Misdee

As opposed to agonizing over just about everything except how today the bass well in a musical way.

Could I just say how refreshing it is for someone to ask a question about actually playing the bass.

I'm really getting into that classic Spector sound. I love that strident, wiry tone. I like aggressive-sounding basses, and the NS2 definitely falls into that category.

I nearly bought one of those Hellborg basses. A local shop had one at the time ( around 1997/8)) and it was a a powerful beast of a bass. Apparently Jonas asked Status to make him a bass that was as close to his Wal 4 string as possible, but with one or two tweaks, the 36 volt circuit probably being one of them. My main bass in the mid-1990's was a headed Status Empathy, and I think the tone-shaping controls on the Hellborg were essentially the same with switchable sweepable mids ect. My bass teacher at that time had a Wal Custom and when I plugged in my bass into the same amp his Wal was literally about twice as loud as my Status, despite the fact that the Wal was 9 volts and my Status was 18 volts. Maybe the 36 volt circuit in the Hellborg was to address that disparity. Difficult for me to say with any certainty because "headroom" has always seemed like a bit of a vague concept to me, and it's all a long time ago now! In terms of sheer output though, there was no competition. The Wal was way more hot than my Status.

To each their own!🙂

Master built Warwick Vampyre 5 and Peavey amps? That is really quite esoteric taste in gear you have, if I might say so. Nothing wrong with Warwick basses (or Peavey amps) but a Vampyre? Are you sure?

Thanks, that's very reassuring to hear, and I know how well you know Spector basses! . Especially considering that, generally speaking, I tend to leave conventional boost and cut active EQ circuits flat anyway, I will probably go for another Euro, maybe a Doug Wimbish. That has got a rosewood board, maple body and different pickups to the CST, so might be audibly different in tone. I'll have a think about that.

Nowadays the bass market is flooded with active Jazz-style basses. Back in the mid-1990's when the T-Bass came out that certainly wasn't the case here in the UK. An boutique Jazz Bass with a preamp in it was quite a novelty and highly desirable for British bass players who didn't have easy access to brands like Sadowsky who had popularised that style of bass. The T-Bass was aimed at that niche, but in retrospect maybe it was just a touch too innovative to have a wide enough appeal to most bass players. I think the angled tuners probably put more people off than they won over.

That's very interesting to know. I've recently got myself a CST with an ebony board. I've had very little chance to play it yet for one reason or another, but enough to know that I definitely want another Spector, just with a significantly different sound to the CST. The big question is whether I get another Euro, albeit a slightly different one, or USA-made bass. It's a long time since had my hands on a USA Spector but I remember them as being pretty amazing but financially out of my reach at the time. Thirty odd-years later now I can afford one but then again nowadays there's the Euro option with the new Legacy preamp ect. There's a decision to be made factoring in diminishing returns and whether a Euro is a "proper" Spector. What I can say is that my new CST is a meticulously-made bass and very good value for money in the current new bass market considering it costs substantially less than something like a new Stingray Special or a German-made Sadowsky Metroline ect..

It's so ridiculous that it has to be true. Presumably he didn't understand how to use an allen key.

I've got a Z3 4 string and I would say that for £400 it's pretty stunning value for money. Plays like a proper bass, sounds like a genuine old Stingray. The only things to note are that the neck is more like a P Bass than a conventional Stingray profile, and that ultimately the price probably puts limitations of the long-term durability of some electronic componants and controls. For £400-ish though it's a great proposition. Were it not for the complicated situation with my haemorrhoids keeping me at home nowadays I would definitely gig my Z3 down the Dog And Duck in preference to my more valuable basses. Sounds just as good as an expensive bass and eliminates any worries about getting damaged or stolen. Mine weighs 9 pound 3oz, so decent managable weight for a Stingray-style bass, too. A very useful and enjoyable instrument.

That bass is so beautiful I actually find it quite upsetting.

I'd be a liar if I said that purple/black colour scheme was my cup of tea, but I'm sure to be in minority (probably of one) on that, and may you both enjoy your new Spectors a lot. More's to the point, I'd be very interested in the fullness of time to hear about any perceived differences in sound and overall feel between these new S.E versions and previous offering with the Caribbean Burst and maple board.

I've got three Yamaha basses, a BB2024X, a BB2024 and a BB2025. On balance, I would say that they are my favourite basses that I have ever bought in forty-odd years of playing bass and owning a lots (lots and lots) of high-end and vintage basses in that time. Those 20 Series basses really were something special, with a unique tone that you can't get from any other Yamaha bass, new or old, or indeed any other bass from another brand. I've played and owned much more expensive basses I didn't like half as much. Those particular Yamahas have got a unique sonic personality that sets them apart. When I got my BB2024X not long after they came out I was shocked not just by how good it was but also how much it confounded my expectations. Despite having all the grunt and growl of a good Fender, the sound was surpisingly unlike a Fender and had all the richness and depth of a high quality active bass. I don't like polite-sounding basses, and my Yamahas always sound big and asseritive. Needless to say with Japanese-made Yamaha instruments, the build quality is top-notch. I had the brainwave of trying flats on one of my Yamahas after seeing Jah Wobble playing his BB2024x, and with a set of Thomatiks on it that bass takes on a whole new dimension of interesting possibilities. Excels at reggae, hip hop ect (and probably a lot more besides) with those strings on. If Yamaha did a proper authentic reissue of the BB3000 I'd definitely be up for getting one of those, too. I had a BB P34 for a while but, despite being beautifully constructed with a nice slim neck, it just didn't do it for me like my other Yamahas. Not a criticism more an observation, but I found the sound of the P34 to be a bit on the lean side. Maybe that leaness can be attributed to the maple laminate in the core of the body. What's for certain is that it sounds much more like a conventional PJ than the 2024x et al, which makes sense if you consider that it's the first BB to use conventional Fender-style pickups.