WHUFC BASS

What's the weight and the nut width on this mate?

Currently I own:

Spector Euro5XL (EMG BQC Pre-amp)
Spector Euro5XL (Tone Pump Pre-amp)
Spector Euro Doug Wimbish
Traben Chaos Core
Traben John Moyer 5 String
Traben John Moyer 4 String
Fender Jazz Bitsa

But only gig the Spector Euro5XL (EMG BQC Pre-amp) and the Spector Euro Doug Wimbish

If I'm doing any punk / Oi! gigs, I'll get the Traben John Moyer 5 out

Why oh why would you do this to a bass ... take a blow torch to it and think it's something special ... I do wonder at some people's mentality sometimes.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JH-Guitars-Australia-041J-Bass-guitar-P-precision-scorched-series-blue-fender/233328778455?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D59535%26meid%3Decb0f7b742534459bbebf91851b44464%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D264354789107%26itm%3D233328778455%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

13 hours ago, Mastodon2 said:

I never understood why they did that blood-spattered version, I don't think I've ever seen Alex play it. He uses his his plain black ones live and his purple five string a lot in the studio. 

I've seen quite a few photos of him playing the red and white version ...

10 hours ago, machinehead said:

Maybe that's for three sets? 

Frank.

That's what I thought when I saw the price but it doesn't make any mention of multiple sets. Unbelievable.

Really? Do they come with dancing girls and a free case of beer ? They'd want to at that price ...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rickenbacker-Bass-Guitar-Strings-Standard-Nikkl-45-115-5-String/183928114924?hash=item2ad2f84eec:g:q6YAAOSwi5FdWUgW

1 hour ago, mangotango said:

And yes, set-neck is what they are - don't know what I was thinking with the "through neck" description I applied elsewhere. Hopeless on my part. 

The earlier NS-95s and 2000s were through-neck basses with maple bodies, but since then, no Korean models have had through necks.

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

@WHUFC BASS having been on a crash course about Spector basses since the start of this thread, it seems to me that you've picked up an almost ideally spec'd model!

Euro 5LX with EMG BQC pre-amp and soapbar EMG 40J (bridge) and 40P (neck) pickups.

Is yours a 35" scale and neck-through also?

The EMG 40P5, which turns this into a tasty PJ bass, I think is a 'reverse' P config - I was initially confused by a statement online that it was like a 'Spector or Yamaha' P config. Well actually they are the opposite way around! i.e. reverse P (Spector) and normal P (Yamaha). A reverse P, should provide a slightly tighter low end and warmer treble compared to a normal P, which is another plus.

http://www.emgpickups.com/media/productfile/4/0/40_bass_0230-0128rb.pdf

Yes, it's a neck-through and 35" scale. That 35" scale puts some people off for some reason but to me it's fine.

In regard to the pickups, on my other Spector Euro, (with the Tone Pump) the pickups are coil-tapable (is that a word?), so you can have any combination you want - J/P or P/J giving it more versatility in sound. I usually just have them in their humbucker config and leave it at that.

15 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Nice bit of history. So do the Euro LX models also have sculpted backs? 

Yes they do, as does the NS2 models. I think the only ones that don't are the Performer series and the Rex and Chris Kael signature models.

Holy crap !! I do believe that would destroy any buildings and kill all the old people and young children of a mid-sized town!

I think it would also kill off any prospective buyers with a price tag of 2.399,00 Euros.

70kgs is lightweight construction? Who's building these amps? Geoff Capes?

1 hour ago, cetera said:

As a point of info - just to say - the new LT models have a custom designed Darkglass 2 band circuit, not the 3 band Tone Capsule.

Ah intresting. Does that also comprise of a bass boost and treble boost setup, similar to the Tone Pump?

Any idea what the thinking is behind completely removing the ability to control the mids on Spectors ?

That sculpted design is the "NS" style body which was designed by Ned Steinberger. He was a furniture maker by trade and in the 1970s met Stuart Spector by accident (he actually sold Stuart a bandsaw) and Stuart Spector challenged him to design a bass guitar. Ned Steinberger wasn't a bass player - in fact he wasn't even a musician and took a completely different approach to bass guitar design, focusing on balance and comfort - i.e. the curved body with extended upper horn, as well as the neck through design with maple wings body. The result was the NS1 which turned out to be Spector's biggest seller. Stuart Spector added a single coil pickup in the bridge position and the NS2 was born. The rest is history.

Oh and by all accounts, Warwick ripped the design off in 1984 on their Streamer models which Spector sued them for and won.

Steinberger went on to innovate in bass guitar (and guitar) design, with the use of carbon fibre bodies and necks, designing the first headless basses and many innovations in double-bass design. Aside from Leo Fender, you'd be hard pushed to come up with anybody else who has contributed to bass guitar design and innovation than Ned Steinberger, For a non-muscian he was a genius.

He's still producing great bass guitars to this day ...

https://thinkns.com/instrument/the-ns-design-radius-bass-guitar/

Do you have any strings left or are they all gone?

6 hours ago, Al Krow said:

'Long' for the Chinese civilisation = 1,000 years.

For BC'ers, about 6 months?

PS the fact that you are already thinking that your new purchase is going to be a keeper does suggest that: 

Euro 5LX with EMG BQC pre-amp and soapbar EMG 40J (bridge) and 40P (neck)

...is a winning combination. Give me a shout when you are gigging locally in Landern Taaan with it next - love to hear it in action!

Ha! No, this one is deffo a keeper. It's good to have tonal variations on different basses. The fact I have three Euros that sound completely different is also a bonus. Even the two with Tone Pumps are different sound-wise.

The Euro 5LX with EMG BQC pre-amp and soapbar EMG 40J (bridge) and 40P (neck) will be my main gigging bass though as It's lighter, sightly slimmer neck and cuts through the mix slightly better.

I'll let you know when I'm gigging in London - although to be honest, almost all my gigs are now in Kent or abroad in Europe.

19 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Be interesting to see how the Barts on the LTs compare to the more traditional EMGs and whether the LTs have moved away from a more familiar 'Spector' sound.

Well there's a brief demo here. Hard to tell what it'd sound like in a band mix though ...
 

26 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Look forward to getting your thoughts following your next acquisition! Give me a shout if you decide, at that point, to move on the bass that started this thread off

Believe me ... that will not be for a Looong time!

1 minute ago, Cuzzie said:

Yep, I know the tone capsule well, it was more in relation to the comment there is no control of the mids, whereas actually this seems to nicely control the mids more than a traditional bass/mid/treble would

Yes - you're correct. I assumed on the new LT basses were similar to previous models in that they had bass / treble and no mid control. That's a unique concept of two mid controls. I think I've just seen my next gear acquisition.

6 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

Is it not the DG tone capsule?

The DarkGlass Tone Capsule has a Bass/Mid/Mid setup (no Treble) so in the true sense of the phrase, it's not a three band eq. I'm intrigued as to what it sounds like - Darkglass have listed the frequencies as (Bass 70Hz, Mid 500Hz, High-mid 2.8kHz).

They say that the second control can be configured to operate at the higher end of the spectrum, offering all the benefits a standard Treble control (increased clarity and definition when boosting) but with a more natural, less-harsh and noiseless operation.

16 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Ah ok thanks. That explains why it's taken me so long to find a 3 band EQ Spector and why my ears picked up when @mangotangomentioned that the Legend Custom model, he owned, indeed had a 3 band EQ (with a stacked bass and treble pot)! 

That particular model of the Custom was done for a limited run only and for some unknown reason, that included a mid-control and stacked bass/treble pot.

16 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Is the BTQ pre you refer to still available?

http://www.emgpickups.com/accessories/bass-accessories.html

If not, it seems that the 4 knob BQC pre would now be the one to go for with its 3 band EQ and semi para mids. Either that or go for a John East Uni-pre!

Apologies mine isn't a BTQ, it's a BQC pre-amp which has the concentric pots.

http://www.emgpickups.com/accessories/bass-accessories/bass-eq-active/bqcsystem.html

Looks to still be available and as it's all clip-together connections it should be a breeze to install.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/emg_bqc_system_3band_eq.htm

I've not tried the John East pre-amp but the BQC is fantastic. Really impressive and gives you so much more variety in tone. I'm really surprised Spector don't install these as standard.

5 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Query for you Spector experts (Specperts?) :

Other than the Legend Custom, are there any production or discontinued European models with a 3 band EQ? I've not found any to date.  

What does Spector have against bass players being able to control their mids? 

No, unfortunately there aren't any Euro models that allow you to control the mids and it's something I've wondered about too. Even the new Euro LT basses with the Darkglass pre-amp and Bartolini pickups don't have a mid control either. It's not too hard to change them out of an EMG BTQ pre amp  (which mine has and one of the reasons I snapped it up) which has low-mid and high-mid concentric controls and give a lot more tonal variety than the Tone Pump or EMG BTS pre-amps which come as standard

This is what they come up with ...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Personalized-Bass-Guitar-Small-Mini-Version-Of-Patented-Products/283146781160?_trkparms=aid%3D555021%26algo%3DPL.SIMRVI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20190805154545%26meid%3D1f3f4c2c2ef241e0982662737327398b%26pid%3D100037%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D11%26sd%3D183915913425%26itm%3D283146781160%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100037.m2107

Rehearsal tonight

Personally, I'd forget EZ Drummer and any type of drum machine and use drum loops instead. They're much more flexible and have some quite inspirational drum patterns which as most of us aren't drummers would never come up with. I've done about eight albums with drum loops and almost everyone has commented on what a great drummer we had and if they were available for sessions.

For those who aren't aware, they're loops that have been professionally recorded by top session drummers on live kits so they sound like the real thing and can be chopped, changed and messed around with to sound like a live drummer on your own songs. Two of the best examples that I've used are made by:

Beta Monkey

https://betamonkey.com/the-1-source-for-drum-loops/?gclid=CjwKCAjw7uPqBRBlEiwAYDsr1-cP7Go4-sKM9cQ4lL_8hXtBmaP2poPyZwmKtb6hvlDSJwFENdTRaBoCvtQQAvD_BwE

Drums on Demand

https://www.drumsondemand.com/

I remember these basses as being absolutely terrible things, even back in the 80s. Unplayable necks, action like a bow and arrow and a sound like a wet fart. I'd avoid like the plague

Hurrah!
I was testing the water for a pair of sparkly hot pants and a boob tube that I've just purchased!
Where do I sign ?

Is it a requirement that you have to wear a tartan skirt to play this gig ?