Should I get a spector legend? I play rock to alternative and don't know much except they discontinued these. Also go with 4 or 5 string?
Disclaimer: I am a consultant for SPECTOR® and manage their official website and own the unofficial SPECTOR® news website.
OK. First, the Legends have not been discontinued. Just the Set-Neck version of the Legend known as the Legend Custom. The bolt-on neck version of the Legend, called the Legend Classic is very much alive and in production.
I am a 4 string player. I rarely need to dive down into Low-B territory, but when I do I have a 4-string SPECTOR® that has the 35" scale (which is needed to get tension on that fat B cable) and it is tuned B,E,A,D....
So 4-string vs. 5-string is a very personal thing based on your preference. I was a guitarist before I was a bassist and I have to tell you that I don't like the width of 5-String necks. So I'd rather stick with a 4-string and use alternative tunings if needed.
What I love about SPECTOR® basses... and I started playing them which is how I got involved as a consultant with them... I fell in love with their basses and said, "I really want to work with these guys" and I contacted them and luckily for me my timing was perfect. I've worked with them 2 years now and love every minute of it. They're really cool guys and they are all musicians. So they always come at the design of their instruments from the following things:
1) Does it sound good?
2) Does it feel good when you play it?
3) Is it built to last and can it handle the rigors of daily touring?
4) Does it look good?
And those things sort of drive everything they do.
The Legends are great basses. They sound good and I love the necks on them. I say that Stuart has a knack for designing great feeling necks that are fast and feel great when you pick the bass up.
The neck and the overall feel is more important to me than the sound. But that's my personal thing because I can plug almost any bass or guitar into my computer and adjust the tone into almost anything I want with the engineering/sound/studio software out there.
In a live setting they do sound great. I film and shoot photos of a lot of live acts and SPECTOR basses cut through the mix in a way that gives the bassist some latitude for making their performance either known (as in the case of Doug Wimbish) or more traditional and less in-your-face, such as John Montagna who travels with a bunch of 1960's pop groups such as "The Association", "Mitch Ryder", and "The Turtles".
So there's a large range of tonal possibilities.
They're made great and they last. Doug Wimbish's main bass is still his 1987 SPECTOR NS-2. And that bass has travelled more than a million miles on world tours around the globe in the past 20+ years.
The most important thing I like to recommend to anyone who wants a particular brand of bass... doesn't matter if it's a SPECTOR® or MusicMan (which BTW, is my second-favorite bass... I love the old classic Stingrays)... Try and find a music store in driving distance of your location and go and PLAY ONE in person.
I'm never an advocate of buying an expensive bass... or any guitar for that matter, without you trying it out first. SPECTORs aren't for everyone. And that's cool. You need to get the bass that best speaks to you as a musician. I don't care about the brand so long as it makes you glad that you get to play it. That's the most important thing. If you love your instrument, you're going to become a better musician.
So seriously try and see if you can get your hands on one before buying it blind off the internet.
You can always PM me if you have any specific questions. I'd be glad to answer them!