Recorded direct into Focusrite Saffire 6 interface into MacBook Pro using Logic.
Clip 1: Bridge pickup soloed with slight bass boost.
Clip 2: Both pickups engaged with EQ flat.
Clip 3: Neck pickup soloed EQ flat.
RatingsPros:Fast neck. Clean tone. Wallet-friendly price. Cons: Minor build issues on test bass. Street: $549 Spector Legend 4 Standard spectorbass.com | Tones:  Playability:  Build/Design:  Value: |
It’s been over four decades since Stuart Spector enlisted Ned Steinberger to design the NS bass, and, since then, the ergonomic instrument style has been offered in a multitude of options and price points. The company’s latest twist on the lauded template is an upgrade to their Legend 4 Standard, providing frugal musicians a taste of Spector’s approach to the 4-string.
Making a Legend
Essentially, the built-in-Asia Legend 4 Standard is a bolt-on version of Spector’s NS-2. Spector enhanced this latest iteration with a carved-ash body and topped it with flame maple. The 24-fret neck also received an upgrade in the form of maple and padauk. Amara, a species of ebony, is the fretboard wood.
Spector basses have come with a variety of electronic packages (notably EMG, Bartolini, and Aguilar pickups), but the company opted for a proprietary P/J set for the Legend 4 Standard. The split-coils are installed in a traditional configuration—with the bass side closer to the neck and treble side closer to the bridge—as opposed to the NS-2’s reverse orientation. Powering the pickups is a 2-band preamp. The active system has dedicated volume controls for each pickup, along with bass and treble controls for 12 dB of boost or cut.
Additional features include a locking hi-mass bridge, graphite nut, and die-cast tuners. Our test bass came dressed in a cool black stain, but the Standard can also be had in blue, black cherry, and tobacco sunburst, all with high-gloss finishes.
Standard Jams
Not only does the Standard have cool styling, but it lives up to its NS counterparts ergonomically as well. In a seated position, our test bass was motionless, balancing perfectly on my thigh. And when strapping the Standard to my body, it hung just right at my preferred playing angle.
The Standard’s neck is impressive. Its 16" radius will please fans of Ibanez Soundgear basses, while the 1.57" nut should satisfy J-style disciples. Though the 24-frets made the bass feel longer in scale (it’s a conventional 34"), the Standard’s sleek neck design allowed me to maintain a relaxed fretting hand shape. Every note was easily accessible, and string skipping and arpeggios were accomplished with ease. As great as the neck felt, however, it was a touch disappointing to find a few rough frets, as well as loose washers on the tuning pegs, which rattled a bit while playing.
I plugged Spector’s latest into a Bergantino Forte HP, which was paired with a Bergantino HG410 cab. With both pickups engaged, the Standard’s electronics produced a clean tone with a piano-like timbre and just the right balance of lows and mids with a bell-like top end. The test bass also provided excellent sustain, which is not always the case with instruments at this price point. As I gradually turned up the bass control, the lows blossomed into a thick blanket of warmth. The treble control enhanced the finger attack nicely and introduced some higher midrange content to the ringing top end.
I also took the Standard to a show with a corporate band, which provided an ideal setting to assess its live tendencies. An Ampeg SVT-4 amp paired with an Ampeg 4x10 was the provided backline. The first tune was Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” where I soloed the bridge pickup with a slight boost of the bass control for punch. The combination created a similar tone to Ross Valory’s, while the fast neck made the familiar bass line effortless to execute.
Meanwhile, the P-style pickup on its own was excellent for blues jams and old-school songs for the gig, and, with a big boost of the bass EQ, I concocted a killer tone for thump-y reggae. From punk to funk, the Legend had just the right tonal versatility and smooth playability to cover the wide-ranging styles.
The Verdict
Spector continues to expand (and improve) their bass offerings with the Legend 4 Standard. It has looks and tone that get pretty damn close to its spendier family members, but with a price point set at a penny under $550. Beginners would find it a great starter instrument, while seasoned players could employ it as a rugged workhorse. If you’re looking to break free from the usual vintage instruments and seeking a bass inspired from the creator of a modern classic, put the Spector Legend 4 Standard on your short list. You might find it strapped around your shoulder more often than not.
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“I am thrilled to announce the launch of The Collection: Kirk Hammett. I’ve worked diligently on this curated collection of vintage and modern guitars for the book. I feel the book captures the rich history and artistry behind each of these unique and rare instruments. Every picture tells a story and thanks to Ross Halfin and his exceptional photography, every picture in this book is worth a million words! This book could not be possible without the help of Gibson, so I’d like to thank them for making my passion for Greeny, and guitars a reality. I hope all of you enjoy this journey as much as I did.”
“It’s exciting the time has come to release The Collection: Kirk Hammett by Gibson,” adds Cesar Gueikian, President and CEO of Gibson. “We have been working on this project with Kirk for years now, and I had the opportunity to work closely with Kirk on the composition of the collection for the book. It was a thrill to put this together and it took a village to get it done! I hope everyone appreciates the work that went into this book and enjoys every story behind the guitars.”
The Collection: Kirk Hammett, Custom Edition is limited to just 300 numbered copies signed by KIRK HAMMETT and comes in a huge 19 x 14.5” (490 x 370mm) presentation box featuring custom artwork and an outstanding case candy package. In addition to the large-format 17 x 12” (432 x 310mm) hardcover version of the book with a stunning lenticular cover, the boxset includes a frameable 16 x 11.6” (407 x 295mm) art print of a Ross Halfin portrait of KIRK HAMMETT signed by both Halfin and the Metallica guitarist. Other case candy includes an Axe Heaven miniature replica of Hammett’s 1979 Gibson Flying V with case and stand, an exclusive pick tin complete with six Dunlop® Kirk Hammett signature Jazz III guitar picks, and a Gibson Publishing Certificate of Authenticity.
Explore The Collection: Kirk Hammett book HERE.
Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst have been making music as Shovels & Rope since 2008. The husband-and-wife duo from South Carolina specialize in rootsy, bluesy rock, Americana, and alt-country, but they don’t confine themselves to traditional two-piece arrangements. They switch off on vocal, guitar, percussion, and synth duty throughout their shows, orchestrating a full-band ruckus with all available limbs.
Their seventh full-length, Something Is Working Up Above My Head, released in September last year, and while touring in support of it, they stopped at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl in late February. PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with Trent before the gig to see what tools he and Hearst use to maintain their musical juggling act.
Brought to you by D’Addario.Black Bird
Trent’s not a guitar snob: Generally speaking, he plays whatever he can get his hands on. While playing Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Fest, someone loaned him this Gretsch Black Falcon, and he fell in love with it. He likes its size compared to the broader White Falcon. It’s also the band’s only electric, so if it goes down, it’s back to acoustic. Hearst takes turns on it, too.
Trent loads the heaviest strings he can onto it, which is a set of .013s. It lives in standard tuning.
Ol' Faithful
As Trent explains, he and Hearst have done some DIY decorating on this beautiful Gibson J-45—it’s adorned with sweat droplets, stains, and fingernail dust. It runs direct to the venue’s front-of-house system with an LR Baggs pickup. This one is strung with Martin heavy or medium gauge strings; lighter ones are too prone to snapping under Trent’s heavy picking hand (which holds a Dunlop Max-Grip .88 mm pick). And it rolls around in an Enki tour case.
On Call
These second-stringers—a Loar archtop and an LR Baggs-equipped Recording King—are on hand in case of broken strings or other malfunctions.
Need for Tweed
Trent doesn’t trust amps with too many knobs, so this tweed Fender Blues Junior does the trick. It can get fairly loud, so there’s a Universal Audio OX Amp Top Box on hand to tame it for some stages.
Shovels & Rope's Pedalboard
Because Trent and Hearst trade off bass, guitar, keys, and percussion duties, all four of their limbs are active through the set. Whoever is on guitars works this board, with an MXR Blue Box, Electro-Harmonix Nano Big Muff, EarthQuaker Devices Hummingbird, and Boss OC-5, plus a pair of Walrus Canvas Tuners for the electric and acoustic. Utility boxes on the board include a Walrus Canvas Passive Re-Amp, Radial J48, Livewire ABY1, and a Mesa Stowaway input buffer.
A Roland PK-5 MIDI controller, operated by foot, sits on the lower edge of the board. It controls the board for “Thing 2,” one of two MicroKORG synths onstage.
Thing 1 and Thing 2
There’s no one backstage helping Hearst and Trent cook up all their racket; they handle every sound themselves, manually. During the first few sets of a tour, you’re liable to see some headaches, like forgetting to switch synth patches during a song, but eventually they hit a rhythm.
Affectionately given Seuss-ian nicknames, this pair of microKORGs handles bass notes through the set, among other things, via the foot-controlled PK5. “Thing 1” is set up at the drum station, and runs through a board with an EHX Nano Big Muff, EHX Bass9, EHX Nano Holy Grail, and a Radial Pro DI. A Walrus Aetos keeps them all powered up.
The board for “Thing 2,” beside the guitar amps, includes an EHX Mel9 and Bass9 powered by a Truetone 1 SPOT Pro, plus a Radial ProD2.
