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Spector Club Pt. 5 (Insert Clever Title Here)

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#161
Well to be honest, one of the reasons I got it was just in case I need something that isn't the "traditional" Spector sound, like in a case where you get some @sshat band leader or whatnot saying "You're taking up too much 'sonic space', can you get a Jazz or something?" which I read about often as being an ex-MTD player and the big wide tones those give, and players having to switch so it's not as sonically "big", and they usually if not always got a J-style ax.
So I figure with my 85 PJ, this JJ and my NS52H w/ the TW's incoming, I should be set! :D
 
#162
Spanky(Andy) said:
Hey JPS.... you are one hell of a lucky guy. Beautiful basses, beautiful car, beautiful wife ... :-)

PS: the black Spector looks amazing. Is that a solid colour or a black stain over flamed wood?

Cheers

Andy
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Thanks! To be honest I can claim the basses and the wife, the Ferrari belongs to one of my best friends; a really awesome guy named Randy who collects rare cars. That Ferrari is one of 5 painted that color at the Ferrari factory. It's a drop dead gorgeous car. And except to pull it out for photo ops it stays in his garage/warehouse.

His completely mint, all original 1967 427 Corvette is just as nice. He has a dozen mouth dropping rare collector cars. And he is a self-made man... he owned a swimming pool installation company in LA for years. He's a down-to-earth, nice as can be surfer-dude who worked his butt off and did well. A poster child for the "American Dream" if you ask me.

I took the photos for PJ and Stuart, just something fun for them to have. The theme was a top-end Euro sports car and top-end Euro basses.

I had just gotten the black 4LX from Beaver at BC. I grew up in the same town as Beaver, used to watch his band every weekend at the local clubs (Shut Up and Drive). He's a great guy. GH sent me a BC t-shirt so I took those photos as a gag for them. Something different.

The black 4LX is transparent gloss black stain over flame maple top. It was a custom order. Usually these basses are oil finished with solid black hardware. I wanted a gloss finish with gold/brass hardware and the guys at BC hooked me up.

I live in Los Angeles, the opposite coast from BC. There's a dozen Spector dealers between here and BC. And I still wouldn't deal with anyone but them.

The maple 4LX in this photo was traded to Beaver for my white NS-2JA-R a few weeks later. I honestly have to say that I haven't met a Spector bass yet that I didn't love. Even the lower-end Pro series. Some of those are really really nice for the low cost.
 
#163
rockstarbassist said:
you get some @sshat band leader or whatnot saying "You're taking up too much 'sonic space', can you get a Jazz or something?"
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LMAOFOTF... Love it. Too much sonic space. My reply is that perhaps the rest of the band shouldn't be such... mmm... little kittens (best substitute I can think of)... and learn to play their instruments correctly. Then you wouldn't have to worry about my sonic footprint.

What a joke. It's like saying, you're too good... can you play crappy or something so the rest of us sound better?

Awesome post.
 
#164
JPSBassist said:
LMAOFOTF... Love it. Too much sonic space. My reply is that perhaps the rest of the band shouldn't be such... mmm... little kittens (best substitute I can think of)... and learn to play their instruments correctly. Then you wouldn't have to worry about my sonic footprint.

What a joke. It's like saying, you're too good... can you play crappy or something so the rest of us sound better?

Awesome post.
Click to expand...

Notable MTD USA 535 users Norm Stockton (with Lincoln Brewster) and Juan Nelson (Ben Harper) both had to switch to keep their gigs (or to keep people happy). *facepalm*

Not saying it's right, but, what can ya do. :rollno:
 
#165
rockstarbassist said:
Just ordered the last white one BC has.
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Awesome! Great choice... white. I love it. It's a beautiful guitar.

My vintage NS-2 is gloss solid black. And my newer models are all stained wood of some sort... so the black and white models look great side-by-side.

If Spector ever does a reissue of the 1984 Sting solid white NS-2 (the one in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) I'll stand in line to get one.

White Spectors are beautiful. One of the few that can get away with a gloss white bass without looking girly. They come off looking more elegant. Like a white dinner jacket on Sean Connery in "Goldfinger" or "Dr. No"
 
#166
rockstarbassist said:
Notable MTD USA 535 users Norm Stockton (with Lincoln Brewster) and Juan Nelson (Ben Harper) both had to switch to keep their gigs (or to keep people happy).
Click to expand...

I may have seen Juan perform then. Ben Harper is a local LA guy who sometimes shows up at clubs for small, intimate shows. I've seen him a couple of times.

That surprises me. His band is pretty tight sounding. I'll have to pay attention to his bassist better next time.

This is how it goes for me... look at the stage, see a Fender headstock, tune out and stop paying attention to the bassist... unless they are really stand-out good.

In Ben's performances his accoustic guitar playing is what always stands out. And his exeptional percussionist.

I'll definately look closer next time. And Ben's a nice guy. Very approachable.
 
#167
JPSBassist said:
Awesome! Great choice... white. I love it. It's a beautiful guitar.

My vintage NS-2 is gloss solid black. And my newer models are all stained wood of some sort... so the black and white models look great side-by-side.

If Spector ever does a reissue of the 1984 Sting solid white NS-2 (the one in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) I'll stand in line to get one.

White Spectors are beautiful. One of the few that can get away with a gloss white bass without looking girly. They come off looking more elegant. Like a white dinner jacket on Sean Connery in "Goldfinger" or "Dr. No"
Click to expand...

Yeah I was contemplating between the White and the Natural flamed top, but my '85 NS2 is also piano black, so they will look great together for sure!

I almost pulled the Natural, but man yeah that white just looks insanely classy and tight. The black really offsets it. I think Mike Starr's first Spector w/ AIC was a white NS2 also.
 
#168
JPSBassist said:
I may have seen Juan perform then. Ben Harper is a local LA guy who sometimes shows up at clubs for small, intimate shows. I've seen him a couple of times.

That surprises me. His band is pretty tight sounding. I'll have to pay attention to his bassist better next time.

This is how it goes for me... look at the stage, see a Fender headstock, tune out and stop paying attention to the bassist... unless they are really stand-out good.

In Ben's performances his accoustic guitar playing is what always stands out. And his exeptional percussionist.

I'll definately look closer next time. And Ben's a nice guy. Very approachable.
Click to expand...

Yeah unfortunately he's been playing a Fender Jazz 5 the last few shows on TV I've seen and the tone isn't even close to the same.
And Norm arguably is the reason Mike relaunched the USA Saratoga line b/c he needed a tone not "as wide" but wanted to stay with MTD so that's what you get.
 
#169
rockstarbassist said:
FYI, there's only one NS-2JA-R left @ BC and I'm first in line once Beav gets back to me this AM! :spit: :D

I'll let you know if I pick it up or not. But I may pass on it. The NS5H2FM I'm ordering is gonna have a single-coil/J pickup tap on it anyway.
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Hey rockstarbassist,

You lucky dawg... The white looks so classy. It's a shame they didn't offer the reissue in solid red as well. Nick Seymour (Crowded House) and Nigel Griggs (Split Enz), two of my favourite local bass players, both played original red versions of the instrument back in the 80s.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

To JPS and others who own one, how heavy is the NS-2JA-R? I'm assuming relatively lightweight?

My 09 Euro LX4 weighs almost 8lbs and is super resonant - you feel every single note through the body. My 09 Euro LX 535 weighs just over 9lbs (similar weight to my 4 banger Stingrays) and is almost as resonant as the 4LX, but seems to be 10 times hotter in output.

Cheers

Andy
 
#170
Hey JPS (and the rest of you kind folk),

Please excuse my absolute ignorance. Despite owning two 09 Euro Spectors, I have very little knowledge on the intricacies/variences between Spectors, the pickups and preamps.

I just came across this post by JPS on Pt 4 of this group and it stopped me in my tracks:

The Euro 4LX I just traded was one of the very first models. The TonePump in it didn't have the output adjustment feature the one in my brand new 4LX does.

And it was a lot more tame than the one in my new 4LX. My new 4LX came to me with the TonePump output set in the middle. The older 4LX was slightly less as strong output wise... and it didn't have the little dial on it for adjustment. So I'd agree that the older TonePumps are more tame.

I have a TonePump in my Q4. It has the HZ pups. It's got plenty of kick.
Click to expand...

If i'm reading this correctly, you're saying that underneath the rear cover there should be an output dial on my 4LX? It never occured to me to take the cover off before, but I'm curious now as my 4 is nowhere near as hot as my 5 and I always assumed that was just to do with the different pickup configuration.

Cheers

Andy
 
#171
And thanks to all of you for your patience in answering my questions etc.

The other site that I'm learning from is the Japanese Spector site. The All Spectors of Tebasaki Boyz page is helping me learn the differences in models:

http://www.sfcj.net/lab/e_listModels.html

http://www.sfcj.net/lab/e_wallpaper.html

Can we start a "I WANT a WHITE Spector club"? I'm in the same boat as JPSbassist. I bought the Police Synchronicity DVD solely for Sting's use of his white Spector...

Cheers

Andy
 
#172
Spanky(Andy) said:
Hey JPS (and the rest of you kind folk)

If i'm reading this correctly, you're saying that underneath the rear cover there should be an output dial on my 4LX?

Andy
Click to expand...

Andy,

And I'm JP... J. Patrick Stern. Thus, the JPS.
The Tone Pump is a little black box with groups of colored wires coming out of it.

There is a little dial on the front of newer Tone Pumps (the same side the wires come out of). It's an output trim pot. You can use a jeweler's flat-head screw driver to adjust it. But be very careful. Full-open is... well... really loud. I have mine in the middle.

The older Tone-Pumps didn't have this feature.
The difference between your 4 and 5 may be simple...

You're 5 is probably 18v if I'm correct. All of the 4's are 9v except for the USA NS-4. But I think the 5's are all 18v. I'm guessing, because I don't play or own a 5-string.

Does your 5 use two 9v batteries? That's another clue.
 
#173
Spanky(Andy) said:
Can we start a "I WANT a WHITE Spector club"? I'm in the same boat as JPSbassist. I bought the Police Synchronicity DVD solely for Sting's use of his white Spector...
Click to expand...

Yeah. That's what got me started. I was there, standing on the floor in the Omni... a 5 hour drive from my home in Savannah, Georgia. I watched that very concert live.

And I've been a Spector fan every since. To me... that white USA NS-2 is the ultimate.

I'm all for starting this club.
 
#175
JPSBassist said:
Andy,

And I'm JP... J. Patrick Stern. Thus, the JPS.
The Tone Pump is a little black box with groups of colored wires coming out of it.

There is a little dial on the front of newer Tone Pumps (the same side the wires come out of). It's an output trim pot. You can use a jeweler's flat-head screw driver to adjust it. But be very careful. Full-open is... well... really loud. I have mine in the middle.

The older Tone-Pumps didn't have this feature.
The difference between your 4 and 5 may be simple...

You're 5 is probably 18v if I'm correct. All of the 4's are 9v except for the USA NS-4. But I think the 5's are all 18v. I'm guessing, because I don't play or own a 5-string.

Does your 5 use two 9v batteries? That's another clue.
Click to expand...

Hi JP,

Thank you for the detailed info. To tell you the truth I haven't looked under the hood at either bass. I had no intention of popping the covers until I needed to change batteries, but will do so tonight to check.

That's one of the things I liked about my EBMMs, you can tell at a glance if it's 9v or 18v preamp as the 18v has 2 quick release battery units, side by side.

I'm a little torn about the NS-2JA-R. For less than the price of a new one from BC I can get a fretted EBMM Big Al shipped to me from an aquaintance in the US.

I currently have a fretless Big Al and am absolutely blown away by it. My 2 Spectors and the Big Al are the only 3 of my 12 basses I would not sell.

Andy
 
#176
JPSBassist said:
Yeah. That's what got me started. I was there, standing on the floor in the Omni... a 5 hour drive from my home in Savannah, Georgia. I watched that very concert live.

And I've been a Spector fan every since. To me... that white USA NS-2 is the ultimate.

I'm all for starting this club.
Click to expand...

Sheesh JP, you really are a lucky man.

I only saw The Police in concert once. I attended what I believe was their 2nd last gig (?)... I could be wrong. It was a big outdoor concert in Sydney. Bryan Adams was the support act.

During the main act the band appeared to have a fight onstage and Stuart Copeland stormed off, followed shortly afterwards by Andy. Sting stayed on stage for a few minutes and entertained the crowd with some solo bass stuff - my biggest remembrance was him playing the theme to Bonanza. Repeatedly!

I believe the next gig was the Melbourne concert, where the band broke up.

The white USA NS-2 really floats my boat too. I'll join you in the queue waiting for one.

Cheers

Andy
 
#178
Spanky(Andy) said:
Is this worth the money? A 1984 pre-Kramer NS-2 in VGC @ Grinning Elk.

I bought my low-serial Steinberger L2 from them, but paid more than I should have simply because I really wanted an instrument from the 1st year of production.

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Andy
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Normally, these are no where near as pristine as this one appears to be... If I had the spare cash right now. I'd order it.

She's an absolute beauty. And this is the vintage bass that's truly pure Spector. The only difference between this bass and the one Sting played on the Synchronicity tour is the color.

If you can afford to... I say grab it.
 
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