Thunderbird Club

[KaraQ]

thx man, kinda hard to tell….single 9v batt…
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I'm not a Spector expert, but it at least doesn't look like the Haz pre-amp, or one of the clones; most of those I've seen have been one large, integrated unit, that fits the full space of the electronics compartment.

Looks stock/original though, so maybe one of the Tone Pump variants?

I got to poking around on the interwebz, and maybe this is it?

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/2255799902530874.html?gatewayAdapt=Pc2Msite4itemAdapt


Seems to look similar, ar least?

 

[TBird1958]

Puts the bridge pickup up to high, gets in my way big time.

You could take it out and sell it to me, I need a new set of pickups for my Orville - I'd be halfway there!

Just kidding, I know you want to keep it stock.

 

[godofthunder59]

You could take it out and sell it to me, I need a new set of pickups for my Orville - I'd be halfway there!

Just kidding, I know you want to keep it stock.

Lol can't blame you for trying

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I got to poking around on the interwebz, and maybe this is it?

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/2255799902530874.html?gatewayAdapt=Pc2Msite4itemAdapt


Seems to look similar, ar least?

great eye Kara….yeah that’s it….new to this whole (Spector….have wanted one since I saw someone playing one in my teens) thing….begs the question, why would someone want to replace the stock preamp with some hokey 40 dollar third party one? is this the MO with Spector owners? never heard of a similar trend form owners of other active basses such as Music Man and others…..go figure…

 

[KaraQ]

great eye Kara….yeah that’s it….new to this whole (Spector….have wanted one since I saw someone playing one in my teens) thing….begs the question, why would someone want to replace the stock preamp with some hokey 40 dollar third party one? is this the MO with Spector owners? never heard of a similar trend form owners of other active basses such as Music Man and others…..go figure…

Maybe the $40 one is a copy of the one you have?
There are some differences - yours looks to have a blend? that the one I found doesn't have, and the wiring on yours looks to be soldered instead of plug-in.....

 

[stlrocker]

didn’t care much for that satin finish either….that said, lotta bass for the money back when new….heavy..
View attachment 4731167

the new body is poplar and chambered, so it brought it down to about 9lbs. not bad at all for a t40.

Gut shot. A 1/4" poplar cap went on top of this then black binding around the seam.

 

[Nocturnal]

I'm not a Spector expert, but it at least doesn't look like the Haz pre-amp, or one of the clones; most of those I've seen have been one large, integrated unit, that fits the full space of the electronics compartment.

Looks stock/original though, so maybe one of the Tone Pump variants?

I was thinking one of the Tone Pump variations as well but couldn't find an exact match. It didn't look like any of the HAZ clones either.

Next best option other than stripping is using an abrasive fiber pad to dull the gloss and/or neutralize stickiness. You can find them at hardware and paint stores. I use it on all my gloss bass necks. Once it gets buffed back to a gloss from playing, just dull it again. It doesn't remove material - more that it dulls gloss and give a very nice feeling satin/matte finish. I even did it on my '64 T-bird. Feels great!

View attachment 4731172

A second vote for the fiber pads. They work well and so far I haven't ruined anything while using them.

 

[Nocturnal]

great eye Kara….yeah that’s it….new to this whole (Spector….have wanted one since I saw someone playing one in my teens) thing….begs the question, why would someone want to replace the stock preamp with some hokey 40 dollar third party one? is this the MO with Spector owners? never heard of a similar trend form owners of other active basses such as Music Man and others…..go figure…

If anything they tend to go higher end on the replacement preamps. Your pre could even be an EMG module of some type, but they tend to have identifying model info somewhere.

 

[JIO]

And while it might be Un-Violin bass, it's also very much a Captain Sensible thing.

Must be custom as I've never seen a violin bass with what looks like an aluminum top - do you have any info on it?

 

[JIO]

I was thinking one of the Tone Pump variations as well but couldn't find an exact match. It didn't look like any of the HAZ clones either.



A second vote for the fiber pads. They work well and so far I haven't ruined anything while using them.

The beauty is that after playing, you 'buff' the gloss back. Not high gloss, but shinier than matte. Either version is better that shiny gloss.

 

[WillyW]

That's fantastic. Dark woods look really good natural. It's typically the light woods that are uninteresting for me. Classic example was the fad in the mid 70s.
View attachment 4731104

ugh the 70’s natural ash are stomach churningly gross, and tend to weigh about 14lbs

 

[WillyW]

My burgundy doesn’t have frets or a bridge pickup anymore.

 

[Blazer]

Must be custom as I've never seen a violin bass with what looks like an aluminum top - do you have any info on it?

From what I understand, he simply glued Tinfoil to the top of that thing, as the sides show the sunburst it originally was.

Judging by that Trussrod cover and the headstock logo, his Beatles Bass wasn't a Hofner either, most likely a Teisco or some other Japanese made copy.

 

[BklynKen]

From what I understand, he simply glued Tinfoil to the top of that thing, as the sides show the sunburst it originally was.
View attachment 4731318
Judging by that Trussrod cover and the headstock logo, his Beatles Bass wasn't a Hofner either, most likely a Teisco or some other Japanese made copy.

Doesn't matter what brand. Sensible could/can play the hell out of anything.

 

[GonePlaid]

My burgundy doesn’t have frets or a bridge pickup anymore.

Yer bass, yer choice. I can live without the bridge/superfluous pup. The frets? Nope.

 

[JIO]

From what I understand, he simply glued Tinfoil to the top of that thing, as the sides show the sunburst it originally was.
View attachment 4731318
Judging by that Trussrod cover and the headstock logo, his Beatles Bass wasn't a Hofner either, most likely a Teisco or some other Japanese made copy.

Wow - the fleeting detail shots in that vid looked much more substantial than tin-foil... but I couldn't imagine why anyone would do an aluminum/metal top on a violin bass - Hoftner or otherwise.

 

[rumblesaust]

A few more pictures. I got the controls sorted and removed the bridge pickup spacer. A quick set up. quarter turn on the truss rod, lower the bridge, little filling on the nut, check intonation View attachment 4731161 View attachment 4731162 View attachment 4731163 and it plays great!

Grear colour!

 

[MCF]

I'm with ya on that. I had this in natural ash. Liked the bass didn't like the finish too much.

View attachment 4731141

Now it is this. Much better to my eyes.

View attachment 4731147

I didn't paint the original body. Still have the original on a shelf. This is one I made so I could do binding and paint it how I wanted.

Oh man. I want.

 

[GonePlaid]

Oh man. I want.

??? But...It's not PB.

 

[Engle]

New RS66S 45-65-85-105, slight loosen of the rod cause it had 50-110s on it.

Ready for the car show gig on Canaduh day!