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BGRA: Spector Stainless Steel Medium
| Manufacturer |
Spector |
Model |
Stainless Steel Medium |
| Reviewer |
Peter McFerrin |
Email |
n |
| Experience |
3 |
Item owned |
Less than 1 month |
| Review Date |
2001-12-19 |
Price paid |
$20 |
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Gauge | 45-65-85-105-130 (taperwound BEAD) |
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Material | Stainless steel |
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Length | Long enough to have plenty of windings past the nut on my 35'-scale Dean |
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Other | Includes a free 'string cleaner' (cheap styrofoam pad) |
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These are pretty much run-of-the-mill stainless steel taperwounds--trebly,
trebly, trebly. They're a little bit looser than the compression-wound
45-130 Fodera Diamonds that this bass previously wore.
I hadn't put a set of taperwounds on my Dean in a while. Now I remember
why. I really miss the bass and low midrange that taperwounds just
don't have (and I've used several other brands). The intonation is
nominally better, which is many bassists' reason for using taperwounds,
but a couple of cents closer to pitch is not worth the loss of the low end.
I haven't tried my bass through my stage rig (2x Eden D-210T), but I
can say that through my practice/small-gig cab (Eden CXM-110, which spits
out more bass on its own than the D-210Ts together) they don't impress
me much.
Maybe it's just my bass, but these strings warble and double-beat really
badly when playing in the upper frets on the B, E, and even the A. I
sometimes like to do melodic stuff in the upper register (my band does a
version of King Crimson's "VROOOM," which has two bass solos), and
I don't appreciate having those notes sound like a ring-modulated Fender
Rhodes. I know that the Lakland taperwounds I used for a while did this
too, and I think that the Pedulla tapers did as well. Again, it might just
be my bass.
As for durability, I'm sure I'll replace them before they die. My
hands aren't very oily and I replace strings after 3 months anyway, so
I'll probably just go back to Foderas.
A note: when I put on a new set of strings, I always tune them a bit (1/2
to 3/4-step) higher than reference pitch, to stretch them out. The D
didn't like that and snapped at the tuner end. I had to put the much
Fodera D back on there, which makes for an interesting and not altogether
uncomfortable feel since the Foderas are considerably tighter than these
Spectors. Popping the D is a pain in the butt on my Dean anyway (5/8"
bridge string spacing, 1.75" nut), so it doesn't bother me.
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| sound |
 | (50%) |
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| feel |
| (75%) |
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| life |
| (75%) |
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| value |
| (75%) |
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| overall |
| (75%) |
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