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Sub-£1k ... Spector or Lakland?


merello
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Billy Apple once told me that you can't go wrong with any of the neck through Spectors - and he was right. The Korean NS2000 NT I have is still with me after I rehomed the Euro LX I had because I had trouble telling the difference.

They do come up occasionally here and on ebay, well within your budget. If you're in the Herts area in the next few days, let me know...happy for you to come and see for yourself.

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3 hours ago, TheGreek said:

Billy Apple once told me that you can't go wrong with any of the neck through Spectors - and he was right. The Korean NS2000 NT I have is still with me after I rehomed the Euro LX I had because I had trouble telling the difference.

They do come up occasionally here and on ebay, well within your budget. If you're in the Herts area in the next few days, let me know...happy for you to come and see for yourself.

Cheers,

Up in Scotland though....!

One local music shop has a walnut NT at £800.

Guitar Guitar has a Lakland sale...I actually went in to buy one at the weekend and they said it was sold. Went home and it was still in stock but moved to another store. whizzed me off! There’s a lovely gloss walnut Legend around too. GAS confusion!

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Spector or Lakland is an interesting choice. They are very different in terms of feel. I think the Laklands are much more of an old-fashioned, traditional feel due their body shape and neck joints. Spectors, at least the high end ones with the curved bodies and thru-neck construction, are a much different and more modern feeling bass.

I saw you had a budget of £1000, for that price I'd hunt out a used Spector Euro. The Korean Spectors are nice but they're not on the same level of quality feel as the European stuff. I think a Euro Spector will win out for quality over an import Lakland too, with a Euro being more on a level with the US Laklands. The most important factor will be feel and sound, however. The Spector growl isn't for everyone and of course, some will prefer the more traditional feel of a Lakland too.

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12 hours ago, merello said:

Really hankering after a  decent “budget” Lakland, I mean Spector.

Tried the DJ in Guitar Guitar and the neck was brilliant. Reading a lot about the better Spector Legends.

Any thoughts?

If DJ means the Darryl Jones modell of Lakland's that is a great take on the classic jazzbass design. 

The Spector Legends are a very different breed, they are extremely well made for the price point and sound great, but different than the DJ.

It really boils down to what you want/need. If you need a jazz, then go for the DJ or check Spectors Coda Pro line.

If you need a modern ergonomic design and a sound that is very versatile and well defined then the Legend is the way to go.

Or as @Mastodon2 suggested look out for a Euro 4 or 5 and you will have one of the best basses around ( I know I'm biased as I have a couple of them but still...)

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6 hours ago, krispn said:

Was that in the Glasgow or Edinburgh store? I’m planning on a wee trip to play some basses in there over the holidays. I’m in Edinburgh but the Glasgow shop has a much better bass selection. 

Glesgae mate....was ready to spend.

 

edit...the walnut is in Kenny’s Music on Jamaica St!

Edited by merello
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From a Spector perspective the first 'decent' bass I owned was the original Spector Legend (before the range split into two versions).  It was a cracking bass and you can find them lurking about for £300 or so.

Probably the best in terms of value for money that I have owned was an NS-94.  Virtually a US quality bass made during the SSD period when he was in litigation about who owned what.  Not up for sale often but worth waiting for imho, ymmv etc. :)

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19 hours ago, Mastodon2 said:

The Korean Spectors are nice but they're not on the same level of quality feel as the European stuff.

I disagree. I kept my Korean NS2000 and sold my Euro LX because there was so little difference between them. Happy to put this to the test if somebody has a Euro we could use.

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Hmm.  Owned a Lakland DJ5 and currently own a Spector EuroLT; I've also played several other models from each manufacturers.  IMO, the LT is a country mile ahead of any Lakland of a comparable price.

On the subject of budget (and if you're willing to take the risk), suggest you have a look in the classifieds on Talkbass.  Weirdly - and I've not quite worked out why - there are real bargains to be had, even when you factor in shipping and duties.  If you was the NS2 look, Korean models (so late 80s vintage) are selling for $600-700 (so £530 tops).  If you want to stretch your budget, you can easily pick up US models for under £1,400.00.

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37 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

I disagree. I kept my Korean NS2000 and sold my Euro LX because there was so little difference between them. Happy to put this to the test if somebody has a Euro we could use.

Cool, everyone has different opinions on these things. If I couldn't tell the difference I'd have gone for the cheaper one too. 👍

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I have gone through many Spectors and I believe that personal preferences are very important and also the fact how they meet with a certain instrument.

I'm a 5 string player (or should I say, I need at least the BEAD strings)

What I have gathered so far:

- I liked my Euro 5 basses over the Korean ones had.

- I never really liked Euro 4s until I got my maple winged Euro 435 which is a 35" Euro 4 with X series PJs. 

- I had US made NS-5XL's that I  did not consider to be better (for me) as my Euro 5's

- One of my NS-5XL (pictured below)  is simply another level compared to any of the Spectors I have every had or heard. The richness of the tone, the depth of it, the nuances and the look / playability is second to none, all other basses considered. It is my main recording and practicing bass and I feel very privileged to have found 'my' instrument. I have other Spectors and other basses of very high quality (Atelier Z, Prestige Ibbys, MM SR5 etc) but this is always the one. 

I don't know if there is any takeaway for you from the above but my experience is that finding your great instrument is transcending sales categories, price points and places / means of manufacturing but there is one thing for sure for me, the best bass I have is the one I have paid the most for. And we are looong after the honeymoon period. 

 

 

Spector NS-5XL buckeye.jpg

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Wow Paul! That’s beautiful. I play small gigs about every 3 months. If I was doing more frequent paying gigs like I did years ago I’d splash out/invest in something special. Unfortunately, I’m in noodle mode playing wise just now but thank you for showing me that.

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4 hours ago, merello said:

Wow Paul! That’s beautiful. I play small gigs about every 3 months. If I was doing more frequent paying gigs like I did years ago I’d splash out/invest in something special. Unfortunately, I’m in noodle mode playing wise just now but thank you for showing me that.

Thank you! My post was intended to reflect upon the previous couple of posts assessing the different models that Spector offer rather than an answer to your original question (to which I have already wrote my thoughts some days ago above) or finding an excuse to show off my bass. Apologies if it came off another way. I’m sure you will find the bass that suits your needs, be it Spector or else. Have fun with the process 🙂

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14 hours ago, Paulhauser said:

Thank you! My post was intended to reflect upon the previous couple of posts assessing the different models that Spector offer rather than an answer to your original question (to which I have already wrote my thoughts some days ago above) or finding an excuse to show off my bass. Apologies if it came off another way. I’m sure you will find the bass that suits your needs, be it Spector or else. Have fun with the process 🙂

Paul

No apology required. I found your contributions informative and I thank you for them. I hope mine didn’t seem snarky....if it did, I’m sorry. Too many good hearted people on here!

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