Abstract We report preliminary results of the characterization of bulge and inner disk stellar populations for 8 nearby spiral galaxies using Gemini/GMOS. The long-slit spectra extend out to 1–2 disk scale lengths with S/N/Å>50. Two different model fitting techniques, absorption-line indices and full spectral synthesis, are found to weigh age, metallicity, and abundance ratios differently, but with careful attention to the data/model matching (resolution & flux calibration), we are able constrain real signatures of age and metallicity gradients in star-forming galaxies.