Sean

I fitted a Daddario nickel 0.135 to my BBP35 this morning. Wow, that extra 0.005 makes all the difference, it's fab. I'm struggling to understand why there isn't more love for the pickups in these instruments, I love them. They are very different to the previous generation but just a different flavour of very good.

I gigged an orange one regularly years ago. With a Gotoh bridge it was fantastic.

Well, I've put the HAZ-03 in my '03 Euro 4 today but before I restrung it I got called away to other duties...😉 Installation was easy for those comfortable with soldering and reading wiring diagrams. It's not a job for beginners. I've ordered new (gold) pickup screws as the existing ones are minging. The high frets have some areas of corrosion so need a full polish. So does the brass nut. I've cleaned the fretboard and given it some Crimson Guitars Fretboard Restorative (you really ought to buy some). I've recorded some standard bass lines with it (as it arrived, with the old Tone Pump) and will record the same lines with the same strings once it's all back in one piece. It's a peach but it's needed some therapy to get it to be the Spector it can be.

I'm glad I'm not alone with this; nice bloke doing good for the bass world, but it grates. There's something about that left hand technique that I can't watch either.

I'm 100% happy and sure the chip isn't related to the packaging. It was bubble wrapped inside the case.

Well, it arrived just now. I've not seen a bass packed like that before. The Parcelforce chap wasn't happy about it. It has picked up a laquer chip on the top edge at the 6th fret since it was at Andy's but it's a fill and polish job for a day when I'm in the mood. It probably deserves a NBD thread. We've well and truly hijacked this one 1

I've never finished one of his videos. I dunno what it is...

Argentinian rock band, Divididos have an incredible bassist in Diego Arnedo. I love all things Argentina and the music that comes out of this amazing country continues to inspire. Che. Qué onda.

I've ordered the Artec now. I've got loads of copper for shielding so will fully shield the cavity. Thanks very much.

Hi Folks I'm restoring an old bass (it's a hacked up early 80s BB400 from what I remember. It's routed for an MM and P. It has holes for 3 pots. I've got a budget of £80 max to get it up and running. I'm going to put in Warman pickups (£41.50 the pair), I've got loads of hardware, switches etc but need a preamp. I've looked at an Artec but they seem to be flat on 10 and just roll off frequency like filters from what I've read. Any recommendations for a 3 pot preamp at around £25? Thanks

That sounds pretty easy. Thanks. I haven't ordered it yet as I'm unsure what exactly is in this one until it arrives (it's not been despatched yet). If it's a new Mikalik Tonepump, I'll order the pedal, use Gary's advice on settings and I can use it with both Spectors and my other basses, if it's the old Tonepump, I'll swap it out for an LHZ-03.

So, do we know if it's a new Mikalik preamp in there or was it just a repair? Any ideas?

Did it all go to plan? Do you have any "handy hints" for the installation? I've downloaded the check list.

That's exactly what I'd have said. The Laney has to be experienced. All these big valve monsters have an almost living quality that differentiates them from anything else.

So, just to clarify, you pointed Andy in the direction of Mikalik? Was it all resolved by Andy and working in the end? Did you then sell it to the current seller?

~300 USA Spector instruments per year? I feel slightly ill having sold one in the past. I had no idea they were that thin on the ground 🤫

Yes, it could be but I'm not totally convinced based on this rough logic: We go from 2 blocks of maple to, let's say a sandwich of maple/walnut/alder, the walnut is the same density as the maple and it's 40% maple, 10% walnut, 50% alder roughly, I'm giving alder the benefit. Alder is 67% the density of maple. We've reduced 15% just on the wings. I reckon 6-8oz. Meanwhile US instruments are still being made with full maple. Is that 6-8oz worth it? I don't know but it does turn a 9lb 12oz bass into a 9lb 4oz bass. Is that going to meet whatever the business need was at the time? Can @cetera shed any light on why the change happened?

@Eldon Tyrell Wow! Andy's photos give it a completely different vibe, it looks stunning. It's nice to get a bit of its history.

Have you ever played it? Anything specific to report? I used to have a US NS5-XL and loved the solid maple wings and I played an 02ish Euro once that just spoke to me so was keen to fill that gap. This '03 seems like a bit of a case queen.

Could be 😉 Why?

Here's a good one (I hope)... We know the difference between the Euro and the Euro LX Czech instruments, but what I'd like to know is, why the change? Solid maple wings (Euro pre-'04) will have a different tone to alder/walnut/maple sandwich (Euro LX) but was this done for tonal reasons, product differentiation, construction or tooling reasons, lack of suitable sized chunks of qualifying maple lumber, cost, aesthetics, a mixture of reasons????

Yes, makes sense to me that it's just poorly worded now. I'll wait until this Euro lands next week and see what's in there. The seller said it's all original. If it is, I'll fit an LHZ-03. I used to have an original Haz in a parts box somewhere but probably sold it 🙄 Probably worth doing some A/B sound comparisons with it before and after too.

That's really useful, thanks. As far replacing the pre in the Euro, my obvious options are one of the Mikalik BP4s, which will be a switch to an adjustable current spec Tonepump @ £110 shipped. That would then level the playing field with both the Euro and Euro LX having the same preamp. Or, and this is probably the weird option that would negate the need for the pedal with the Euro, install an LHZ-03. Hmmm. And then getting the pedal anyway for everything else. I also have a question on the LHZ-03 product info that I just don't understand. It says, and I quote, "If you have a 20-year-old Spector NS2A, Euro, or ReBop and are ready to upgrade the stock EMG pickups and TonePump preamp to get that signature NS2 sound, all you need are a set of active EMG PJ pickups and this preamp!" Surely if you have any early Euro ('03), you already have active US-spec EMGs? Is this info relating to the NS2A or Rebop mentioned? Do they not have full fat EMGs? Or am I missing something? Thanks. I went down the ACG/East route in the distant past and swapped Tonepumps out for the filter/sweep ACG units in 2 Euro LXs. Never again. Too complicated and although there are some amazing tones in there, they're a nightmare to use on the fly.

@cetera Having that grind in other basses is something that appeals to me. What would be your recommendation on how to get a flat setting o. Non-Haz Spectors? I'm running one current Tonepump (Euro LX) at about 50% on the adjustment and B + T full up. The other will be the non-adjustable Tonepump. For me, the pedal means I can keep both basses stock and also get some Haz magic with other basses. P with flats, anyone?