Paulhauser

Ibanez released info on the new in 2024 models (scroll down for basses, some interesting additions there)

https://www.ibanez.com/eu/news/detail/20231124144232.html?fbclid=IwAR1FSRh0zffZsagwmI-rgLY8lnbN5uz-z4JArskLWTVKf8daifIWjf4f4tE

10 minutes ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

BTW, the photo only shows 4 strings. Where is the 5th? Or do they only put it on at the till? 🤪

The photo is of the IH I missed buying (still on reverb as sold)

The Classic I'm eyeing is this:

To match this (shameless plug of a live pic of mine instead of generic stock photo - at least shows I actually use the thing 🙂 )

4 hours ago, Paulhauser said:

And that on the pic is I believe a rare 35" version. They did some 435 IH sigs, I know as I almost bought one (proper 35" with the IH logo on the back of the headstock) Still kicking myself for missing that, ugh

Ps: now that I've looked at the listing I'm taking a mental note for future self to buy what I can if and when I can afford, the worst that can happen by doing so is that I might have to sell it later ..... 

So with that in mind I really have to consider buying that gloss black Classic Euro5 that matches my white Classic  5. Please talk me out of that. Please 🙂

4 hours ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

That's how his previous PJ version looked like. I guess I have to try and find one now!

4 hours ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

 

 

And that on the pic is I believe a rare 35" version. They did some 435 IH sigs, I know as I almost bought one (proper 35" with the IH logo on the back of the headstock) Still kicking myself for missing that, ugh

1 hour ago, Lord Summerisle said:

My thinking is that the bridge end doesn’t need to be angled at all, the way it is on this bass looks like it would add discomfort compared to a normal flat bridge. I get the thinking behind the nut end’s angle though.

I think that it depends on the right (plucking) hand techniques applied.

When I pluck with my fingers I use what is  sometimes called floating thumb technique when I rest my thumb on the lower (pitched) string next to the one I play and my wrist and arm is in a straight line moving back and forth over the strings as I skip them during plaing (hope it makes sense). So I don't see much benefit with the angled bridge for me but as I never tried a Torzal maybe I'd be in a surprise if I did.  

But for those players who -like double bass players - anchor their thumb on the edge of the pickup and stay there regardless which string they are playing and bending their wrist more as they move farther away (meaning playing higher strings) the angled bridge is reducing the need for said bend. It is purely a speculation on my side, nothing more. 

Also Torzal do make fanned fret basses so that might be the ultimate mindfuNk for some 😄

Congratulations!

Fortunately I have no wrist issues but ever since I saw the first Torzal I was intrigued about the design and the ergonomics of it.

One thing that got me thinking is the angle on the bridge end ie whether my right hand would need it as much the left where the 20 degree twist is definitely makes a difference on how much the wrist needs to be bent. 
To my understanding there are two options, a ‘flat’ bridge which is just like on any other basses and the 15 degrees angled one which is on the neck through models and on the OP’s new bass.

@patrikmarky flaking of the clear coating at the headstock is quite common with these, I once had a NS-5CR just like yours and had the same issue, albeit it was a lot worse tha yours really.

Elixir coated nickel strings work really well with my fretless Thumb and they are easy on the fingerboard,too.

I only ever used roundwounds on fretless basses and if you are careful not to bend sideways but use a cello / double bass-like vibrato then markings will be almost non-existent. 

Also as others mentioned above any markings can easily be repaired. Use the strings you like the sound and feel of and don't worry about wear.

Thank you for the review @Bassdude BE I might be on the market for exactly this, a new P5R-5 which ticks all the boxes for me but I can't see that in Thomann's selection as of yet so may I ask what modell you are referring to with the pricing? ("The current price for a P5R-5 in this colour at Thomann is 498€") because none of what Thomann has looks like yours (cream white with a dark roasted maple neck and a very dark rosewood board....)  I'm in the EU so I guess I'm looking at a selection that is the same as other EU countries.

8 minutes ago, ern500evo said:

To be honest I was very very tempted by the Euro RST in the classifieds, I loved the colour, but ultimately the want for EMG PJ pickups made me hold off for a LX 

By all means the RST's are most probably great basses (never tried one so far) but let's face it if it is a Spector 4 string it has to have the PJ setup. 

(and if it is a 5 string Spector, too 🙂 - well, not really as the DC's work very well but still, after ticking that box I had to have a PJ Spector 5er, too 🙂 )

I think you've made the right decision, have fun with it!  

3 hours ago, ern500evo said:

It’s in lovely condition. I was set on a brand new Euro LX in matte black stain but this was too good not to buy. I’ll restring it with my preferred EB Cobalts and give it a couple of tweaks, it’s got Rotos on it at the moment which are lighter gauge (40-100) than I normally use, and just a little touch of string buzz on the E string, but overall I’m very happy. Less than two hour round trip and the owner was a super nice guy too. 

Great, what's not to like? Lovely piano black, and in my opinion a better finish than the black stain matte (which is prone to polish up in places ) 

Actually it has ignited my SAS to have a black Classic 5 to match my white one 😄

The drop tuner is a nice add-on I must add.

Btw, Cobalts are my fav strings as well, they sound really good on Spectors both fingerstyle and pick. 

2 hours ago, sammybee said:

Can you tell me where you're buying Stingrays for £2k? - I'll buy one!

Your comment made me check how much I paid for my SR5 in January 2019 

I bough that bass locally, used but vgc, for £1000, hsc included.

It is crazy to think about how much the world and (used) prices changed. Quite mind boggling really. I mean I live in the here and now but things like these put it all into perspective.

( I still have albeit don't use much but when I do I enjoy it a lot )

On 17/11/2023 at 13:37, ern500evo said:

do the classics suffer with neck dive due to the lightweight body, and do they lose anything sonically by having chambered wings? 

- I have a Classic 5 and it has the thickest neck that I've ever encountered on any of my 5 string Spectors including US and CR models. The bass is light so it does have a slight dive due to the mass in the neck but for me it is not an issue with this bass  which is strange as any dive is a big no-no for me. ( sold basses just for this) I also prefer thinner necks so I don't know what's going on with me and this Classic but it became my gigging bass for the last year or so. Not that I prefer this over my other Spectors but just really like playing it.

- sonically nothing is missing, you're getting the growl and the low B in mine's case is killer. I rate my Classic as some of the best Spectors ever to come out of the Czech workshop. 

On 16/11/2023 at 10:39, Pinball said:

 I currently have a nice Spector Legend as a back up, which is great but I will probably trade or sell once I get a replacement...anyhow!

 

Maybe I'm stating the obvious but is there any reason not to make your Spector passive? Most Legends have EMG HZs in them which is a passive pickup design and a simple VVT or VBT wiring bypassing the preamp would be relatively easy. 

I mean if you wanna move it and / or want a new bass I won't talk you out of that, this is Basschat after all 🙂

@Rich have you done the swap? If so how're you liking the result?

@Rich My first hand experiences based on swapping different EMGs in my Euro and US Spectors:

- The P works really well in the neck position and the pairing with the DC in bridge position is an ideal match. The 35J works well there, too, but its output is lot less than the P and has to be matched by pickup height. Mind you by default "soapbar" housing EMG P's are reversed, the "normal" position (treble side closer to the bridge) can be ordered as custom from EMG.

Also MAKE SURE you get the 35P4, not the 35P as the latter is for five string basses with offset magnets (2/3) 

- The TW is a great sounding pu, but if you go that way make sure your get the X series TW ("TWX") as the original TW suffers a huge volume loss when using the coil tap and that is fixed with the X series one. Be aware that you need to change the wiring and also have to drill larger hole to accomodate typosthe push/pull pot that does the coil tap (included in the package) because its shaft has a larger diameter.

- In my experience I like the X series EMGs better (marked by and X in the modell name, like 35JX)

There are a couple but let's bring it on with this one. 

1. I've already had a history with Spector basses at this point (2016) Back in '07 I had my first Czech 5er (NS-5CR) followed a pre-LX Euro 5 which I've used as my main bass for a couple of years. Sold'em all when I thought I was quitting music for good. Bad move, but anyways. I Love your Green Dragon!

2. At this point I was playing my Spector Euro 5 for a couple of years, which had been modified as well. (maybe a next post) This is the sandwich body (alder/walnut/quilted maple) with the EMG 40TW pus.

I was contemplating how to reach the classic 80's Spector growl albeit in a 5 string format and without robbing the bank and proceeding to source those ver so elusive 80's 5 string Spectors (or 4 strings for that matter)

So it came to the opportunity to acquire a pre-LX 5 string Czech Euro (full maple wings, that is ) on this very forum. Ohhh, those lovely pre-Brexit times when I (we) were free to deal with our brethren on those cloudy islands....

Upon receiving said bass she looked like this (sounded and felt ACE!)

So my plan was to make it look and sound like this came from 1985 (well Spector never had color like this back then but you get the vibe)

I wanted this to be pink, has PJ pickups and also the neck to be shaven.  The previous owner put in a John East preamp which as to be kept and I sourced EMG 40 housing P and J pickups. 

The cool thing about EMGs are that they sound great and also they are interchangeable within reason. So if you have a certan sized housing like mine with the 40s here you have a quite wide range of pickups with different features to be used as replacements with relatively small footprint as to exchange work needed. 

I have ended up putting X series 40 P and J into it and the finish came about after much trial and erroe but I'm still happy with it after 7 years. 

I have used this bass extensively live and in studio and it is on of my all time fav's bringing the grit that is associated with Spectors but offering so much more and especially sensitive to playing dynamics.

Congratulations! 

I have a soft spot for Dingwall Z3's and still kicking myself for missing the opportunity to buy one of them 

(6 string Z3 in tiger eye burst) a few years back. 

From TB: "We made a database for a German speaking platform using the distance between 12. fret and the middle of the PU. Have a look"

On 22/09/2023 at 09:23, cetera said:

I like the gold, but a silver and or purple would really tempt me....

I wasn't crazy about either color at first but the gold really grew on me. Still I think they nailed it with the original 3 colors (red, black and white)

On 22/09/2023 at 09:57, ead said:

I feel that the world needs more Black Cherry Spectors.

Right? Black cherry is one of my fav Spector colors, they do that really well, both US and Euro. Some years ago I almost bought a NS-6XL in that color but the seller wasn't shipping to EU (he was in the States)

For those not on social media or simply missed it:

Spector made some new colors available for the Euro Classic line ( Metallic Gold and Metallic Blue )

I love my Classic Euro 5 white and these colors wouldn't top that combo (or the red for that matter) but still they are nice nonetheless 

@attackbass congratulations on your new Spector - is it your first one?  (also congrats to becoming an endorser) 

I have yet to try this LT5 version, I've been put off a bit by the reviews and general consesus about the barts but almost purchased one of these thrice already 

(Bartolinis I happen to like in some of my other basses but Spectors are EMG for me - apart for the '77 and '79 reissues with DiMarzios))

I think the Czech shop are really outdoing themselves lately, I have / had a couple of US Spectors and a handful of Czech ones (currently a small collection of 7 US/CZ basses ) and the gap is surely  narrowing. 

59 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

There's just too much focus on Thunderbird shaped instruments suffering from neck dive.  I've been playing 'birds for about 15 years (Gibson, Hamer, Lull and now the Spector) and while yes it's inevitable, I use both hands while I'm playing so it isn't really a problem per se.

Well, you are certainly right....its just the fact that the NS shape works so well for me, especially the undersized body and that the bass stays in position.

The closest thing to a TB shaped instrument was a Spector Rex 5 I had for a while. At that time I played exclusively fingerstyle and the fact that I needed to use either of my hands to keep it in place bothered me. 

Nowadays the gigs I do I play more with a pick than fingers and keeping it in position with the picking hand would not be an issue.

3 hours ago, cetera said:

I'm still loving mine! Only thing I will do is move the strap buttons for a better balance on the strap. I notice that Nikki had his rear button nearer the top rear corner so I may try that first...

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

I'm loving mine.  The Spector/Darkglass AO900 set up just seems to work very well with each other, so much so that I haven't used any of my Tech21 (DI-2112 and a dUg DP-3X) outboard kit for a while now.

 

Desired tone is an odd thing; when I got the dUg pedal I described it as a DI-2112 on steroids and it pretty much is - it'll do pretty much what the DI-2112 and then expand on that.  The AO900 is kind of like the DP-3X on steroids; never really bonded with it until the Euro-X arrived and I took a bit of time to actually dial in what I wanted tonally.  (With minimal tweakage my Lull has also come alive.)

Great! 

I have my reservations about the ergonomics but I understand that this is such a personal thing.

Turns out there is one white Euro X for sale in this side of the channel.... 

8 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

Whats the compressor like as I could take my Ampeg Opto comp off if it’s ok ??

That's something you have to try and see if works for yourself as it is not the most sophisticated one with just an off-mid-high settings (eventhough there are trimpots inside so you can change the threshold and comp level for the mid setting)

I never tried the new one (utimate) only the original purple but that worked for me just fine.