Paulhauser

Ever since I got this Spector NS-5XL in early 2017 this is the bass that I use the most for practice, write and record with. I do have and enjoy a selection of other basses but this is the alpha and the omega. Sounds cristal clear and full of richness and plays exquisite. I never take it to gigs as most of what I do is quite intense and would not want to put a dent on it or risking loosing it. This is the 2nd most played as I take it to every rehearsals and gigs. I can't semm to find a pic of the bass only so an actions shot for the time being. A Spector Euro435 (35" 4 string)

Naah, no surprise, with that 77 and 79 or yours hardly anything else 4 string would.....

Now that is quite reasonable! Have fun with it, certainly a great instrument!

I saw this on Reverb with an initial price of 6800 Euros which I thought was quite steep and after that for 4850 Eur which is still on the high side (for me at least) Hard to gauge used prices these days for US Spectors....

I had a Sandberg TT5 with a 'plain' maple board and playing it live I missed the markers as we put up an intense show and the small dots on the bass edge of the board were not enough visibility-wise. So I have applied pearloid block 'inlays' and was happy with them as they were useful but always had this feeling of them being out of place being stickers. So yes Russ, I understand you.

I have currently two six string basses, no, three actually. A Spector NS-6XL and an Ibanez SR5006 and a 3006. A very subjective pros/cons as follows Pros: - love the range - lots of possibilities for solo playing, chord playing and tapping. I know Jaco only needed 4 but anyway. - really enjoy playing Bach cello pieces or tapping / chording well known songs in a range where there can be sung along. - love the asthetics, like a 4 sting with two extras from each sides 🙂 Cons: - I found out that it makes no difference for me to switch to 5 from 4 but to 6 the neck dimensions and the overall ergonomics of the bass plays a lot bigger role. Less margin of error in terms ergonomics for me. Weight, string spacing, neck dimesions etc. (Like I loved my 6 string Yamaha TRB's but the neck was to wide / thick especially for the TRB6IIP) - The C string can be thin / quiet sounding in a dense band setting just because it is, well, thin. - In a "working bassist" situation the C is seldom used or needed so for me the added neck width, number of strings to mute, weight makes impractical to use them compared to a fiver. ( I know there are exceptions in many genres like fusion, gospel or tech metal but still....) Still I love my sixers and use them on a regular basis at home. A well loved used Ibanez SR506 could be a good start and be within your price range.

I have no fanned fretted basses in my possession right now. But I have owned a Dingwall ABZ5 for a few years while I was also owning and using 'normal' fretted basses like a host of Spector basses, a Sadowsky and Ibanez SR Prestige basses. I have gigged the latter ones but for some reason never the Dingwall but I have used them all pretty evenly for practice, writing etc. I personally have never had an issue switching between the Dingwall and my other basses. It was never even a thought, using/switching the fanned frets vs the parallel ones was just as natural as grabbing one form the rack and playing really.

Reading all of this I grabbed my SR5 to check the G string and it is as good as the rest. ( I'm a Spector player but I always wanted a Stingray in my collection. I ended up with a great one, it has one of the best B string I have ever met on a 34" instrument and has a lovely neck!)

Not all of my Spectors are ‘boutique’ as some of them are customized Euro basses but anyway, here we go

Rickenbacker aesthetics....

Sure, I understand. When I ever think of selling one of my 7 Spectors I always talk myself out of doing so. I don't use them all everyday and can hardly 'justify' having so many but still they bring joy whenever I play them so that's what matters.

Yeah, now I seem to remember to paulownia... Cracking looking bass nonetheless and if you like the sound then you have a great package. Speaking of the 77, that is one of the best Spectors I ever laid my hands upon, Czech or US included. Can't believe how much fun I get playing that thing and I even don't use a normal tuned 4 string in my gig (I now use a 5 string Pre LX Euro and mainly a AEAD tuned Euro 435) So I play the 77 mostly at home having fun with '80's rock, funk and whatever doesn't require anything below standard E. Are you sure to part with a Forte? Surely you are going to regret it.... or if you haven't bonded much then it's ok. One can only play one bass at a time (unless you are Michael Manring 🙂 )

Cool bass, congratulations. Not much info on the net about this one, what is the top wood? Back seems like it is ash... Interesting comment about the neck, I love my 1977, too but the two recent Euro 435 that I have/had slim necks, too. Not as much as the '77, but almost. How do you like the pickups? How much of a departure from the classic PJ sound?

The way I use three fingers for plucking is like this for exaple a 16th note pattern (3 ring, 2 middle, 1 index) 321321321321 (bold is where one is) The two things to work on when practicing is avoiding galopping and make sure you accent every 'one' Start on one string without string skipping. 3212 is basicall the same as 2121 in that the middle finger still makes the same work (playing every second note) The patter above divides the work equally between the fingers but requires some time for the fingers and the brain to adjust.

So far I had only one custom bass made for me. Most probably I will not do another custom since I have a selection of basses that are matrching my preferences and I don't feel that I miss anything that only a custom made instrument would solve. Anyway, when my custom MLP bass was built I choose 5 strings as the B string was (is) essential to most of the music I play at gigs and also did not want to loose the G string (as in a 4 string BEAD setup) Even today I own "only" two 4 string basses, one is a 35" Spector tuned to BEAD and is my main gigging bass for my band and the other is another Spector 1977 which is tuned EADG and is super fun to play those songs that don't require a low B.

Congratulations! I happen to own a Forte, too and I love it. As for the 35DC, I love the DC's in my 5 string Spectors. My '77 has a single P (as you know it well) and my Euro435 a PJ so never tried a DC in 4 string settings but based on the 40DC it must be killer.... too much oomph? 🙂

@cetera I summon thee 4 string Spector master I myself have experience mostly with 5-6 string Spectors and my favorite combo is X series EMG pus with Hazlab preamps. 4 string pjs are somewhat different, I have one Euro 435 with EMG X series PJ with Aguilar obp which I like and a 1977 le which I love.

Never thought about it until i've seen your comment @Draxbut I do my rack the same way facing left. Just seemed normal to me. Am I a maniac? Now that I come to think of it..... 😄

Hey, I thank you for taking the time to listen and giving me feedback, I appreciate it! We've just submitted the record yesterday and will come out in mid-July. The style is pretty much like these songs, rock, metal, electronica etc mixed and all with clean vocals. I'll share it once available. Thanks again!

That and the white 5 string classic, too. And a 1979LE I really don't need any more Spectors.

But that's the point really - with the 40 housing you can pretty much do any format, DC, TW, JJ, PJ, PP or whatever suits you. But truth be told you are right in that I would love to have a classic looking PJ 5 string. Or a 5 string version of my Euro1977. That thing is a monster and find myself playing it almost everyday. That must be a custom shop thingy though and I'm not ready to pay to dollar for that.....

Well it is easy. But there is a story to tell even if it isn’t very exciting. And as English is not my first language at least I get some practice time:-) I love Spectors. Started out with an Ibanez SR and quite liked the sleek body and neck. My first mid category bass was a Czech made Spector which was an unbelievable upgrade for me both in terms of sound and ergonomics. A couple of Czech Spectors later I quit playing for a short while and in the process I sold much of my stuff, Spectors included. When I started again a year later I made it a point to try as many different basses as possible to gain experience about what is out there and what fits me sound and ergonomy-wise. Long story short a couple of dozens basses lates I got another Spector, a Czech one again and I came to the conclusion that there are so much great basses on the market that it’s unbelievable but Spector is where I feel at home. Around that time I have seen a picture of a US made Spector NS-5XL with an marvelous and exquisite buckeye burl top and while I have seen some great combination of these specs this was the best for me ever. Having a pro photographer taking the pics didn’t help the case either. I felt there is a forbidden yet very real love affair taking off so guess what was the locking screen photo on my phone for a year or two? Some time passed after this and much to my surprise and utter disbelief this very bass came up for sale. Let’s just say that I have never before and after paid this much for a bass nor for any bass have I driven a roundtrip of over 2000kms. But I had it in my possession after all. This Spector NS-5XL turned out not only as much beautiful in person as it was on the pic but it proved itself to be my best sounding one, too. For all my recordings in the last three years this is the one that ended up getting used because it has a great combination of clarity, sound and dinamics all over the board and in lower tunings, too. It just works really well for the music I play. I am fortunate to have tried and currently own a selection of instruments from some of the best makers in the industry and I have basses that are close to me for the history we have shared on and off stage but if I were to keep only one this would be it. Spector NS-5XL buckeye/walnut with EMG X series DC pu’s and Hazlab preamp. Now enough of my ramblings let’s get to the best part! Thanks for reading this far🙂

No it does not. The spacing is 17mm from string to string at the bridge.