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Project Spector is Underway!

#21
I had a NS5XL with the water cured Redwood top and Walnut on the back. Bought it for $3800 from Bass Central back in 2010. Compared to my Euros, it sounded clearer and looked amazing, but I ended up selling it at a loss. My Euros sounded nearly as good and were a lot cheaper. The big difference, besides the top, was the neck profile. The neck on the American was shaved down more than the Euros were. It was still comfortable to play though.

Trying out the exact models in the future is a wonderful idea!
 
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#22
I've had some Spectors come and go. I LOVE them, but as a mainly five string player I have a problem with one of the less thought out aspects of this timeless design. the bridge is like 3 or 4 inches in the body. which makes the reach to the first fret pretty tiresome and borderline painful after playing along time on the 35"scale fivers, especially when you have short arms like I do. I want to own a Spector again in the future, but not sure if id go with a 5 again, id probably try a euro 4 or used USA 4. the HAZ lab pre amp in 9v and 18v have a notably distinct voice to the Tone pump, and I greatly prefer that sound. I'd say going for a USA is most definitely worth it. Brand new? I'm not so sure, if you don't gel with the bass and decide to sell it you'll likely loose a good 3k dollars... In the case of used, most definitely. Spector's Hold up INCREDIBLY well and are built like tanks. the 3 USA models I had were between 20 and 35 years old and felt like they had just been built. Good luck on this journey!
 
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#24
DaveParker39 said:
This is where I save up $7000 to buy a Spector NS-2 (or NS-1)
I put my first $1500 in savings today.
Some eye candy:
View attachment 4662996
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Congrats. I’m in a similar position this week.

$1500 happens to be the down payment I was quoted on a new NS-2. HAZ, EMGs, Ash wings, Pau Ferro, matte black finish. No fancy top or colors. The downside is their production schedule is 10-12 months out. I’m going to place an order this week.
 
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#25
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#27
Euros…they rock! I may be biased!
4EF3C89C-F63D-4169-8AAB-A0784FB22AA1.jpeg
 
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#30
Katoosie said:
I am always around, I see, hear and experience EVERYTHING!

Yeah so I got some questions -
7k? Isn't that a bit high? Can't you get a better deal?
Also, what is your build going to be? You provided some examples but no info on your build, come on! Please?
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$7k is sort of the cap when you factor in all of the associated taxes and such, hopefully it won't come to that.
I'm divided on the build, I'd kinda like Walnut with Aguilar or Dimarzio passive pickups and the fixed boost preamp. I could be sold on a bright colorful model (purple, etc.) too. I could also be sold on the right Euro.

Truthfully, I could do without a back pickup. Just a P Pickup would be okay.
 
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#31
tbz said:
You really should speak to a few dealers about pricing. If you pay 7k then you worked with the wrong dealer.
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This is true, work with the dealer to get the price down. Keep in mind that price also depends a lot on specs as some options are pricey, such as highly figured solid maple wings and non-standard finishes.

NS2s are just super expensive. I wanted one after owning a few Euros and figured I'd have to settle for a used one. I bought several brand new Euros the last few years so in actuality, I could have bought a new NS2, but I just couldn't justify spending that much cash on ONE bass.

I realized after owning a few matte basses, that I really love the look and feel of a matte finish, and the look of a naked fingerboard, so I decided on a Forte. It's still a US shop made bass, just limited finish options, no gloss, no inlays, and no HAZ (though you could still order some of these options as extra$). New prices are much more reasonable than for an NS2 (though prices have gone up the last few years, and supposedly, Spector are dropping the model, though you can still order an NS2 specced exactly like a Forte, but it will cost significantly more).

I ended up with two Fortes, sold one. The one I sold had EMG-X soapbars instead of a P/J configuration that I usually play, and now I'm kind of missing that sound, so I have been eyeing this recent posting on Reverb:

Spector USA Forte 4 Bass, Pau Ferro Fretboard, Aguilar Pickups, Nightshade | Reverb

Love that Nightshade color, and the EMG-X and Agi OBP-2 combo sound really good. But I don't need another bass... I don't need another bass... I don't need another bass...

As others have mentioned, Euros are fantastic. Superb build quality, and though I appreciate that the Forte is better, it was a slow realization because the difference in quality didn't jump out at me right away. It's subtle. The Euros are just that good.

I considered selling one of my Euros and keeping the other Forte, but they're both limited editions and I just know I will regret it.

What makes the NS2 special, aside from those absolutely stunning glossy finishes and lovely figured maple tops, is the HAZ which has such a unique tone signature. Good luck, OP.
 
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#33
DaveParker39 said:
$7k is sort of the cap when you factor in all of the associated taxes and such
Click to expand...

“Tell me you want an NS2 but haven’t spoken to a dealer about pricing, without saying you haven’t spoken to an honest dealer about pricing”

If a dealer is quoting you those numbers, shop around. Should be well below that unless you are getting fleeced, or paying for a ton of non-standard options.
 
#34
tbz said:
“Tell me you want an NS2 but haven’t spoken to a dealer about pricing, without saying you haven’t spoken to an honest dealer about pricing”

If a dealer is quoting you those numbers, shop around. Should be well below that unless you are getting fleeced, or paying for a ton of non-standard options.
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I'm solely going on what I see listed. No quotes have been approached, so don't be too hard on my planning. I am just considering that a max in my brain.
Remember, I won't be able to buy for probably a year at least if I get an NS2.
 
#35
DaveParker39 said:
I'm solely going on what I see listed. No quotes have been approached, so don't be too hard on my planning. I am just considering that a max in my brain.
Remember, I won't be able to buy for probably a year at least if I get an NS2.
Click to expand...

I’d speak to a dealer now. You have enough for a deposit and their lead times are pretty long. You’ll usually (but not always) get a better deal on a custom build than on existing inventory.
 
#36
FFEJY said:
I drove about 1000 miles to Florida to Bass Central just to try some current USA Spectors.

There was a faded green one I had fallen in love with on Reverb. I was ready to pay cash for it, after saving up for quite a while. I was astounded that particular bass remained for sale online for several months. It was stunning visually.

Link Removed

BTW, I have a few Kramer-era Spectors and an NS-4CRFM. I have been playing Spectors since 1987 and love them.

It was immediately apparent why the green Spector hadn't sold. Poor fit and finish, fretboard felt like cardboard, poor fretwork, high action, and the G-string kept falling off the side of the neck. It felt cheap and played even worse. Blech.

Disillusioned, I played the three other Spectors they had in stock over the course of a few hours.

I left Bass Central without a Spector.

I was thoroughly disappointed.

Sadly.
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Crazy that Bass Central didn’t catch those QC issues or set those basses up before letting you try them. That bass clearly has a warranty issue and should have gone back.
 
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#37
tbz said:
Crazy that Bass Central didn’t catch those QC issues or set those basses up before letting you try them. That bass clearly has a warranty issue and should have gone back.
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They were "set up" as well as possible without doing more extensive fret and nut work; and, in the case of the green one, final prep of the fretboard itself as it felt like rough, dry cardboard instead of the normal luscious almost waxy exquisite feel normally associated with pau ferro-equipped Spectors of yesterday.
 
#38
DaveParker39 said:
$7k is sort of the cap when you factor in all of the associated taxes and such, hopefully it won't come to that.
I'm divided on the build, I'd kinda like Walnut with Aguilar or Dimarzio passive pickups and the fixed boost preamp. I could be sold on a bright colorful model (purple, etc.) too. I could also be sold on the right Euro.

Truthfully, I could do without a back pickup. Just a P Pickup would be okay.
Click to expand...

Are you sure you want a Spector NS-2? @Relayer71 is right. The NS body, HAZ and EMG P/J defined the NS-2.

Relayer71 said:
What makes the NS2 special, aside from those absolutely stunning glossy finishes and lovely figured maple tops, is the HAZ which has such a unique tone signature. Good luck, OP.
Click to expand...
 
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#39
FFEJY said:
They were "set up" as well as possible without doing more extensive fret and nut work; and, in the case of the green one, final prep of the fretboard itself as it felt like rough, dry cardboard instead of the normal luscious almost waxy exquisite feel normally associated with pau ferro-equipped Spectors of yesterday.
Click to expand...

Those are all QC issues and should have gone back for warranty repair and or replacement.
 
#40
marchone said:
Are you sure you want a Spector? @Relayer71 is right.
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Good point tbh. Spector doesn’t have a boost only pre they normally use on US models. They’ve done some one offs with them. They also don’t generally do solid walnut or dimarzio pickups.

Those are all options potentially but your chance of finding an already built model, for sale a year from now, with those specs is low to nonexistent.
 

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