Took my first "Family Shot" a few days ago, although it may not stay that way for very long
:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
- My Fretted ReBop 5 DLX FM in Black Cherryburst, purchased the beginning of July 2007. Purchase from Jong Lee at Invalid Link Removed, who deserves the largest of plugs. I was undergoing a horrid Special Order from Musician's Friend (I'm disabled and my fiancee's a Doctoral Student, and cash is not in large amounts here so credit is often my path to new gear... but Smart Credit, paid off monthly and by the end of the 12 months so that no Interest accrues) he had read about it here, PM'd me, and offered me the above at a crazy discount (low enough that I don't feel comfortable printing it) that also came at the right time for time, as I believe he'd had it in stock for a good period and so the opportunity to move it out. Still, he saved me far more than typical haggling amount.
She's waiting to undergo a pickup/electronic change I've written about in Pickups that I'm not sure has been done yet to a Spector here - a set of Nordstrand Big Singles and an Aguliar OBP-3. I feeling about the ReBops, and this is confirmed by PJ Rubal, is that they are Spector's "Jazz" bass - Alder & Maple body, bolt-on Maple neck, Rosewood fretboard... all the makings of a Jazz, but with body size, the pickups & electronics (usually EMGs) and intangibles that make a Spector a "Spector". Well, I want to try and see what you get if you shift it a tad to the Jazz side as opposed to the "Spector" by using the "Jazz Bass on Steroids" that Big Singles are suppose to be as opposed to the traditional EMGs. All involved (myself, Carey and Stew, PJ) have good feelings about this idea, and one said this will turn out to be a "Monster of a Mutant Spector... in a GOOD way" 
Also outfitted with Mother-of-Pearl-topped knobs from http://www.q-parts.com.
- My Custom Fretless ReBop 5 DLX FM in Blueburst, ordered the beginning of June 2007... delivered the 20th of November. I had gone with a Special Order from Musician's Friend due to having done so before with my SWR Mini Mo' preamp with no hassle, and thought it would be the same. It wasn't. If anyone remembers the insanity last Summer with MF.com moving wearhouses, my Special Order got stuck right in the middle of it. The CSR handling it did a piss-pour job for about 2 months before being yanked and replaced but a somewhat better Supervisor... but unfortunately The Process had to restart from him taking over which took several weeks to place the order with Spector, who themselves need 2-3 months to basically "built" the bass as it wasn't in stock. In the meantime MF.com attempted to short me several promotional deals that were in place when I had originally ordered the bass, but not when the order was finally placed. Sometimes it was like being in Catch-22.
The one positive thing is the PJ took great pains about the entire deal, and since this was going to be a complete "from the ground up" built he got me a very cool "option" from the Czech factory, and why I add the "custom" tag to the bass: a custom color. "Blueburst" isn't an offered color on the ReBop line (in fact, even simple "Blue" hasn't been offered for quite awhile). But I asked if it would be possible, and he came through for me like the guy he is. This way, I have a "Brother & Sister" team of my 5-string Spector fretted and fretless both having 'bursts. He and the entire Spector group are great people to work with. Along with her "Brother", the fretless will be outfitted with the "Big Single/Aguliar" combo. But that will have to wait until after she returns from HG Thor's shop for his Epoxy fretboard coating....and she sounds good now!! Like her fretted counterpart, she's also outfitted with Abalone-topped knobs from http://www.q-parts.com.
- My Fretted ReBop 4 in Natural Oil, purchased in the "For Sale" forum right here the beginning of September 2007. While still fighting on-and-off with MF.com, I saw this 'lil steal of a 4-string, and sold off a non-player to grab it. I didn't exactly need it, but it truly was a steal as the last owner had done the "EMG DC/CD & BTS System" installation already. She's reawakened all of the '80s Spector/EMG-toned songs in my, as well as seeing the benefit of a Hipshot Bass Xtender after 15 years of considering it (I plan to get every bass done at some point). After playing a 6-string only for five years and them 5s for 5 more, it's nice to come back to "Bass Boot Camp" which is what I consider a 4 - you've got limited means to get things done, so be economical. Outfitted with the Ugly EMG knobs because I can't find the incredibly small sized Allen wrench to remove them. :scowl:
I'd always wanted a Spector - a ton of my influences play then, hell, who
didn't play a Spector in the mid-to-late '80s?!?
I have no idea except that production happened to have stopped in the '90s when I made my gear decisions then, and when they came back I didn't quite feel the need to get one. You could say I'm making up for lost time with this.
As for the four-string, I'm going to try and convince the SO that once I list and sell the remaining "Generally Good Gear"
(as opposed to the true High Quality Gear I've been move toward - my modded-out passive Jazz, my sentimental-yet-never-played six-string, some various others) that I'll have enough after letting the four-string go to pick up one of the Zebrawood-topped ReBops. I can easily see myself pick one up on the 'bay for a much lower than the usual $1249 with any luck. I'm also lucky in that department - she's expressed a like of the wood, and this would lower the "Collection" to a much manageable 5: my 3 Spectors and 2 Mike Lulls, all
keepers as opposed to the other basses than will have passed through my life... which isn't
that many considering TB standards.
