Suffice to say that, even after owning several 5s and, for a short time, a 6, I still hadn't found one that would keep up with me. Enter PJ Rubal, with whom I worked for a little more than a year to conceive and create the Thunder Bass. Once PJ introduced me to the mighty Spectors (they carried the SSD [Stuart Spector Designs] logo at the time), I knew my search was over. The only thing left was to choose the number of strings.

I played several examples of each variety and ultimately decided to make the jump from four strings to the mighty six, the Full Monty, as it were. But what really made me choose Spector was the consistency from one to the next of that great Spector tone. Each and every instrument sang with that same voice. To say the least, I was impressed!

PJ and I took our time discussing each detail of the instrument: quilt or flame Maple, adding the piezo bridge, talking Stuart into letting me cover a AAAA+ piece of wood with a translucent black high-gloss finish and trimming it with black hardware, a first for Stuart's custom work. Then we added the cherry on top of the Sunday - Landing Lights! Forget the white dots on top of the neck; give me the lights!

I was extremely lucky that Stuart and crew were offering an LED-driven Fiber Optic neck marker system at the time, as it was only available for a short while. With my poor eyesight (I'm in the medical books, if you can believe it) this option is a must-have on dark and low-light stages. Forget that it's a great visual for the audience under those conditions; I can actually see what I'm doing. That's always nice. This system has it's own power source - a separate 9-volt battery that lasts for months at a time. It also features its own power switch, so perfectly recessed I've never accidentally turned it off while playing.

The wood is beautiful, not a mark on it. When stage lights catch the finish there's an almost 3D quality to it that draws the eye deep inside. The craftsmanship is equally flawless. When you strap this baby on, you know it. It's all Maple and the added width of the six string neck adds even more heft. Yet it sits on my shoulder perfectly and conforms to my body better than any other bass I've played.

As always, however, looks are secondary to feel and tone. The string spacing is standard, which makes for a neck that's wider than many out there, but even with medium-size hands I can play it comfortably for hours. For me, the heft and the size only add to the authoritative nature of the instrument. It feels like it sounds, and it truly sounds like the Voice of Thunder. I'm certain I wouldn't have felt that way if it were thinner, somehow flimsier.

The EMG soap bar pickups and the Piezo bridge unit run through an 18-volt preamp that features two blend pots (p/u 1 & 2, pickups & piezo) and two sets of stacked tone controls, one each for the EMGs and bridge. A volume knob controls overall signal level and I can even remove the back cover and play with set screws in the control cavity for greater tonal flexibility. Operating the system is very intuitive, making it easy to glide from one setting to another. What this translates to is tone - buckets and buckets of tone.

There's no describing it; you just have to hear it. Tone (like feel) begins in the heart and grows from there, moving outward and finally into the fingertips where the instrument (and eventually the amp) has the supremely difficult task of translating it into what the listener will hear. I've been playing since 1967 and owned several dozen instruments. I've never had one that responded to me the way the Thunder Bass does. After all these years, I hear in the world what I've heard deep inside since I first fell in love with low notes. This bass lets me be me - and let others hear it, too. What a gift!

The Thunder Bass was dated 1-6-95 and delivered shortly thereafter. I played my first gig with it within hours of opening the box - and I've never looked back. After an admittedly shaky first set - after all, it's hard to jump from four to six - my band Blue Thunder opened the second set with a blazing, 40-minute rendition of Jimi's Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), albeit filtered through the near-insanity of three musicians pushing each other as far out on the limbs as we could possibly go without falling off.

Again, words fail me. Yeah, I know, but they do. It was truly a magical, spiritual experience to finally know that I could give the audience what I'd always hope for, to say everything exactly as intended. From soft, elegantly whispered solo passages to screaming pseudo-lead guitar, warm stately blues feels to aggressive, in-your-face lines that would make a Death-Metal band proud - everything was there. Chords that shimmered or growled as needed. Double stops, triple stops, octave unisons, even double octaves. And tapping! It had never been so clear and distinct. Everything I heard in my heart came through without anything lost in the translation.

After spending a decade with the Thunder Bass, loving it more as time goes on, I'll never use anything else as my main fretted instrument, at least until I get another Spector. And I'm proud to strengthen my bond with Stuart, PJ and the entire Spector crew by adding my name to their long list of endorsers. For decades Spector and company have been at the heart of some of the greatest bass sounds in the world. And for a decade, they've been at the heart of mine. And that's a gift for which I'll always be extremely grateful.

If you have any questions about my experience with Spector basses, feel free to e-mail me. It may take a few days to get back to you (depending on schedule), but I always respond.

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