Bassmurf Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) Well, I've got my new Spector Legend bass but after playing it for a bit last night I've found that when I play any note on the D string between the 13th and the 21st fret - the note "wobbles"! Any ideas or suggestions?! Cheers Dan Edited January 15, 2011 by Bassmurf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorick Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I'd check to see if the neck is straight, by sighting down the neck from the body end. Sounds as if you might have a bit of back bow in that area. Also check the intonation of the D string, that might throw the tuning off a bit and cause the "wobble"....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 how close are the pickups to the strings ? if they're too close, the magnetic field can affect the vibration of the strings and give it a chorused/phased sound. just a thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorick Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='ahpook' post='1079512' date='Jan 6 2011, 09:30 AM']how close are the pickups to the strings ? if they're too close, the magnetic field can affect the vibration of the strings and give it a chorused/phased sound. just a thought[/quote] Wouldn't that affect the notes along the whole string? Not just between the 13th and 21st frets..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='yorick' post='1079530' date='Jan 6 2011, 09:49 AM']Wouldn't that affect the notes along the whole string? Not just between the 13th and 21st frets..... [/quote] when i had the problem with my musicman, it seemed more pronounced up at the dusty end, but you do have a point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mart Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='ahpook' post='1079539' date='Jan 6 2011, 09:56 AM']when i had the problem with my musicman, it seemed more pronounced up at the dusty end, but you do have a point.[/quote] Isn't this effect related to the frequency of the note? I've had something similar on a bass and the frequency of the wobble was directly related to the frequency of the note - higher up it got faster and lower down it was slower. So it was only really noticeable above the 12th fret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='yorick' post='1079530' date='Jan 6 2011, 09:49 AM']Wouldn't that affect the notes along the whole string? Not just between the 13th and 21st frets..... [/quote] Wouldn't it depend on the action? Necks and strings don't run paralell, so if you play a note nearer the nut, the string would be higher at the pickup than if you were playing right up the neck. Could it be something to do with dodgy strings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 My money is on a dodgy string. I have definitely heard an "out of phase" sound with factory strings in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmurf Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='yorick' post='1079495' date='Jan 6 2011, 08:58 AM']I'd check to see if the neck is straight, by sighting down the neck from the body end. Sounds as if you might have a bit of back bow in that area. Also check the intonation of the D string, that might throw the tuning off a bit and cause the "wobble".......[/quote] Never had to adjust the intonation on my old SSD NS94 so any advice on how you do that on a Spector bridge would be more than welcome! [quote name='paul h' post='1079697' date='Jan 6 2011, 12:00 PM']My money is on a dodgy string. I have definitely heard an "out of phase" sound with factory strings in the past.[/quote] Luckily had ordered on tuesday a new set of strings so should be there when I get home - fingers crossed that'll sort out the problem. Thanks for all the suggestions so far guys! Cheers Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='Bassmurf' post='1079814' date='Jan 6 2011, 01:32 PM']Never had to adjust the intonation on my old SSD NS94 so any advice on how you do that on a Spector bridge would be more than welcome![/quote] It'll depend on the bridge on your bass. I just had a look at a couple of Spector basses in the for sale section and they seemed to have quite different bridges. To check the intonation, play the 12th fret, if the note's sharp (after making sure that the open note is in tune, of course ) then the string needs to be longer, if it's flat it needs to be shorter (IIRC, hard to tell without having a bass in front of me). The two most common methods for adjusting intonation are: A screw going through from the back of the bridge paralell to the body of the bass. This is most common, easy to adjust, you just screw and unscrew to adjust. To lengthen the string, you tighten the screw and vice versa. The other common way is that the saddles will be screwed into the bridge directly, to adjust intonation on these, you need to loosen the string (the screws are usually, but not always right under the string), loosen the screw and then adjust the string length by moving the saddle towards/away from the nut. Then tune the string and re-check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmurf Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Thanks guys for all your help and tips regarding this, I even ended up emailing Spector customer services and within 2 hours got a reply back from PJ Rubal, their vice president - how's that for customer service! And...after putting a new set of strings on and tweaking the saddles a bit, there's no "wobbly" notes. Phew! Cheers Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbass1 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 So, let's have a picture of the bass now it's sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmurf Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Will do, I'm getting my camera back tomorrow so will post them on here as soon as! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus x-1 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='Bassmurf' post='1080493' date='Jan 6 2011, 09:48 PM']Will do, I'm getting my camera back tomorrow so will post them on here as soon as![/quote] Hi, i've just bought a Spector Legend Custom 4 used from this forum, hasn't arrived yet, would just like to know what new strings you put on yours & how you find them on this bass. I was thinking if putting Elixiers on mine when it arrives, as a guy I knew had a Spector told me these were good. Also would like to see pics of yours, cheers, Nick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 [quote name='Bassmurf' post='1080484' date='Jan 6 2011, 09:40 PM']Thanks guys for all your help and tips regarding this, I even ended up emailing Spector customer services and within 2 hours got a reply back from PJ Rubal, their vice president - how's that for customer service![/quote] Ah, yes.... PJ... He's a legend... and Spector's customer service is second to NONE... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmurf Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 (edited) [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=78081&st=20&start=20"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...20&start=20[/url] (scroll to bottom of page) 'scuse the pics as they were taken on my phone! Problem sorted and it's playing like a dream now, thanks chaps. Dan Edited January 15, 2011 by Bassmurf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.