. There were too many little changes here and there... He says that sometimes Stuart doesn't remember some of the guitars that were built.

We're all schoolboys I think.

I benefit from having the largest single library of Spector photos on my computer. My Spector media folder is 120 gigs. No joke. Thousands of photos.

:-) It's all good. And you still know a ton more about the Euro models than I do. That's a confusing topic.

Have you seen the new FAQ on Euros that PJ wrote this week:

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I put it at the top of the page.
 
#503
I've the perfect solution! JPS you give me your new bass and I'll handle the sour grapes from everyone on the 3-knob setup... It's a tough gig, buy I think I can handle it. I've already checked with Stuart and PJ and they approve of this transaction :-)
 
#504
Here is my Spector =)

spector-1.jpg




bass2-2.jpg


May I please have a number? =D
 
#508
bobunit said:
I've always wanted to try one of those. Very nice Spector. Btw, what is the body wood?
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As far as I know there are three still available on the market from Spector Dealers.
Andy's Guitars has a Water Cured Redwood (WCR) NS-5XL and Beaver at Bass Central has a WCR NS-2 and a WCR NS-5XL.
There was an additional $1900 tacked onto the list price for these guitars. $1000 for the Redwood top and $900 for the gloss finish.

There were two runs, the first between 2003-2005. About 20 basses were made. A couple of the 30th Anniversary Basses were made with this wood. Stuart hit a dead spot in the log and decided to store it away for a while.

He brought the log out of storage again in 2007 and made another 20 sets of wings. He finally ran out of log and wing set #225 was the final set of wings to be made from this log. There will be no more.

I purchased wing set #225 back in late March of this year.

As many of you who have spoken directly with Stuart know... he's all about the tone of the wood. He experiments with woods to see just what sort of tone they provide and he'll blend (layer) woods to see what a combination of woods will produce. That's how we got the Maple/Walnut/Alder sandwich which is the Euro LX body.

The WCR is sonically/tonally unique. Bright and rich. So he decided that a 50/50 mix of the Water Cured Redwood with Walnut was the best blend for sound.

These basses are not laminate topped. They are solid redwood bonded to solid walnut in a 50/50 mix.

So this guitar is a throw-back to the first NS-1 and NS-2 bodies in a way (in which the wings were solid walnut).

It's the little (but big) details like considering how the mix of body woods affects the tone that elevates Stuart from being an instrument maker to being a true artist in my mind.

So many things conspire to make the NS-Bass have that unique tone we all love so much.

In a conversation with Todd Cooke the other day he and I discussed the tonal differences between the NS-Body and SD-Body basses. I'm a fan of the "look" of the SD. But Todd says they sound slightly different for some reason.

I talked with Ned Steinberger one time about the shape of the guitar (the curved body and horn shape) and if/how this affects the tone. Ned's response was classic... it's purely a coincidence if these attributes affect the tone. His single desire for developing the shape was comfort and ergonomics. Ned stated that he didn't consider tone when he took Stuart's SB-1 bass and carved it down into what was to become the NS-Body.

This is why I love these basses. Accidental... by design... and then the experimentation by a brilliant mind who thinks on multiple levels at the same time in regards to tone.

Fodera learned from him. Steinberger learned from him.

And on top of that he's a sincerely humble, nice person.

Viva Spector I say. :bassist:

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Solid Walnut Back
 
#509
JPSBassist said:
She arrived today...
I'm thrilled.

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Congratulations. She's a beauty. It's really great information about the different woods, body shapes and their effects on tone, happenstance or not.

Would you please identify the models from left to right? I think I know but I'd like to confirm. I believe the white one on far right is your NS-2JA-R. Did you put applique crown fret markers on it? I missed that if you posted about it.
 
#512
Captain_Arrrg said:
Nice addition JP! Next you should try a 5 string and experience another facet of bass making that Spector excels at... Not to induce GAS right after such a righteous acquisition! ;)
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I'm in a constant state of Spector induced GAS mania.

Actually since I don't usually play a 5, but it's nice to have one in the recording aresenal... It'll be my next purchase.

I think after being able to compare side-by-side, I'll get a Euro5LX. Since 5-strings aren't my thing, I can't see paying the extra for the USA when I'll not play it too often. The Euro Models are really, really nice.

I still want a Brooklyn NS-2 (white would be the preference).

Lastly I want a new USA NS-2 (I'm in love with the Black Cherry Matte finish on the model that's on the NS-2 page of the website).

Those three will finish my collection. :ninja:
 
#513
marchone said:
Congratulations. She's a beauty. It's really great information about the different woods, body shapes and their effects on tone, happenstance or not.

Would you please identify the models from left to right? I think I know but I'd like to confirm. I believe the white one on far right is your NS-2JA-R. Did you put applique crown fret markers on it? I missed that if you posted about it.
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Sure.
1) USA ARC6-B Prototype #1
2) Euro4LX - Black Trans Gloss Finish
3) USA NS-4 - Exotic Water Cured Redwood
4) 1988 NS-2A Fretless - Active EMGs and TonePump
5) NS-2JA-R - with the vinyl abalone inlay stickers.

I wanted to see what those stickers advertised on Ebay were all about. Since the 12th Fret with those sticker sets is two smaller inlays to cover the dots, I asked if the guy who cut them could make a wider single 12th fret inlay. It's hard to tell that they are not real.

I've been thinking about taking them off... but I've been curious to see how long they will last. So far they show no signs of wear. And I've played that bass a lot.

Being that it's a bolt-on, I've also toyed with taking the neck to my luthier with the stickers on it and having him insert real inlays into the neck.

I know, I know... but part of the beauty and appeal of Spector basses are those big beautiful crown inlays. So being that I'm not one to switch/buy/sell basses... I tend to keep what I get, I'd do it just for me.

The other option is to keep that guitar original, it is a limited edition reissue after all, and order a USA bolt-on with the J/J config.

I'd be like Cetera or Todd Cooke and have dozens if my wife wouldn't beat me to death with them.

Besides I don't consider myself a collector. I get them to play them. And so far I've covered a lot of tonal possibilities with this group. A sound for nearly every need in studio.
 
#516
JPSBassist said:
Sure.
1) USA ARC6-B Prototype #1
2) Euro4LX - Black Trans Gloss Finish
3) USA NS-4 - Exotic Water Cured Redwood
4) 1988 NS-2A Fretless - Active EMGs and TonePump
5) NS-2JA-R - with the vinyl abalone inlay stickers.

Besides I don't consider myself a collector. I get them to play them. And so far I've covered a lot of tonal possibilities with this group. A sound for nearly every need in studio.
Click to expand...

Thanks, they're what I thought. I now recall you said you were going to get the sticker fret markers. PhatBasstard has commented favorably about them, too. Truth be told I'm not a fan of large crown inlays. I prefer dots or nothing at all.

It makes sense that the necks on the the NS-4 and NS-2JA-R are similar as the latter is a reissue of a US-made model. That is even though it is Czech-made and could be considered a Euro. I guess I lucked out when I decided to get my first Spector and it was an NS-2JA-R. I knew nothing about Spectors when I got it almost a year ago. I really, really like that neck. I've learned a lot about Spectors hanging here for almost a year now.

Now I'm jonesing hard for a Forte-4 or real deal NS-2.

Someone once said any more than two of anything is a collection. Doesn't matter if you play them really. They're nice to have. You already have a swell collection. Add the others you want and it will be a great collection.

I never sell anything I have either.
 
#517
JPSBassist said:
I wanted to see what those stickers advertised on Ebay were all about. Since the 12th Fret with those sticker sets is two smaller inlays to cover the dots, I asked if the guy who cut them could make a wider single 12th fret inlay. It's hard to tell that they are not real.

I've been thinking about taking them off... but I've been curious to see how long they will last. So far they show no signs of wear. And I've played that bass a lot.
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These have been on almost a year now with zero signs of wear. I removed one about six months ago because I decided it was a bit off center and replaced it with a new one. They come off with a little effort and leave no residue on the fingerboard.

My solution to the 12th fret dots was to use a special marker that they use to cover wood scratches in furniture. I match the fingerboard color. If I ever want to go back it wipes off with an alcohol wipe pretty easily.

You can still kind of see them, but it's really the camera flash that's causing that here. Unless you're outside in sunlight they are really not noticable at all.
SpectorLegend6TWs4.jpg

SpectorLegend6TWs1.jpg
 
#518
Captain_Arrrg said:
Open your picture in imageshack and copy the text from the "Direct Link" box. Then come here and paste that text between "
" (without quotes). It should look like this:

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Click the "quote" button at the bottom of this post to see the code if you're still unsure.
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Thank you very much kind sir!:D

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