bagsieblue

It was an issue with wiring and (correct value) pots. Nothing changed on the preamp in the discussions around my ownership time - Still looks like an non adjustable trim Tonepump in the photos too.

All yes to the first line. Unsure on who the seller is, could be or could have been sold on.

Yep - I'd say its a bit of nonsense / black magic. Some on Talkbass say that the early euros were made with shipments of USA Maple so they sound like USA Spectors (preamps differences nonewithstanding of course)

The eBay seller isnt the guy who bough from Andy Baxter -I did. It is solid maple indeed. I bought it but we had a lot of back and forth on the preamp and pots which weren't working as they should. I pointed him in the direction of Michalik (Mr Tonepump) so get the correct parts identified.

I've read that the change was due to tonal reasons. USA Maple and European maple not sounding similar enough, so they settled on the walnut sandwich as the closest tonal option.

Yep - massive variation in the attractiveness of the finishes. Waiting patiently for one to crop up with actual photographs and looking fairly attractive too on one of the burst options.

Agreed the standard Spector gig bags are a poor choice for these basses. I’ve seen the pics of the damaged white one, that’s not due to the bag in that case I’m my view. A correctly shaped Spector gig bag wouldn’t have helped.

As does a Mono M80.

It stands for Stingray's Ugly Brother.