The electric bass and/or
electric guitar
have a basic set of guidelines
to help you get the most out of
your playing experience.
Things you should understand
such as how to tune and maintain
your instrument can make the
difference between a comfortable
and enjoyable experience and one
of frustration.
After spending years as a
guitarist and then giving up
music completely only to return
to playing music again, this
time as a bassist; SpectorCentral's
founder has spent
the last few years learning all
he can about the wonderful world
of Spector® basses and electric
guitars. He did this
mainly so he can enjoy his own
humble collection of Spector
instruments, but he's also the
type of person who likes to
understand how things work so
he can
care for them without the need
for additional assistance.
This section of
SpectorCentral is where you can
find answers to some basic care
and maintenance questions.
SPECTOR 101
Here are some basic tips on
caring for your Spector® Bass or
Guitar (in no particular order):
NEVER leave your
Spector® Bass plugged in
when you are not playing it.
The plug when inserted
completes the circuit and
allows power from the
battery to flow to the tone
circuit and pickups.
Leaving your bass plugged in
can cause your battery to
leak, damaging the
electronics in your bass.
INVEST in two
sets of rechargeable 9v
batteries for each bass you
have. I have one set
in each of my basses and the
next set ready for charging
and installation. I
swap the batteries out every
6-months to ensure optimal
charge. This will save
you a small fortune in
batteries over time (the
more you play the faster
they die) and it's
environmentally responsible.
I use Lenmar professional
Nickel-Metal Hydride
rechargeable batteries.
NEVER attempt to
adjust the truss rod of your
bass while the strings are
tuned and/or under tension.
Bass strings (sometimes
referred to as "cables"
because of their large size)
exert an enormous amount of
pressure on your guitar's
neck. Attempting to
adjust the truss rod while
your strings are under
tension can strip the
threads of your truss rod,
causing damage to your bass.
ALLOW your bass
to warm up inside its gig
bag or case for an hour
before taking it out if
you've been travelling
between locations in cold or
freezing weather. The
same thing for bringing your
bass into a cool air
conditioned space when it's
been in the heat.
Different woods will
expand and contract at
different speeds due to
their density. The
same goes for the
differences between wood and
metal. If your bass
has gotten very cold and you
expose it to a warm (heated)
room without allowing it to
adjust properly, your finish
can crack, fissures between
the layers of wood can
develop, and other types of
damage can occur. The
same goes for exposing your
bass to a cool room after
it's been in a really warm
location.
NEVER leave your
bass or guitar in direct
sunlight. Direct
sunlight can damage the
finish (bleach the stain
depending on the color) dry
out the woods and cause
expansion of metal parts
which can lead to issues
such as fret problems.
NEVER leave your
bass or guitar in the trunk
of your car, or back seat,
unattended in either
extremely warm or cold
weather. Think of your
bass like a dog or cat.
Sounds funny, but think of
it like this, if it's a
place you wouldn't want to
leave your dog or cat, don't
leave your bass or guitar
there.
NECK RESTING -
Allowing the neck of your
bass or guitar to adjust to
new environmental factors
such as humidity, cold or
heat is referred to as
allowing the neck to rest.
I've also found that when
adjusting a bass guitar's
neck (truss rod) the best
results happen after
allowing the neck to rest
for several hours and then
checking your setting again.
STRETCH your new
strings before tuning them
the first time. I use
a soft polishing cloth and
grab the string from
underneath (the side that
will touch the frets (or
neck with a fretless) and I
use my right hand to pull
upward exerting steady
pressure while using my left
hand to push down (towards
the neck) about 5-6 inches
apart. I pull the
string about 2-3 inches off
the neck, starting at the
1st fret and working down
the neck to the bridge
saddle. I repeat this
on each string and then tune
the strings for the first
time.
Once tuned
I'll stretch them again.
Then I'll tune and check
intonation.
USE Dunlop
Formula 65 Products!
From the Fingerboard Cleaner
and Conditioner to the Body
Polish and Wax, it's the
best stuff you're going to
find and it's the only
product approved by Stuart
Spector for his basses and
guitars.
CHECK the
moisture of your fingerboard
regularly. If you live
in a dry climate or high
altitude, the wood used for
your bass or guitar's
fingerboard (Pau Ferro,
Ebony or Birdseye Maple for
USA Series, Rosewood, Ebony
or Maple for Europe Series,
or Rosewood for all
Professional and Performer
Series Models) can dry out.
This can lead to issues with
your frets, cracking and
irreversible damage to your
guitar.
I live
in Southern California.
The place is as dry as
you're likely to find and I
live on a mountain 1,000ft
off sea level. I find
that I need to apply the
Dunlop Formula 65
Fingerboard Deep Conditioner
every 3 months to ALL of my
Spector Basses. And I
have basses with each type
of neck.
NOTE that if you have a
Premium Birdseye Maple
Fingerboard and high gloss
finish the fingerboard is
sealed like the rest of the
body. Use the Dunlop
body polish for this type of
finish. If you have a
matte finished Maple
Fingerboard use the Formula
65 for Maple Boards.
The standard Rosewood/Ebony
conditioner will stain the
lighter maple board if used.
ONCE intonation
is set on your bass you
typically will not have to
set it again unless you
change the gauge of strings
you are using. I
recently went from medium
gauge Round-Wound string to
medium gauge Flat-Wound
strings on my basses and the
intonation was still within
acceptable range on each
bass. I did some very
minor tweaking to get
optimal intonation and on
one of my basses (The Black
Pearl) I didn't need to
change/adjust anything.
RECONDITION dead
strings by soaking them in
denatured alcohol. I
know a guy who swears by
washing them in the dish
washer, and there are other
methods such as boiling
them.
I've
found that the denatured
alcohol works the best.
I have one set of strings
that is over two years old
that is going strong thanks
to a 24 hour denatured
alcohol bath. Just be
careful handling denatured
alcohol because it is
poisonous.
RECYCLE your old
strings, don't just throw
them away.
NEVER pick up
your bass by it's headstock.
Grasp the body (I often grab
the upper horn on my
NS-Basses) to pick your bass
up. Remember: the neck
of your bass is under
enormous tension, so get
into the habit of reducing
any unnecessary
stress/pressure on the neck.
INVEST in a good
guitar stand that supports
your bass or guitar's body
and puts minimal
stress/tension on the neck.
Stands by Ultimate Support
and Hercules are my
favorites. I use
Ultimate Supports for my
photo shoots and use
Hercules floor stands for
daily use.
IF SHIPPING a
neck-thru the body design
bass or guitar do not loosen
the tension on the strings.
Keep it tuned.
ALL THINGS SPECTOR - SPECTORCARE
VIDEO - EP-1 THE TONEPUMP:
