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NBD x2 (Spector Pulse Content)

BaltBass5

BaltBass5

Supporting Member
May 11, 2011
2,803
6,021
Baltimore, MD
#1
Alright, I’ll start by apologizing if this is a long thread. Some background..I’ve played mostly Jazz Basses most of my life (American Fenders and Laklands) and I currently own 12 high end Jazz Basses. About 2 years ago I played a Spector Legend 4 Classic that a buddy picked up (The new redesigned with the Barts) and I loved it. I sought out a Spector and tried several Euros locally ranging from $2000 to $3000. I didn’t like them for a couple of reasons: mainly the neck thru design, gloss painted back of the neck and more specifically the wider neck width at the nut and thicker radius.

Having said that, I bought a Spector Legend 4 Classic and about a month later a second one.

These were my go-to Basses for cover gigs as they were lightweight, comfortable and had a great variation of tone available.

I just recently saw that Spector was releasing the new NS Pulse and I was very intrigued. I decided to take a chance and picked one up from Prymaxe at 20% off and received it a few days ago and I was blown away. I immediately took advantage of the ongoing sale and picked up a second one which arrived yesterday:
D7909D25-81B1-4F2F-8C1B-F3B1A2E69737.jpeg
A8978D41-6C64-4FB8-8CD0-B31D9A58C2E1.jpeg
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86BC3830-C262-4060-B243-40A2E69DD687.jpeg
AAFECB25-34D4-4878-ABE2-080FB31B273D.jpeg

These things have TONE for days! The EMG’s absolutely KILL the Barts. They are even more lightweight than the Legends and personally I love the roasted neck and the sandblasted finish.

The fit and finish are VERY good. The only curious thing I’ve found is that one shipped with D’addario strings (Gold, Red, Black, Green balls) and the other shipped with an unknown brand (all Gold balls) although same gauge.
 
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#5
BaltBass5 said:
Alright, I’ll start by apologizing if this is a long thread. Some background..I’ve played mostly Jazz Basses most of my life (American Fenders and Laklands) and I currently own 12 high end Jazz Basses. About 2 years ago I played a Spector Legend 4 Classic that a buddy picked up (The new redesigned with the Barts) and I loved it. I sought out a Spector and tried several Euros locally ranging from $2000 to $3000. I didn’t like them for a couple of reasons: mainly the neck thru design, gloss painted back of the neck and more specifically the wider neck width at the nut and thicker radius.

Having said that, I bought a Spector Legend 4 Classic and about a month later a second one.

These were my go-to Basses for cover gigs as they were lightweight, comfortable and had a great variation of tone available.

I just recently saw that Spector was releasing the new NS Pulse and I was very intrigued. I decided to take a chance and picked one up from Prymaxe at 20% off and received it a few days ago and I was blown away. I immediately took advantage of the ongoing sale and picked up a second one which arrived yesterday:
View attachment 4113384 View attachment 4113386 View attachment 4113387 View attachment 4113388 View attachment 4113390 View attachment 4113391 View attachment 4113392
These things have TONE for days! The EMG’s absolutely KILL the Barts. They are even more lightweight that the Legends and personally I love the roasted neck and the sandblasted finish.

The fit and finish are VERY good. The only curious thing I’ve found is that one shipped with D’addario strings (Gold, Red, Black, Green balls) and the other shipped with an unknown brand (all Gold balls) although same gauge.
Click to expand...
Beautiful!:bassist:
 
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#6
BaltBass5 said:
The fit and finish are VERY good. The only curious thing I’ve found is that one shipped with D’addario strings (Gold, Red, Black, Green balls) and the other shipped with an unknown brand (all Gold balls) although same gauge.
Click to expand...
I recall reading something around Talkbass about the strings being different between the bulk boxes o' strings and the single packs. The gold balls are probably D’addario's as well.
 
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#16
These are honestly awesome basses. I had my Pulse 5 for a month and I actually just sold it earlier today. The fit and finish (especially the neck) is on-par with my US Fenders and Kiesel. The only reason I got rid of it was because the 35” scale on the 5 was too much for me.
Thinking of picking up a Pulse 4 maybe next fall or around the holidays.

Oh, and my Pulse 5 was only 7.98 lbs! Incredible weight distribution and design. That was my first Spector too.
 
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#19
So nice to see this thread, thanks for sharing photos and some impressions @dcbassist5 !! There are SO few reviews and demos on these (so far), that it’s been really tough to gauge expectations. I’ve never held a Spector before, so I’ve had to rely on photos and forum threads to get an idea of what to expect. People seem fairly devoted to the neckthrus and Euros, so I’m interested in how this particular combination of bolt on roasted maple neck, sandblasted swamp ash body, string spacing, and hardware configuration sound and feel. I see a lot of mixed perspectives also on ergonomics and neck dive between the Spector variations. People love ‘em, or just aren’t comfortable sitting and/or standing with them.

I’d been debating hard between an Ibanez BTB745 and the NS Pulse 5 and gathered lots of opinions... which given I initially was focused on the BTB, opinions slightly favor those (they’ve been around much longer, so naturally there’s more experience for people to speak from as well).

But anyway... from what I can gather, the EMGS pickups are killer! And regarding the TonePump JR preamp, a lot of folks DO recommend modding with a QCB preamp with stacked mid controls. Which sounds like a reasonable enough adventure with plug and play compatibility if we’re looking to mod it out. Those QCB knobs are said to feel a little cheesy and plastic, so yet another opportunity to mod and upgrade if one were so inclined.

Long story short, there was just one NS Pulse 5 in charcoal left on Sweetwater, so I placed an order and can’t wait to test drive it tomorrow! Always an option to order something else for comparison and return what I don’t keep... but I’m really hoping this will be it for me!
 
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