Kahlerized Spector!

It's finally done!

I'll post pics when I get around to it.

I'm really happy with it. I'm getting some Optima Golds for it. They were a steal too- only $40 on eBay. Its a 105-45 set though, so I'm a little worried about them being too tense.

Huzzah! Post those pictures when you can, KS!

Yeah! We wanna see that baby!

NoobOnRoad wrote:

Yeah! We wanna see that baby!

Here ya go!

since the pic is not in good lighting, the strings still look silver, but I'm not looking at it as that, but a Kahlered-Spector

here's your guitar's cousin.......



now that I can see it compared to yours with the Kahler on it, I see there was plenty of room for it on the body.

That is sweet!

That's rad. So classy. What kinda pickups are in there? Drool on...

Chowderboots wrote:

That's rad. So classy. What kinda pickups are in there? Drool on...

2 EMG-J's. Finicky pickups, IMO. Sometimes they sound great, but sometimes they sound too harsh, especially with dead strings. More of a reason to change them regularly, I guess.

Come to think of it, the pickups seem to like very bright strings. The Golds are the brightest strings I've put on that bass, and they sound incredible. I think its because the pickups don't have much low end to them, so when you lose all that brightness and treble, what are you left with? A ton of harsh sounding mid-mids.

BTW, I'm loving the Optima Golds. They sound AMAZING with my Spector They have this nice throaty growl to them. I can see why John Entwistle liked them so much. They're also really stable when you first get them compared to other strings. They settled down after having them on for a couple hours, without even doing the bendy thing.

Thanks Darkstrike for turning me on to these things. Otherwise I would have thought they were just some gimmicky thing for people with WAY too much money, like those solid gold guitar picks that cost over $100

amimbari wrote:

now that I can see it compared to yours with the Kahler on it, I see there was plenty of room for it on the body.

There wasn't really. I had to get one with forward facing rollers. Otherwise the pickups would have been in the way.

kugel .......

friggin awesome man!

this is just a sweet looking bass. i've always liked spectors and just never got around to having one. i've always liked the top on this one (spalted dark grainey look) and it looks exceptionally cool with all black hardware ... including the kahler.

i'm assuming you paid someone to put this in??? it looks like they sunk it into the top. if they did ... sweet job. very tight tolerance between body edge and kahler base. if not ... overall clean job.

and with the forward rollers as to not move the pickup ... and all that space in the tail ... awesome. great fit.

congradulations on an awesome bass.

I love carved-top instruments. I'll bet that's really comfy to play.

madmike wrote:

i'm assuming you paid someone to put this in??? it looks like they sunk it into the top. if they did ... sweet job. very tight tolerance between body edge and kahler base. if not ... overall clean job.

I did pay someone to put it in. They did a really good job too... almost worth the wait (3x as long as they said it would!). Whatever. It just makes it that much more satisfying now that its done.

Very, very nice!

Kugelspot wrote:

That is just 'effing awesome!

Kugelspot wrote:

BTW, I'm loving the Optima Golds. They sound AMAZING with my Spector They have this nice throaty growl to them. I can see why John Entwistle liked them so much. They're also really stable when you first get them compared to other strings. They settled down after having them on for a couple hours, without even doing the bendy thing.

Thanks Darkstrike for turning me on to these things. Otherwise I would have thought they were just some gimmicky thing for people with WAY too much money, like those solid gold guitar picks that cost over $100

No bother dude, glad to hear you're digging them, they really are fantastic.
The should last you a very, very long time too.


I'm still trying to find a bulk deal on them.

its really nice to see quality work from someone who claims to be that ... someone who can install a kahler. i see people who call themselves luthiers do all kindsa botch jobs and it makes me cry .

seeing this quality kinda restores my faith in humanity (if only a teenie tiny bit).

who did the work for you?

really nice bass, nice top.

madmike wrote:

who did the work for you?

Real Guitars, in San Francisco. Neat little place. Apparently, they're the oldest vintage guitar store in SF. Its also where I bought my Kramer. If you're in the area, check them out.

BTW, how much does it usually cost to counter sink a Kahler? They charged $250, plus $50 for the set up. Just curious. I think even if they charge more than normal, the quality of their work more than justifies the cost. I'd much rather spend a lot on a great job than spend half as much on a mediocre one, especially on that bass.

Quote :

Here ya go!

That looks amazing! Congrats

Kugelspot wrote:

BTW, how much does it usually cost to counter sink a Kahler? They charged $250, plus $50 for the set up. Just curious. I think even if they charge more than normal, the quality of their work more than justifies the cost. I'd much rather spend a lot on a great job than spend half as much on a mediocre one, especially on that bass.

That is a very good price for the work done, as you said, its worth spending for a top quality job on such a bass as this.

Darkstrike wrote:

Kugelspot wrote:

BTW, how much does it usually cost to counter sink a Kahler? They charged $250, plus $50 for the set up. Just curious. I think even if they charge more than normal, the quality of their work more than justifies the cost. I'd much rather spend a lot on a great job than spend half as much on a mediocre one, especially on that bass.

That is a very good price for the work done, as you said, its worth spending for a top quality job on such a bass as this.

Word up! I use my most expensive bass (my Kelly) the most. Sometimes I wish I didn't have the others and just had a bout 4 basses again. I never really miss anything outside of my Jackson, my Hamer (except I need a new bridge for it), my Charvel, and my Destroyer (which needs to be set up with new strings on it really bad). My drummer can keep my Roadster. I love that thing, but it's so HEAVY and huge! Such a 70s bass. It would look sick with a 2400 on it, though. God knows it's got room.

i couldnt tell you how much something like this would cost, as when i initally looked into installing a trem and talked to "luthiers", i got laughed at, flat out told no (and i respect that), asked, "whaddayawannadothatfor?", and some who said, "i guess i could give it a try. i gotta go buy a router." . none quoted me a price. none expressed any experience in doing such a thing.

personally, as someone who knows how to install one with a countersink and set up (as far as i'm concerned, "set up" is included in properly installing the thing and shudnt be an extra charge), i'de happily do it for $300 for someone i didnt know. i would also require them to sign a waiver after playing a bass of mine with a kahler (this is what it is and this is what you'll get). i'm not replacing someones $900 bass because they dont like it.

i could see shops charging as much as $500 - $600 because it is a lot of measuring, knowledge (playing plane angles, relief, intonation, etc), trial and error (bass design to bass design), high percentage of dammage occouring (runnaway router!), and specialty tooling (depending on how one would approach doing the work ... i liked how that guy in jersey that eric posted uses a drill press to router ... i prefer the dremel / jig / plunge router set up myself, not having a good drill press).

again ... you dont know what you'll get from shop to shop.

i'de say you got an awesome deal with the look of the quality of work you got done for $300. the only thing that would maintain that high quality standard of work is ... how does the thing play now? action? buzz? intonation? stay in tune (mostly)? if all that is good ... then i'de take all the work you got to this cat in l.a.

sheat, i'll send my ergodyne out to him for a fret job! cheapest price i got around here is $450, and no stainless frets. also ... two month turn around. thats crazy.

Mike Lull installed the Kahler on my Hamer. He said he hadn't done one in about 10 years, but he used to do them all the time.

The radest install I've seen is Kugel's. Gotta love it countersunk into a flattop bass! I love it when they're countersunk. It looks so sleek.

mike lull is the man. i love his basses. nothing innovative in looks (mostly p and j styles) but the mechanics and electronics of it are super precise and they play / sound great.

i like the countersink too.

looks sleek.

action is just more correcterer.

the rollers and roller housings get set at a better angle for better action.

i've found with the rollers at that angle, intonation setting is easier. the whole roller and housing moves back and forth more precisely than with it sitting flatterer in the base. making a slight hair adjustment isnt a hassle.

So me and one of the guitarists from my band decided to get together and jam today. He said he never reallized how awesome bass trems are.

Also, he just got a guitar with a Floyd, so yesterday at band practice we annoyed the crap out of the rest of the band fooling around with our trems

Kugelspot wrote:

he just got a guitar with a Floyd, so yesterday at band practice we annoyed the crap out of the rest of the band fooling around with our trems

yes there are still people out there that do an excellent job at mounting these things for us....

lol, reminds me of me messing around with the guitarplayers who BOTH have trems......god forbid if we ever actually use the trems in unison to actually create something substantial ...heheheh

If you could post a recording that would be cool. I always wondered how a Spector sounds.

Quote :

i couldn't tell you how much something like this would cost, as when i initially looked into installing a trem and talked to "luthiers", i got laughed at, flat out told no (and i respect that), asked, "whaddayawannadothatfor?", and some who said, "i guess i could give it a try. i gotta go buy a router." . none quoted me a price. none expressed any experience in doing such a thing.

Im not sure that would happen in todays climate, they would probably mount a donkey head on your bass if you had the cash for it.

Barklessdog wrote:

they would probably mount a donkey head on your bass if you had the cash for it.

Who told you about that?!


The Donkey-King was supposed to be a suprise......

madmike wrote:

mike lull is the man. i love his basses. nothing innovative in looks (mostly p and j styles) but the mechanics and electronics of it are super precise and they play / sound great.

i like the countersink too.

looks sleek.

action is just more correcterer.

the rollers and roller housings get set at a better angle for better action.

i've found with the rollers at that angle, intonation setting is easier. the whole roller and housing moves back and forth more precisely than with it sitting flatterer in the base. making a slight hair adjustment isnt a hassle.

I wish I could get my Hamer to play like that right now! I wish I could counter sink the bridge myself, but I don't think I have the guts to.

Barklessdog wrote:

If you could post a recording that would be cool. I always wondered how a Spector sounds.

You're asking the wrong guy if you want the "Spector Sound." It'd need humbuckers and probably neck through construction (much more common in my experience), plus the Kahler changes the tone a bit.

I will post clips though, once I get around to it.

How do you like the carved top? I'd love a carved top bass...

boots ... the countersink is all about having a nice clean cutting rout tool and a precisely measured jig.

if the kahler base is 3.725 wide, your rout mill is 1/8" (.125) and the distance from the guide is .25 to the edge of the bit ... then 3.725 minus half the with of the bit (1/16" or .063 (round up for wiggle room)) plus .25" from the guide to the cut shud give you a rout 3.725 + .005 with machine slop.

this only makes sense to me because this is how i do it.

and i sound like it all mechanicly works out that way for me all the time ... ha!

you just gotta figure if the edge of the router guide is riding on the edge of your template ... where is the outter edge of you cut gonna be? you need to compensate for the distance from the guide to the bit and half of the bit with.

that and make sure you use a depth stop ... take a little bit at a time, dont go too deep.

practice on some scap hunks of lumber before you go into a bass. after you tried a few times and you still feel iffey about it, then i'de recommend you find a h.s. wood shop teacher with all his fingers to help you.

Sweet bass!

madmike wrote:

boots ... the countersink is all about having a nice clean cutting rout tool and a precisely measured jig.

if the kahler base is 3.725 wide, your rout mill is 1/8" (.125) and the distance from the guide is .25 to the edge of the bit ... then 3.725 minus half the with of the bit (1/16" or .063 (round up for wiggle room)) plus .25" from the guide to the cut shud give you a rout 3.725 + .005 with machine slop.

this only makes sense to me because this is how i do it.

and i sound like it all mechanicly works out that way for me all the time ... ha!

you just gotta figure if the edge of the router guide is riding on the edge of your template ... where is the outter edge of you cut gonna be? you need to compensate for the distance from the guide to the bit and half of the bit with.

that and make sure you use a depth stop ... take a little bit at a time, dont go too deep.

practice on some scap hunks of lumber before you go into a bass. after you tried a few times and you still feel iffey about it, then i'de recommend you find a h.s. wood shop teacher with all his fingers to help you.

Mhmm, I've got chisels, but I think that you're referring to something more along the lines of a router or the right Dremel attachment when you say
"precision cutting tool".

My mom's boyfriend lives next door to a guy who has a lot of experience with woodwork and has done a lot of work with guitars. From what it sounds like, he might be willing to give me a hand on exactly this kind of project. He or my mom's boyfiend also have the tools that I'd need. I might have the opportunity to ask them about it this winter!

Kugelspot wrote:

I will post clips though, once I get around to it.

OK guys, I finally stopped being lazy (at least about making sound clips...)

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=1019854

Yes, I know its sloppy and full of mistakes. I was in a hurry to record it, and I already had to record it twice because the 1st time I set the input volume too high and everything clipped.

As usual, everything was record directly from my bass to my computers input jack. The distortion was done with my SFT (just in case you were wondering what it sounded like, mits), with treble and bass at 12 o clock and the gain cranked

BTW, anyone who can guess all the songs I played gets an e-cookie .

From what I heard before it stopped playing, School Days, Cult Of Personality, something funky, and NIB.

How'd you record it? And was that your SFT pedal for the dirt? How does the bass stay in tune with the Kahler?

Chowderboots wrote:

From what I heard before it stopped playing, School Days, Cult Of Personality, something funky, and NIB.

All correct so far... (I'm going to see if anyone gets the "funky" song. It's a little obscure and by a band most of you probbly don't like much)

Chowderboots wrote:

How'd you record it? And was that your SFT pedal for the dirt?

Like I said, directly from the bass to my computer, with only the SFT in between.

Chowderboots wrote:

How does the bass stay in tune with the Kahler?

Only so-so, unfortunately. Not too bad though. I have to really be abusing the thing for it to get REALLY out of tune, especially if I'm not going up with it.

Kugelspot wrote:

Chowderboots wrote:

From what I heard before it stopped playing, School Days, Cult Of Personality, something funky, and NIB.

All correct so far... (I'm going to see if anyone gets the "funky" song. It's a little obscure and by a band most of you probbly don't like much)

Chowderboots wrote:

How'd you record it? And was that your SFT pedal for the dirt?

Like I said, directly from the bass to my computer, with only the SFT in between.

Chowderboots wrote:

How does the bass stay in tune with the Kahler?

Only so-so, unfortunately. Not too bad though. I have to really be abusing the thing for it to get REALLY out of tune, especially if I'm not going up with it.

Pffft I never read anything bearing important information...that includes instructions and any bold or large type.

Mhmm I know how it is. Sounds like it stayed in tune pretty well in your clip, though.

Quote :

As usual, everything was record directly from my bass to my computers input jack. The distortion was done with my SFT (just in case you were wondering what it sounded like, mits), with treble and bass at 12 o clock and the gain cranked.

Thanks for that, and also, nice playing! That kahler sounds like way too much fun.

Mmmh I heard a little bit of john the fisherman.

Also, Awesome sound!

I concur!

stuff like that only makes me want to go and jam

What doesn't want to make you go out and jam?

Chowderboots wrote:

What doesn't want to make you go out and jam?

lol, there are a few things that you can't say on this board that would keep me from going into the jamroom for a week even after hearing KS + EH's new clips

amimbari wrote:

lol, there are a few things that you can't say on this board that would keep me from going into the jamroom for a week even after hearing KS + EH's new clips

Say no more.