Eldon Tyrell

Yes, the Ian Hill is tempting, very tempting indeed. I have to resist 😎

Yes, the 77 could fit the bill (although, admittedly, it is not a passive bass but that can be changed if necessary). It is such a fantastic bass. One of my few real keeper basses. Powerful sound (I always refer to it as a P bass on steroids), cool late 70s look (when colours such as brown and orange were de rigueur ; -), not too heavy and with an amazing neck (slim but not too narrow, so not like a J or a Tbird). Finally, the curved body makes the 77 super comfy too. Definitely worth a try.

Update: Had a week of trying out my Spectors. Decided to keep my Fortes. I followed @cetera's advice (big thanks!) and changed the 35DCX neck pickup to an EMP 35 P4X. Sounds much better. Somehow I found the DCX a bit sterile sounding. Not sure how to best describe it. However, as I have to part with a Spector to finance the other basses on my wishlist, I will let go of the LT. Last in, first out. It is a great sounding and cool looking bass; however, the neck is just too chunky for my taste. Both the 77 and the Fortes have thinner necks (especially the 77). Well, my loss will someone else's gain as the bass is as new as it can get (just two weeks old) and now "retired" (i.e., in storage). Will have the neck pickup reverted back to the original Fluence pickup and keep the Mike Inez one for another bass.

As a former grunge kid, I play lots of AIC, Soundgarden and STP. Not so much Nirvana and PJ, interestingly. Current fav's: AIC's "Man in the box" that I learned thanks to fellow BC member @Alberto Rigoni YT video. Thanks for that and keep on rocking 😎 Other favs: STP's Interstate Love Song and especially this one. I really like Robert' smooth basslines:

Joy Division - New Dawn Fades. Big JD and NO fan. Still have an Ian Curtis poster in my office. Cannot wait for the Yamaha Peter Hook Signature BB to be released later the year. Just have to have. No matter what 😍

Up to 2- The Forte 4 from 2020 (EMG 35DCX and Haz 18V) in Trans Black Stain and/or the one below from 2018 (EMG PJx and Aguilar OBP2) in Vintage Tint Ash. Only two were made in this finish: I have one (#168) and PJ Rubal has the other one (#169, he is showing it on his website here: http://vintagespector.com/woodstock.html )

Sure, here you go:

Oh yes, MJ's "Thriller". Great song but "interesting" video to say the least. However, no one can beat the real deal 😎

Yes, the 77 is an amazing bass. Definitely a keeper as is my Mike Starr Euro. Unfortunately, that means that one of the Fortes will have to go. Maybe both. They are also great basses but I need the funds for some other "must have" basses, including a Stingray Classic in natural (my Bernard Edwards Tribute bass) and the upcoming Yamaha BB Hookie bass. Next year is also the 70th anniversary of the P bass (and 30 years of Leo Fender's passing) and I still need a Motown bass. I already got the Fender pure vintage 63 pickup for it 😎

Thank you. Much appreciated. Yes, difficult to find info online. Several times you just see info copied and pasted from the regular LT that has different picks and preamp. As far as I can remember from the NAMM video, the top wood should be highly figured/spalted maple. The back should be paulownia ("princess tree") wood. However, things may have changed between the NAMM videos and now. For example, I remember that the prototype shown at NAMM looked very different. I guess the neck is a normal Euro neck. It is just that I have been spoilt by the 77 and so Euro necks now feel chunky. My recent Forte had a neck that was pretty much in between the 77 and this Euro. I also like the satin feel of the 77 neck much more than the glossy neck on the new Euro. I don't know how the normal FF pickup sounds as I never got to hear it. I read a lot of good things about it and Rudy Sarzo seems to love them too. I got the Mike Inez pickup in it and that has two voicings. The first is his signature tone (lots of bass and treble) and the second voicing is a bit more mellow. Both sound rather different than your typical Spector. In all honesty, I like the tone on the 77 much more. There is something about that pickup. I once called it a P bass on steroids. Anyway, the Inez delivers the sound I expected and wanted for playing AIC songs, so that's cool with me. Interestingly, even though there should be only two voicings I activate them with a three way toggle switch. Don't really know what that third voicing is though. It just sounds like a bland version of the other two voicings. Even though I have the Inez pickup now, I still don't sound like him, maybe it's because he plays with a pick and I don't 😉

Not sure what happened here. I had written a loooong text accompanying the phots but that somehow did not show up. Not cool. Now I have to do it all over again. 😡 I finally found some time to take some photos and create this post for my new Spector Euro 4 LT LE. It is a "LE" as it comes with the Fishman Fluence pickups and the Fishman preamp (instead of the Bartolini and DG combo for the normal LTs). It also has a cool finish (Black Fade Gloss) and only 50 were made. I decided to make it an even more limited edition by having the neck pickup replaced with the Mike Inez Fishman Fluence Legacy Series pickup. As a big AIC fan, I now have both a Mike Starr (Euro 4 LE with EMG PJs and Haz 9V) and a Mike Inez tribute bass. The bass looks and sounds killer. It is also very light. The neck, unfortunately, is a bit too chunky for my taste, especially in comparison to the neck on the 77, which is still my favourite Spector neck. The tuners are probably light weight ones but feel a bit flimsy. The saddles and the sides of the bridge also feel a bit plasticky. Anyway, it sounds and looks great 🤩 Well, as the bass was not exactly cheap (plus the costs for the Mike Inez pickup), I will have to part with at least one of my Spector Forte basses when this pandemic is over. Good news is that my loss will be someone else's gain as both are in "as new" condition (one is just a month old) 🙂

Sorry, I should have checked better 😞

BTW, the same guy is also selling a used Classic looking 1980's Air Guitar which is just an empty hard case and a stand for £799. Not sure what this is all about. A bit late for an April 1st joke. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1980s-Vintage-Air-Guitar/264451163959