desmondpot Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Hey all, A question for the Spector gurus. I'm getting some pretty unpleasant distortion when I dig in in the lower registers. I've replaced the Tonepump battery, wound the P pickup as far down as it'll go, inspite of EMG's needing to sit as close as poss to the strings, and I'm still getting some nasty muffled farting noises from the E and A strings (particularly noticable with the tone controls wound back.) The output's very hot and, it being a 2007 model, doesn't have the output trim pot for the Tonepump. So, what do you reckon? Is it a characteristic of the Tonepump or do I have a dicky piece of kit? Almost forgot. The amp's an old Trace 715 with a dedicated Active input and isn't prone to distorting with any of my other basses. I've tried the euro through a headphone amp too, with the same results. Thanks for listening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) The tone controls on the Tonepump are mainly boost but there is cut as well. Basic gain +12dB Controls: Bass: +14dB/-4dB @55Hz Treble: +14dB/-12dB @6.5kHz Meaning that to run the Tonepump flat, you have to open the bass pot just shy of 1/4 of the way, and the treble just shy of 1/2 way. With the 18v power it runs very hot if you overboost the bass/treble into an amp that can't handle it. Try positioning the controls in the flat position described above and getting a tone you like on the TE head (minding the input gain), then cut & boost carefully on the Tonepump to find your sweet spot. Edited March 16, 2011 by cetera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desmondpot Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) Strangely enough, it sounds less distorted with the tone controls full up and worse wound back. The input gain's on 1 on the TE. Any more and it gets scary. Winding the EMG's down helped alot, but didn't clear the problem up. The neck pup's about 6 or 7mm off the strings. Also, I've tried my Thumb BO through the TE, boosting the signal to Spector levels with a Boss LM2 and the TE didn't blink. I'm going to get the bottom of this 'cos this thing plays better than any bass I've owned. Edited March 16, 2011 by desmondpot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 [quote name='desmondpot' post='1164270' date='Mar 16 2011, 12:01 PM']Strangely enough, it sounds less distorted with the tone controls full up and worse wound back. The input gain's on 1 on the TE. Any more and it gets scary. Winding the EMG's down helped alot, but didn't clear the problem up. The neck pup's about 6 or 7mm off the strings.[/quote] E-mail [email protected] and explain the situation as above - he may have an answer and their customer service is second to none... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desmondpot Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 [quote name='cetera' post='1164315' date='Mar 16 2011, 12:36 PM']E-mail [email protected] and explain the situation as above - he may have an answer and their customer service is second to none...[/quote] Thanks Mr Cetera. Consider it done. ps: at what height should the pups sit from the strings? Overall, apart from the distortion, I thought the bass sounded better with the pup's pretty high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldude Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 [quote name='desmondpot' post='1164336' date='Mar 16 2011, 12:55 PM']Thanks Mr Cetera. Consider it done. ps: at what height should the pups sit from the strings? Overall, apart from the distortion, I thought the bass sounded better with the pup's pretty high.[/quote] I would have thought that the closer to the strings the pickups are, the louder the signal from them? So moving the pickups away from the strings might lower their output and reduce the chance of distortion from the preamp. Someone with a better knowledge of these things might come along and set me straight though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmpires Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) Pj will probably offer you the same solution he offered me, in 2008 I think the new tonepumps were fitted with a trim pot designed to lower the output without losing tone, PJ had one sent to me from Czech Rep (FREE), and I got it fitted at the gallery for less that £30 I think. I no longer have the Spector sold it to another BC , but hell was one heck of a bass. Edited March 16, 2011 by davidmpires Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desmondpot Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) [quote name='davidmpires' post='1164529' date='Mar 16 2011, 03:33 PM']Pj will probably offer you the same solution he offered me, in 2008 I think the new tonepumps were fitted with a trim pot designed to lower the output without losing tone, PJ had one sent to me from Czech Rep (FREE), and I got it fitted at the gallery for less that £30 I think. I no longer have the Spector sold it to another BC , but hell was one heck of a bass.[/quote] Now that's what I call a service. You don't see that too often. Did you have a similar problem then? Edited March 16, 2011 by desmondpot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmpires Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) [quote name='desmondpot' post='1164619' date='Mar 16 2011, 04:43 PM']Now that's what I call a service. You don't see that too often. Did you have a similar problem then?[/quote] Their service is outstanding. Probably the best. My issue was with the Barefaced cab, when running my F1 with the Spector and the Barefaced I had lots of distortion to the point that I stopped using my Spector when gigging. Then I swapped the tone pump and sorted the problem. End up selling both the cab and the bass. Edited March 16, 2011 by davidmpires Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desmondpot Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) Probably should have thought of this before, but if I back the volume pots down to around 6 then the signal cleans right up no matter the playing style or tone adjustment. Edited March 17, 2011 by desmondpot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmpires Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 (edited) [quote name='desmondpot' post='1165134' date='Mar 16 2011, 11:17 PM']Probably should have thought of this before, but if I back the volume pots down to around 6 then the signal cleans right up no matter the playing style or tone adjustment.[/quote] Yeah but there will be a day in a gig where you want to raise it and can't.... Before you do anything else, open the back and check for a small trim pot, where you can adjust with a small screwdriver....maybe you already have the new tonepump. Edited March 17, 2011 by davidmpires Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='desmondpot' post='1165134' date='Mar 16 2011, 11:17 PM']Probably should have thought of this before, but if I back the volume pots down to around 6 then the signal cleans right up no matter the playing style or tone adjustment.[/quote] There you go.... the full 18v signal is just too hot for your old Trace head methinks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desmondpot Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='davidmpires' post='1165535' date='Mar 17 2011, 10:52 AM']Yeah but there will be a day in a gig where you want to raise it and can't.... Before you do anything else, open the back and check for a small trim pot, where you can adjust with a small screwdriver....maybe you already have the new tonepump.[/quote] I'm afraid mine's a 2007 (I think), just before the changover. So no trim pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desmondpot Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 (edited) [quote name='cetera' post='1165577' date='Mar 17 2011, 11:23 AM']There you go.... the full 18v signal is just too hot for your old Trace head methinks... [/quote] Yeah, and my Focusrite strip and the inputs on my Delta 66 I'll ask PJ politely if he could see his way to swapping this one for a newer version. That should do the trick as I like the tonal adjustment on the Tonepump. It rolls off the treble without sucking out too much mid detail and boosts to a healthy active sounding snap. The bass boost frequency's well chosen too. It fills out the bottom end well without booming (or not till you get to the extremes, anyway). I did some recording with it last night and it sounds great, as long as the volume pots are kept around 6. And I rasied the pickups again which definately sounds better. Edited March 17, 2011 by desmondpot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='cetera' post='1164315' date='Mar 16 2011, 12:36 PM']E-mail [email protected] and explain the situation as above - he may have an answer and their customer service is second to none...[/quote] Do this. I was in exactly the same boat as you, I got onto PJ and had a reply within minutes! He wasn't able to supply me with a free one (which I didn't really expect anyway) bu he pointed me in the right direction and I now have a replacement Tonepump on it's way as we speak! Spector's customer service is truly second to none, they really care about their players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desmondpot Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' post='1166011' date='Mar 17 2011, 05:18 PM']Do this. I was in exactly the same boat as you, I got onto PJ and had a reply within minutes! He wasn't able to supply me with a free one (which I didn't really expect anyway) bu he pointed me in the right direction and I now have a replacement Tonepump on it's way as we speak! Spector's customer service is truly second to none, they really care about their players.[/quote] How much did the new tonepump set you back in the end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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