Spector vs music man bass

[Killing Floor]

They're both really good brands that make really good basses. But if you get the MusicMan you'll be a really good bassist. Backed by science.

 

[sawzalot]

I’m a musicman fan but for years I played a Stuart Spector Designs bass that I bought new in 1992 or 1993. It was a 5-string and was an awesome bass, but about 20 years ago I was in a different financial situation and I had to sell it to make a mortgage payment. I miss it still. Anyway: the stingray and the Spector have very different sounds but are both great. My advice would be to buy used and get both.

 

[bcbassman]

I'm still trying to figure out which Jazz Squire costs $600?
You can get a lot of basses for way under $2500.
I wouldn't limit my search to two brands but do as you wish.
I echo the others and I own both Spector and Music Man basses which cost less than $1K each, used of course.

 

[sonojono]

That’s a tough one. I both like those brands equally. I’d go for a Spector, they rule but can be a tad of a reach on the fretting arm reaching to the 1st fret.

Other than that you should be good with a Spector. It’s among one of TB’s favorites right next to GK.

 

[TjMetalhead]

If I had that $2500 I would just buy used, and get one of each

I second this, why spend $2500 on one nice bass when you can have two? Most of my instruments are used and they're perfect. Plus Music Man vs. Spectors is apples and oranges. Different builds, different pickups, different sounds. If you have both then different tools for the job!

 

[RandalPinkFloyd]

I second this, why spend $2500 on one nice bass when you can have two? Most of my instruments are used and they're perfect. Plus Music Man vs. Spectors is apples and oranges. Different builds, different pickups, different sounds. If you have both then different tools for the job!

The finish or style he wants may not be available used. I waited a year trying to find the Spector used that I wanted, it never materialized, so I broke down last month and picked up a new one.

 

[Eon Sky]

As a personal, fairly useless comment, I say get a Stingray. But then my answer to any question is “get a Stingray”.

So ..... kinda ignore me. There, happy to help. No need to thank me.

Hey my wife doesn't think I need another Stingray, but I want to get another Stingray. What do you think I should do?

 

[TjMetalhead]

The finish or style he wants may not be available used. I waited a year trying to find the Spector used that I wanted, it never materialized, so I broke down last month and picked up a new one.

Ah fair point. They finally made the legend 4 bass with a PJ pickup and with the dark cherry finish I love. It was only built with soap bars for years.

 

[21DaHoagie12]

Not trying to talk crap on musicman but I've had issues with warping necks over time whereas spector basses are so solidly built it's almost unbelievable how sturdy they feel in your hands. So basically I'd say go with Spector if you can find one you like.. you can probably find a few really nice used european made spectors in the classifieds for much less than 2.5k .. might even have money left over for a musicman as well. And who could argue with having both ?

 

[mikeswals]

Spector is gonna offer more flexible options. You can get a P/J or soapbars and those soapbar pups can be P, J, or dual coil internally. You could mix and match, series/parallel or coil tap them. You can swap pickups and preamp whenever your bands or tastes change. With the MM Stingray you get basically that one Humbuker tone.

I guess you've never seen the dual pickup StingRays? They came in both HH and HS for some years.
And then you have the Sabre that while discontinued, its not hard to find one. And that one bass does HH, HS, and P.

 

[Lesfunk]

I guess you've never seen the dual pickup StingRays? They came in both HH and HS for some years.
And then you have the Sabre that while discontinued, its not hard to find one. And that one bass does HH, HS, and P.

Yes, it’s good that you mentioned that .
Posters in this thread have referred to Music man as if the Stingray (particularly the single pickup) is the only music man bass.
The Sterling (also readily available) offers even more options, both ergonomic as well as tonal.
The Bongo, also a music man bass, offers yet another set of options of style and tone.
It might be argued that the music man basses offer even more tonal options and flexibility than the Spector
Spector are damn nice instruments too. There’s no wrong answer here.

 

[cdwthunderfoot]

you really need to find a way to try each out and see what you prefer, This is one of those cases where you can't go wrong with either.

 

[Marc DLarosa]

Um... ok... I'll be the first to ask...

Which MODEL of each?

And... yeah... a little patience, and a few extra bucks, can get You BOTH.

 

[Ric5]

Spector vs music man bass

I say Musicman

 

[The Deep]

Both are different flavors of awesome, but edge goes to Spector.

Try for an older used Spector Euro (solid maple wings) and a used USA MM Stingray H or HH and you’ll be enveloped in bass bliss. Should be able to do it on your budget - provided you bide your time- assuming you are living in the US.

 

[TOOL460002]

Owned a used 83 Stingray 4, and have a 2 band and a 3 band eq EBMM Stingray. One I got new. One I got used for I think $900ish in amazing condition. Granted I don't take great care of my stuff and I'm not reselling, so used is ideal, but consider that. For $2500 you could get a nice pair of 'rays.

 

[Chrisk-K]

I’d choose Spector over MM.

 

[bigswifty1]

Hey my wife doesn't think I need another Stingray, but I want to get another Stingray. What do you think I should do?

Dude, if my wife knew anything about basses, *she* would get a Stingray .

Hehe sorry, maybe I need to dial the Fanboy level back to merely “stun”

 

[podmornica1]

Stingray is warmer regardless of the price category of Spector. Spectors look more polished but MM's are working horses

 

[Rdore2000]

I would genuinely advise you to go Music Man. If a Stingray feels too bulky to you, get a Sterling. My GAS has finally been satiated with my most recent Sterling. And with the 5 way pickup selector switch on my HH, I genuinely have more tone choices than I need, and a lightweight beast I can play standing up for hours. A very good friend had to move from Spector (Rex Brown signature) to Strandberg Boden because of an injury.