Spector Legend 6 or Yamaha TRB1006

Yamaha, because I trust them more and the tone is more diverse IMHO.

 

+1 i love yamahas.

 

The Yamaha definitely gets my dough between these two. Personally, I feel it outdoes the Spector in every department, not least of which being looks.

 

I am not sold on the new breed of TRBs. The TRB1005s I have played did not sound very good to me. The workmanship was good, but the sound was not there. I hope those were early missteps. I know the Koreans can make great guitars and the TRB design is sound. I loved my TRB 6 when I owned one, it has maybe a better neck than my Ken SMith bolt-on six.

 

I've had a few problems with my Spector and it's needed some work, setup, frets,input jack, active-passive switch and a ramp but all in all it blew away the Yamaha TRB's I played and was somewhere between 100-300$ less. despite the Spector's weak finish (dents easily) it felt ALOT more solid than the TRB's, I just find they felt cheap andwas neither convinced by their necks or tone.

 

Yamaha's are great, but I prefer the now discontinued TRB6II (which I am lucky enough to own)

 

my thoughts exactly

 

OH GOODIE!! A six-string advocate!!

Spectors were always one of those "when I grow up and get a real job, this is the bass I'll buy" items when I was a teen in the late 70's. Tried a Spector 5 string in the summer, and liked it better than the Yamaha - but would have to order the 6, wait four to five months for delivery, and I was not sold on the natural oil finish. So, for a couple hundred more, I started looking at custom-made possibilities.

 

Maybe you can pull a Josh Curry and convince Spector to start making Rebop 6ers.

 

Order in one of the 1006's. If you love the yamaha so much, you may as well get what you really want.

 

get a used Yamaha John Patittucci model six string!
The EADGC with a hipshot tuner (for low D) is a cool idea but its not practical for a "tight B string" tone and feel you may prefer. Have you tried a Peavey Cirrus 6, or Dean Edge 6? They are great bang for the buck also.

 

I play two Yamahas: and heavily modded RBX 260 and a TRB6II. I love the versitility of them both, though the TRB definately has more of a 'musical' tone to it. Very responsive, with good electronics. I would like to upgrade my pickups to Barts, though. Just personal preference there. And Yamahas record pretty good, too.

 

Spector is winning in the pole but other than myself nobody seems to have given any positive input on them. Doesn anyone have opinions on them and why they would take them over the Yamaha?

 

Between the Spector Legend and the Yamaha, I'd go with the TRB - I'd played one a few months ago, and was genuinely amazed at the construction/F&F, tonal option, and all-around "vibe". Perhaps it's that I prefer the tighter string spacing than the old-school TRB4/5/6's, but at its pricepoint I think the 100Xs are a steal.

Tossing in the ReBop, however, tightens up the race considerably. I've always been a fan of bolt-on Spectors compared to the neck-throughs: the construction of the all-maple Euros and USAs plus EMG make for a too-bright bass IMO (although I haven't had the chance to play an LX yet, which with the alder back might help offset that factor) while the ReBops with their alder bodies and bolt-on construction feel like a "Spector and a Fender Jazz made sweet love down by the fire"* to me, which is a damn fine combination in my book.

One factor that I don't think anyone has brought up yet and is worth saying is that should you sell in the future, you'd likely get a better return with the Spector (however I'm not from the "buy-sell-buy-sell" school of purchasing so let it only be one factor.) I'd say hit the store, having them set up each properly knowing that you're going to make a purchase, and compare side-by-side. Either way, I doubt you'll make a "bad" choice with both selections.

*Copyright IP Freely 2003. With my initials, you go with the oldie-but-goody.

 

Joe,

Thanks very much - I'm a fan of both brands (my two main players are Yamahas, and I'd love to have a Spector in my collection one day for their legendary tone) so I think I can balance the pros and cons decently.

I'm like that as well, but I thought it prudent to bring it up. There's a fair subset of players here who buy and sell to find "the perfect bass", and while I'm not arguing the practice of it those that do so tend to bring up/care about resell value more then those of use that are "lifers". Barring my first "starter bass" I still own all I've ever purchased, and it would take a great deal for me to sell some off (jumping to the "dream bass" level - in my case a Mike Lull Modern 5 - is the only thing that comes to mind.)

I stopped my GC this afternoon, was able to play a TRB1005 and Spector Legend 5 back-to-back, and stand by my previous assessment. Again, I was extremely impressed by the Yamaha (I think it gets an unfair rap being compared to its much-more-expensive older sisters, and is an amazing deal for the price) - if I were an endorsed artist I'd absolutely grab a pair of fretted and fretless 1005s for more traditional sounds than my more "rock" RBX 775s. However, the Legend 5 was hardly a "bad" bass, and the $200 price difference is something to consider. Also, both companies are known for their high quality standards across the board, whether it be their lower-end basses or their USA/Japanese-made top-end models. Again, a good call on narrowing it down to these two.

As for the ReBop, I stand by my previous statements as well. I think it's a good jump in quality from the Legend, and if you like the bolt-on construction/body woods it's a wonderful bass. Regarding the hiss: the "tone pump" preamp is boost-only and is known for that quality. I can't imagine going to 100% in a real-world situation, so it's something to think about.

Good luck, let us know your decision, and feel free to PM me if you can think of any other questions.