The Spector Sound

well. all teh EMG spectors have similar sound that is "spector", but obviously, as you go up the ladder, the soudn gets clearer, punchier, and all round higher quality. Spectors ahve been described as "modern" and "clean" by many. I personally would say Spector has a very clean and sharp tone that is only muddy through a low quality amp. The higher end spectors are available with J and P pup configurations. And sound accordingly. One thing I have noticed is the ability for spec's to get very fat thundering bottoms and very crisp clean highs, but usually not at teh same time, depending on how you adjust teh pre-amp. Leaving it flat, the toen is very balanced with fairly crisp highs (excellent basses for slapping, and thick sustained lows. The one thing I have noticed about nearly all spec's though is that they are some of the best basses out there for FX- the tone is extremely easy to manipulate, and this makes Spec's very popular with metal, nu-metal, and electronic type groups. The tone is quite versatile, but not as versatile as, say, a Peavey Cirrus. I can do pretty ood using it fo ra blues type setting, but I much prefer a jazz bass for that (unless I had a spector J...)

 

Yeah your right 5stringDNA Spectors do sound good with the application of effects. The Spector 5 that I have is more responsive thru pedals than the J-bass that I have. That's one of the main reasons why Doug Wimbish swears by his Spectors because he uses so many effect pedals on records and when playing live. Spectors have a tone that fits in better in a rock setting IMO.They also sound good for electronica music styles such as TRANCE.

 

I've got a lower end spector, the Q6, and even though it is the bottom of the line korean series, it has a very nice tone that, as mentioned previously, goes well with effects and sounds great through a good amp. It's got a lot of bottom end, and very clear highs. Lots of people don't like the tone of the EMG HZ pickups, but personally, I like it a lot. They do deffinitely sound a little different than other EMG pickups however

 

These are my identical thoughts...

 

Hehe I've got one even lower down the line than that! Mine's got EMG SSD's in it! Sound is fair but I tell you, the feel of this thing is great. I am refinishing it now in antique white and I will be changing out both of the SSD'd (haven't decided on what to replace them with yet so opinions are appreciated) but this thing is definately a keeper due to the feel.

 

I have a US Spector NS-4 and would say, that in addition to everybody's thoughts already mentioned, Spectors are usually maple necks on maple bodies. Maple tends to give a sweet upper-midrange tone that makes the basses sound agressive and cut through the mix very well.

The 18-volt Haz Labs preamp has tremendous headroom, and I can switch from a "P" type warmth to a "J" growl very easily!

 

I would like to offer a contrary opinion of Spectors. I recently got the chance to play a nice US Spector in a music store, and I couldn't stand the way it sounded. I thought it was extremely bright and harsh, with no low end at all. I tried getting as much bass as possible by panning all the way to the neck pickup, cutting the treble all the down, and boosting the bass all the way up. Even like this, remarkably enough, I got very little low end. I had a tough time figuring out why these basses are so popular. I also hated the way the body felt. I know the curve is supposed to be more comfortable, but it just felt awkword to me. The only possitive thing I can say is that they look nice, and are very well built.

I'm not sure why they sound way too bright. Maybe it's the EMG pickups, but that can't be the only reason.

 

Czech models and up for "Spector Sizzle".

Spectors have their own tone, thats for sure.

Go out and play one, I love them to death, no really...

TO DEATH.

 

I went to guitar center again to try out the same Spector Czech bass. I then tried out a Stingray 5 and a Warwick Thumb Bolt on 5. After A/B/C ing them...I might dare to say that the spector is a combination of the growl (a little tighter though) of a warwick and the Punchiness(and just as bright if desired) as the Stingray 5. You answered your own question