Spectorcore 4

[sargebaker]

Has anyone ever played these? There's one at my shop, I haven't played it yet but I plan on trying it next time I'm there, I think it might be a contender for the Carvin fretless i panned on ordering. I've never played a semi hollow bass so I'm not too sure how it sounds. I was just wondering if anyone has ever played one and could give me some feedback.

Thanks!
Baker

 

[Poseur]

I've got the 5, so I'll ignore the b-string for the review. The soapbar pup gives a real mellow, warm tone. You can give it a bit more edge using the tone knob. The piezo pups in the bridge are a little too thin on their own, but work well when blended with the other pickup. They add a bit of sparkle to the mix. The battery is going on 3 months strong, with light-moderate playing, so it's not a battery hog. It was exactly the tone I was looking for, and I believe my GAS is cured for the time being . Mine was $550 USD, shop worn.

 

[sargebaker]

Man I wish I was american, mine would be like 1000ish New. I'm just weary because its active elctronics and i dont wanna ahve to go thru batteries every few months... in general how long do they last? Also the fact that it is rosewood fingerboard (i was looking for ebony) and that it is made out of Basswood, *** is basswood? The carvin i might order is in either walnut or mahogany (can't decide) it's a bolt-on whereas the CArvin is a neck-thru and I dont think this one comes with a hardshell case. and i would only be paying about 2-300 bux less with the Spector. One main pro would be if I dont like the carvin, it'll be 4xpensive as heck to ship back, whereas if i dont like the SPector, I dont buy it.

Oh and how would it sound with tapewounds?

 

[Poseur]

Not sure about various strings and sound. I was impressed with the stock roundwounds . As soon as I find an online store that sells flats, tapes, or pressure wounds, I'll try them out. The local shop here only carries high end strings for 4-stringers . I'd imagine an even mellower sound (if it's possible!), and a little less sustain.

Basswood is not a very attractive wood. Very plain looking, lightweight, easy to cut, they use it on the back and sides (to cut down on cost I assume). The top piece has a nice piece of quilted maple though.

I've heard 9 months of average playing time on the batteries. But milage will vary . The fretboard is holding up even with roundwounds, it's scuffed with the same pattern as the strings, but not wearing through the finish.

The nicer wood might be well worth it with the Carvin though.

 

[sargebaker]

Well I just got back form the store where I played a 2003 model of the bass, in amber burst, (it was a five string) It sounded good but I wasn't overly impressed. It felt amazing I,ll give it that much, it was very smooth. It weighed next to nothing (I was looking for a heavier bass but meh.) Sound was, it didn't blow me away. It didn't have too much growl or all that much mwah, and it got really twangy when i tweaked one of the knobs. It looks super nice, I love the whole f-hole thing. The guy at the store said to call back on Tuesday and he would check with Spector custom shop to see if they could do anythign with better wood and an ebony fingerboard etc. What woods make good semi-hollow bodies? (the guy said maple).

I also played a Fender MIA fretless with flatwounds that I really did not like, and I played a Yamaha 5 string that sounded really good, but unfortunately for me it was a 5 string.

I'm actually pretty nervous about the CArvin incase I don't like it, but it certainly seems to be a better buy than the SPector. They are also alot uglier than Spectors.