Spector NS-5 USA Model w/ Broken Headstock Thoughts?

[japhy4529]

Sorry I didn't get to finish up this thread! A lot going on here right now.

The Spector is done and on its way back to Tom.

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The headstock repair is fine structurally, at least as strong as it was originally. Cosmetically, it's not perfect, but it's pretty good. We did the whole job for $200 plus shipping. And that included making up a new brass nut, a new rear cover plate, leveling and polishing the frets, assembly and setup, and repairing the case. With a little more time and money, we could have made the repair area more invisible.

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The main thing is that it's back together and ready to play on as a fine old bass! It's not getting parted out or heading to the landfill.

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Alex really liked this bass and wished he could keep it for himself. It was a great learning project for him.

The Spector NS-5 arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, the bass was nearly broken once again as both the shipping box and bottom of the hardshell case had been pierced through with some sharp object during shipping, narrowly missing the upper horn of the bass.

Bruce, You mentioned a case repair above. Did the case arrive to you in this condition? If so, I had no idea as it was intact when it left my house.

Anyway, the bass looks GREAT! Bruce and Alex did an amazing job! As noted above, from a foot away, the repair looks like finish wear. Upon REALLY close inspection I can see the break line, but that’s okay as Bruce never promised perfection. What he’s given me is a bass restored to about 90% of its previous luster and most importantly its in playable condition and it sounds fantastic!

A little background here - I bought this bass from Bass Central. It was sold as a “parts bass” and was priced accordingly. I immediately wondered if it could be repaired. I initially sent it out to Sweetwater as they have a repair shop and previously fixed Dweezil Zappa’s SG that had a similar headstock break. After spending money to have it shipped l, they determined that it couldn’t be repaired. Well, they said something about adding a brace but it would have run me $800 or so which was not an option for me.

So, that’s when I created this thread. Long story short, Bruce promptly volunteered to take on this project as a learning opportunity for his intern, Alex. They certainly came through for me and I really appreciate it.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

All has indeed Ended Well.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Aargh! Well, I'm glad that the bass itself made it there safely. Good grief, I double-boxed it and packed it real carefully within its own case.

The repair that Alex did to the case was, I believe, from the previous accident that broke the headstock. The whole center storage compartment assembly had broken loose and shifted position. Alex fitted it back into place and re-nailed it to the side walls. I don't believe that there was any damage on the end of the case when it was here. So, something stabbed through both boxes and the case???? Wow.

I have the pictures that I posted above, plus a few others, of the Spector in its case before I packed it up. Let me know if you need them in making a claim against FedEx.

 

[japhy4529]

Aargh! Well, I'm glad that the bass itself made it there safely. Good grief, I double-boxed it and packed it real carefully within its own case.

The repair that Alex did to the case was, I believe, from the previous accident that broke the headstock. The whole center storage compartment assembly had broken loose and shifted position. Alex fitted it back into place and re-nailed it to the side walls. I don't believe that there was any damage on the end of the case when it was here. So, something stabbed through both boxes and the case???? Wow.

I have the pictures that I posted above, plus a few others, of the Spector in its case before I packed it up. Let me know if you need them in making a claim against FedEx.

Wow, that's crazy, Bruce as the case I sent out was not original to the bass and was not damaged (it was from another Spector I own). When I bought the NS-5 from Bass Central it arrived in a box without a case.

This bass may have some bad luck associated with it! Ah well, it narrowly dodged a bullet this time so that's a good sign! Please thank Alex for fixing the case for me and again for the bass repair and all of the extra work. In addition to the headstock, he did a really nice job with creating the new control cavity cover. It looks like a Spector OEM cover!

Anyway, yes, please send the pics when you have a moment as I will likely file a claim with them as the bottom of the case now has some unwanted air conditioning installed.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[rtslinger]

Great story with a happy ending

 

[japhy4529]

Wow. Just, wow. Before:
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and after:
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Great work, reasonably priced.

But where's the TRC?!

The TRC was cracked in half and while it was in Bass Central's pictures, it wasn't added to the box. I reached out to PJ Rubal with Spector and he said I can order a new one from them, though of course it won't say "Stuart Spector Design" as the Spector name was returned to Stuart Spector years ago.

 

[CAnderson]

Wow, I just popped in to say that after reading this amazing story that I have more faith in humanity. Everything I see on social media and the news is absolutely frustrating to comprehend. Cheers to you guys for bringing this beautiful bass back from the wood chipper!

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Wow, that's crazy, Bruce as the case I sent out was not original to the bass and was not damaged (it was from another Spector I own). When I bought the NS-5 from Bass Central it arrived in a box without a case.

Okay, I didn't realize that. Well, when it arrived here, the case that you sent it here in was damaged a small amount. The whole center compartment with the neck rest had been knocked loose and had shifted toward the headstock about 6". I assume that the box got dropped hard on its head end. Without the headstock on there, the body slammed into the neck rest and kicked the whole compartment forward. But there didn't appear to be any damage on the ends of the case.

I noticed it when we tried to put the repaired bass back into the case, and it wouldn't fit right. I talked Alex through the repair, shifting it back into place and driving a few small nails in through the side wall.

 

[japhy4529]

Okay, I didn't realize that. Well, when it arrived here, the case that you sent it here in was damaged a small amount. The whole center compartment with the neck rest had been knocked loose and had shifted toward the headstock about 6". I assume that the box got dropped hard on its head end. Without the headstock on there, the body slammed into the neck rest and kicked the whole compartment forward. But the didn't appear to be any damage on the ends of the case.

I noticed it when we tried to put the repaired bass back into the case, and it wouldn't fit right. I talked Alex through the repair, shifting it back into place and driving a few small nails in through the side wall.

Thanks for going the extra mile with the case repair.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Wow, I just popped in to say that after reading this amazing story that I have more faith in humanity. Everything I see on social media and the news is absolutely frustrating to comprehend. Cheers to you guys for bringing this beautiful bass back from the wood chipper!

Thanks!

The main reason I took on this job and documented it here, was to show all of you how a "scary" repair job like this can be done. Notice that this was all done on a workbench with some simple hand tools. It doesn't require years of training and a shop full of machines. Yes, most of you could have done this job yourselves, now that you see how. I hope you are thinking that. All it takes is a little bit of basic guidance, and some time and patience.

So many instruments get damaged or worn in ways that make them unplayable. Broken headstocks, warped necks, snapped truss rods, worn out frets. And the cost to pay a pro to repair it can easily exceed the value of the bass. The reason the pro charges what he does is because of the number of hours it takes overall.

I want to encourage you guys, the Bass Hobbyists, to repair your broken instruments. Don't listen to those people who say that they can't be fixed and must be thrown away. Make them playable again! Save them from the landfills!

Also, take a look at this thread:

anyone replaced a trussrod from an Ibanez SR?

In it, Dan Harris got an Ibanez with a broken truss rod. Now, replacing a truss rod in a bass neck is a fairly complicated job. Many pro Luthiers wouldn't even take it on. But, with a little guidance from us, Dan just went ahead and did the job himself. He'd never done it before. He was successful, and that Ibanez is back in service.

I'm not saying that the work we pro Luthiers do is easy and anyone can do it. A lot of it does require skill and experience and specialized machines. But many of the basic repairs can be done by hobbyists like you on the workbench in the garage. What it requires is care and time.

 

[James Collins]

This prior post would be such a fitting end to this thread. I personally just ordered my first DIY bass.

 

[BassikLee]

I may have a potentially even more scarier Spector repair for Alex, if he’s up to it

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I may have a potentially even more scarier Spector repair for Alex, if he’s up to it

Well, that was 6 years ago. Alex has moved on with his life. He's got a nice steady job that he likes, his own apartment, a soon-to-be wife, a nice truck, etc. The things a young man in his '20's needs. He really enjoyed his time here learning to be a Luthier, but doesn't have time for it now. He may get back to it eventually as a side hobby business. He's doing well, building up his future.

These days, Jeremy Kirsch is one of my Associate Luthiers, working here in my shop. He's known as Freekmagnet here on Luthier's Corner. He's an established Luthier and does beautiful work. He's an expert at building custom necks and repairing/restoring necks. He also makes his own pickups and preamps and full cool basses of his own design. He has his own long thread on here, showing his work.

You can go ahead and PM him at @Freekmagnet and see if he's interested in saving your Spector. I know he personally likes Spectors, so he might take it on.

 

[BassikLee]

Thanks, I will do that