Sean

6 hours ago, Paulhauser said:

I agree 100%

It is also high time to show off another beauty, my refinished pre-LX Euro 5 with P5 and J, just like the ones you have now @Sean only that mine are X series. The preamp is a John East deluxe. 

 

 

"Questions..." as Roy Batty said.

1. What colour is that called?

2. Who did it?

3. In normal person terminology, what's the difference with X models?

Does anyone remember the Wizard Area 51 P pickup with neodymium magnets?

They had their own very distinctive sounds.  I had one and it went in at least 3 basses and it had an unmistakable sound of its own.

14 minutes ago, SteveFate said:

I'm about to join the spector club and it's down to a choice between 2.

 

Buying a brand new pulse II 4 retail at £1200 or buying a euro 4LX second hand for £1600 (appears in great condition).

 

I'd love to hear if anyone feels I would see £400 of difference between both - the euro was made 2020 according to the serial.

A used E4LX wins every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I'm all about value for money. Euros are great bang for buck new when compared to equivalent instruments. Used at the right price/spec ratio, they're unbeatable. If Spector basses suit you;  they're Marmite X.O. it's like marmite but much more so and at £5.50 a jar you'd better like it.

@cetera has a lot of good to say about the Pulse II and the only reason I'm down on it, is because it's new and will depreciate but that's personal choice. Also, it's not £400 of difference, it's £1200 of difference at new prices. The E4LX is double the price of a Pulse II and made by a small team of craftsmen in Czech to near-USA spec.

If the E4LX doesn't work out, you can sell it on without a loss.

1 hour ago, Paulhauser said:

I agree 100%

It is also high time to show off another beauty, my refinished pre-LX Euro 5 with P5 and J, just like the ones you have now @Sean only that mine are X series. The preamp is a John East deluxe. 

 

 

What was it like before the refin?

I put an East preamp in the NS5-XL I used to have. I got mixed black and gold knobs from John to make it look a bit different. Someone refinished that in the end.

20 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

I can't imagine it would be possible to detect any sound difference by changing a bridge!

 

But now I look at those figures it is tempting, my euro weighs quite a lot

Agreed. It's still an 7oz bridge, it's It's not like putting a BBOT in there.

If anyone needs saddles filing, I can help with that.

What you're looking at above its the use of masking tape to protect the lovely shiny featherweight jewellery from any file slips. The slit in the tape is where the groove being worked on is. It's 4th string in the photo.

I marked the lines, scored them and then filed them gently. I used the original as a reference and a tyre tread depth gauge to measure the depth.

2 hours ago, Paulhauser said:

Come on, I never doubted THAT 🙂

Maybe a different shade of great 😉

It's quite a bit different due to the pickups and LHZ obviously. The DCs are atomic but the PJ config that’s in there now is what I wanted, it breathes better and has more articulation rather than what you get from two hot double coils with a old-style dimed TonePump. 

The balance and feel of the bass has changed with it losing nearly a pound in weight. It’s gone from body-heavy to neutral. It’s dropped from 4.45 to 4.05 kg give or take a few grams. I managed to get the action and intonation 95% there when I roughed it so that was a bonus and I’ve set it up so that it’s very low, quite a bit lower than before. The new bridge is dream to adjust.

Would I recommend swapping to a new-style bridge? Only if you’ve got an older Spector that could do with losing a pound. This one didn’t need it doing but it’s a nice mod and I learned a lot.  Would I recommend DCs to PJ? It’s very subjective but it is a big difference, it makes it a very different instrument. For a start there’s about half the amount of pickup in there.  

That figuring! 

55 minutes ago, AinsleyWalker said:

Those cat-claw scratches on the phone inside look familiar, I wonder if this is my old case haha! My friend's kitten got inside the case about a decade ago...

That was my Bengal. The great thing is that restyled everything in the house to match!

It's still going to sound like a 35" Spector and better than pretty much anything out there 😉.

The bridge will take it down to 4.05kg. That's light even compared to a modern one.

On 06/04/2025 at 15:46, Sean said:

 

In the words of Col Bill Kilgore, "Get your boys back, it's going to be a big one..."

 

 

 

 

400g saving.

If you've never played a modern Japanese BB and are interested, try it.

It's a steal at this price.

Stuart bought a bass from me. Super smooth transaction. Top Basschatter.

Great bloke to chat to about all things bass and makes me realise how important it is that we stick together, get together and support bass bashes etc.  We're a rare breed.

Anyway, thanks to Stuart for his patience waiting for me to navigate the horrific Gloucester traffic carnage after a burst water main on A40.

All done. That's 40DCs out (and up for sale here already so you can buy them without nasty fees) and a 40P and 40J popped in. 

This is the third LHZ-03 I've fitted and it was a bit different as the new EMGs come with the clever DuPont connectors meaning I saved a fortune on electric as I only needed to solder 3 joints at the jack socket.

If anyone wants an LHZ-03 or other preamp fitting, I'm available. I won't charge extra for the luminous green cable ties, battery blanket or fancy printed labels,  they're all part of the service.

This one is off to rehearsal for the first time tomorrow. That lot never react well when they see something new, so hopefully she behaves herself and makes some new friends. 

A pair of 40DC pickups for sale.

They come boxed. Loads of tails on them.

I just spotted this. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335754368078?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=rpbRlok9T1C&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=6MnoMIQiQQC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

2 year warranty. 

They're big and heavy but they're truly awesome. It's a properly scary amp. One of the few valve amps that has both valve and solid state preamps. 

It's an absolute bargain IMO. Straight from the manufacturer. 

I have heard good things about this https://www.thomann.co.uk/thomann_safecase_80_e_bass_bag.htm?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwzMi_BhACEiwAX4YZUNTh_eKZopah680QlKXktp3HEJUqXjEUPc00DgYhrn3wgqkLj-jiPRoCf4YQAvD_BwE

Mono Vertigo is the ultimate if you can find one used.

A busy afternoon with the Euro 5 LX. She's getting new EMGs and LHZ-03. 

She might have a new bridge by the end of the week too... And she's been promoted to #1 5-string this week. 

Does anyone know what stain colour these are, what it is and where you can get it? 

3 hours ago, JohnDaBass said:

Please could someone help me identify the date of manufacture for this Legend Classic 4 serial number W170329 ?

Legends are out of my wheelhouse (as corporate types say) but someone who knows will be along soon enough. 

W is the Korean factory that has always made them. I know that. 

I would then guess it's 2017 and the 329th of that year. But that is just a guess. Wait for someone who knows. 

On 05/04/2025 at 09:43, Sean said:

Here’s a question that probably fits better here than opening a new thread. 

 

I can’t be bothered to take one off and weigh it at the moment, so I thought I’d ask. What’s the weight difference between the older Spector Euro bridges and the new light ones that are apparently <200g? 

In the words of Col Bill Kilgore, "Get your boys back, it's going to be a big one..."

I shall probably regret selling this but I'm operating on a "one in, one out" basis.  

It's an extremely good Jazz bass, full stop. The neck is slim and fast. Nicely finished and an absolute pleasure to play. I had flats on it for a while and it punches so far above its price point.

It's got new (Sun 6th Apr) Legacy (Rotosound) Nickel 45-105 strings. 

It's been set up to Fender J specs (Sun 6th Apr).

It's had the fingerboard done with Montypresso.

It's got a high mass bridge (original BBOT bridge included).

The cavities have been copper lined.

4.2kg

I've got all the proper packaging so can ship at cost. 

If you want to try it, it's in Gloucester.

18 minutes ago, Paulhauser said:

 

I know what you mean, my custom euro 435 has a similar black bridge which feels different than the chrome or gold (I guess the black is powder coated or painted whereas the gold and chrome is plated)

 

Is this strung BEAD?

9 minutes ago, Paulhauser said:

We must use every opportunity to show Spector beauties

There's a glut of them on the way right now...

...they'll be here before the end of the month, so I'm told 🤐

21 minutes ago, Sean said:

Jeez. I would never have guessed it would be that much difference! That could mean the difference between selling and not selling a bass if the buyer is tight and insists on say, <4kg. 4.2 becomes 3.95. 

I've just realised that there's maths, stats or some kind of numerical analysis in about 34.65% of my posts.

Jeez. I would never have guessed it would be that much difference! That could mean the difference between selling and not selling a bass if the buyer is tight and insists on say, <4kg. 4.2 becomes 3.95.