Behold my NS Design NXT5 I picked up last night. Already love this bass!
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Double Bass NEUBD: NS Design NXT5
- Thread starter BassKees
- Start date
Behold my NS Design NXT5 I picked up last night. Already love this bass!
I just got an identical used NXT5 as a birthday present from me bride, too! - very much looking forward to it!
I got my NXT5 as a factory b stock in 2017. I love it. It's my primary instrument nowadays. The more I play it and love its crossover sound, the less I feel the need to get a double bass. I play it through a sansamp paradriver pre amp. It really makes the NXT explode. All my jam mates love the sound as well. Even the purist jazzers.
Looks like Tuesday is my NBD. I’ll be stringing mine in 5ths CGDAE - have got new tuners and Obligato DAE on their way from Gollihur’s that I’m gunna try to couple with a Red Mitchel Sprio C & G. I was going to stick with plain gut A and E, but everyone seems to be crazy about the Obligatos on their NS bass, and since they’re literally the only commercially available string option in high E, it just kinda makes sense for me to at least try it… Really looking forward to designing a heel-stop/upper bout rest/endpin like some of you clever fellas on here have come up with. I’m also particularly interested in developing a non-conventional seated playing posture that is more of a cross leg’d on the floor kinda thing, if I can swing it.
Any sound clips of the NS NXT through the Sansamp? Would love to hear that!
Les Fret said:
eh, I would just shoot it on my phone and you would just listen on your phone so it will be pretty low audio quality and not at all illustrative of the sound. One of these days I'll record a logic project of comparisons of straight signal versus preamp to be more demonstrative of the difference in sound. Of course then you will have to listen on good quality speakers or headphones. Until then you'll just have to take my word for it ha.
I agree that’s a big downside. On electric upright you really need the side markers cause you don’t look at the top of the fingerboard but at the side mostly. If think the CR series has the dots on the side? Not sure why they are not on the NXT series.
You can use white nail polish for that or a white paint marker pencil.
Inlaying some dots is silly easy if you’ve got $20, a drill, and a little patience. I use these in 4mm:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08D6KS4WN?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08D6KS4WN?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image
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Or you can order the stick on markers from Gollihur. I have them on both my DB's and on my Yamaha EUB and they are easy to see, they last for years and can be taken off or moved if necessary and come in two colours.
The dots are on the fingerboard on my NXT5. It works well for me.
Here’s my obligatory NBD NXT5 shot. Picked this joker up used after several weeks of internet haggling.
Gollihurs has the Obligato high E on special order for me, so I opted to go ahead and throw on my spare Dlugulecki A & E gut over Spirocore RM C G D while I waited. It’s high priority for this EUB to feel like my Shen 5’r, so the matching string and marker inlay dots were good ideas for me, I think. The transition between the two has become more or less seamless. I do wish the NS had a chunkier neck. I figure one day I’ll just put a new real ebony fingerboard on there. I was reticent to ream out the holes and put in the new upgraded tuners, but Mark convinced me it was no big deal - and it wasn’t really. If anyone else does this, remember to go sloooooow.
I thought I’d have to buy or make an endpin, but I don’t really see a need. The tripod can lean back on just its back leg and it is capable of a very similar balance point to my Rabbath style endpin on my big bass. I would like to fashion a little something to lean into and replicate a neck heel stop, but it’s not a super high priority at this moment.
Amplified, I had to experiment quite a bit to get the low notes all speaking right. Thankfully, it really likes the setup I recently abandoned after swithing to the Yamahiko pup (direct now) on my big bass. NXT5 —> Redeye—>Slampegg 12AU7–>tuner —>AI Clarus/Barefaced One10
All things considered, I’m very pleased!
Gollihurs has the Obligato high E on special order for me, so I opted to go ahead and throw on my spare Dlugulecki A & E gut over Spirocore RM C G D while I waited. It’s high priority for this EUB to feel like my Shen 5’r, so the matching string and marker inlay dots were good ideas for me, I think. The transition between the two has become more or less seamless. I do wish the NS had a chunkier neck. I figure one day I’ll just put a new real ebony fingerboard on there. I was reticent to ream out the holes and put in the new upgraded tuners, but Mark convinced me it was no big deal - and it wasn’t really. If anyone else does this, remember to go sloooooow.
I thought I’d have to buy or make an endpin, but I don’t really see a need. The tripod can lean back on just its back leg and it is capable of a very similar balance point to my Rabbath style endpin on my big bass. I would like to fashion a little something to lean into and replicate a neck heel stop, but it’s not a super high priority at this moment.
Amplified, I had to experiment quite a bit to get the low notes all speaking right. Thankfully, it really likes the setup I recently abandoned after swithing to the Yamahiko pup (direct now) on my big bass. NXT5 —> Redeye—>Slampegg 12AU7–>tuner —>AI Clarus/Barefaced One10
All things considered, I’m very pleased!
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I just looked at the website but on the Omni Bass the CRM doesn’t have side dots whereas the NXTa has. For the fully upright no model version has them.
There really is no logic in on which model they put the side dots on or on which model they omitted them is it?
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Perspective plays some funny tricks on your mind/eye when you’re considering the side dot placement. On my NXT5, I put mine square in line with the ones on the fingerboard and they have a tendency to look ‘off’ depending on how I’m holding the bass (I’ve been experimenting with ‘alternative’ positions/postures). Ultimately, they’re just visual guides - any fine tuning is done with the ears and fingers.
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Ok looks great. Strange and confusing for the eye that the side markers are not placed on the exact same spot as the board marker.
I don't understand why Steinberger doesn't place side markers on all their uprights? That's a downside. They are more useful than the board markers (except for the higher notes on the G string side where the board markers are more useful).
I don't understand why Steinberger doesn't place side markers on all their uprights? That's a downside. They are more useful than the board markers (except for the higher notes on the G string side where the board markers are more useful).
