cytania Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I only picked it up because it was sooo ugly. Spear S-2 in natural, looks like someone described a Curbow to a caveman who the hacked this bass out of a whole log. Yet it's really comfy, balanced and sits on the knee right. The neck is even better than the Levinson Blade I like. Electronics are complex, gonna need to bone up on the double active/passive knobs and switches. It takes two batteries on the back. But when you plug in you can go from a low growl to a huge bouncey plunk... Any thoughts on double active basses? It's still ugly but I can't help smiling when I play it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I think the most important thing to remember with double active basses is to POST SOME PICCYS!!! Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cytania Posted September 27, 2008 Author Share Posted September 27, 2008 Well I part exchanged an electric I haven't played since going basswards and got a nice deal. Spent the afternoon tweaking the intonation. Tuners are a bit plastic spongey but working the nut slots and adding graphite has helped. Neck is actually a dark stain on maple but still as good as I thought. If I don't screw up again there should be a suitably caveman posed picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedontcarebear Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Where did you get it from and how much? I was after one of these before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cytania Posted September 27, 2008 Author Share Posted September 27, 2008 Music Inn on Alfreton Rd, Nottingham it was £399 today although with the financial markets I can't say if it'll stay that way, one reason why I picked it up right away. Carole there is really helpful, it's a real service orientated store. I'll let you know how those tuners hold up under band rehearsal next week. Hopefully a bigger, fuller pick below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cytania Posted September 27, 2008 Author Share Posted September 27, 2008 First impressions so far Likes Neck, smooth, straight, no dead spots. Body, feels just right and solid. Look, ooogga boogga. EQ Pots, not marked but click into middle spot. Active, just set it so it's equal footing with passive but it' still more responsive, play harder and it kicks out. Jack socket, in the body but angled upwards, not easily jerked out, the right angle for looping through strap. Killswitch, a fun effect for ending full-on rock songs with. Dislikes Tuner feel. Nut, think it's settling in now. Jack socket, needs a stiff push in, maybe this will lighten up. Killswitch, can leave you mommentarily baffled if it gets flicked in the bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamble Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 I'm still semi-gassing for one of these, kinda tried to put it to the back of my mind while I've been weighing up my options. Keep us updated as you get used to it please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 It's really annoying how much more these basses cost in the UK versus the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 You get a much more balanced output with 18v preamps (according to the luthier of my basses, anyway!) Rich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umph Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 how much are these compared to the us? where did you try them out i've been very tempted by one of there 6 strings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cytania Posted October 6, 2008 Author Share Posted October 6, 2008 (edited) Got back from holiday, traumatic news - the band is defunct, so I revived my spirits by working on the Spear and playing some boogie lines. Nut sauce certainly sorted the jerky/vague tuning but had to do a bit of DIY to get the intonation just so, I suspect this is because there's a thick E string and action is not low, but that's the way I liked it. Bridge saddles are in neat individual tracks, wiped these with WD40 and worked them till a bit of brass shows. With string thru I found E needed to go back further, the scewbolts the saddles adjust on come in two of two sizes. I popped out the mini-hacksaw and removed a few mill from one of the long screwbolts so I could pull back to the right point. With lighter strings or a low action this might not be necessary. Tested the tuners by playing uptown/downtown lines in various key blues for hours and they were stable. Still don't like the ears being plastic so when I fancy a project I may order some all-metal pill-shape tuners. Neck stain has not yet come off on my hands, raw/hard maple finish makes a real difference to tone and playing. Spent alot of time caressing the natural open pore finish as there's a waxy scum to work off. Anyone know the correct polish/wax for this kind of bass? The Fender spray I have is very much for poly finishes. Oh and I've called her Betty, either after Ugly Betty or Betty Rubble from the Flintstones! Edited October 6, 2008 by cytania Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cytania Posted November 18, 2008 Author Share Posted November 18, 2008 (edited) Bit of an update. Batteries died and sound went faint/buzzy. Interestingly the 'passive' mode also went a bit hissy/crackly with low volts. Good news is that with both batteries out the Spear still works with the passive switch (unlike my Ibby which is dead without a battery). Interestingly the unpowered passive sound that seemed thin and wiry got a subtle boost with the batteries in. I'll see how the two Duracell's I put in last. My Ibanez is far meaner on batteries but I have left the Spear plugged in overnight a few times (bad boy). I'll hold fire before accusing it of being a battery-eater. The battery compartments are the cheap plastic 'quick change' type but infinitely better than my Ibanez which wanted to hold onto it's battery even once the cover came away with a fight. Whilst I was lifting screws I checked out the preamp section. Good news it had shielding tape and possibly paint in the cavity. Wiring wasn't terribly neat but nothing nasty. I also checked the truss rod cover (little bell shaped one). Could it be just for looks? Well, No, there is a truss rod head. Not sure where the other end is buried but I'll leave that till I have the courage to investigate under the pickup covers. Good news on the sounds front is that I have been learning how to get some really cool shades of growl out the the Spear, something the Ibanez is too polite to do convincingly. In passive mode this takes heavy playing or some amp gain. In active it's a matter of slightly favouring the bridge pu and slightly raising the mid-range. Edited November 19, 2008 by cytania Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 never noticed this thread before. I had a go on your bass while it was in music inn, lovely bass i thought, played very nicely and sounded ace! Are the tuners really plastic though?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cytania Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 Thanks Budget, nice to know you liked the tone, once you own an instrument it's easy to become hyper picky about tone. When the batteries were going things went a bit microphonic. There's still a tiny noise on the note but you really, really need to listen for it. Yes it's the tuner 'ears' that are plastic. The backs are standard metal Gotoh type barrels but the keys you turn are tough black plastic. There may be some variation in this Spear model as I see small differences on their website. Haven't been up to Music Inn to see if they've any more in (may even get time this lunchtime). If I had wishes it would be less weight as the Spear is much heavier than my Ibanez, can be quite surprising when switching. Neck and huge variety tones are still wonderful. It's taking abit of learning to switch to appropriate settings for my practice tracks rather than stay with one tone. Ibanez just has a lightweight/heavyweight dial that I tend to leave on 4 and forget about (bad boy, again). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Ah right, slap some schallers or gotohs in there Also i don't think they have any more in, i went in last weds and i didn't see any and i had a good look around (nice fretless westone though). My tobias is pretty damn heavy too with it's bubinga wings but ah well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cytania Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 None today either, when I bought it I was slightly panicked by the markets crashing and Carole said they'd already seen supply and price changes from the Far East. So maybe I have a future collectable or more likely an oddball instrument ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 [quote name='cytania' post='293455' date='Sep 27 2008, 02:10 PM']Well I part exchanged an electric I haven't played since going basswards and got a nice deal. Spent the afternoon tweaking the intonation. Tuners are a bit plastic spongey but working the nut slots and adding graphite has helped. Neck is actually a dark stain on maple but still as good as I thought. If I don't screw up again there should be a suitably caveman posed picture.[/quote] I try to keep my Harmony Centralisms out of this forum. More or less. But just this time, this seems appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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