(Above left to right, Stuart Spector,
Patrick Stern, Ned Steinberger)
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SPECTORCentral was born
from discussions that Patrick Stern had
with Stuart Spector and PJ Rubal
regarding the creation of an online
SPECTOR® Community that was
open to anyone with web access, unlike
some of the social networking sites
which require a membership to view
information.
There are
only a handful of "fan-based" websites
for SPECTOR® out there,
most notably in Japan and one in the USA
which was founded by famous SPECTOR®
collector Todd Cooke. Todd, a very
successful businessman, is well-known
and respected in the SPECTOR®
community as having the largest single
collection of SPECTORs in
the world.
www.spectorworld.com -
Todd's site had some great ideas but due
to Todd's busy schedule as the managing
partner/owner in two large and
successful companies, Todd doesn't have
the time to keep SPECTORWorld
current with new content.
In reality it's hard to expect any "fan"
to keep track of the events of a company
whose reach is global and with tens of
thousands of people who own one of their
guitars, but SPECTORCentral
founder Patrick Stern isn't a typical
fan. |
Patrick (left) with Legendary Bassist
Rex Brown of Pantera
and Down
(Center) and music/TV star Evan Seinfeld
of Biohazard/ATTIKA7/Oz (right) at the
SPECTOR®
Booth during the 2012 Winter
NAMM Show. |
Patrick started with the guitar when
he was 12 years old and after many
frustrating years decided to give up on
music as a creative outlet. He
went on to become an award-winning
graphic designer, photographer and web
developer. He relocated to
Southern California to work in the film
industry, earning a BA in Film
Production from one of the top film
programs in the nation.
When he was forced to put his life on
hold to deal with cancer, he reconnected
with his desire to create music and this
time instead of trying his hand at the
guitar he tried his skill with the
bass. He remembered a bass guitar Sting
had played in a concert he'd seen when
he was a teenager and it had been
memorable for
its amazing tone. He did some
internet research and quickly discovered
that Sting's bass was made by a
small company called "SPECTOR®"
in Woodstock, NY.
As
he searched for information on these
rare guitars he became frustrated for
there just wasn't any resource that
could answer his questions. |
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"I was shocked that I couldn't
find any information on these AMAZING
guitars!
I mean these things were as
rare in the music world as an Aston
Martin is in the car world. Everyone knows what they are
but so few have ever seen one in person." - Patrick
Stern |
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He contacted SPECTOR® via
the phone and got PJ Rubal on the line.
The two would form a friendship and
eventually Patrick offered his services
to PJ and SPECTOR®.
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Patrick and PJ Rubal hold the first
USA NS-5XL
Birdseye Maple
Fingerboard bass at Bass Player Live!
In Hollywood, CA 2010 |
CLICK HERE TO SEE PATRICK'S
MY SPECTOR STORY EPISODE |
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In March of 2010 Patrick started
developing a new website for
SPECTOR®, including a new set of
branding strategies and solutions.
Over the next few months he'd work
closely with PJ and Stuart to give
SPECTOR® a new and updated
marketing presence. He quickly
grew to become a trusted member of
SPECTOR's inner circle.
His strong belief that SPECTOR®
was that one-in-a-million company which
made amazing products at a reasonable
price by people whose actions are governed by integrity
and honesty drove him to become more and
more invested in ensuring
SPECTOR's success in the
volatile musical instrument
marketplace. |
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"After years of helping companies
sell products that I didn't believe in
it was such a breath of much-needed
fresh air to discover that
the guys
at SPECTOR® wanted my help. This
is a product I
could sink my teeth
into and go to battle for." - Patrick
Stern |
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Patrick holds the Alex Webster
Signature Model
prototype with the
blood graphic he designed. |
With the successful launch of
SPECTOR's new website and
branding presence, Patrick worked with
PJ and Stuart to develop a number of new
model logos, ad designs, product videos,
artist interviews and specialized guitar
graphic designs such as the new Alex
Webster Signature Model's bloody paint
scheme and the popular Black Pearl crown
inlays (now an option for USA Series
Spectors for 2012).
Shortly after the
2011 Winter NAMM Show,
SPECTORCentral was launched.
Patrick attempted to bring together a
myriad of different resources, from
obscure videos featuring SPECTOR®
instruments to some of the thousands of
high resolution photographs he'd taken
for SPECTOR over the previous year.
What makes SPECTORCentral
different is that the main contributor
works closely every day with the two men
who are at the helm of SPECTOR's
bridge. |
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"What I love about SPECTOR®,
besides the fact that their guitars are
the nicest I've ever played, is that
Stuart, PJ, Jimmy, Jo Ann... they've
become my good friends and working with
them can't honestly be
classified as
work. It's a joy and honor to work with
them." - Patrick
Stern |
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A MESSAGE FROM PATRICK STERN |
If you are like me, from the
first moment you saw a
SPECTOR® and heard the
beautiful tone from it; you were
captivated. As I invested the time to
learn the history of these amazing
instruments I discovered that their
pedigree was well earned for they are
born from the hard work of truly amazing
people.
I am inspired and left
in awe at the sheer artistry that goes
into every one of Stuart Spector's
guitars. The love that is poured into
their making shows in the flawless
construction and attention to detail
that has become the trademark of the
instruments that bare the name of my
good friend Stuart Spector.
Stuart Spector Designs, LTD. is home to
many outstanding artisans and master
craftsmen. It's also home to
outstanding businessmen like PJ Rubal,
whose honesty and sincerity form the
heart of the most astounding artist
relations program I've ever
encountered.
This website is a
labor of love for me. I developed it so
I could share my unique inside-view of
the amazing world of
SPECTOR® in the
same way I wanted it shared with me when
I first sought to learn more about the
NS-Bass™ that had captured my
imagination so many years before.
Please look around and feel free to
contact me with any questions you may
have regarding any and "All Things
SPECTOR®". I invite you to share your
own history with
SPECTOR® basses or
guitars by participating in the "My
SPECTOR® Story" documentary initiative
I've launched with this website.
Lastly, I want to thank you for
supporting this site and choosing
SPECTOR®.
"Remember, if you're not
playing a SPECTOR®, you're just not
playing."
Best regards,
J. Patrick Stern
Founder
SPECTORCentral.com
pstern@spectorcentral.com
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SpectorCentral.com is a
non-profit website and is
independent of Stuart Spector
Design, LTD. The opinions
expressed here do not represent
Stuart Spector or PJ Rubal, nor
do they represent the policies
of Spector® (company).
This site is to be used for
educational and entertainment
purposes only. SPECTOR® is a
Trademark of Stuart Spector
Designs, LTD. NS-Bass™ is a
Trademark of NS Design, Inc.
Used with Permission.
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