Spector Re-Bop Review
Brian Running
comments on it without having the "gee-whiz-brand-new-bass" factor bias the
review too much.
Bass: '04 Spector Re-Bop five-string, Black Cherry body color, rosewood
fingerboard, maple neck, black hardware. Made in the Czech Republic. It's
the new model, with the Mother-of-Pearl fingerboard inlays and the
new-version electronics. 35" scale, 24 frets, bolt-on neck. EMG HZ
pickups, separate volume controls for each pickup, bass and treble active
controls. Kept the factory strings on it.
Initial set-up: The bass arrived during the spring weather change, so the
strings were flat on the frets due to no relief -- standard during Wisconsin
springs. Truss rod adjustment is easy, it's well within its working limits.
To get the action set properly, the saddles had to be raised way up. On a
Spector, the saddles clamp from the side of the bridge by a set screw, and
with the saddles so high, the set screw was very close to the bottom edge of
the G-string saddle. That's not a good situation, because the axis of the
set screw was at or a little below the A-string saddle, so I decided to shim
the entire bridge-tailpiece unit, so the saddles could be lowered and the
set screw would meet them at a point where it would not be below the lowest
edge of any of the saddles -- that might be hard for you to picture, unless
you're familiar with Spector bridges. Anyway, I used a 1/8" thick piece of
brass, carefully sawed and filed to match the mounting surface of the
bridge. Since the bridge is countersunk into the top of the body, the brass
is not visible. Set-up is now perfect. Spector's bridge is an excellent
design, the set-screw tightens the whole thing into a solid block. [Note:
In all likelihood, this mod was not absolutely necessary, but your reviewer
is kind of funny about things like that. Before he went to law school, he
spent some time in the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering -- not
much time, but enough to mess him up.][Additional note: I have shimmed the
neck on my other Spector, to cure exactly the opposite problem -- the
saddles were bottomed out all the way. Basses are meant to be worked on --
don't be shy.]
Playability: After set-up, playability is beautiful. I have long suspected
that different manufacturers' truss rods have different "break points" --
the point at which the truss rod stops affecting the relief in the neck
(obviously, on all basses, the truss rod stops affecting relief at the point
where the neck joins the body -- some basses seem to have that point farther
from the neck/body joint than others), and Spector has done a good job of
selecting theirs. With adequate relief to prevent buzzing on the low frets,
the action stays low at the upper frets. My Fenders do not do that, and I
think it's because their "break points" are closer to the body. Either
that, or with a 35" 24-fret neck, there's just more room for relief
adjustments. No matter what, low action is easily achieved with the Re-Bop.
String spacing is tighter than is currently popular. I prefer closer
spacing, because I slap once in a blue moon, and finger-style playability is
enhanced with narrower spacing. Big-time slappers will probably not like
it.
The neck is medium-chunky, with a "U" profile. The fingerboard radius is
greater than a Fender, but it's not Warwick-flat. Both the neck profile and
fingerboard radius are comfortable to me, and I was weaned on Fenders.
Warwicks feel too flat to me, if that's any indication to you. Frets are
your modern-standard medium jumbo, well-finished and with no fret alignment
problems. Nut is graphite, fairly-well finished. I'm going to take a file
to it, because it protrudes ever-so-slightly beyond the edge of the
fingerboard, but it's not a flaw.
Body has that nice, Spector beer-belly curve to it. It's compact and light,
and I really, really like that. I've grown to dislike those enormous slab
Fender J-Bass bodies. The neck-through Czech Spectors are heavy as hell --
this bolt-on Re-Bop is much, much lighter and just generally nicer to
handle. Slightly neck-heavy -- less so after my installation of the brass
plate. If you use slippery straps, you'll have a little bit of neck dive.
If you use a wide, nappy strap like I do, then you will not have any issues
at all with balance. Being a 35-inch 24-fretter, it's a little more reach
to the low frets, but not to the point of being a distraction, as it is with
a Warwick Thumb, for instance.
Finish is excellent, with only a little waviness at one spot that wasn't
fully sanded out on the top of the body. You'd never notice it if you
weren't looking for it. Aesthetically, it's a looker, with its rounded
profiles and curved body -- and, unlike Fender's Soviet-industrial-style
look, it has no exposed screwheads or unsightly hardware. I've always
lusted after the looks of a Spector, and the Re-Bop's got it all (in fact, I
really decided to get this bass after seeing Kasim Sulton playing one with
Todd Rundgren earlier this year -- it just looked good). I'm going to put
some Schaller Strap-Loks on it, but that's all I'll do. I know a lot of
people don't like EMG HZ pickups, but I really believe that's because they
judge them while playing alone. They sound a little "honky" in the mids --
but that quality is what makes them punch through a mix so well. That
punchy sound is a hallmark of Spectors and Warwicks, and the EMGs deliver it
well. I don't plan to swap out the HZs.
Sound: Enormous, aggressive. Compared with my Fender American Deluxe Jazz
five string, the Spector dives down into the lowest octaves and never loses
steam. Whereas the Fender's E and B strings tend to get lighter, the
Spector stays heavy down low, doesn't lose any level at all. The B string
is excellent, as good as or better than any bass I've ever tried, including
Zons and Moduluses with graphite necks. Go for that low C or D, and the
timbre exactly matches the E and A strings. No dead spots, but the B string
gets that weird, warbly tone above the 12th fret, like a lot of five-strings
do. A .128 string just doesn't like to get short. Turn up the bridge
pickup, and you can get a real nice punchy tone. Emphasize the neck pickup,
and the sound rounds out nicely -- but one thing this bass won't do is
imitate a P-Bass, in any way, shape or form. It's much more aggressive.
You want a big ol' grin on your face? Crank this bass up, boost the bass a
little, emphasize the bridge pickup a little, and play it with a pick.
Great big rock bass tone with a huge bottom end. It just makes any Fender
sound weak-kneed in comparison. Output is extremely hot, if you want to
overdrive your SansAmp, this bass will drive it to brink of meltdown.
Dislikes/Concerns: I think Spector should not inset the bridge so deeply
into the body. You shouldn't have to raise the saddles so high to get
proper action with normal neck-relief values. As much as I like the looks
of the Spector nameplate on the truss-rod cover, I really prefer accessible
truss-rod ends with a nicely-finished slot. I think they ought to re-design
their electronics/battery compartment cover, so it's flush with the body,
and with a quick-access battery compartment. Also, having screws in the
saddles to aid with intonation adjustments would be nice, but the current
design is not as weird as it seems the first time you see it. The
solid-black finish on the back is pretty, but seeing the grain on the back
through a transparent finish would be even prettier.
Over-All Value: Here's the best part, the bass was $975 brand-new, with a
hard-shell case. I think this bass is an incredible value, and I can't
overemphasize that. The quality of materials, finish, workmanship, and
design are in the over-$2000 category, but it sells at a sub-Fender Standard
price. I've got to believe that these Czech-made Spectors are sleepers in
the bass market, and once people discover their goodness, the price is going
to shoot up. US Spectors are really pricy, and if you handle one
side-by-side with a Czech model, you're going to wonder why. By all means
check this bass out. Also, you should know that Spector is a small company,
and will give you small-company customer service. As many of you know
already, Jim Eppard is a regular a.g.b. participant, and he works for
Spector, and I can tell you from personal experience that he takes care of
their customers very well. None of that Fender arrogance there. Now go!
Find a Re-Bop and check it out.
John Shaughnessy
--
Learning funk bass? visit www.js3jazz.com/store.htm
"Speaking the Truth in times of Universal deceit is a revolutionary act." --
George Orwell
"Brian Running" <brun...@XXameritechXX.net> wrote in message
news:ch3wc.5250$n65....@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
crow
Stuart's desk (he's fishing in Wyoming or something...).
For what it's worth, I agree with your assessment re: bridge height, but I
should point out that the Czech necks are hand made and this spec does vary
guitar to guitar. I'll bet that brass plate does increase the sustain
though!
I must say that Spector truss rods are among the most responsive I've ever
seen. I must be spoiled because I had to set up a new-ish Japanese Fender
Geddy Lee Jazz bass for the current Coheed & Cambria tour and I couldn't get
it where I really wanted it. I was afraid it was going to break. BTW, this
is a problem that I have noticed in several Fender - Japan instruments (i.e:
truss rod not changing the relief in any significant way - I HAVE broken
one, so I might be a little gun shy). Someone put forth a theory that they
are copying an early 70's CBS protocol that was fundamentally flawed beacuse
of how it was mounted, but I can't say for sure. I only know that the neck
moves dramatically with a minute adjustment on any Spector and I can't say
the same for Fender.
You're also right about the output. This is the highest gain circuit I've
ever seen on any bass guitar. A guy from St. Louis Music (who owns Ampeg)
told me that the Spectors equipt with the Tone
Pump circuit are the only basses that absoloutly HAVE TO use the padded
input.
The weight issue is all about the bridge mass. Personally, I prefer a low
mass bridge and little or no sustain and occasionally have been known to
employ various string damping methods on my own instruments to achive this
sound. The ReBop had a cast aluminum bridge that weighs about a tenth as
much as the gold plated cast brass job that comes on the neck-through Czech
or USA models. I'm still amazed at the weight change every time I mount a
bridge on a USA neck-through - and I've been doing it for years now! Sustain
is longer, fuller and a bit 'snappier' with the brass bridge, although the
Aluminum one is by no means sustainless.
A Spector, even with a P/J pickup set up, does not sound like a Fender. If
you want that fender sound get a Fender...or an Ibanez...or a Yamaha...or a
Fernandes or any of the other Fender clones out there. They're all decent
and every now & then one is exceptional! I have a Fernandes tele that can go
head to head with my buddy's '54 and I just picked up an Ibanez explorer
lookin' 4 string bass with a P/J set up that sounds like a GREAT Fender!
Quality control is very important to us @ Spector. Every bass we ship out
has been unpacked and checked out by Stuart, Tim Pettit or myself. We strive
to deal with any problems quickly and throughly. The goal is 100%
functionality for every instrument in the field. Toward this end, don't ever
use plastic coated strings with a fishman bridge (Spectorcore). Actually I
don't think they should ever be used on any instrument that requires a
grounded bridge - which is every instrument with passive pups.
Thanks again for all the feedback!
Jim Eppard
Stuart Spector Design * Lost River Recording * e&e audio
"Brian Running" <brun...@XXameritechXX.net> wrote in message
news:ch3wc.5250$n65....@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
Sam Byrams
do a great job at a reasonable price and at least their language is
Latin alphabet-based: many speak English and many that don't speak
German, which in my neck of the woods is a benefit as we have a lot of
German families. We also have Koreans and Taiwanese, but although they
could talk to the factory I can't talk to them.
craigles
Kloka-mo'
> Thanks for the excellent review Brian!
>
Naw... he's just looking for an endorsement. :-P
--
O< "There is nothing- absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing
/(\) as simply messing about in boats." ~Wind In The Willows
^^ Slidell, LA