Al Krow

Wow Attitudes are selling for £4k new these days?!

Hi Matbard - sorry to hear about this. I suspect you maybe quick off the mark in terms of getting round to a first string change although I think @hookys6stringbass mentioned he had changed the strings on his PH too and maybe able to assist.

Haha - fixated only in the sense of saying that using a DAW to demonstrate EQ curves was a relatively sophisticated thing to be doing for an average muso. That really was the only point I was making and I think we can safely agree on that - or not, it doesn't matter too much either way in the scheme of things, does it? - Lol. Look forward to what next week may bring...😄

Trouble is my previous "round the houses" was getting a used Legend Custom to dip my toe into the Spector water. Liked it a lot and gave me the confidence to trade up to my current 5LX, which has gone from "very good" to "outstanding" in my books, as I've got to know it better and am now feeling at ease with the 35" scale. It's really making me ask myself why I'm still holding onto a couple of my other basses! I guess the one GAS "protection" is that the NS5-XL at BD is not in my preferred finish - flamed maple or vintage white would be awesome. And at that price point you kinda feel allowed your choice of finish, right? 😊

@Paulhauser - thank you, soooo much better than anything on Google!

I'm increasingly blown away by just how good my Euro 5LX is...and further to Eldon's post earlier saw that NS5-XL at BD I posted - it's on for an eye watering £5.5k. But I'm struggling to think that the US version is going to be significantly better?

Now that would be an excellent thread de-rail! 😁

I would certainly agree that Garage Band is DAW software (and a very good one from its rep). And yes I agree it's "free" - you just need to pay for entry ticket of having an Apple Device. But I would still politely suggest that a minority of bass players / band members are using a DAW whether it be Reaper, Ableton or Garage Band etc. If you go onto the recording forum and review threads on "which DAW," there are zero references I've seen to anyone referring to mobile phones and loopers as being DAWs. Your comment earlier was the first I heard anyone make that statement up.

Brilliant - thank you. However, my 5LX is also 5 string 35" scale so I guess to complete the picture: NS2 = Euro 4LX but maple/alder wings and Tone Pump NS5 = 5 string but 34" scale? NS5-XL = Euro 5LX but maple/alder wings and Tone Pump

I can't find anything useful on the Spector website on this, so maybe you guys can help me out... a) What the heck is the difference in the Spector range in terms of, NS2, NS4, NS5 and NS5-XL? and b) How does the Euro LX vary from the above models - is it essentially Tone Pump vs Hazlab preamp? Apologies if this is a noddy / basic question I should already know the answer to!

But can you see the EQ waveforms you were referring to when recording with your mobile phone and just using the "standard" recording software that comes with your phones as opposed to paying for something specialist such n-Track which seems to be an alternative to Reaper / Ableton / Mixcraft etc? Obviously pretty much everyone has a mobile phone, but my point is that they are not using specialist DAW software that would allow to delve into EQ waveforms etc. That's the angle that I think @Jack and certainly I am coming from here - it's really about common parlance. I don't think most folk would describe a mobile phone as a DAW; for me it's a bit like someone referring to their "set of wheels" meaning a car and then someone jumping in with: Just keeping this "on topic", I probably wouldn't consider the above an adequate Plan B for a gig if the car broke down. Just sayin' 😁

What are you insinuating Doc? Can we at least settle for second flush of youth and with the benefit of a bit more spare cash for gear than most of us had first time around? 😁

I was wondering exactly the same - couldn't locate his original Level 42 post which got more 'likes' than just about any posted video I've seen! What I love about doc40Hz's bass line is how he uses slap bass so tastefully that it sounds so much better than normal fingerstyle or pick on a track like this.

It would be rude to disagree with any of that... ...but the moment you start making basses as well as Ken Smith, we will all be making a bee-line to your door. 😁

Well if you're saying that any mobile phone recording is essentially a DAW then yup pretty much everyone has a mobile phone. But I suspect that's not what either me and Mr McNach are referring to! If you're saying everyone uses Reaper or an equivalent, then I disagree.

See there you go - that's a decently sophisticated approach! How many bass players in the real world (or even on BC) do you think are regularly using a DAW? My "back up" approach (to vaguely keep our thread high jack on track**) is just to use a simple looper pedal for getting ideas down which I can then upload to my PC and share. And even that very basic approach is a step too far for a lot of folk who say they have no means of recording clips to illustrate the points they are making. Yeah - your D800+ post was actually one of those (bizarrely) memorable posts for me and a really useful insight. **Btw a thread hijack is entirely called for: I'm sure the basic point has now been made a zillion times that some folk take a back up amp to gigs and others are happy not to! 😁

@Fil1ip - lovely looking bass! Came across this review of the 714BS - I presume yours also has the push / pull feature referred to [2.40]? The neck pup sounds grittier than I was expecting [3.50] and really good, although the pull switch sounded a little muffled in his clip. The solo P bass pup at [4.46] has that classic Yammy P bass sound we all love.

I think you're underselling yourself: e.g. you mentioned "You could experiment a bit in your favourite DAW, with the advantage that you can see the EQ curves, and you'll see what I mean. It's a very useful 'trick' when mixing." That's way more sophisticated than many of us get with our pedals, me included!

It simply means we have different attitudes to risk. In particular the risk of our gear breaking down, which is guided by our own personal experience. It's not possible to cover off every eventuality, you've gotta decide what risks are ones you consider negligible and which ones likely and how much spare gear you want to be carting to gigs. So one spare 9V battery for me, and a box full for Pete. But we're all grown ups capable of deciding where on the risk spectrum we're happy with being. John Paul Jones and several other pros on this thread, had / have just one bass at their gigs. That works for me, it doesn't for others. All good.

Yeah I was kinda thinking along those lines when you bought it, particularly as you have your parametric mids on your para driver plus a really nice bit of grit, and knowing how much you love that pedal!

That's a stunning bass!

Can it be more than a small amount of joy? 😁 I saw that Lozz moved his more basic model on almost instantly. But actually it's a bit of surprise 'cos the Broughton HPF stuff was I thought pretty well regarded. Keeping it on topic, what's your back up plan?

And that totally makes sense - we are all a product of our own personal journeys. Just in the same way as @owen has had 40 years of gigging with no mishaps and would not dream of taking a spare amp or bass to a gig. My own landing space is a spare lead to DI into the PA in case the amp goes and a spare 9V battery, and making sure our guitarist brings his spare axe because he regularly breaks a string!

Agreed, and I certainly did Pete - this particular thread got me thinking! But I'm still at the more relaxed end of the spectrum (by BC standards) when it comes to spare basses at gigs, particularly following my conversations with a couple of BCers I know well. Even on this ultra cautious thread it's still no more than 52:48 methinks. Brexit all over again eh? 😂 And if one bass was good enough for John-Paul Jones, it's good enough for me 😉

Excellent! Ok @paulbuzz I think that's just answered your risk spectrum question. I'm going to sleep much easier now, cheers Pete 😁