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I've rejoined the gang. A friend invited me to join a new band, going back to my metal roots. It's in drop C, and I've never played a bass more suited to heavy drop tuning than a Spector. Step 1 of my plan - I sold my NS2000/4 to a mate years ago and instantly regretted it. Soon after I managed to get hold of another one... and sold it to another mate. More regret. Despite years of pestering he always refused - until now! So here it is, in spotless condition:

Finally found a black pickguard at a reasonable price and a huge improvement too!

Thought it might be a bit of fun.... having been the owner of quite a few basses and acquired a couple of bucket listers ... I thought it would be nice to hear which of your collection you would keep and why. You simply love it? Your first bass? It’s an investment? Rules are simple. You must have owned it or currently own it (sellers regret welcome). I would keep my Status. It’s a 2019 S2, headed 4 string. It plays like a dream. Sounds awesome with some fat lows on a 4 string! It’s just great as an all rounder. It’s light and it’s purple

Step 2: Convince myself I need another Spector - easy! I noticed @Dov65 selling his limited edition Euro on here and after a quick phone call it was mine! These truly are wonderful basses. Impeccable craftsmanship and an aggressive growl like no other bass. I'm having to readjust to active basses but it's worth it for the incredible tone this thing puts out. Drop C on this thing is a brutal experience. So here it is - Eddie Jackson!

For me, it has to be my Spector Euro Mike Starr LE with the Haz 9V. All my other basses can go (for the right price) or have to go (to make space in the living room (for more basses :- ) or to pay for other basses, bills or other stuff).

I am going to go against the flow here. This is in two parts. 1. For years at work I used Wellers and they are great. However the magnetic temperature control was not as reliable as I would have liked. I also dis not find the handle comfortable. One day we employed a new wireman and he only used Antex irons and I have used them ever since. Antex is a British company and their technique for heating the iron is very efficient , the bit surrounds the element meaning my 18 watt* has never let me down and my 15W** can do most jobs. The 15W outpeforms most cheap 30W irons. Seems like wattage is no indicator of performance. Now where have I heard that before. I just ordered a new handle to the 15W. It is 40 years old and although the new handle has been redesigned, it fits the old element. For a brginner, *https://www.esr.co.uk/shop/contents/en-uk/p32302_Antex_CS_18W_230V_Soldering_iron_PVC_cable___plug.html I would resist temperature controlled irons (although I have one) as I tend to spend more time playing with them than actually soldering. 2. Some tips for soldering: Use as big an iron as you need. My 18 watt with a 3mm tip has never let me down. Make sure the tip is suitable for the job, the bigger the tip the more heat is can transfer quickly. A 50 watt iron with a 1mm tip will not solder onto the case of a big pot. Incidently, I never solder to pots, I know the guitar industry has since the 50's but it is still bad practice. Always clean the tip before every use. Tip cleaners are OK but a good wet sponge is still the best way in my opinion. Atfer cleaning, "tin" the tip by applying a little solder to it. Not a blob. Move both the iron and the solder to the work towards the work. The solder should only touch the iron/work as they come together. Take the solder and iron away as soon as the solder liquifies. If you are doing several joints in quick succession and not putting the iron into its holder, there is no need to tin the tip every time. Some people will tell you not to blow the hot joint (no puns please) as it causes a dry joint (cold joint in the USA). I don't believe this and blowing does push the fumes away if you have no fume extraction. Before putting the iron into the holder (did I say that a holder is a must), wipe the tip again with the sponge. Any questions please ask.

Not the best photos but you will get the idea. Very impressed so far sounds great in passive mode but when you click the active switch it’s otherworldly! I know it looks black, but it’s actually a very dark brown with a tiny gold speckle in it, hence the gold pick guard.

I love the Ramones -saw them live a dozen times -but that's crazy. And there shouldn't be any fretboard wear except for 1cm-deep divots at E3, A3, D2 ;)

The WD-800 is quite different as it was modeled after the Walkabout. The Subway channel on the TT-800 has more or less the tone of the D-800/D-800+ but with some added texture (like the WD-800) due to the tube driven nature. That's the best I can do with a description, I'm sure there will be more posted about this when players start receiving them and posting their experiences.

If you’re offended by relics, don’t read any further and don’t post any negative comments. if you wouldn’t have one, or don’t think they look good; you’re entitled to your opinion and I won’t try and change your mind. if you have one, or are planning one, post your ideas and pictures here. here’s mine I used the back of a kitchen knife to roll the fretboard edges, a bradle to do the rsndom dinks and the same knife back to do the edges. I was careful to think about end grain. Bare wood was sponged with tea. I used a green dish sponge to take the gloss off the paint. I thought about the strap rub points. I did nothing with metal parts. No belt sanders were harmed

And although @dave_bass5has pointed out on another thread that black basses matter, white basses are pretty darned tasty too and a Spector to boot!

Well it is easy. But there is a story to tell even if it isn’t very exciting. And as English is not my first language at least I get some practice time:-) I love Spectors. Started out with an Ibanez SR and quite liked the sleek body and neck. My first mid category bass was a Czech made Spector which was an unbelievable upgrade for me both in terms of sound and ergonomics. A couple of Czech Spectors later I quit playing for a short while and in the process I sold much of my stuff, Spectors included. When I started again a year later I made it a point to try as many different basses as possible to gain experience about what is out there and what fits me sound and ergonomy-wise. Long story short a couple of dozens basses lates I got another Spector, a Czech one again and I came to the conclusion that there are so much great basses on the market that it’s unbelievable but Spector is where I feel at home. Around that time I have seen a picture of a US made Spector NS-5XL with an marvelous and exquisite buckeye burl top and while I have seen some great combination of these specs this was the best for me ever. Having a pro photographer taking the pics didn’t help the case either. I felt there is a forbidden yet very real love affair taking off so guess what was the locking screen photo on my phone for a year or two? Some time passed after this and much to my surprise and utter disbelief this very bass came up for sale. Let’s just say that I have never before and after paid this much for a bass nor for any bass have I driven a roundtrip of over 2000kms. But I had it in my possession after all. This Spector NS-5XL turned out not only as much beautiful in person as it was on the pic but it proved itself to be my best sounding one, too. For all my recordings in the last three years this is the one that ended up getting used because it has a great combination of clarity, sound and dinamics all over the board and in lower tunings, too. It just works really well for the music I play. I am fortunate to have tried and currently own a selection of instruments from some of the best makers in the industry and I have basses that are close to me for the history we have shared on and off stage but if I were to keep only one this would be it. Spector NS-5XL buckeye/walnut with EMG X series DC pu’s and Hazlab preamp. Now enough of my ramblings let’s get to the best part! Thanks for reading this far🙂

They don't get a lot of love on here but mine would have to be my Variax. I love the neck on it and the versatility of tones wins over any others if I can only keep one.

Simple as I only have one!

My 64 Precision. Everything else is replaceable. Well, except my 60 P... but if I had to choose one it would be the 64.

To be fair I personally think the reason to buy quality cables is because they are robust rather than infinitesimal differences in sound quality.

one thing is clear: we have a LOT of time in our hands and we enjoy overthinking things

Uncanny, I was noodling along to that only this week! Tried to emulate the D synth note by fretting the note and not plucking it (so ‘bouncing/pulsing’ the note on/off the fretboard?!) - the hours flew by! I remember hearing Boston Tea Party on the radio when it came out and the bass line really came through on the mono radio. Such a good band, and the real deal in terms of offering something totally different. Both the band and Zal Cleminson as a guitarist are so often overlooked.

I'd have thought that bass players would appreciate Brian May's talent, as it's based on musicality and inventiveness rather than how many notes you can play in a second. There will always be somebody who can play faster than you, but crafting the kind of solos that Brian May produced is much more worthy of respect, IMO.

Think they possibly missed a golden opportunity with a Flea sig many many years ago...

@Chewiethat red is beautiful isn't it? I really like mine (sunburst) but that is lovely. I think it's a high quality instrument, but I don't search for faults in a bass. If something leaps out at me that's different, otherwise does it sound, look, feel and play nicely? Those are the only questions that matter to me. I have basses that cost £1200 and basses that cost £137 and have zero difference in sound, looks and playability.

Cant be as awful as Watneys Red Barrel. That was as rough as a badgers arrse!!

The BBOT bridges are rubbish, which is why hardly any classic basslines have been recorded using one.

For me its EVH & SRV, both known by their initials and both astounding players who simply stunned everyone who ever saw them long before they were famous. But there have been so many, from Hendrix to Jeff Beck to Robben Ford to hundreds of great players you can see everytime you fire up YouTube (not even mentioning the three Kings and all the great Chicago blues guys). Particular favourites of mine include Steve Lukather, Kossof, Andy Timmons and… so many to choose from! I think that people forget the impact that Eddie Van Halen had when he first burst onto the scene. It seemed that for years after, every guitar player either copied his playing / sound or made a conscious effort not to! Since then there have been thousands of guitarists who have ripped him off to the bone. But for every 12 year old out there who can play Eruption note for note, there is hardly anyone who can hold a candle to his rhythm playing.

Hohoho

Wow. You scored big time 👍 Amazing bass for a super fair price. I saw it being on sale and I was really, really tempted to get the Eddie Jackson to complement my Mike Starr 😉 Enjoy and looking forward to step 3 😎

Was there too. Great band, and for me the 'new' singer admirably walked the fine line between respecting Scott's legacy and putting his own mark on the band.

I very foolishly buggered it up in the early '70's by sending it up to John Birch in Birmingham to have a R... (don't mention that word) pup fitted, to try and beef up the sound. But apart from being a bit louder there was no difference. I didn't understand at the time how important string length was on a bass, so I was really just trying to get the frequencies of a 34" string out of a 30" string. The Danelectro was extremely light and was made of a hardboard face and back with a hollow body. There was no way the poor thing was ever going to produce useful bass frequencies, and really only suited pick playing. So, a stylish and some might say iconic bass ruined through my ignorance. I eventually sold it to a guitarist friend and don't know what happened to it after that. I cannot remember where the R... pup came from, it was one of the early ones with a split magnet shroud. Here I am using the Dan with the pup fitted at some gig around 1973. I changed to a P soon after this.... Yes, and my hair was this long!

There's a GS bass up for grabs on eBay right now https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Gordy-Gordon-Smith-Blueshift-Deluxe-UK-Bass-1982-Red-Excellent-and-Set-up/324175722764?hash=item4b7a60f90c:g:O2YAAOSwFbFeyaDM

I saw Yes twice. Drama tour at Bristol Colston Hall (sorry) and once at Wembley. I remember Jon Anderson at the Wembley gig but I cannot remember the rest of the line up. Was it the 90125 tour? No idea. I think I went on my own so can't ask anyone. Chris Squire was a massive favourite early on. I have just finished transcribing 'Heart Of The Sunrise' which was a roast. Hope to post it on my archive page later today. * *posted

Yep, I would agree. As someone else said though, in 40 years I’ve never had a single bass where I needed more sustain.....

In 1968 the band I played 'rhythm guitar' with (using a Watkins Rapier 33) packed up after its first disastrous gig at a local yoof club, and I then decided to change to bass. My first bass I bought was this Danelectro Longhorn, from a local secondhand shop for £45. By the way, the white toggle switches were made of wood. I bet the later reissues were plastic.

Assuming a real badger's derriere is as rough as a stuffed one's we are talking 60-grit.

Yep, both ways. Costs a fortune. You'll have to pay for the VAT, customs duties out of Switzerland, customs duties in the incoming country and extra fee for the courier : that makes a lot of money. Better asking if the seller can send from Germany, France, or Italy. Don't worry, they are used to this (if they really want to sell abroad).

I can't even remember the name of the band I used to be in.

I’d be checking out the Wilcock short scales https://www.wilcocklondon.com

Would be nice if it was occasionally _somebody's_ cup of tea, though.

gonna nail my support for Bernie Goodfellow's basses to the mast... GB Guitars

@Cosmicrain built me the black beauty in this pic

Today and pre lock down

A few more changes..... so here's an updated list as of June 2020 with latest purchases in bold: (PRE-KRAMER) SPECTOR SB-1 USA 1976 (Walnut/Maple) (PRE-KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA (Cherry Sunburst) (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA (Black) (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA (Black) (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA (Gloss White) (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA (Tobacco Sunburst) (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA (Red/Black Lava Crackle) - Ex-Barry Dunaway (Yngwie Malmsteen Band) (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA (Red Stain) (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2A (Gloss White) (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2A (Black) (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2A (Black) (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2A (Teal) SPECTOR NS-2 USA (Custom Holoflash Black & Abalone) SPECTOR NS-2X USA 'Spectorbird' (Tobacco Sunburst & Abalone) SPECTOR Euro CR (Holoflash Black) SPECTOR Euro CRFM(Dark Purple Stain) SPECTOR Euro CRFM (Plum Stain quilt) SPECTOR Euro CRFM (Forest Green quilt) SPECTOR Euro LX (Gloss White) SPECTOR Euro LX ‘Ian Hill’ (Black) SPECTOR Euro LX 'Rachel Bolan' (Black/Silver Sparkle) SPECTOR Euro LX (Black Stain quilt) SPECTOR Euro LT (Violet Fade quilt) SPECTOR Euro NS-2 JA-CR Euro RI (Gloss White) SPECTOR Euro NS-2 JA-CR Euro RI (Black) SPECTOR Legend 4X (Holoflash Black) SPECTOR Legend 4X (Black Stain) STUART SPECTOR DESIGN NS-4 Euro (Red Stain) DINGWALL D-Bird (Blue/Purple Colourflip) WAL Mk1 Fretless (Mahogany with Stained Maple facings) WAL Mk1 “Geddy Lee” (Black with Gold Hardware) FENDER Precision ‘70’s Jap RI “Phil Lynott” (Black/Mirror) FENDER Precision '70's Classic' Jap RI (sunburst/Blocks on maple board) FENDER Precision ’62 Jap RI (Vintage White/Red Tort) FENDER FSR Precision PJ Deluxe Active (Sea Foam Metallic) 1 of 150 FENDER FSR Precision 70's RI (Nat Ash) FRANKENSTEIN Tele neck/P body '"Billy Sheehan - The Wife" JACKSON "Kip Winger" Sig (Cherry Lacewood) JACKSON TBX-Pro ‘Jacksonbird’ 1 of 56 made (Black) JACKSON Ontario ‘Concert Bass’ (White) HAMER Impact USA (Black & Gold ‘Marble’) HAMER Impact USA (Red) HAMER Scarab USA ‘Rick Savage’ (White) KRAMER Forum I (Flipflop Blue) KRAMER Ferrington Electro/Acoustic (Black) ESP The Surveyor 1984 (Blue Stain with Blue fingerboard!) ESP PPJ-160 ‘Masayoshi Yamashita’ Sig Model (White) ESP/Zep-II PPJ-160 ‘Masayoshi Yamashita’ Sig Model (Black) PEAVEY RJ-IV “Randy Jackson” Sig Model (Red Sunburst) PEAVEY RJ-IV “Randy Jackson” Sig Model (Grey/Silverburst) PEAVEY “Rudy Sarzo” Sig Model (Dark Natural) TOKAI ‘Hard Puncher’ P (Black/Mirror) TOKAI Works TW801? (Black) FERNANDES MV-65NS “Nikki Sixx’ Non-Reverse Spectorbird (Black) FERNANDES MV-65NS “Nikki Sixx’ Non-Reverse Spectorbird (Black) FERNANDES MV-65NS “Nikki Sixx’ Non-Reverse Spectorbird (Black) FERNANDES TB Ltd Edition ‘Thunderbird’ (Off-White) YAMAHA BB3000 (Black Sparkle) ARIA CSB Black & Gold (Black) PEDULLA Buzz Deluxe Fretless (Black) HARTKE XK-4 Active (Black/Chrome) GUILD Pilot (Purple Burst) GUILD Pilot (Red) MUSICMAN USA Sub Stingray (Black) HAGSTROM Super Swede "Rutger Gunnarsson" (Dark Mahogany) EPIPHONE Thunderbird Vintage Pro (Black) EPIPHONE Thunderbird Vintage Pro (Tobacco Burst) ITALIA Imola GP "Ricky Phillips" (White) HOHNER B2A w/D-Tuner (Black) HARLEY BENTON PB-20 Precision (Matt Black) FELINE/SPECTOR "Gene Simmons SB-1" Copy (Black) FELINE/KRAMER "Gene Simmons Axe" 1980 Hybrid (Black/Silver) PUNISHER "Gene Simmons" Ltd. Edition (Signed/#’d) (Black) AXE "Gene Simmons" Ltd Edt (Signed/#’d) (Black/Silver) CORT “Gene Simmons Axe-2” (Black/Silver) CORT “Punisher GS-2” (Black) STACCATO MG Active (1 of 34 made) (Black/Magnesium Alloy) I also have 10 'guitards'....

Sounds to me that you've got a first class rig! But if you're finding your sound too polite and want more clarity and zing, I'd recommend putting a Tech 21 VT Bass DI in front. The tone shaping plus "Bite" selector can give you exactly the clarity and zing you're after - a bit like lifting a blanket off your rig! But it can do a lot more besides. The "Bite" is very much a key ingredient of the VTBassDI. It provides a ‘presence’ boost by boosting the upper mids and treble so that the tone becomes more pronounced and 'present' especially in a mix. The pedal also has a subsonic filter (i.e. hpf) to tighten up the sound. It's a great little preamp and very much an all time favourite of Tech 21 pedal users from the feedback I've read and with good reason.