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Spector Club Pt. 5 (Insert Clever Title Here)

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#141
diechris said:
im in a dilemma.. ive never played a euro5.. but i have played a rebop 5.. im wondering if i should get a a couple rebops or a custom euro5... I'll be switching the pups out of both to some SGD pickups so pickups arent going to be in the deciding factor.

the rebop i loved the feel and it was the first bass i ever said "wow this is just comfortable to play?!"

but im really curious on the euros... got sometime before i pull the trigger.. so anything help would be great guys!
Click to expand...

I have a Euro 5, and all I have to compare it to is a Legend 5 Custom (set neck).

Besides any electronics the first thing I noticed was the weight. The Euro is a lot heavier. It also feels a lot bigger in your hands. Im not sure if the size of the body is different, but it feels bulkier.

The neck is definitely differently shaped than that of the Legend. The Legend's neck is thinner (referring to the depth front to back), slimmer (referringto the overall fretboard size) slicker (more rounded edges) and in my opinion "faster" in that regard. The Euro neck is wider, thicker and a bit bulkier and the fretboard I find to be very squared off. I also feel like the fret spacing is a tad wider.

Personally, I prefer the neck of the Legend for my hands (big palms, short and stubby fingers) but the Euro definitely wins on overall tone. Those differences in the neck build might have something to do with it. But either way, I find the tone of the Euro to be punchier, meatier, thicker and more aggressive than the Legend.

If this is any help, then great :) If not, then sorry for wasting your time!
 
#143
rockstarbassist said:
I haven't played any Euro 5's since they switched the name. I had an NS5CRFM for a while w/ the DC's and 18V EMG preamp (cut + boost) and it was an excellent bass, except the truss rod had an issue which made adjustments a little difficult but it didn't affect tone or playability as I liked how it was set up anyway.
The ReBops I've played were good, but not on the same level. You'll get some people vehemently disagreeing with that, but compared to the old "Euros" or Czech models, it's a pretty big gap. I don't know firsthand what the new Euro models are like comparatively speaking, as I haven't played any 5'ers.
FWIW, I don't really like NT on a 5+ string bass anymore, which is why I opted for the USA NS5H2 model. I still prefer it on a 4 banger tho, when at all possible.
Click to expand...
Like you, I owned a NS5CRFM and had a Rebop 5 DLX. The NS5CRFM was a much better bass as far as fretwork and playability were concerned. One real big difference is the Rebop had some of the worst neck dive I've experienced on any bass....and I'm never bothered by that usually.
 
#144
JPSBassist said:
YES! They are very different. The mid-tones on the NS-2JA-R are much more pronounced. It also has the EMG tone control, which I find to be much less "hot" that the Tone Pump. I can get some rumbly lows without the flatness that sometimes comes out of the Tone Pump.

I love the sound I get out of my NS-2JA-R. The neck is wider at the 24th fret than your Euro 4LX. And I love how easy the Badass bridge is to set up compared to the exercise in patience the Spector bridge requires (the new intonation screws on the new USA bridges should greatly help this).

It's all around a great bass. I've been shocked to see them priced so low lately.

If you see a deal... grab it. I'd get rid of my 4LX before I'd get rid of my JA-R.
Click to expand...

Hi JPSBassist,

Thank you very much for your reply. Can I ask what kind of prices have "shocked" you for the NS-2JA-R?

I'm really keen to investigate these instruments, but to my knowledge none of them are available here in Australia.

Sincerely

Andy
 
#145
They've been running in the $900 range new and were typically $1500 when first released. I've seen a few go on auction for $600 ish.

Ever since I've seen this video in 1985, I've wanted one...

Check out around 0:50 in. :D

I almost ordered one, but JPSBassist kind of scared me away saying the neck was larger. :)
 
#147
I owned an NS2-JA-R for a short time, and it was a nice bass but for me it was kinda like Spector "Light"...the EMG J's with the EMG pre did not have the balls that the EMG P/J's or EMG DC's have. I truly love the way a set of EMG P/J's sound in a Spector and for me that is THE Spector sound, regardless of the pre. And the J/J set-up in the JA-R just left me kinda blah. It still sounded like a Spector..but not quite. The neck I did like a lot and felt similiar to my ReBop 4 except it seemed even smaller and thinner at the nut, and yes the neck is wider down past the 12th fret than other Spectors, but not chunky. Anyways, it was a nice variation...but in the end I traded it off for another Euro 5.
 
#150
Spanky(Andy) said:
Hi JPSBassist,

Thank you very much for your reply. Can I ask what kind of prices have "shocked" you for the NS-2JA-R?

I'm really keen to investigate these instruments, but to my knowledge none of them are available here in Australia.

Sincerely

Andy
Click to expand...

Just what NS2A said... I've seen them as low as $800 new on Ebay. The best price I've seen on one from a "legit" dealer is the $1099 you mentioned at Bass Central.

I actually got mine in a trade with Bass Central. I traded in my 6 year old Euro 4LX for a brand new white NS-2JA-R. I have a brand new (or it was in March) Euro 4LX I had customized from Bass Central... so my older Euro was gathering dust. And because I have a new 4LX with the P/J setup, I wanted something tonally different. Both my 4LX models sounded nearly identical. My older model had the old Tone Pump in it... the one without the trim pot built into it. It also had flat-top frets. So it did feel a little different, it wasn't different enough to pass up the opportunity to trade even for the JA-R.

And I really do love the neck on it.

It feels better than the neck on my 4LX. Much more like the neck on my vintage NS-2.

The real test will be when I get my USA Series NS-4 in another 3 months. I can't wait to see what it feels like.
 
#151
Spanky(Andy) said:
Hey NS2A,

Thanks! I did a search online and the cheapest I found was a used "as new" model in black for US$1099.00 including case at Bass Central. The other sites seem to be selling them for between US$1360 and US$1499.00

Cheers

Andy
Click to expand...

And the original dealer list was right at $1900.00.
I've watched the price drop on these for the past year. A year ago $1499 was a good price... now it's the high end. And the $1099 is the good price.

And what's so shocking to me is that I like this bass much better than the ReBop models I've tested out. The only negative I have to say is the absence of the neck inlays. It doesn't change the way it sounds or plays... I just always equate the inlays with Spectors. It's sort of a signature trademark of their basses to me.

Talk to the guys at Bass Central. Beaver, GH and Mike are all great guys. They'll treat you right. They do a lot of business over seas.

Look through their customers section of their website (and ignore the pictures of me in the Ferrari with my basses... and my wife wants to kill me for sending them her photo... I sent it to them as a gag).
 
#152
Thundar said:
I owned an NS2-JA-R for a short time, and it was a nice bass but for me it was kinda like Spector "Light"...the EMG J's with the EMG pre did not have the balls that the EMG P/J's or EMG DC's have. I truly love the way a set of EMG P/J's sound in a Spector and for me that is THE Spector sound, regardless of the pre. The neck I did like a lot and felt similiar to my ReBop 4 except it seemed even smaller and thinner at the nut, and yes the neck is wider down past the 12th fret than other Spectors, but not chunky. Anyways, it was a nice variation...
Click to expand...

I totally agree. The "Spector Sound" is a vintage or USA series NS-2. Even the Euros don't quite hit the right tone.

I own 4, about to be 5 Spectors and each one is tonally different. That's not by accident. I wanted each one to have a unique tonal or playing (feel) quality. I've found that Spector makes a bass for every/any sound I could possibly desire. For any genre of music I want to play.

What I love about Spector basses is the quality is always there. Even my Legend 4 Custom is a very nice bass for the price. It's really the "Spector Light" or as I like to call it... the Ibanez killer.

The NS-2JA-R has more punch to me than the passive ReBops but true... P/J's or DC's are hard to beat.
I'll have my first USA Series model soon. I'm really curious to see how it compares.

And BTW... for the record... I got the last set of Water Cured Redwood wings. I'm getting the last Redwood Spector.
I CAN HARDLY WAIT!
 
#156
I have had the reissue in two forms, the stock EMG BTS system and then the new white one that has a Hazlab installed. As per the article I posted from Bass Player earlier in the thread, the only difference in the original and the reissue is the Hazlab, that I can tell. I think the BTS is more transparent and "pure" sounding, where as the Hazlab is colored a bit more and has a "growl" to it. Kind of hard to explain, but when I hit an open A on the BTS system it sounds more like a piano than on the Hazlab equipped model. Not sure if this is any help, but I figured I'd throw it out there.
 
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