Spector fans!?!

[Bigwan]

1 hour ago, SteveFate said:

Oh interesting- but I guess if they have already reduced it maybe they are properly not going to budge.

 

I'm absolutely terrible at haggling I wouldn't know what to say to him.

 

Yes from northern ireland too

Harder to say no to an offer in person I find. If you're going to try it out maybe mention you know it's been advertised for a while. It's a buyers market so offer what you're willing to and be prepared to walk away. It's still a bit rich at that price, limited edition or not. It'd be that price used from Bass Direct or BassBros.

[Sean]

This is off my '03 Euro 4 this morning...

 

 

 

 

There's a new bridge incoming.

 

538g-195g = 343g.

 

That'll take Amber down below 4kg.

Edited Monday at 18:11 by Sean
Maths opportunity

[bassofdeath]

Apologies if this is cheeky for this Spector fans thread, but I thought I'd draw your attention to an item wanted post. I'm in the market for a US NS5, if anyone in here is considering moving one on at all.

 

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/511318-usa-spector-ns5-5-string/

[Sean]

On 14/04/2025 at 13:04, Sean said:

This is off my '03 Euro 4 this morning...

 

 

 

 

There's a new bridge incoming.

 

538g-188g = 350g.

 

That'll take Amber down below 4kg.

I didn't take a pic but Amber's new bridge (not pictured below) weighed in at 188g. I've amended the calculations to reflect that. It's all installed now and she still rocks. No A/B comparison as I changed the strings, polished the frets with the FRTLZR up to 7000 grade (lovely job, if do I say so myself), detuned and set up to Eb Standard with EXL170 Balanced Tension 45, 60, 80, 107 strings to a nice low but not-too-low action. She's pure gig rig now and really sweet.

 

Edited Wednesday at 18:44 by Sean

[Sean]

I'll just leave this (Ebony and Maple pair) here for now...

 

...pending tweaks, Preamp transplants, stuff...

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 19:52 by Sean

[Sean]

One is going to be a case queen, the other is going to join Amber as part of the gig rig.

 

All my Spectors except this blue/maple have a name. I'm looking for a name to join Quint, Amber, Peacock and Zebra.

[bakerster135]

1 hour ago, Sean said:

One is going to be a case queen, the other is going to join Amber as part of the gig rig.

 

All my Spectors except this blue/maple have a name. I'm looking for a name to join Quint, Amber, Peacock and Zebra.

Is it bahama blue? It's got desert island vibes! Maybe call it Wilson? 😉

[bassofdeath]

Hey Sean, looking at that ebony/maple pair, do you have an opinion on how those different fretboard woods influence the tone, and perhaps with a conparison to the usual Pau Ferro? I'm curious.

[Sean]

9 hours ago, bassofdeath said:

Hey Sean, looking at that ebony/maple pair, do you have an opinion on how those different fretboard woods influence the tone, and perhaps with a conparison to the usual Pau Ferro? I'm curious.

Not from an apples with apples comparision point of view, no. One has a Darkglass capsule and the other has an adjustable TP. The DG is totally new to me and seems to have a lot of top end but how much of that is from the ebony board, I dont know. The TP is something I'm very familiar with and I want to say that the one with the maple board is bright sounding but until I get the LHZ-03s in each I won't really have a reference point. That's a job for the end of next week. I'm focused on learning 30 new songs at the moment and as much as I love modding, every moment I have for bass stuff has to be on getting those songs into my bones. And I'm learning them all on the Amber Euro 4 with rosewood board, full maple wings, the LHZ-03 and light bridge, so that's the reference bass for when I do the comparisons.

 

I could do some mp3s of them to compare and see what we think.

Edited yesterday at 18:17 by Sean

[bassofdeath]

Cool response. Yes, I would genuinely be interested to hear that. I've fallen far enough down the Spector rabbithole that I'm all into the tonechasing of that classic Spector sound. Woods, preamps, pickups, build etc...obsessing over nuances.

You start thinking 6K is fair and reasonable to get exactly what you want...

Edited yesterday at 15:55 by bassofdeath

[Sean]

2 hours ago, bassofdeath said:

Cool response. Yes, I would genuinely be interested to hear that. I've fallen far enough down the Spector rabbithole that I'm all into the tonechasing of that classic Spector sound. Woods, preamps, pickups, build etc...obsessing over nuances.

You start thinking 6K is fair and reasonable to get exactly what you want...

Thanks. Are you asking if £6k is enough for a new USA instrument built to your spec?

 

£6k buys a lot of used US Spector but the right NS5-XL will take some finding.

 

I think we'd all be interested to know what you've learned about the differences between the US and CZ build processes.

Edited yesterday at 18:19 by Sean

[bassofdeath]

I don't know the specifics. I've spoken to a few folk. From what I gather it's the difference between a factory and a workshop. The handmade touch and attention to detail. As to what those techniques are, I ain't no luthier. 

But even then, the level of nuance may extend all the way down to the specific piece of wood it's carved from. One piece of maple is not identical to another piece of maple.

A couple of weeks ago I played four spectors and recorded them badly on my phone. All felt like they belonged in the same family but they were not twins. And the US instruments just felt different in the hands to the Euro ones. The growl seemed to sit in a slightly higher frequency of mid and the resonance was stronger. 

Relatives. Not twins. Not even little brothers. Close cousins I'd say.

Edited yesterday at 20:45 by bassofdeath

[Eldon Tyrell]

On 09/04/2025 at 13:38, SteveFate said:

Good luck with that- let us know if you got lucky with the neck

 

Im going to call in and try it this weekend before rehersals.

So did you try out the Euro last weekend? How was it?

My Euro from Japan is still stuck in customs in Coventry. A real PITA 😞 

[SteveFate]

22 minutes ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

So did you try out the Euro last weekend? How was it?

My Euro from Japan is still stuck in customs in Coventry. A real PITA 😞 

Are they holding it for inspection or awaiting additional fees?

 

Yes i went and gave it a try - the strap screw was further around the body than I was expecting so there was no neck dive - the neck was a bit on the chunkier side than I am used to with my schecter or PJ bass but yeah I tried talking him down given the intonation was off on the E and G string and would need a setup but he was having none of it so paid what he was looking lol.

[Eldon Tyrell]

1 minute ago, SteveFate said:

Are they holding it for inspection or awaiting additional fees?

 

No idea what the issue is. Will be 2 weeks on Monday! Have not received a letter asking for VAT and duties yet. Already sent several emails to the email address I was given but no response. Very annoying!  

[Eldon Tyrell]

3 minutes ago, SteveFate said:

Yes i went and gave it a try - the strap screw was further around the body than I was expecting so there was no neck dive - the neck was a bit on the chunkier side than I am used to with my schecter or PJ bass but yeah I tried talking him down given the intonation was off on the E and G string and would need a setup but he was having none of it so paid what he was looking lol.

Congrats 👍

 

Although, you know, no photos, no bass 🙂 

[SteveFate]

1 hour ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

Congrats 👍

 

Although, you know, no photos, no bass 🙂 

Haha understood

[Eldon Tyrell]

2 minutes ago, SteveFate said:

Haha understood

Cool stuff. When I first saw the bass, I mentioned the Stormtrooper vibes it was giving me. Well, looks I wasn't the only one 😉 

[SteveFate]

59 minutes ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

Cool stuff. When I first saw the bass, I mentioned the Stormtrooper vibes it was giving me. Well, looks I wasn't the only one 😉 

Yeah...you didn't help lol 

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, SteveFate said:

Haha understood

 

1 hour ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

Cool stuff. When I first saw the bass, I mentioned the Stormtrooper vibes it was giving me. Well, looks I wasn't the only one 😉 

Very cool indeed. However, this isn’t the Spector you’re looking for  

[Sean]

5 hours ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

Cool stuff. When I first saw the bass, I mentioned the Stormtrooper vibes it was giving me. Well, looks I wasn't the only one 😉 

More weird coincidences.

[Sean]

5 hours ago, SteveFate said:

Haha understood

What year, what pre, etc?

 

What needs doing to sort the intonation? Is it more than the usual adjustments?

[Sean]

5 hours ago, SteveFate said:

Haha understood

 

I absolutely love it but the all seeing one who is never wrong said very flatly, "hmmm, nice but it'll show the dirt".

[SteveFate]

28 minutes ago, Sean said:

What year, what pre, etc?

 

What needs doing to sort the intonation? Is it more than the usual adjustments?

2020

Tonepump Jr pre 

Nah i was grasping at straws really - no stringbuzz anywhere will just need an minor adjustment for intonation it's stayed in tune after a few hours solid use and  he wasn't lying it's only been used very lightly in his home studio. As new condition - not a mark on it very happy 

 

Still trying to find the secret sauce for the preamp - the treble boost can get very gainy if not careful, running it around 50% with a slight bass boost, 50% bridge and 60% neck pickup.

[Sean]

LHZ-03 with everything up to 10 makes life very easy. The only adjustment I need to do is to roll off the treble for a couple of songs.