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Are Spectors great basses?

greghagger

By greghagger,
in Bass Guitars

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greghagger Experienced

greghagger

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11 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Cant imagine a Spector with barts, although I suspect they are the US barts rather than the bart licensed things that Ibanez use in their budget basses. I do have one with Agulars though and that is probably my favourite

Yes these are the ‘proper Bart’s’! 

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Paulhauser Experienced

Paulhauser

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On 04/11/2022 at 00:59, Clarky said:

Since this thread has the attention of Spector owners, just a quick note that I am trying to find a first generation Spector Ian Hill. In case this is of interest to one of you. Cheers Clarky

 

 

Can't be of much help but I still have occasional regrets of not buying a 35" (!!) scale Ian Hill a few years back. Would love to have that tuned to BEAD, just my other (white) Euro 435 custom is.

(And yes, it was 35" eventhough the specs said 34" in the listing and it had the Ian Hill sticker on the back of the neck)

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bigthumb Mentor

bigthumb

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Recently bought a Euro LX that was listed on here for quite a while. I really don't understand why it took so long to sell but hey-ho. I bought it to replace a heavier bass that I was struggling with when using in the band and I'm so glad I did. 

The bass is superb in both looks and quality. As mentioned above, the workmanship is outstanding having all the attributes of a hand made instrument that would cost a hell of a lot more. I briefly owned a Euro LX around 12 years ago and found the neck like a club, very chunky indeed. However the one on mine is much slimmer thankfully and a joy to play. I've not had the chance to use it at a band rehearsal yet and I'm hoping to get to grips with the TonePump before I do. I've spent a fair time getting familiar with it at home and I'm struggling to get a tone that I like BUT I'm fully aware that what sounds great in the spare room can sound crap on stage. If I decide that the EMG TP configuration is not working for me I'd be looking at changing them to something that potentially will. Aguilar pups and pre are fitted to Spectors so I'm wondering what the differences are between them? Have Bartolini ever been used or tried I wonder? 

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greghagger Experienced

greghagger

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48 minutes ago, bigthumb said:

Recently bought a Euro LX that was listed on here for quite a while. I really don't understand why it took so long to sell but hey-ho. I bought it to replace a heavier bass that I was struggling with when using in the band and I'm so glad I did. 

The bass is superb in both looks and quality. As mentioned above, the workmanship is outstanding having all the attributes of a hand made instrument that would cost a hell of a lot more. I briefly owned a Euro LX around 12 years ago and found the neck like a club, very chunky indeed. However the one on mine is much slimmer thankfully and a joy to play. I've not had the chance to use it at a band rehearsal yet and I'm hoping to get to grips with the TonePump before I do. I've spent a fair time getting familiar with it at home and I'm struggling to get a tone that I like BUT I'm fully aware that what sounds great in the spare room can sound crap on stage. If I decide that the EMG TP configuration is not working for me I'd be looking at changing them to something that potentially will. Aguilar pups and pre are fitted to Spectors so I'm wondering what the differences are between them? Have Bartolini ever been used or tried I wonder? 

Hey there, I started this thread. I fitted my Spector with Bartolini pickups for the same reason as you. I just couldn’t find the sound I wanted out of the EMG’s. I thought the Barts worked really well. 

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mario_buoninfante Proficient

mario_buoninfante

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Not a Euro or US made, but I own a Spector Legend Classic 4 that has Bartolini PJ by default and I think it sounds really good.
It's mellower than the classic Spector EMG sound, but has common traits for sure. It's as if it's a bit more vintage (despite being and sounding like an active bass).


Getting back to the main topic (Are Spector Bass Great Basses?), I'd like to add my 2 cents based on my experience with a Korean made.
While I do appreciate I never played a Euro or US made one, I can say that the Legend Classic punches way above its weight.

It is really well made, I didn't find a single defect on it, the finishing is great and it just sounds great. It was new at Bass Direct for less than 500£ and it definitely sounds like a way more expensive bass.
The only thing, it took me a while to get used to the Tone Pump Jr (mainly because pots aren't centre notched), but not because I didn't like it, instead simply because it is different from any other pre I ever played with (also I mainly had passive basses in my life). It does boost your lows and highs quite a lot (12/16 dB I think).

 

Here's also a video with a Euro fitted with Bart pups

 

 

Edited by mario_buoninfante
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bigthumb Mentor

bigthumb

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1 hour ago, greghagger said:

Hey there, I started this thread. I fitted my Spector with Bartolini pickups for the same reason as you. I just couldn’t find the sound I wanted out of the EMG’s. I thought the Barts worked really well. 

 

 

Were the Barts paired with the TonePump? 

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Ralf1e Mentor

Ralf1e

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11 hours ago, bigthumb said:

Recently bought a Euro LX that was listed on here for quite a while. I really don't understand why it took so long to sell but hey-ho. I bought it to replace a heavier bass that I was struggling with when using in the band and I'm so glad I did. 

The bass is superb in both looks and quality. As mentioned above, the workmanship is outstanding having all the attributes of a hand made instrument that would cost a hell of a lot more. I briefly owned a Euro LX around 12 years ago and found the neck like a club, very chunky indeed. However the one on mine is much slimmer thankfully and a joy to play. I've not had the chance to use it at a band rehearsal yet and I'm hoping to get to grips with the TonePump before I do. I've spent a fair time getting familiar with it at home and I'm struggling to get a tone that I like BUT I'm fully aware that what sounds great in the spare room can sound crap on stage. If I decide that the EMG TP configuration is not working for me I'd be looking at changing them to something that potentially will. Aguilar pups and pre are fitted to Spectors so I'm wondering what the differences are between them? Have Bartolini ever been used or tried I wonder? 

Mine came with Bartolini from new. Don't know if it was an option or not as it was a B stock from Andertons because it had a fairly large chip in the finish. I digress sorry. I love the sound of it with the barts but have never played another one so can't tell you difference. From what I have seen others have said it is a softer or warmer sound with barts than emg's.

The barts are a different configuration as well being soap bars16679732697154928077305805809239.thumb.jpg.667f726ee3d77e496370589f8209dcb3.jpg

Edited by Ralf1e
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bigthumb Mentor

bigthumb

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The preamp is going to play a huge part in the tone, probably more so than the pups. I'd be interested to know what preamps are fitted to the basses that aren't equipped with EMG's. I have a Roscoe bass with Bart pups and preamp and it sounds as sweet as a nut. I'd defiantly prefer a warmer tone in any of my basses. 

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NancyJohnson Grand Master

NancyJohnson

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12 hours ago, bigthumb said:

Were the Barts paired with the TonePump? 

 

I have an LT with Bart'sv(unused/surplus/for sale kids).  It's got a Darkglass tone circuit.  Don't read this as being Darkglass=dirty mush (like the Stingray/Darkray); it's just an active circuit AFAIC, cut/boost.

 

I know people get all wound up about what's under the cover, but the Darkglass circuit works fine and is perfectly functional; it is just one facet in the entire signal chain. 

 

I've got John East circuits in a handful of basses and don't really see much difference in what each circuit gives over another, my desired tone comes from outboard gear (GED/dUg stomps).

 

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flaviusm Proficient

flaviusm

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I have a NS-5XL (EMG pickups + Haz Lab 18 V preamp) and I can say YES, IT'S GREAT! But, for the people who don't like too much their scooped sound, I have some tips.

When I received the bass I put DR Hi Beams on it. It was ok, but... I mean the sound was huge, tons of pressure, but not really for my taste. I changed the strings and I put Elixirs nickel and my bass died. Then I put DR Sunbeams. There it is! Another bass! Much better than Hi-beams. I couldn't believe that a set of strings could affect the sound so much.

But the search continued... I have a bass (non-Spector) with reverse P - reverse P configuration and my thoughts turned to it. So, I bought for my Spector an EMG 40P5 pickup and I put it in the neck position (instead of 40DC) and I can say the bass sound is now 100% for my taste. Not really like a reverse P - J configuration which I preferred until then, but stronger, so... I'm happier!

I don't know how it would sound with two of EMG 40P5, because that pickup was the only one I found in Europe. Let's hope I will find another one in the future.

 

(A little bit) later edit: maybe it's good to know that I play in a metal band and that "clank" is mandatory 🤘. No mids, no strong clank.

Edited by flaviusm
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bigthumb Mentor

bigthumb

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I have a set of Elixirs nickels coming today which (as mentioned above) will hopefully smooth things out and take away some of the zing. I'm pretty sure the strings on it are steels of some sort which I'm not keen on. Defiantly worth a try and if they do 'kill' the tone I can fit them to something else. 

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flaviusm Proficient

flaviusm

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On 10/11/2022 at 08:48, bigthumb said:

I have a set of Elixirs nickels coming today which (as mentioned above) will hopefully smooth things out and take away some of the zing.

 

For sure will do. I'm curious about the result.

For me Elixirs on Spector were not good only because I have a thick wall of distorted guitars that I have to cut.

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bigthumb Mentor

bigthumb

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On 11/11/2022 at 12:43, flaviusm said:

 

For sure will do. I'm curious about the result.

For me Elixirs on Spector were not good only because I have a thick wall of distorted guitars that I have to cut.

Well, I finally got around to fitting the strings on Sunday. They certainly are more mellow than the strings I had on before but what I'm finding is that I'm struggling to find mid frequencies that I'm comfortable with. I'm doubting that the strings have anything to do with this but more the preamp. 

I spent some time with the bass tinkering with the EQ on both the amp and bass. Amp being an EBS TD650 through an EBS Neo 2x10. And TBH struggling to find a pleasing sound but what I will say is the sound isn't bad and needs to be tried at volume with the band. It's likely that it'll sound phenomenal live and cut through like a knife but at home, it sounds nowhere near as good as my Roscoe bass (all Bartolini). 

 

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Ralf1e Mentor

Ralf1e

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On 09/11/2022 at 05:48, Ralf1e said:

Mine came with Bartolini from new. Don't know if it was an option or not as it was a B stock from Andertons because it had a fairly large chip in the finish. I digress sorry. I love the sound of it with the barts but have never played another one so can't tell you difference. From what I have seen others have said it is a softer or warmer sound with barts than emg's.

The barts are a different configuration as well being soap bars16679732697154928077305805809239.thumb.jpg.667f726ee3d77e496370589f8209dcb3.jpg

By the way it is much darker than that picture shows it being a deep dark red cherry

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mario_buoninfante Proficient

mario_buoninfante

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On 31/10/2022 at 14:16, Misdee said:

I suppose a pertinent question is are Spector basses as great as they once were? Now that Stuart Spector has retired and Korg have taken over the company, I would be interested to hear from Spector afficionados if the basses are still made to the same standard 

 

Has Stuart Spector actually retired?
Korg did acquire the company, but I think Stuart Spector is still working.
I could be wrong though.

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