It kind of surprises me that Geddy didn’t use a Spector. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, his tone was very quacky or barky with nice low mids. When I hear Spectors like these, I think of Geddy.
Around 1985 on "Power Windows" he was using Wal basses, which yes sound very similar to Spector. Very small German boutique maker, don't know if they're still around.
@@tjbanville what what what.. Wal Basses are *not* from Germany my friend. they are and have always been made in England. and you might find some similarities between Wal & Spector sound, but they are definitely different (like all brands really). might have switched up Wal & Warwick? the latter is German.
I love Geddy's tone with the Wal. Probably my favourite tone of his entire career. There are similarities between a Spector and a Wal but both have their own grounds to stand on. Some day I wish I could get a Wal :)
Beautiful Basses, Tone & Intonation! (I'm also a fan of Spalted Maple, especially with Black Hardware - and other Organically Effected "finishes" such as Burl: I've been not-so-subtly "hinting" to my Better-Half about a Spalted-Topped Euro6 LX that's an absolute Steal of a Deal for my 40th Birthday Present). However, I believe Spector should build more and make more of a effort in marketing their Fretless Basses - just like all of their other Basses, the Fretlesses take a back seat to no one. I have a Euro Bolt-On 5 FM Lined Fretless (okay, a Custom "ReBop5 DLX FM Fretless", but I vastly prefer the former as it matches up with their "Euro LX" Czech-built counterparts just as the "USA Bolt-On" clearly is in the same "line" as the "USA Neck-Thru" ;-) with custom Nordstrand "Big Single" Pickups, Aguilar OBP-3SK/PP Preamp and an Epoxy Fingerboard Coating by HG Thor. It's far-and-away an amazing Fretless Bass for the price, even before all of my customizations... Just a bit of a shame that most people are surprised and say "a Spector Fretless?" when they hear about my Fretless (until they actually *hear* my Fretless, that is ;-)
I think all three sound excellent, of course! My favorite is the fretted with spalted maple top and the walnut back. The fretless would be next, and the black one with the ebony fingerboard would be my number three. This isn’t to say that I think the black one with the ebony fingerboard is lacking in any way. I’m surprised to see that you sold your Brooklyn with the cherry sunburst finish. That was a beautiful looking and fantastic sounding instrument, but I definitely understand selling one to buy another. Spectors are addictive!! :)
They sound way nicer in a mix than solo'd. Great job! Id say I would be thrilled with either Number 1, or number 2. I am too useless to use a fretless though :)
I own the Alex Webster Spector Legend version of his signature Bass. The neck is very smooth and allows for fast playing like Metal/Thrash very easily. To me the neck seems thin even for a 5 string and never get cramps from playing it like some other brands.
They are all smooth fast necks the doug wimbish signature euro has an even thinner amd faster neck. Not one spector ive touch has felt like a bat thankfully. Ive had a few fenders and even squires and g&l that did and why i no longer have or own them..
Nice comparison video. Did you find a big difference between the Forte and the NS4? I've been trying to find the pros and cons. (You sold me the Aguilar preamp a year or so ago!)
+David Spidel David, all the basses I played are NS2's none were NS4's which I haven't tried yet except for a few minutes at NAMM. Judging simply by those few minutes, I'm still liking the PJ / JJ configuration most.
+David Spidel I really loved my Forte with both the HAZ that I had in it and also the OBP2. Something about that bass that just had mass to it and delivered immense tone. Mine had solid maple wings and Pau ferro board. The neck was a bit chunky and like my fretted spalt maple which also has a chunky neck, I do believe that a lot of the tonality came from that. Just my $0.2. Hope this helps :)
Personally I preferred the ns forte, sounds and looks better, plus I'm not a lover of fretless, it a bit of a novelty in my book, plus can't you get pedals that will give you that fretless sound?
Hi, I don’t know if you still read the comments here but I wanted to ask how you “tame” the bass. If I crank the eq all the way up it starts doing all of the things that are not pleasant. Sounds maybe to scooped and tooboomy and brittle. Do you play with a low action?
Hello August. What kind of bass do you have? Are you using an NS2 as well? I usually have my Bass and Treb all the way up to let the preamp really sing. Then adjust on the amp as necessary. Not sure why you're having tone issues. My action is rather low, yes.
It kind of surprises me that Geddy didn’t use a Spector. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, his tone was very quacky or barky with nice low mids. When I hear Spectors like these, I think of Geddy.
Around 1985 on "Power Windows" he was using Wal basses, which yes sound very similar to Spector. Very small German boutique maker, don't know if they're still around.
@@tjbanville what what what.. Wal Basses are *not* from Germany my friend. they are and have always been made in England. and you might find some similarities between Wal & Spector sound, but they are definitely different (like all brands really).
might have switched up Wal & Warwick? the latter is German.
I love Geddy's tone with the Wal. Probably my favourite tone of his entire career.
There are similarities between a Spector and a Wal but both have their own grounds to stand on. Some day I wish I could get a Wal :)
I agree, Seth. I’m a longtime Spector fan, and I’ve always thought that the classic Spector growl would suit Geddy’s style very well.
I like the tone of the Spalt Maple / Walnut back NS2 (Fretted) bass. Nice growl.
Love the sound of the fretless one, more round and deep
They all sound great 👍
Both the spalted maple top, walnut back with pau ferro sounded amazing.
They all sound killer
Beautiful Basses, Tone & Intonation! (I'm also a fan of Spalted Maple, especially with Black Hardware - and other Organically Effected "finishes" such as Burl: I've been not-so-subtly "hinting" to my Better-Half about a Spalted-Topped Euro6 LX that's an absolute Steal of a Deal for my 40th Birthday Present).
However, I believe Spector should build more and make more of a effort in marketing their Fretless Basses - just like all of their other Basses, the Fretlesses take a back seat to no one. I have a Euro Bolt-On 5 FM Lined Fretless (okay, a Custom "ReBop5 DLX FM Fretless", but I vastly prefer the former as it matches up with their "Euro LX" Czech-built counterparts just as the "USA Bolt-On" clearly is in the same "line" as the "USA Neck-Thru" ;-) with custom Nordstrand "Big Single" Pickups, Aguilar OBP-3SK/PP Preamp and an Epoxy Fingerboard Coating by HG Thor. It's far-and-away an amazing Fretless Bass for the price, even before all of my customizations... Just a bit of a shame that most people are surprised and say "a Spector Fretless?" when they hear about my Fretless (until they actually *hear* my Fretless, that is ;-)
Being a player who likes a lot of bottom, I prefer the original P pickup configuration over the reverse P Spector uses. Good demo.
Love Spector! Especially the black one. That tune you were playing sounds very old day Aerosmith.
I think all three sound excellent, of course!
My favorite is the fretted with spalted maple top and the walnut back. The fretless would be next, and the black one with the ebony fingerboard would be my number three. This isn’t to say that I think the black one with the ebony fingerboard is lacking in any way.
I’m surprised to see that you sold your Brooklyn with the cherry sunburst finish. That was a beautiful looking and fantastic sounding instrument, but I definitely understand selling one to buy another. Spectors are addictive!! :)
That spector bass is fantastic! I want one too! :D
No faults in any of those sounded great
They sound way nicer in a mix than solo'd. Great job! Id say I would be thrilled with either Number 1, or number 2. I am too useless to use a fretless though :)
Fretless for me. Sweet basses and playing
What do the necks feel like on Spectors? Are they fat or quite thin shaped? Are they smooth as well?
I own the Alex Webster Spector Legend version of his signature Bass. The neck is very smooth and allows for fast playing like Metal/Thrash very easily. To me the neck seems thin even for a 5 string and never get cramps from playing it like some other brands.
They are all smooth fast necks the doug wimbish signature euro has an even thinner amd faster neck. Not one spector ive touch has felt like a bat thankfully. Ive had a few fenders and even squires and g&l that did and why i no longer have or own them..
The first one ! 👍🏻👌🏼
lov the old one
1st wins, black sounds interesting. Fretless is not in my game ;-)
Nice comparison video. Did you find a big difference between the Forte and the NS4? I've been trying to find the pros and cons. (You sold me the Aguilar preamp a year or so ago!)
+David Spidel
David, all the basses I played are NS2's none were NS4's which I haven't tried yet except for a few minutes at NAMM. Judging simply by those few minutes, I'm still liking the PJ / JJ configuration most.
+Trailightband yes, sorry, that's what I meant. NS2. So between that and the Forte, and small differences in feel/tone/mojo?
+David Spidel
I really loved my Forte with both the HAZ that I had in it and also the OBP2. Something about that bass that just had mass to it and delivered immense tone.
Mine had solid maple wings and Pau ferro board. The neck was a bit chunky and like my fretted spalt maple which also has a chunky neck, I do believe that a lot of the tonality came from that. Just my $0.2.
Hope this helps :)
spec wery cool
Badass riffs man. where can I find your music? Name of song?
trailight.bandcamp.com/track/aftershock-2
Personally I preferred the ns forte, sounds and looks better, plus I'm not a lover of fretless, it a bit of a novelty in my book, plus can't you get pedals that will give you that fretless sound?
Hi, I don’t know if you still read the comments here but I wanted to ask how you “tame” the bass. If I crank the eq all the way up it starts doing all of the things that are not pleasant. Sounds maybe to scooped and tooboomy and brittle. Do you play with a low action?
Hello August.
What kind of bass do you have? Are you using an NS2 as well? I usually have my Bass and Treb all the way up to let the preamp really sing. Then adjust on the amp as necessary.
Not sure why you're having tone issues. My action is rather low, yes.
Woodstock pick ups made it sound better, crunchier.
Which pre amps do all of these have??
US 9V HAZ circuit.