WHUFC BASS

I owned a Schecter Stiletto Custom-5 bass for a while and really liked it. There was a lot of talk about them at the time when I bought them and the fact they were built in Korea but set up and inspected in the USA and were quality instruments. I initially bought a Schecter guitar and was super impressed with the playability and quality of it that I decided to check their basses out. A Schecter Stiletto Custom-5 came up quite cheap on eBay and I wasn't disappointed with it either. Set up and quality was really good, almost flawless aside from a tiny nick that the owner owned up to. It had EMG 40 HZ pickups which were really powerful from what I can remember. The neck was really nice and string spacing was spot on too. I sold it on in a moment of madness which I almost instantly regretted for a Japanese Jazz Bass which turned out to be a big disappointment. It looked identical to this ... I started playing more guitar shortly afterwards and vowed to get another one but never got round to it. I've seen a few for sale and almost pulled the trigger on a Stiletto Extreme but held off as I wasn't sure about buying another 5-string as I have four already.

Ah ... now that would be a deal-breaker for me if that was the case. The last thing I'd need would be a bit of neck dive.

This is the dilema I'm having at the moment. Is it easier to just drop down using the tuning peg (by ear) or invest in a Hipshot.

I'm in the market for a new 4-string which is unusual as I'm generally a five string player but there's some songs that are just easier (for me anyway) to play on a 4-string and was wondering if it's worth investing in a Hipshot Bass X-Tender in order to drop down to D (or it'll be Db in my case as we play in Eb for almost all our songs). Anybody using one? Good ... Bad ... Ugly ?

It baffles me that this bass is modelled on a vintage Precision that Pino owned and sells for more than a vintage Precision sells for. Even if you took a Fender Custom shop bass and stuck decent replacement pickups in, you'd have a lot of change out of 4 grand. I'm not too keen on the artificial relic'ing that they've done on this and especially if it bumps the price up to 4 grand either. I think Fender's logic must be that SOMEONE will buy it so we'll charge that much.

Honestly, this is not a troll post before anybody suggests it is, but can anyone explain to me why it costs nearly 4 grand for a PP Fender Precision: https://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-custom-shop-pino-palladino-precision-bass/2227?gclid=CjwKCAiA9qHhBRB2EiwA7poaeD37arw8BcQARGpDotfLyy4Abx34vS_hrWV91dinIXkILuh84W3bhBoC4MkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds The "Unique Features" they state come with it are: Vintage Styling, Shows natural wear and tear of years of heavy use, nicks, scratches, worn finish rusty hardware and aged plastic parts. Cable, strap and case. FOUR GRAND ? REALLY?

Yes, this would have been about 10 or 12 years old but my point still stands. I merely stated (quite civilly and not like an "utter anus") that I wasn't getting the sound I wanted and enquired about the replacement pickups that SD and Kent Armstrong did. That was it, all hell broke loose and it wasn't Scott Ball who chimed in, it was Sterling Ball which surprised me. I wasn't "scorned" or even banned, I just thought that if you can't have a sensible conversation about replacement pickups on a forum, then that forum isn't for me and promptly left. I've never seen anything like that on a Gibson or Fender forum where criticism and discussion of aftermarket parts is positively encouraged. Either way, I was out of there and the bass got sold on shortly afterwards. As for caring about whether they get my business or not, they probably don't. Neither do I. As for Musicman getting it right with their latest 2018 model. Good. I'm glad they've sorted them out now but as I said, I won't be buying one (or even trying) as my preferred brand of bass is now Spector. Peace.

Come on mate, some constructive criticism shouldn't be attacked (especially by the owner of the company). If anything, it should be listened to and taken onboard to produce an even better product. If you're that arrogant that your confident your products are beyond reproach then you're bound to fail in the long run.

Oh yes, without a doubt, Rickenbacker are notorious for this too. You only have to look at the way they've hunted down replica Ricks on eBay to tell you something about the way they operate. To their credit, I've not seen EBMM do this.

Hmmm .... Did a full set back to back with self practising today (around 3 hours playing) and really noticed the rough feeling of the strings which after a while began to affect my concentration. Not had that before on any other set of strings I've used. Surprises me Rotosound haven't addressed this issue, simply by comparing with other sets of strings from different manufacturers. Also noticing they're starting to sound a lot more dull in a comparatively short space of time. I really want to like Rotosound but they're making it difficult at the moment.

That was another thing that turned me off the Musicman line of basses. The sheer vitriol on that forum of any criticism of their products which to me, smacked of a level of insecurity that was bordering on the hysterical. I happened to mention (quite civilly) that I was having problems sound-wise with the second EBMM Stingray that I owned and was rounded upon as some sort of heretic and subsequently threatened with being banned. Now I don't know about you, but when the owner of the company is guilty of this vitriol to any criticism would just turn any prospective owner to think twice before purchasing.

Out of interest, what model Spector are you referring to?

Oh my holy Jesus ... 😂 I knew that they'd be expensive but yeah ... that's pretty steep!

Well thanks very much for that. I'm living in Maidstone and was looking for a local guitar tech. I shall be trying them out in the new year for sure.

Have you thought about a 4-string with a D-tuner or are you after the full range a low B can offer?

To be honest, I think you'd be better off contacting Spector customer services directly for availability of what you're after. They'd be able to give you a definite answer and possibly a price range (I'd imagine it won't be cheap though). In terms of price and quality, just going from the one I own and others I've looked at, the level of craftsmanship on the Euro models is superb. Real top notch woods and flawless construction. In terms of pricing, they're slightly cheaper than the USA models and although I've never played a USA model, but looking at some of the woods they use on the USA models, I'd imagine the price difference is purely aesthetics.

Not seen a Euro P/J setup before (I'm happy to be proved wrong here), they're usually twin humbuckers with EMG pickups. I'd imagine if you asked nicely you'd be able to get one made but it wouldn't be cheap. I know that there a USA customs with a PJ setup:

Probably a controversial subject which will no doubt get some people's backs up, but what basses have you owned and really not liked at all to the point you got shot of them? My list: 1. Ibanez K5 - just insipid with no bottom end which was frustrating as it felt quite nice 2. Ibanez SR505 - See above 3. Musicman Stingray - various models for reasons outlined in another thread here 4. Spector NS2000 - I think I must have got a duff model. Output was weak, it weighed a ton and the input jack was faulty (a common problem back then so I was told) 5. Fender 1990s Jazz Bass - Japanese "crafted in Japan" model which I bought from a Japanese dealer. Really uninspiring bass for some reason which is unusual as at the time I was a big Jazz Bass fan. Very disappointed. 6. Epiphone Thunderbird - bought it in the naiieve thought that it'd be a bit like a Gibson Thunderbird. Absolutely terrible bass. Everything about it was just bad. 7. Tokai Thunderbird - early 2000s model. See above

I'd put my Czech Spector up there with one of (if not, the THE) best basses I've ever played, to the point where I will probably sell all my other basses to fund another Spector. The playability alone does it for me, but the sound, right out of the box is just spot on for what I play. I love 'em.

That's something I kept telling myself that there's bound to be one that I'll get along with. The playability and feel was really nice, just sound wise it wasn't happening. I'd really not like to take a punt on another one as I know, for more or less the same price, a Spector Euro would run rings around a stingray

Maybe that was my problem. Struggling to gel with it and trying to get a suitable sound, which I knew was readily available from my other basses. I didn't keep any for more than a year - the Sterling Ray lasted about a month before it was gone.

I tried them with a trace elliot stack, SWR Workman combo and a Trace Elliot GP7 1x15 combo. Just couldn't get the bottom end that was instantly available on my 62 reissue Precision and a Status S2 that I also had. In fact every other bass in my collection really.

I've had two in the past, a late 80s with a maple neck and a 90s with rosewood fingerboard. Also recently had a Sterling Ray 34. All of them have had 3 band eqs. Most of the time I've got shot of them relatively quickly as they just haven't had the bottom end of other basses I owned to the point where I'm wondering what the fuss is about them. I'll admit that they're good for slap basslines and finger or pick, just lacked the guts of other basses. Anyone else found this?

Really nice score mate. You won't be disappointed. I'm a recent convert to Spector Euro basses.

I managed to get a set of Rotosound R66 Swing Bass strings and put them on the Spector. A few initial observations: 1. Noticaibly less zingy than D'addarios which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing at the moment. Usually with brand new strings (especially the DR Hi-Beams) there's a little too much zing for my liking. 2. Slightly rougher feeling than other D'addarios although not to the point that they're uncomfortable. I don't know if this is going to have an effect on the frets long-term but I'd be surprised if they did. 3. Quite aggressive and "big" sounding without too many overtones.