Spector fans!?!

[SirMoxie]

18 hours ago, Sean said:

Can you show us a pic of the neck to see the inlays please?

Sure!!
Here are a couple.  Sadly, no.... they do not glow in the dark.  😆

[ColdFusion]

Hey guys, has anyone ever tried one the NS Dimensions 5 fan fret basses? I've been eyeing up one and just curious to hear others thoughts on them. 

[Woodinblack]

9 minutes ago, ColdFusion said:

Hey guys, has anyone ever tried one the NS Dimensions 5 fan fret basses? I've been eyeing up one and just curious to hear others thoughts on them. 

I have several times and almost bought one several times, but never actually did as wrong price / wrong time. I found them good to play and sound good, but only in shops etc, never in a gig

[ColdFusion]

Thanks, that's much appreciated! Regarding price, would you say they're good value for what you're getting? Or can you get something similar from another brand for much less? 

The one I've seen is over £1000 2nd hand, and that's really pushing the limits of my budget 😅. 

[Woodinblack]

Well, the reason I didn't get one was that I almost did from bass direct when it was £1350, but when I contacted them they said it was an old price and it was £1450, which was more than I wanted. Then Thomann had a reduced one for £1300 and I missed it, then finally there was a second hand one for £1100 which I would have gone for, but I had just bough a ric. So yes, I would expect them to be over £1000 second hand. Whether it is a good deal depends on your opinion, not anyone elses, it is a bass, ultimately it isn't going to be that much different to other basses, but if you like it and can afford it its a good deal.

I would certainly get one if I didn't have so many at the moment.

[cetera]

I have a 4 string NS Dimension. Looks and sounds great and plays really nicely!

Edited November 10 by cetera
spelling

[ColdFusion]

Brill, thanks both that’s very much appreciated! 

[Sean]

Jack Bruce's NS-2 

 

https://www.digimart.net/cat03/shop5033/DS09888998/

 

Jack owned this. PJ Rubal has given it the thumbs up. 

The switches are killswitch and phase switch. I'd love a factory fitted killswitch. 

Walnut wings, Badass bridge. 

Sadly, JB moved on to Warwick after this. 

To save you doing the conversion, it's £35k. 

 

 

Edited November 18 by Sean

[Cosmo Valdemar]

15 minutes ago, Sean said:

Jack Bruce's NS-2 

 

https://www.digimart.net/cat03/shop5033/DS09888998/

 

Jack owned this. PJ Rubal has given it the thumbs up. 

The switches are killswitch and phase switch. I'd love a factory fitted killswitch. 

Walnut wings, Badass bridge. 

Sadly, JB moved on to Warwick after this. 

To save you doing the conversion, it's £35k. 

 

 

Nothing sad about JB finding a bass that suited him better.

[Misdee]

Jack Bruce was one of those players that sounded like himself regardless of what bass he played. I don't think the difference between a Spector and Warwick would be that apparent. He just dug into those strings and did his thing.

[Sean]

12 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Nothing sad about JB finding a bass that suited him better.

I think the subtly of the humour there probably warranted an emoji 😉

[Sean]

A cracking video from Lonnie explaining LHZ Haz clone vs Darkglass Legacy. 

 

It answers a lot of questions for me. Enjoy.

 

 

Edited 17 hours ago by Sean

[Misdee]

3 hours ago, Sean said:

A cracking video from Lonnie explaining LHZ Haz clone vs Darkglass Legacy. 

 

It answers a lot of questions for me. Enjoy.

 

 

Thanks for posting that. It is indeed very interesting, especially if, like me, you've got a Spector with a Legacy preamp. 

 

I am not particularly tormented by the potential differences between a HAZ preamp and the Legacy- I've never compared them side by side but what I can say is that my CST with the Legacy in it is a terrific-sounding bass. I'm perfectly willing to believe the authentic HAZ is better, but at the same time, experience has taught me that differentiating between better and different can be very subjective, especially when it comes to sound.

 

A couple of observations though. 

 

The elephant in the room is that the chap who has produced the video has a vested financial interest in sewing the seeds of dissatisfaction with the Darkglass Legacy preamp, despite his stance of scientific neutrality. If  it becomes received wisdom that the Legacy preamp is so good that it's not worth changing to a HAZ clone then his sales will inevitable drop-off. If Spector or indeed Darkglass had done their own comparison their presentation of the findings would probably have been very different.

 

Also, it would be interesting if HAZ Labs did their own critique of the clones  this chap is selling and how close it sounds to the original in their estimation. He is presenting himself as an authority. If the goal is authenticity, they might have a few things to say about that. Unqualified, whatever this chap has to say is a classic example of the old maxim that in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. 

 

Readings on a graph are one thing but would we actually hear those differences in that way if someone played a Spector bass with the respective preamps in? That is what we need to know next. Hopefully someone will oblige sooner or later.

 

 

[Sean]

24 minutes ago, Misdee said:

Thanks for posting that. It is indeed very interesting, especially if, like me, you've got a Spector with a Legacy preamp. 

 

I am not particularly tormented by the potential differences between a HAZ preamp and the Legacy- I've never compared them side by side but what I can say is that my CST with the Legacy in it is a terrific-sounding bass. I'm perfectly willing to believe the authentic HAZ is better, but at the same time, experience has taught me that differentiating between better and different can be very subjective, especially when it comes to sound.

 

A couple of observations though. 

 

The elephant in the room is that the chap who has produced the video has a vested financial interest in sewing the seeds of dissatisfaction with the Darkglass Legacy preamp, despite his stance of scientific neutrality. If  it becomes received wisdom that the Legacy preamp is so good that it's not worth changing to a HAZ clone then his sales will inevitable drop-off. If Spector or indeed Darkglass had done their own comparison their presentation of the findings would probably have been very different.

 

Also, it would be interesting if HAZ Labs did their own critique of the clones  this chap is selling and how close it sounds to the original in their estimation. He is presenting himself as an authority. If the goal is authenticity, they might have a few things to say about that. Unqualified, whatever this chap has to say is a classic example of the old maxim that in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. 

 

Readings on a graph are one thing but would we actually hear those differences in that way if someone played a Spector bass with the respective preamps in? That is what we need to know next. Hopefully someone will oblige sooner or later.

 

 

I've got 6 with LHZs in, one with a Legacy and one with an EMG BTS. 

 

I took the Legacy out of one and put an LHZ in. It was very different. I've swapped between a Legacy and an LHZ bass every day for the past couple of weeks. Playing about 30 minutes, switching, then playing another 30 minutes and switching again throughout the day.  I'll be swapping out that Legacy for another LHZ soon and putting the Legacy in the one with the EMG BTS.

 

The LHZ is a clear winner for me but I love pickled breadcrumbed herrings too! It's totally subjective but I will say that I run the LHZ "dimed" and I can't get that same sound or responsiveness to attack with the Legacy; it's quite different.

 

The other spare Legacy will probably end up in my Hamer B12L (EMG 35DC). It's more versatile and nicer than the BTS that's in there

Edited 12 hours ago by Sean

[Misdee]

22 minutes ago, Sean said:

I've got 6 with LHZs in, one with a Legacy and one with an EMG BTS. 

 

I took the Legacy out of one and put an LHZ in. It was very different. I've swapped between a Legacy and an LHZ bass every day for the past couple of weeks. Playing about 30 minutes, switching, then playing another 30 minutes and switching again throughout the day.  I'll be swapping out that Legacy for another LHZ soon and putting the Legacy in the one with the EMG BTS.

 

The LHZ is a clear winner for me but I love pickled breadcrumbed herrings too! It's totally subjective but I will say that I run the LHZ "dimed" and I can't get that same sound or responsiveness to attack with the Legacy; it's quite different.

 

The other spare Legacy will probably end up in my Hamer B12L (EMG 35DC). It's more versatile and nicer than the BTS that's in there

Fair enough! 🙂

 

I'm not very handy with electronics so swapping the preamp is a bit (a lot) beyond my capabilities anyhow.

 

I only make subtle use of the EQ in any of  active my basses, and if by "dimed" you mean everything on full, that's just not me. 

 

One question though. Why get a HAZ clone? Why not get a HAZ? Will they not sell them?  

 

Talking of attack, wasn't the problem with the TonePump that it had a bit too much enthusiasm in that respect?

 

Edited 12 hours ago by Misdee

[Paulhauser]

8 hours ago, Misdee said:

One question though. Why get a HAZ clone? Why not get a HAZ? Will they not sell them?  

 

Talking of attack, wasn't the problem with the TonePump that it had a bit too much enthusiasm in that respect?

 

To my knowledge HAZ isn't sold to the public, only to instrument makers. It was for sale through Spector before IIRC but with a very hefty price tag (500 USD) So basically its the availability and the pricing that fostered the clone market and LHZ is currently the best serving this niche. 

The original Tonepump had a very high output indeed but that was remedied by a dimmer (trimpot) for the second iteration that makes the user able to set the output at a desired level. I think the TP is a slightly misunderstood product and for my taste it performs quite well.   

[Paulhauser]

@Sean I bet for every swap you have a timer ready so you can see if you beat the latest time 🙂

[Sean]

1 hour ago, Paulhauser said:

@Sean I bet for every swap you have a timer ready so you can see if you beat the latest time 🙂

Yes. I did this exactly so I could work out if we could do 5 in a day while chatting and getting distracted. I think that'll be a thread of ideas own at some point. 

[Sean]

10 hours ago, Misdee said:

Fair enough! 🙂

 

I'm not very handy with electronics so swapping the preamp is a bit (a lot) beyond my capabilities anyhow.

 

I only make subtle use of the EQ in any of  active my basses, and if by "dimed" you mean everything on full, that's just not me. 

 

One question though. Why get a HAZ clone? Why not get a HAZ? Will they not sell them?  

 

Talking of attack, wasn't the problem with the TonePump that it had a bit too much enthusiasm in that respect?

 

Dimed = everything on full. This is the "fun zone" of the Haz. 

With reference to "attack", I was referring to being able to control the drive/overdrive with just how hard or soft I play with my fingers (or a pick).

With one pedal setting I can play the line to Faith (George Michael) clean and then by digging in a bit more I get some warm drive on say, Mardy Bum (Arctic Monkeys). I know that's possible with any set up but it's easy, controllable and sounds like I want it to with the LHZ. I've also found that the LHZ plus the Origin Effects DCX Bass pedal is just magic however the Legacy through the DCX can get very close to Tech21 DP-3x territory. It's a fine pre-amp and possibly more versatile in its application but for the "classic Spector recipe" the LHZ delivers. 

 

I don't change the settings on the bass much, maybe just the odd song where I dial back the treble, and I find that the LHZ plus the EMGs give me more than 90% of what I need. My Spectors (PJ EMGs + LHZ) are pretty much one trick ponies but it's the best trick in the world and the ponies are very pretty and have wings 😉

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Sean