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Spector, or Carvin?

#24
I tried out both Spectors and Carvins when I was shopping for a new bass this past spring. In fact, they were my top two considerations for my price range. I ended up going with the Carvin for a number of reasons. A. The necks are MUCH nicer (for me at least), the Spector felt like playing a 2x4. B. The custom factor. By going with Carvin, I got EXACTLY the bass that I wanted, rather than shelling out for a production model Spector, which would have been more expensive for what I got. As stated, you can't try out the exact bass you're going to buy with Carvin if you're buying new, but you can hit up the Social GTG threads here and try and find someone in your area that may let you play something similar to what they're getting, and sometimes you can find them in music stores used. I've rarely heard of anyone getting one and being unhappy with it though, their build quality is excellent.
 
#25
JPSBassist said:
Sorry, not trying to be rude, but the Legends are Korean-Made. Always have been. The ReBop Models are our Czech-Made bolt-ons.

I've only played a Carvin (LB70) once. Seemed like a nice bass... It just wasn't as comfortable and definately didn't have the deep growly tonal-range that my Euro4LX has. But that's a soapbar vs P/J issue.

I can't really speak too much about the virtues of Carvin, when I was searching for "the bass" that was best for me (long before I actually worked for Spector, BTW), I tried out dozens of basses and owned a Fender, Steinberger, Ibanez, MusicMan... Eventually my quest for the perfect bass for me led me to Spector. It's different for every player. So you may get either of these fine instruments you mention here and find that neither is that perfect bass for you. Or you may find that one or the other is.

I'd strongly advise you to try and find the two models that you are interested in (Carvin vs. Spector) and play them both. And not just for 2 or 3 minutes. Ask if you can stap them on and play them. Feel their weight, get used to their necks, run them through a number of different tone settings.

Then buy the one that best fits you.

Spectors usually run a little more than $750 for a nice used Euro Model. But you pay for what you get and what you are getting is a precision crafted instrument with the finest components available on the market. And all of our Neck-Thru Euro models have the same 3-piece Rock Maple necks, truss rods and extruded graphite support rods (when we say "Basses Built for a Lifetime", we mean it) as our USA models. We actually ship them to our Czech factory from the NY workshop.

The heart of every Neck-Thru Euro Spector IS the same as every USA Spector.

And another word about Spectors that run less than $1000 that are not Czech or USA made. I agree with NS2A that the Euro Models are almost on par with the USA models. And the fact they have the same necks is a large part. But the fit and finish of the USA models is a little more perfect. If that makes sense. And they ARE made here in the USA by hand by Stuart Spector and a small handful of dedicated craftsmen that Stuart has hand-picked and trained.

The Korean models are nothing to turn your nose up at... They are really, really well made and many professional artists including Johnny A. of Staind have played them. The same group of people have made them for us in Korea since 1986. And every year they just get better and better. My first Spector was a Korean model. It blew my Ibanez and (sad to say) MusicMan away. So much so that I started looking for an affordable used Euro model.

I have a 22 year-old Spector NS-2A from Korea that honestly sounds as nice and plays as well as my new Euro4LX... The neck is still true after 22 years. The finish is still beautiful.

Please try both out and make your decision based on that. You can have 10,000 opinions from people here leaning one direction or the other, but at the end of the day the only opinion that matters is yours.

I wish you the best of luck. Please post what your decision is. I'll be curious to see what you decide.

Best,

JP
Click to expand...

Hey thanks! I will try to play both. the thing that sucks is that the music stores close to me dont have spectors....ive been really wanting to try one, the only website i know of that sells them is musicians freind. i usually use guitar center to buy new basses, but they dont have any spectors there, exept possibly a used one(ive personaly never saw 1 there even used). Carvins are difficult to try to play too. i know someone who has a carvin guitar that is amazing, but not bass. I could be wrong, but dont spectors have a more agressive sound for metal? that is wat im lookin for
 
#27
JPSBassist said:
...
The Korean models are nothing to turn your nose up at... They are really, really well made and many professional artists including Johnny A. of Staind have played them. The same group of people have made them for us in Korea since 1986. And every year they just get better and better. My first Spector was a Korean model. It blew my Ibanez and (sad to say) MusicMan away. So much so that I started looking for an affordable used Euro model.
...
Click to expand...

Anybody else find it a bit humorous that he was actually responding to Johnny in this post?
:)
 
#29
staindbass said:
hmmm i will have to check the back of the headstocks. sorry if i got it wrong. i swore i had spectors made in 3 countries... so it must be the korean one is the best. johnny a.
Click to expand...

No worries man.

I love your band. I have some Staind songs in many of my large playlist rotations... I spend way too much time in front of a computer and music is always playing.

It's easy to get them confused. I work for them and sometimes I have to double check the models, especially the older ones. the newer ones are pretty easy to tell apart.

I'm going to PM you. Thanks!
 
#30
brokensilence11 said:
Hey thanks! I will try to play both. the thing that sucks is that the music stores close to me dont have spectors....ive been really wanting to try one, the only website i know of that sells them is musicians freind. i usually use guitar center to buy new basses, but they dont have any spectors there, exept possibly a used one(ive personaly never saw 1 there even used). Carvins are difficult to try to play too. i know someone who has a carvin guitar that is amazing, but not bass. I could be wrong, but dont spectors have a more agressive sound for metal? that is wat im lookin for
Click to expand...

Yeah we don't have any agreements with GC. There is a list of online dealers and our new Dealer Locator section of our site (designed and built by yours truly), has up-to-date info on dealers around the world... and by city in each US State.

The link is:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

The link to the Online Dealers is:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Again I have nothing negative to say about Carvin. My personal experience is that they make very nice instruments.

I work for SPECTOR because I fell in love with their basses and then after getting to know one of the owners (PJ Rubal) through my purchases, pitched them on working together.

It's been a great relationship.

I hope you get a chance to play each before you purchase. And again, which ever way you go, as long as you are happy with it, you made a good choice.

JP
 
#32
XtraLongScale said:
When equipped with the correct electronics ( EMG active pickups coupled with preamps from Aguilar, EMG or most preferably, Spector's Hazlab built 9v or 18v pres) they possess some of the most aggressive tone ever heard.
Click to expand...

Sorry, just saw this post.

I would agree. A lot of people don't like the TonePump. I don't have such an issue with it personally. I find that adjusting the internal trim pot on the TP unit itself helps greatly. They are usually set pretty hot from the factory.

It's got the lows if you want low. The mids are not as strong, but my Euro is a P/J... so when I want to shake the floor, I grab my Euro4LX.

The Auggie is great and the USA circuits... to die for. Rex Brown of Down/Pantera... Ian Hill of Judas Priest... and many many more depend on that aggressive sound.
 
#33
I completely disagree with the assertion that Spector "blows away" Carvin regarding tone. I've played several Spectors and HATED the tone; they seemed to only have the Rex Brown tone setting. Then again, Colin from Porcupine Tree has some great tones on Fear Of A Blank Planet with Spectors...

Carvin's tend to be a bit on the bright side as well tonally, and although their older pickups and preamps were a bit bland, the newer Alnico stuff sounds really really good. And if you're looking to play metal, the J9A's should do a good job.

For me - Carvin all the way. Love their boltons, although I probably will never get another neck through. Not my thing.
 
#34
FunkMetalBass said:
Anybody else find it a bit humorous that he was actually responding to Johnny in this post?
:)
Click to expand...

I was responding to him saying his Legend was Czech made.

The rest of the post was for brokensilence11.

People do get the models mixed up. It's easy to do.

I did, however, want to be respectful of Johnny, since he's a bassist I respect playing for a band I really like.

This was when I spoke about how good the Korean basses are.

You've got guys like Johnny using them, that says alot about them.

I wanted to make sure I didn't come across disrespectful that's all.
 
#39
wvbass said:
Umm...up until they started being made in Indonesia, that is. :eyebrow:
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was very short lived. The quality control was not there, each batch that arrived were worse and worse.

So much so that Stuart and PJ didn't feel it was worth mentioning in the previous models section.

They really do pay close attention to the quality of the instruments made overseas. They've been known to reject shipments.

And this is another reason why they'll never do a chinese model again.

In business, the economic laws for manufacturing are pretty much written in stone. There's a scale... like one you'd use to balance something...

On one side is time and money... on the other is quality. The more time and money you spend the better the quality... the less time and money the less the quality.

SPECTOR has always wanted to provide an entry-level bass for starter players/students. But the issue is that the quality of the basses that fall into that affordable under $500 range is very hard to stomach when your brand has been built on top-of-the-line hand-made guitars of the highest quality.

It's a catch 22. You want to offer something for everyone. But you don't want to damage the hard work that you've done building the perception that your brand is that top of the line sort of brand. It's why Ferarri and Bentley don't make a $20,000 daily driver.

Guitars and cars are different I know. But I've done consulting for BMW and Fiat (who owns Ferarri) so it's an easy analogy for me.

And case in point... is not a favorable thing, this reference to the Indonesiean basses by Spector...
 
#40
I've only played one Spector and that was back in the 80's (Eddie Jackson moment) but I own a Carvin LB76 and living in San Diego I've played every model they offer.

I like my bass a lot. In fact I just went to a local store and tried out the big boys toys (Sadowskys, Laklands, Zons, etc) and found that my LB76 was on par with what they offered. I'm not saying my Carvin is any better than these basses, but then again it isn't any worse either.

The closest thing Carvin makes to a Spector would have to be the Icon. It has the carved rounded body similar in idea to a Spector or Soundgear even though the silhouette may be substantially different. Here's one thing you may not know. There is a version of the Icon available called an "S". The Icons usually come with a fancy top which is included in the base price, but the S version is just a plain wood version designed for solid colors. This is NOT in the catalog but can be ordered via the phone. So instead of an IC4 you would order and IC4S and save a couple hundred bucks. It may not be enough to bring this model into your $750 price range, but it something worth looking into.

As far as the sight unseen thing goes, how many people have ordered something from Musician's Friend, E-bay, or even Amazon? For those that don't know Carvin has been doing this since 1946 (as old as Fender) and it's been a mail order company that whole time. They must be doing something right.
 

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