Paulhauser Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 (edited) I recently took possession of this US made Spector Forte 6. The Forte model was introduced in the early 2010's as a no frills version of the US NS basses. Cutting down on options, no fancy woods or inlays therefore making the production streamlined the aim was to offer a straightforward and a bit more affordable version of the NS models. Still made by the team of Stuart Spector (before his retirement) and co, Fortes are essentially the same as the US NS models but in Forte 'versions' Now to the contrary of all above this Forte 6 has more features than some of my US NS-5XL basses and certainly more than normal Fortes. Flamed maple top, ash back are the body woods, ebony (!) is the fingerboard, tuners are the same as the NS custom models, preamp is Aguilar OBP and the pickups are EMG 45DCs. It is a wonderful sounding bass, powerful but not aggressive, clean and very even in all registers and there is a depth and richness to the sound. The no inlay ebony board is a wonder in itself, the neck is comfortable for a sixer and the whole thing is an incredibly well built, ergonomicly designed and sweet sounding bass. I have owned and currently own US made NS-5XL Spectors and this is up there with the best of them. Enjoy the pics! Edited October 30, 2019 by Paulhauser fixed some typos 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopthebass Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 That is super nice. I actually like the uncluttered ebony. Does it have EMG preamp too? Its odd how there is no easy access battery box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulhauser Posted October 30, 2019 Author Share Posted October 30, 2019 4 minutes ago, Chopthebass said: That is super nice. I actually like the uncluttered ebony. Does it have EMG preamp too? Its odd how there is no easy access battery box. Thank you! It has the Aguilar OBP2. Yes, the battery is in the main cavity but it's not an issue for me to open it every once in a while. I will most probably not be using this bass live so I don't have to worry about changing a dead battery in the heat of the gig 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pea Turgh Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 Love that finish! I prefer simple looking basses. They match me then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 Quote Gorgeous. The Forte series is definitely my favourite series of Spector basses in terms of looks. The other ones a bit too bling for me. That finish is utterly brilliant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songofthewind Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Very stylish indeed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 That looks beautiful. Well done! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Good heavens! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulhauser Posted June 3, 2020 Author Share Posted June 3, 2020 Update: I have replaced the EMG 45DCs with EMG 45TWX's. While I liked the DCs I think the TWX has a slightly rounder sound that works well with the ebony board and ash/maple setup. The sound became less brittle in the upper registers, the low end slightly less the strong mids remained and became even more pronounced. Also one of my observations is that the Aguilar OBP seems to work better or more effective with this pickup, especially the lows. As I use the TWX's in my other Spectors I pretty much knew what the swap would do but still I'm happy how this turned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stockholm Syndrome Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 On 03/06/2020 at 11:27, Paulhauser said: Update: I have replaced the EMG 45DCs with EMG 45TWX's. While I liked the DCs I think the TWX has a slightly rounder sound that works well with the ebony board and ash/maple setup. The sound became less brittle in the upper registers, the low end slightly less the strong mids remained and became even more pronounced. Also one of my observations is that the Aguilar OBP seems to work better or more effective with this pickup, especially the lows. As I use the TWX's in my other Spectors I pretty much knew what the swap would do but still I'm happy how this turned out. Did you get the coil splits as well? Gorgeous bass! ❤️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulhauser Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 7 minutes ago, Stockholm Syndrome said: Did you get the coil splits as well? Gorgeous bass! ❤️ Yes! Now it is vol/vol setup insted of the original vol/balance with both volume pots being push-pull ones for coil tap. Thanks for the compliment, all the glory goes to Stuart Spector and crew 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stockholm Syndrome Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 15 hours ago, Paulhauser said: Yes! Now it is vol/vol setup insted of the original vol/balance with both volume pots being push-pull ones for coil tap. Thanks for the compliment, all the glory goes to Stuart Spector and crew 🙂 Does it have wide string spacing (19 mm), or are my eyes just fooling me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulhauser Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 1 hour ago, Stockholm Syndrome said: Does it have wide string spacing (19 mm) No it does not. The spacing is 17mm from string to string at the bridge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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