Sean

Anyway, back on topic for a moment and probably the most important bit of Spector advice for @W1_Pro, be careful, as you could end up obsessed, as you've witnessed here 😀

That's £2787 landed + £335 for EMGs and LHZ - £200 resale of Barts and pre = £2922. And then you have a limited edition that isn't original 🤔

...which is much more niche than what we're thinking here...

Those of you that have been hanging around Bassworld Basschat as long as me will probably remember those Lakland Dudepit specials. There was a minimum order quantity of 30 IIRC. There was some flex as I remember paying a bit extra for Chisonic pickups that had a different rout. I think there were rosewood/maple options as the necks were modular to other models etc etc. Someone here will remember the ins and outs. I seem to remember a "yellow" 5 string P with blocks being one that never came to fruition... Anyway, surely if a few of us here agree a spec with BD, we can understand variables, get price confirmation, specify the variables and pay a deposit? That way, at least @Bass Direct gets a clear indication or steer of what's commercially viable and derisks a minimum order by having x punters already committed? Obviously, no glitter-pink 6-strings but some arrangement or consensus must be possible? What are parameters and constraints of minimum orders? I'm guessing NBE is more flexible than whoever was making those Skylines back in the day, it's only a small shop. And as @Eldon Tyrell implied, some of those signature models are tiny volumes.

Thanks. Done.

RST models with EMGs would be winner too. Everyone wants a bit of roasted nowadays but those pickups put me off totally.

I can do that, for sure. There’s the simplified version that uses just two hex keys, a screwdriver, a tuner and plectrums (or similar to check action), anyone can learn that without specialist tools/gauges.

Someone at Spector needs to write a strongly worded letter to The White Star Line Hipshot to get an off the shelf Xtender based on a Gotoh GB707. I’d buy at least two on the day they released them.

Plenty of Euros without the weight-correction thing are 4.2-4.5kg, that’s well within the bounds of acceptable, surely?

Colour/hardware combo needs to be unique/collectable but classic to generate the interest level. Pretty top wood is a given, surely. To me this has to be a Euro that isn’t so quirky that only die-hard fanboys would want it and it must be a bass that someone after a Spector Euro would buy even if they weren’t into the weeds with finishes. There’s a lot of potential buyers right here to guide the choice 😉

OK @Rich, I’ll just need a suitable sturdy tabletop area and maybe we could get some idea of what people want done in advance. I was thinking Set Ups (Relief, Action, Intonation), Fret Re-seating the odd fret, Levelling the odd high fret, fret polish and fretboard oil and polish for unsealed fretboards. If they’ve acquired a cheap instrument for someone, they could bring it along and get it playing nice for a suitable donation to some BC-relevant charity and I get as much tea as I can drink (which might get costly but I do good work).

I’d jump on the bike, ride to Warwick and pay the deposit now*. Serious. 4 or 5. *obviously cash ‘cos otherwise I could do it online 😉

A reissue of that in green or violet/purple would be incredible.

Funky oiled or satin colours, full necks, EMGs and pretty tops, please 😍 Exciting stuff. Well, at least for Spector nerds 😉

Apropos of absolutely nothing, I'm just going to pop this here https://basscentral.com/basses/spector-euro-4lx-doug-wimbish-emerald-green-8-8-lbs-on-order-eta-april-2025/ It's very pretty and I'd love to know what the colour palette is for the custom option or if that's just a Beaver Felton thing. If @Bass Direct are able to offer the custom colour option, this would come in about £2850-2900, which is a chunk of change lower than the aged nitro version. Construction of the Doug is different inasmuch as it has maple wings with figured maple top. This seems like the top of the tree Euro, almost encroaching on USA specs. Importing a bass with rosewood and abalone from Bass Central could be a minefield (licences needed) and would be more complex than say a Lakland maple necked bass (I did a couple years ago on a better exchange rate).

I'll come. Put me down for bringing some big valvery: 1. Mesa 400+ 2. Laney Nexus Tube 400 3. MJW Taranis 200 (Matamp clone with extra channel and EQ). Cabs: 2 x BF TWO10 Basses: 1. At least 1 Spector TBD 2. Valenti #005 Super P 3. Yamaha BB2024x I can also do set ups and minor repairs on the day if there's enough interest and I bring my tools. Like a mini walk-in bass surgery. We might be able to raise some cash for a cause. Donations to???

Is this the publication that Jonny Dibble is linked with?

Where is it?

I found this on TB: "After the demise of Nanyo Boeki in the early noughties, The Bass Centre acquired the Bass Collection name and, with our own distribution company, House Music, already established as a dynamic guitar manufacturer, The Bass Centre secured access to the same Korean factory that produces the phenomenally successful Brian May Guitars range."

What do we know about the origins of the Bass Centre instruments? I can't find a photo of the back of the headstock or a country of origin mark. Where are they made? Is the final QA done in London? You know, like with Lakland and others making in Indonesia/Korea and doing final checks at HQ? The Neil Murray one looks like it could be lots of fun.

The perceptible differences between this Euro LX 5 (oiled) I have now and the NS5-XL (oiled) I used to have are: 1. Construction of the body wings. The US one had solid maple wings, the LX has Maple/Walnut/Alder sandwich wings. Not better/worse, just different. 2. Wood selection. The quilted maple on the NS5-XL was at the top end of the exquisite scale. It had OMG reactions from everyone. The aesthetic was a higher level. In practical, playability terms there's nothing in it. The Euro is lighter but I'm sure US ones vary from bass to bass. As far as build quality, I don't see a difference. The Euro 4 and Euro LX 4 I've got are what you'd expect from a custom built bass. At new prices of £2.6k-2.8k vs £6k-£7.2k you could buy 2 stunning new Euros and a monster second-hand rig for the price of 1 US. Again, we're into very subjective territory. To my mind, the USA ones are custom shop builds and come with all the superior woods and personalised options like pickup spacing, custom routing, unobtainium inlays, etc. Would I buy one? Yes, absolutely if it was used, the right price and "my vibe". Or my old 5 🙂

Are they the full NS body shape or are they "flat top". It's not evident in the pics (to my eyes).

As if by magic, one came up for sale here today.

The neck profile. I absolutely fly around on the Euro 4 necks. My hands are a size 9 glove but that profile is very comfortable to me. The Euro 5 is more of a handful but I used to play 3 x 1h sets in an evening on an NS5-XL without issue. Until you spend some time with one, you won't know. Those are just my Spector musings for this evening.