SpectorCore: Good, Bad, Indifferent?

Snags

Bass ignoramous looking to replace a mediocre beginner's Peavy Milestone with something a bit more rich/punchy. I was planning on waiting for a low end Ibanez P-J to come up secondhand, as I only use bass very occasionally, or for sticking simple lines on home recordings, but, you know, Gumtree.

Someone local has a SpectorCore 4 fretless up for sale. It's over my intended budget, but then, it's fretless and seems a bit more interesting than replacing a cheapo bass with another cheapo bass. The fretless bit doesn't phase me too much, having blagged a go on the infamous @Bridgehouse Shuker (which I appreciate will be a somewhat different class of instrument).

However, are they actually any good, or would I be demonstrating my ignorant mug punter credentials by going for it?

Bridgehouse

I meant to reply to your message!

They are lightweight, well built and excellent value for the money. 

They are piezo usually with a traditional pickup so flexible, and will actually give you a fairly similar sound to my Shuker - the hollow body makes them a bit more woody in tone.

You could argue that they sound very different to a trad P or J is a con, or a huge plus... 

It’ll feel and sound similar to my Shuker but a lot lighter, bit more woody and quite a bit less “luthier built”

Snags

No worries, just thought I'd canvas broad opinion, as you're a busy man and doubtless flooded with PMs. Particularly now Peter Green has died.

Right, I'll message the bloke, as there are only a couple of photos. Which might be because he's a bit rubbish at ads, or it might be because the headstock has fallen off.

Bridgehouse

Snags said:

No worries, just thought I'd canvas broad opinion, as you're a busy man and doubtless flooded with PMs. Particularly now Peter Green has died.

Right, I'll message the bloke, as there are only a couple of photos. Which might be because he's a bit rubbish at ads, or it might be because the headstock has fallen off.

You def. want more photos. Mind you, it’s not a massive amount to take a risk on

Snags

I'm guessing it was OK, he sold it yesterday

Back to watching and waiting. The chase is more fun than the catch anyway.

Bridgehouse

Snags said:

I'm guessing it was OK, he sold it yesterday

Back to watching and waiting. The chase is more fun than the catch anyway.

Do you definitely want a fretless? See if you can keep an eye out for an Ibanez SRF700 or an SRH500F - both similar to the Spectorcore and both very good. The SRH500F will be a bit cheaper and should be in your budget used. 

They have Piezo and magnetic pickups and are lightweight - they are also very nice to play and sound great. 

mrkb

You don’t want a fretless, as you’ll then be playing the wrong note at the wrong time!

Bridgehouse

mrkb said:

You don’t want a fretless, as you’ll then be playing the wrong note at the wrong time!

Practise makes perfect - as well you know...

Snags

Well, kinda, maybe.

I mostly want a not-a-jazz which is cheap as chips but a step up (however small) from the current Milestone III. As you can testify, I'm not a bassist, so it's really for the odd jam, filling in, or for recording at home to round things out. Hence the low/mid generic Ibanez P-J conversation the other day.

I do not want to go down a massive bass rabbit hole and wind myself up to spending [proper]|[silly] money on something, because I cannot justify it.

But ... I really enjoyed playing your Shuker, and at my limited level the lack of frets didn't cause any panics. So when a casual search for a bass threw up an interesting looking fretless at £300 I thought it might be worth upping the budget in that particular instance. The same could happen for a suitable alternative, but £300 is probably going to be the limit, and that's only based on the fact that I'd considered dropping £250 on a discounted new Ibanez bog-standard rather than waiting. But I don't need one.

I'll add the Ibanezeseses to the list, and let the daemon sink back down to background processing, awaiting synchronicity.

Bridgehouse

Snags said:

Well, kinda, maybe.

I mostly want a not-a-jazz which is cheap as chips but a step up (however small) from the current Milestone III. As you can testify, I'm not a bassist, so it's really for the odd jam, filling in, or for recording at home to round things out. Hence the low/mid generic Ibanez P-J conversation the other day.

I do not want to go down a massive bass rabbit hole and wind myself up to spending [proper]|[silly] money on something, because I cannot justify it.

But ... I really enjoyed playing your Shuker, and at my limited level the lack of frets didn't cause any panics. So when a casual search for a bass threw up an interesting looking fretless at £300 I thought it might be worth upping the budget in that particular instance. The same could happen for a suitable alternative, but £300 is probably going to be the limit, and that's only based on the fact that I'd considered dropping £250 on a discounted new Ibanez bog-standard rather than waiting. But I don't need one.

I'll add the Ibanezeseses to the list, and let the daemon sink back down to background processing, awaiting synchronicity.

As with most things, you get what you pay for.

You’ve been spoilt, as that Shuker is the best bass I’ve ever played - £300 won’t come close. 

I’ve been down plenty of bass rabbit holes, and they are as different as guitars can be - they can seriously cause a lot of expenditure to happen before you find one you really like. 

As an aside - if you liked the Shuker feel, then look for something with a thin neck profile - medium width and a very flat board radius - it will give you quite a bit of the “feel”

Snags

mrkb said:

You don’t want a fretless, as you’ll then be playing the wrong note at the wrong time!

Only when I forget @bridgehouse has left it in drop-D    The rest of it was only as bad as normal. Which just goes to prove you don't need a fretless to play the wrong note.

@Bridgehouse - totally get that something at the cheapo end isn't going to touch the Shuker. It was as much about deciding that (for a numpty "root, 5th, and maybe the odd extra note" player) fretless wasn't actually a nightmare to play, and then something interesting popping up locally.

I've been meaning to replace the Milestone for about 5 years, this is unlikely to happen in a rush!

Bridgehouse

@Snags - I say get a fretless and fuck it - they are heaps of fun and really improve your fretted playing. 

Stretch to £500 and one of those Ibanez ones would do you just fine. 

Snags

MISSION CREEP!

Bridgehouse

Snags said:

MISSION CREEP!

That’s the spirit. Up the ante

Snags

I've just saved alerts on Gumtree and Ebay.

I hate you.

mrkb

Bridgehouse said:

mrkb said:

You don’t want a fretless, as you’ll then be playing the wrong note at the wrong time!

Practise makes perfect - as well you know...

In my case, practice makes permanently bad.

Funkfingers

Snags said:

MISSION CREEP!

Wayne Hussey sings Radiohead! (Badda-boom!)

Snags said:

Peavey Milestone III.

Shouldn’t be too difficult to upgrade with better pickups and control electronics.  

Some variants have a big pickguard and a generous, one-size-fits-all middle position pickup cavity. It would be possible to modify to P sounds for the price of a pickup and a pickguard.

Of course, it would probably be far less hassle to sell the Peavey as is. Put the proceeds towards something more suitable that requires little or no tweakage. 

Snags

The Milestone III's days are numbered. Primarily an emotional choice not a rational one, I'll admit, but I don't have sufficient love for it in principle to find the time to muck about changing pickups and wiring (I can do it, but it's not second nature so it takes a lot more effort than it warrants).

I'll enjoy the gentle wait for something interesting and appropriately priced to pop up. It'll stop me spending my money for a bit

UnclePsychosis

If you want a "not a jazz and kinda want p-j and not mad expensive" then check out the Yamaha BB414 and related models. Phenomenal guitars. 

MattBanshee

I have a Spector Q4 (precurser to the Legend 4, but a bit more NS2-shaped) and it is brilliant.