My Spectrum Series II Bass - SPB311BK

[kepallino_hh]

Hi Westone owners!

Here is my Spectrum II:





I have a problem: I can't find a reason to get rid of it!

Really: Solid build, Solid mechanics, barely looses the tune, straight neck after 20 years, pots silent, punchy sound and efficient active eq.
I can play it hard or mellow, it always delivers a viril response

I am really linked to this instrument, it's been my first bass, I was 22, a friend of mine, who later on unfortunately died in a motorbike accident, sold it to me together with a hard case, a yellow cable (i still use it!!!) and a 60w laney combo for... how much was it?
100000 Italian Lire (it was 1991, difficult to say how much it was, i would rate 150 EUR.

It accompanied me during the university, we had a band called GILDA, mostly committed in cover songs, hard rock and grunge.

Then it was time to grow up ^^ and beginning the work life, which brought me to move up and down across italy, then to germany, with that hard case always on top of the car roof

Now it has become my second bass, the first is an Ibanez Musician MC824DS, since i wanted a neck-through-body. A beauty!
But this beauty cannot compete with my spectrum concerning solidity, and mechanics, NO WAY!

Now I play in a band we formed early in 2009, in Hamburg: UNKNOWN CONNECTION FAILURE; we play post rock, self produced, and we have already recorded an album.

To honesty: I am bit unsatisfied by the little efficiency of the middle pot, the treble blend (am i right?), which does almost nothing for 9 tenth of a turn, then, the last tenth, it tends to "blur" the sound, which becomes noisy, muddy, bad... also the dual mode selector, which i can't really understand, leaves me unsatisfied.

Always thinking about an electronics upgrade, but i have no idea where to start from.
Any hint? should I maybe try something myself, before going into upgrading?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Sorry for writing so long, but I was very happy to write about my bass
Cheers from Hamburg, Germany.
Sergio.

[corsair]

Welcome here, Sergio... nice to see a Spectrum II that's much beloved; most of the bass players in here get boring about there Thunders!! I have a Spectrum GT Bass which I'm very fond of and which replaced a 72 P-bass.

It does sound like your blend pot has become non-functional and a replacement is called for; no real big deal at all. If you're overall quite happy with the sounds you're getting from the guitar, then I'd be very wary of changing out the pick-ups; the magnabass p'ups are, I've found, very good.

Thanks for sharing, man and good luck with the band... any Youtube links or soundfiles you can share??

[kepallino_hh]

Hey Corsair,

thank you very much for your reply, it is always a pleasure to receive feedback nowadays.

To be honest, I got acquainted with the Thunder only today, while lurking around this well done Westone community meetup, looks cool!

Anyway, yes, I guess the pot is the problem.
There is a fact that is suggesting me that is not just it: I have had it replaced twice in the last 20 years, once it got dissolded due to oxyde or something, it looked awful, some sort of bad corrosion (beer spilled inside...?) and once because of strange noises and fluctuation of treble blend while playing. After replacing it, the limited function or non-function persisted.
Therefore, yes, I will try and replace the pot again, even if I can't choose a "better one", ehmmm I understand too little of these things, I make big machines to assemble aircraft fuselages!!!!

Does the FX use the same Magnabass and EQ?

Should I let the shop technician do it for me?
Does that pot act on the PU's directely or through the electronics plate?

To my band, yes, there is a link in LASTFM.com and one in MYSPACE, here they come (thanks for asking):
LastFM
MySpace

Viel Spass
Cheers!
Sergio.

[Warrn]

Corsair, I think I'm the most vocal bassist here and out of my five Westones not one is a Thunder! More on subject though, that is a very nice example of a Spectrum II.

[kepallino_hh]

"Does the FX use the same Magnabass and EQ?"
Of course i meant GT, sorry!
The tech question about the pots has now been better adressed in the tech forum btw.


Short question: what does the dual mode switch do?
After 20 years i still don't get it :# it's always "up"!

Ciao,
Sergio