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NBD Spector 40th Anniversary Euro


Billy Apple
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Picked this up yesterday from the lovely Phil at Bass Gear in Twyford...

A very well put together and finished bass. Deep lustrous gloss, lovely red figured maple that looks ace along side the black neck. The fret-board is stained black to go with the neck and I'd say the over-all finish is flawless.
I've done a little A-B'ing with my US NS2 and the neck dims are virtually identical. The Euro neck feels deeper though due to the gloss finish. Plays very nicely, just the kind of neck I like. Comes with the Tone Pump, this being the first one I've owned. I set it first with the bass at 9 o'clock and the treble at 12 o'clock as the flat setting recommended on TB [url="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/spector%C2%AE-owners-club.1066466/page-2537#post-18891294"]https://www.talkbass...7#post-18891294[/url] and it worked very well. I just tweaked it with a little boost on both so bass 10 o'c and treble 1 o'c. I compared the Euro with the NS2 both at flat and they are remarkably similar. The NS2 has more 'air' and bite, the Euro more bottom, but there was not much in it. Also they've not got the same strings so that could make a difference, but the Euro has a real authority about it.
It's strung with a decent set of D'Addario nickel XL's and has a nice set-up out the box. The only niggle is the saddles are quite high in the bridge and the E has been digging my palm a little, but it's nothing that can't be sorted.
This Euro is slightly different to the usual ones in that the wings are solid maple, not maple/alder. So on a par with the US NS2 and older non-LX Euro's. It's also got the 40th inlay at the 12th. I think the only thing that might get changed is the vol/vol which does my nut. [url="http://www.michalik.cz/for-basses-en"]Michalik[/url] who build the TP for Spector have a wiring diagram to change to bal/vol, so I'm anticipating a trip to the gallery for a set-up and a small mod.
She weighs in at 9 1/4 pounds, so my heaviest bass, but it's very compact and I was surprised when Phil weighed it in the shop.

Anyway, pictures so it exists!

This is a really lovely bass :D















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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1466937778' post='3079793']
Congrats Sean, it looks lovely. If it plays anything like my old pre-LX Euro4 with maple wings then you're onto a winner. I'm sure you'll love the Tone Pump too, it's a total beast. Caution is advised!! :)
[/quote]

We're just taking it easy at the mo, but was yours non-trim pot?

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[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1466937954' post='3079799']
We're just taking it easy at the mo, but was yours non-trim pot?
[/quote]

No, it had a trim pot. I didn't reduce the output though, I liked the endless POWER!! Bwa-hah-hah-hah-haaaahhhh!! Wibble.

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[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1466947099' post='3079878']
That's a very cool looking bass. Very cool. Much prefer the look of the P/J pickup configuration over the soapbars.
[/quote]

I think you are right that the P/J config looks the best. Have you never considered a Spector? I would've thought they'd be right up your neck-through rock-machine schizzle?

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[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1466949657' post='3079901']


I think you are right that the P/J config looks the best. Have you never considered a Spector? I would've thought they'd be right up your neck-through rock-machine schizzle?
[/quote]

I did give a bit of consideration to the Forte 4X...the Thunderbird shaped one, but the prices were horrific. £4k+ when I enquired. I played one of the Legend bolt-ons, it was ok, nothing special though.

It's weird that the Gibsons are seen as being fine for my old school punky stuff, but the Spector was a bit more 'metal'.

I'm getting very envious of your stuff...

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Very nice! I have a couple of Spectors , all 5 strings and recently got a NS-4CR, which is basically a pre LX Euro4 with dot inlays. Same maple wings like yours.
My first 4 string bass for a loooong time and can't put it down. The neck is great and the sound is incredible.
So I have a quite clear idea how yours sounds and plays. Have fun with this red beauty, the TonePump is really useful once you tame it a bit with the output trimpot.

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[quote name='bakerster135' timestamp='1467152589' post='3081598']
Lovely bass! Glad they've added the separate battery compartment too, is that a new thing? On my old Euro 4 you had to take the back plate off to get to the battery, which was a pain in the a**e!
[/quote]

I've looked at the backs of all the Euro's on Bass Directs site and none of them have the battery box. I think the only ones that do are the 18V US basses. The 9V HAZ runs with the battery on the board, so no separate box. I up-rated the OPB3 in my 5'er to 18V as there's enough room in the cavity for two batteries. Maybe the box on mine is an upgrade?

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