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bsee
Senior Member
Username: bsee

Post Number: 503
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Sunday, November 21, 2004 - 6:40 pm:   Edit Post

I just bought 82 S 2345 on eBay. It appears to be a solid koa-sided Spoiler that was upgraded to Signature electronics about five years ago. Pictures will follow when the bass arrives in about a week. If the wood card happens to leap into anyone's hands, I'd love to have the official data.

-Bob
bsee
Senior Member
Username: bsee

Post Number: 504
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Sunday, November 21, 2004 - 6:48 pm:   Edit Post

Here's some pics sent by the previous owner...

body shot
bsee
Senior Member
Username: bsee

Post Number: 505
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Sunday, November 21, 2004 - 6:50 pm:   Edit Post

bass in case
kungfusheriff
Advanced Member
Username: kungfusheriff

Post Number: 206
Registered: 8-2003
Posted on Sunday, November 21, 2004 - 11:12 pm:   Edit Post

Simple, clean and gorgeous. I really like the strong grain in the wings. Good score.
the_mule
Advanced Member
Username: the_mule

Post Number: 339
Registered: 1-2004
Posted on Monday, November 22, 2004 - 12:34 am:   Edit Post

Looks wonderful, very nice find after a long search! And solid Koa should give you sustain like there's no tomorrow!

Congratulations!

Wilfred
bsee
Senior Member
Username: bsee

Post Number: 514
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Monday, November 22, 2004 - 3:40 pm:   Edit Post

One more shot...

the back
adriaan
Senior Member
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 407
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Monday, November 22, 2004 - 3:45 pm:   Edit Post

Love the koa, very warm in appearance, and no dings - you've made a very good catch!
bsee
Senior Member
Username: bsee

Post Number: 659
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Tuesday, January 04, 2005 - 2:39 pm:   Edit Post

Actually, it has loads of little dings, but it wears them well. I suspect it's the nature of the koa wood. Surprisingly, the case seems to be brand new. The foam doesn't even have a memory of the exact shape of the bass.

When it arrived, the setup was as bad as I have ever seen. I have no idea how the previous owner ever played it. It was playable for about 9 frets, but the action started to get up there. The neck pickup was set so high that fretting any note above the 12th would put the string directly in contact with it. The neck had a bunch of bow to compensate for this, and the nut and bridge were both raised up as well. The strings were ultra-lite on a 32" scale neck, so they were plenty loose to work around the action as long as you stayed in the lower positions.

Step one, adjust the pickup heights. Step two, change strings and balance pickup gains. Step three, bring the bridge and nut down to normal positions. Step four, start working the truss rods and tweaking the bridge as the neck straightens itself out.

A month later and the truss rods have seen something on the order of 3/4 of a turn, maybe a bit more, in 1/8 to 1/4 turn increments. It's just about dialed in, though I may have taken out a bit too much relief.

One other oddity is that some of the pearloid inlays had to be pressed back into position. The bass and case arrived in perfect condition, so it didn't appear to be mishandled. Rather I would suspect that this was a result of temperature changes the bass experienced during its travels. I suspect that pearloid and ebony don't expand and contract at the same rates.

I have to say that the Signature electronics take some getting used to. There's an awful lot of variety there to get a feel for how all the controls interrelate. I put on a set of Elixir strings, and they seem a bit rubbery in the top end to me, so I think there's more tone in this bass that will appear with the next string change. I think I'll try coated DRs next, although the current setup wroked very well at an XMas party I did a couple weeks ago.

One great thing about the 32" scale is that regular long scale strings work fine. The bridge and tailpiece are pretty far apart as compared to the typical all-in-one bridge/tailpiece, so it can handle long scale strings easily. The fat part of the E string just barely reaches the machine with the Elixirs.

I'll write again to say how impressive the tone is when I eventually change the strings. I may take the Elixirs off early and put them on the Spector fretless that I never play as an excuse to replace them sooner. They might fit and they'll have an appropriate tone for that bass.

-Bob
davehouck
Senior Member
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 1151
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Tuesday, January 04, 2005 - 9:47 pm:   Edit Post

An interesting and informative report.
exploiterplayer
Junior
Username: exploiterplayer

Post Number: 27
Registered: 12-2002
Posted on Tuesday, May 03, 2005 - 3:19 pm:   Edit Post

Very cool bass! I use Elixirs exclusively on my 32" scale Exploiter with no problems but have never tried the coated DR's. Let me know how they compare. The Elixirs have been very kind to my frets and after years of gigging....no significant fret wear has developed.
bsee
Senior Member
Username: bsee

Post Number: 918
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Monday, May 16, 2005 - 11:32 pm:   Edit Post

I tried the DR Black Beauties, but took them off after less than 30 minutes. I couldn't stand how thin they sounded on the top end. The Elixirs went back on and sound better to me today than when I put them on six months ago.

If I were keeping this bass, my next attempt at strings would be either the DR coated Bootzillas (heavier and a different core) or the DR Fat Beams. I have used Fat Beams on my Zon 5 in the past and really liked the tone. I have a set of 45-105 Fat Beams that I was about to install, and I may ship them with the bass when I sell it.

-Bob

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