Paulhauser

Ps: now that I've looked at the listing I'm taking a mental note for future self to buy what I can if and when I can afford, the worst that can happen by doing so is that I might have to sell it later ..... So with that in mind I really have to consider buying that gloss black Classic Euro5 that matches my white Classic 5. Please talk me out of that. Please 🙂

And that on the pic is I believe a rare 35" version. They did some 435 IH sigs, I know as I almost bought one (proper 35" with the IH logo on the back of the headstock) Still kicking myself for missing that, ugh

I think that it depends on the right (plucking) hand techniques applied. When I pluck with my fingers I use what is sometimes called floating thumb technique when I rest my thumb on the lower (pitched) string next to the one I play and my wrist and arm is in a straight line moving back and forth over the strings as I skip them during plaing (hope it makes sense). So I don't see much benefit with the angled bridge for me but as I never tried a Torzal maybe I'd be in a surprise if I did. But for those players who -like double bass players - anchor their thumb on the edge of the pickup and stay there regardless which string they are playing and bending their wrist more as they move farther away (meaning playing higher strings) the angled bridge is reducing the need for said bend. It is purely a speculation on my side, nothing more. Also Torzal do make fanned fret basses so that might be the ultimate mindfuNk for some 😄

Congratulations! Fortunately I have no wrist issues but ever since I saw the first Torzal I was intrigued about the design and the ergonomics of it. One thing that got me thinking is the angle on the bridge end ie whether my right hand would need it as much the left where the 20 degree twist is definitely makes a difference on how much the wrist needs to be bent. To my understanding there are two options, a ‘flat’ bridge which is just like on any other basses and the 15 degrees angled one which is on the neck through models and on the OP’s new bass.

@patrikmarky flaking of the clear coating at the headstock is quite common with these, I once had a NS-5CR just like yours and had the same issue, albeit it was a lot worse tha yours really.

Elixir coated nickel strings work really well with my fretless Thumb and they are easy on the fingerboard,too. I only ever used roundwounds on fretless basses and if you are careful not to bend sideways but use a cello / double bass-like vibrato then markings will be almost non-existent. Also as others mentioned above any markings can easily be repaired. Use the strings you like the sound and feel of and don't worry about wear.

Thank you for the review @Bassdude BE I might be on the market for exactly this, a new P5R-5 which ticks all the boxes for me but I can't see that in Thomann's selection as of yet so may I ask what modell you are referring to with the pricing? ("The current price for a P5R-5 in this colour at Thomann is 498€") because none of what Thomann has looks like yours (cream white with a dark roasted maple neck and a very dark rosewood board....) I'm in the EU so I guess I'm looking at a selection that is the same as other EU countries.

By all means the RST's are most probably great basses (never tried one so far) but let's face it if it is a Spector 4 string it has to have the PJ setup. (and if it is a 5 string Spector, too 🙂 - well, not really as the DC's work very well but still, after ticking that box I had to have a PJ Spector 5er, too 🙂 ) I think you've made the right decision, have fun with it!

Great, what's not to like? Lovely piano black, and in my opinion a better finish than the black stain matte (which is prone to polish up in places ) Actually it has ignited my SAS to have a black Classic 5 to match my white one 😄 The drop tuner is a nice add-on I must add. Btw, Cobalts are my fav strings as well, they sound really good on Spectors both fingerstyle and pick.

Your comment made me check how much I paid for my SR5 in January 2019 I bough that bass locally, used but vgc, for £1000, hsc included. It is crazy to think about how much the world and (used) prices changed. Quite mind boggling really. I mean I live in the here and now but things like these put it all into perspective. ( I still have albeit don't use much but when I do I enjoy it a lot )

- I have a Classic 5 and it has the thickest neck that I've ever encountered on any of my 5 string Spectors including US and CR models. The bass is light so it does have a slight dive due to the mass in the neck but for me it is not an issue with this bass which is strange as any dive is a big no-no for me. ( sold basses just for this) I also prefer thinner necks so I don't know what's going on with me and this Classic but it became my gigging bass for the last year or so. Not that I prefer this over my other Spectors but just really like playing it. - sonically nothing is missing, you're getting the growl and the low B in mine's case is killer. I rate my Classic as some of the best Spectors ever to come out of the Czech workshop.

Maybe I'm stating the obvious but is there any reason not to make your Spector passive? Most Legends have EMG HZs in them which is a passive pickup design and a simple VVT or VBT wiring bypassing the preamp would be relatively easy. I mean if you wanna move it and / or want a new bass I won't talk you out of that, this is Basschat after all 🙂

@Rich have you done the swap? If so how're you liking the result?

@Rich My first hand experiences based on swapping different EMGs in my Euro and US Spectors: - The P works really well in the neck position and the pairing with the DC in bridge position is an ideal match. The 35J works well there, too, but its output is lot less than the P and has to be matched by pickup height. Mind you by default "soapbar" housing EMG P's are reversed, the "normal" position (treble side closer to the bridge) can be ordered as custom from EMG. Also MAKE SURE you get the 35P4, not the 35P as the latter is for five string basses with offset magnets (2/3) - The TW is a great sounding pu, but if you go that way make sure your get the X series TW ("TWX") as the original TW suffers a huge volume loss when using the coil tap and that is fixed with the X series one. Be aware that you need to change the wiring and also have to drill larger hole to accomodate typosthe push/pull pot that does the coil tap (included in the package) because its shaft has a larger diameter. - In my experience I like the X series EMGs better (marked by and X in the modell name, like 35JX)

There are a couple but let's bring it on with this one. 1. I've already had a history with Spector basses at this point (2016) Back in '07 I had my first Czech 5er (NS-5CR) followed a pre-LX Euro 5 which I've used as my main bass for a couple of years. Sold'em all when I thought I was quitting music for good. Bad move, but anyways. I Love your Green Dragon! 2. At this point I was playing my Spector Euro 5 for a couple of years, which had been modified as well. (maybe a next post) This is the sandwich body (alder/walnut/quilted maple) with the EMG 40TW pus. I was contemplating how to reach the classic 80's Spector growl albeit in a 5 string format and without robbing the bank and proceeding to source those ver so elusive 80's 5 string Spectors (or 4 strings for that matter) So it came to the opportunity to acquire a pre-LX 5 string Czech Euro (full maple wings, that is ) on this very forum. Ohhh, those lovely pre-Brexit times when I (we) were free to deal with our brethren on those cloudy islands.... Upon receiving said bass she looked like this (sounded and felt ACE!) So my plan was to make it look and sound like this came from 1985 (well Spector never had color like this back then but you get the vibe) I wanted this to be pink, has PJ pickups and also the neck to be shaven. The previous owner put in a John East preamp which as to be kept and I sourced EMG 40 housing P and J pickups. The cool thing about EMGs are that they sound great and also they are interchangeable within reason. So if you have a certan sized housing like mine with the 40s here you have a quite wide range of pickups with different features to be used as replacements with relatively small footprint as to exchange work needed. I have ended up putting X series 40 P and J into it and the finish came about after much trial and erroe but I'm still happy with it after 7 years. I have used this bass extensively live and in studio and it is on of my all time fav's bringing the grit that is associated with Spectors but offering so much more and especially sensitive to playing dynamics.

Congratulations! I have a soft spot for Dingwall Z3's and still kicking myself for missing the opportunity to buy one of them (6 string Z3 in tiger eye burst) a few years back.

From TB: "We made a database for a German speaking platform using the distance between 12. fret and the middle of the PU. Have a look"

I wasn't crazy about either color at first but the gold really grew on me. Still I think they nailed it with the original 3 colors (red, black and white) Right? Black cherry is one of my fav Spector colors, they do that really well, both US and Euro. Some years ago I almost bought a NS-6XL in that color but the seller wasn't shipping to EU (he was in the States)

For those not on social media or simply missed it: Spector made some new colors available for the Euro Classic line ( Metallic Gold and Metallic Blue ) I love my Classic Euro 5 white and these colors wouldn't top that combo (or the red for that matter) but still they are nice nonetheless

@attackbass congratulations on your new Spector - is it your first one? (also congrats to becoming an endorser) I have yet to try this LT5 version, I've been put off a bit by the reviews and general consesus about the barts but almost purchased one of these thrice already (Bartolinis I happen to like in some of my other basses but Spectors are EMG for me - apart for the '77 and '79 reissues with DiMarzios)) I think the Czech shop are really outdoing themselves lately, I have / had a couple of US Spectors and a handful of Czech ones (currently a small collection of 7 US/CZ basses ) and the gap is surely narrowing.

Well, you are certainly right....its just the fact that the NS shape works so well for me, especially the undersized body and that the bass stays in position. The closest thing to a TB shaped instrument was a Spector Rex 5 I had for a while. At that time I played exclusively fingerstyle and the fact that I needed to use either of my hands to keep it in place bothered me. Nowadays the gigs I do I play more with a pick than fingers and keeping it in position with the picking hand would not be an issue.

Great! I have my reservations about the ergonomics but I understand that this is such a personal thing. Turns out there is one white Euro X for sale in this side of the channel....

That's something you have to try and see if works for yourself as it is not the most sophisticated one with just an off-mid-high settings (eventhough there are trimpots inside so you can change the threshold and comp level for the mid setting) I never tried the new one (utimate) only the original purple but that worked for me just fine.

I would recommend putting a distortion / overdrive pedal into the signal path which is capable of blending the clean signal with the overdriven. Like the EBS Billy Sheehan for example or some Darkglass pedals. I would add just a little bit of grit to the sound, just a tiny bit on the top of the clean signal but it makes wonders. I have been a fingerstyle player for a long time and had almost exactly the same problem as you have. Never liked distorted bass sounds but when I got an EBS BS Drive it solved it for me, partly because of its built in compressor just works well plus the whole thing is really sensitive to attack and you can play with the dynamics. Again, the aim was not to make a distorted sound at all but to bring out more attack without actually having to play harder on the strings (I play soft) I don't know if that makes sense but worked really well for me.

@hiram.k.hackenbacker's for sale post bought me back here. (Unfortunately I'm no game for it me being outside of GB) I loved seeing this project being realized by @cetera and eventhough the NS shape is what does it for me in the Spector world I know the X shape is one of the Holy Grails for some of the hard core Spector players. How's everybody likes their Euro X now after a few months?