Any experts on Spector basses?

[Angel]

Every so often I wistfully recall the bass that got away. I also give myself a firm kick up the b*tt for not actually knowing exactly what it was!

 

My fave ever bass, I found it secondhand at the Bass gallery in Camden. As a very rough guess about 12-15 years ago.

 

It’s slightly weird though as I don’t actually remember if it was 4 or 5 string. I have had times over the years where I’ve flipped between using 4 or 5 strings and I honestly don’t recall where I was at this time in terms of preference. I guess that sounds a bit mad.

 

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about it again recently, and I’d love to work out what it actually was. My initial looking around on the internet did not find exactly the same thing so I thought I’d try asking you lot – which may well come to nothing!

 

So, what can I say about it.  Well, it was a Spector bass, and at the time was going for I think £1,800 secondhand. I went and played it a couple of times and it felt sublime, but there was no way I could afford it. A painful experience!

 

I’m pretty sure it was an NS bass, and looked extremely similar to the example below, same basic body look/inlays/fretboard – but there was one critical difference – The neck was a dark wood with a very ‘textured’ grainy feel to it. I particularly loved that feel. I’ve never seen another bass with a neck like it. No clue what wood it was!

 

Any idea what specific bass that would have been? And if it was available as both 5 and 4 string or not?

 

 

 

[Lozz196]

Calling @cetera

[Mudpup]

Dumb question but.....

 

Are you sure it wasn't a Warwick Streamer?

 

You know, curved body, looks like  a Spector but with a wenge neck

 

Only asking as you couldn't remember how many strings it had and if you're about the same age as me then I can't remember where I was last Tuesday 😂

[Mudpup]

Ah hang on, you mentioned inlays....

Maybe scratch my dumb question then 

[cetera]

At that price and period of time, it sounds like it would have been a US Made Spector NS bass. The US custom shop made many variations on the theme of the NS shape, with different woods, finishes, fingerboards etc and in 4,5 and 6 string versions.

Edited November 3 by cetera

[Angel]

1 hour ago, Mudpup said:

Dumb question but.....

 

Are you sure it wasn't a Warwick Streamer?

 

You know, curved body, looks like  a Spector but with a wenge neck

 

Only asking as you couldn't remember how many strings it had and if you're about the same age as me then I can't remember where I was last Tuesday 😂

 

Totally a Spector! 

 

I wanted to love Warwicks, but every one I tried I thought nah, not for me. 

[Angel]

1 hour ago, cetera said:

At that price and period of time, it sounds like it would have been a US Made Spector NS bass. The US custom shop many variations on the theme of the NS shape, with different woods, finishes, fingerboards etc and in 4,5 and 6 string versions.

 

Ahh, so I'll probably never find one like it again. Oh well, thanks for the info. 

[Sean]

7 minutes ago, Angel said:

 

Ahh, so I'll probably never find one like it again. Oh well, thanks for the info. 

 

The good news is that Spector basses are very consistent, even if many different variants exist. 

 

I “lost” an NS5-XL (natural, oiled finish, stunning thing) years ago and then when I found it, it had been completely refinished (clear gloss) and just wasn’t what I had loved. I then went on to find another one that I love just as much. 

 

There might be one out there for you, keep looking. But make sure you play one standing up on a strap. 

[Kiwi]

3 hours ago, Angel said:

Every so often I wistfully recall the bass that got away. I also give myself a firm kick up the b*tt for not actually knowing exactly what it was!

 

My fave ever bass, I found it secondhand at the Bass gallery in Camden. As a very rough guess about 12-15 years ago.

 

It’s slightly weird though as I don’t actually remember if it was 4 or 5 string. I have had times over the years where I’ve flipped between using 4 or 5 strings and I honestly don’t recall where I was at this time in terms of preference. I guess that sounds a bit mad.

 

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about it again recently, and I’d love to work out what it actually was. My initial looking around on the internet did not find exactly the same thing so I thought I’d try asking you lot – which may well come to nothing!

 

So, what can I say about it.  Well, it was a Spector bass, and at the time was going for I think £1,800 secondhand. I went and played it a couple of times and it felt sublime, but there was no way I could afford it. A painful experience!

 

I’m pretty sure it was an NS bass, and looked extremely similar to the example below, same basic body look/inlays/fretboard – but there was one critical difference – The neck was a dark wood with a very ‘textured’ grainy feel to it. I particularly loved that feel. I’ve never seen another bass with a neck like it. No clue what wood it was!

 

Any idea what specific bass that would have been? And if it was available as both 5 and 4 string or not?

 

 

 

I remember that one being up for sale for a very long time and the price was reasonable.  I was slightly tempted.  It's a USA built NS5, not much else to add as it was from a time before Spector started pumping out so many different models and styles. 

[Angel]

Oh well, The Bass Gallery were kind enough to reply to my slightly mad request as to whether they still had any info on file about the bass. They don't! I'll never know exactly what it was, but I can console myself with the fact that it is probably worth even more now and still out of financial reach!

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

The dark textured neck wood sounds like wenge to me.

[Paulhauser]

20 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

The dark textured neck wood sounds like wenge to me.

Me, too. But the thing is I can't seem to remember ever seeing a Spector with a wenge neck. Stuart was adamant about using 3 piece maple necks which were sourced from the East Coast of the US, even exporting these to the Czech workshop for the Euro line. Btw @Angel the NS-5xl example on the picture used to be mine.

[Paulhauser]

22 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

The dark textured neck wood sounds like wenge to me.

Double post, Mods please remove. 

Edited yesterday at 08:44 by Paulhauser

[Angel]

1 hour ago, Paulhauser said:

Me, too. But the thing is I can't seem to remember ever seeing a Spector with a wenge neck. Stuart was adamant about using 3 piece maple necks which were sourced from the East Coast of the US, even exporting these to the Czech workshop for the Euro line. Btw @Angel the NS-5xl example on the picture used to be mine.

 

That's interesting! I guess not quite your thing then. Out of interest how much did you sell it for?

[Paulhauser]

1 hour ago, Angel said:

 

That's interesting! I guess not quite your thing then. Out of interest how much did you sell it for?

To the contrary, the NS-5XL (and the Euro 5 that is based on it) is my all time favorite instrument, I'm using my NS-5XL for much of the recordings I do and play Euros live exclusively. 

I sold that particular bass because I liked my other NS-5XL better. It was actually a NAMM bass with a one-off violin finish, as they were calling it and was a great playing and sounding bass but one can't have them all

(unless one is @cetera)

Can't remember the exact selling price but it was around £2,000. Good old times...... edit: I sold it in end of 2017 / early 2018

Edited yesterday at 11:25 by Paulhauser
additional info

[Terry M.]

On 03/11/2025 at 13:13, Angel said:

 

Totally a Spector! 

 

I wanted to love Warwicks, but every one I tried I thought nah, not for me. 

This is what's great about having such choices. I'm the COMPLETE reverse of this. Totally into Warwicks and have two.No Spector I've tried has made me want to reach for my wallet. Not that that helps you. Just rambling 

[itu]

Most likely everybody knows that NS means Ned Steinberger, the designer of the bass. The first basses were available with two pickup brands (the other was DiMarzio) and with 1 or 2 pickups. NS-1 was the first unit (1 meant 1 pickup). 

[Sean]

14 hours ago, itu said:

Most likely everybody knows that NS means Ned Steinberger, the designer of the bass. The first basses were available with two pickup brands (the other was DiMarzio) and with 1 or 2 pickups. NS-1 was the first unit (1 meant 1 pickup). 

What does NS-4 mean? They've got 2 humbuckers usually. 4 coils?

NS-5 must be 5 strings.

[itu]

Most likely 4 strings.

 

The first ones were from Kramer/Spector era, if I remember correctly. There are old brochures online if anyone wants to search. 

[Kiwi]

1 hour ago, Sean said:

What does NS-4 mean? They've got 2 humbuckers usually. 4 coils?

NS-5 must be 5 strings.

The NS2 has PJ pickups, the NS4 and NS5 both have dual humbuckers although the original NS5 had twin jazz shaped pickups (not sure if they were single coil or stacked HB).  Spector has since reissued it as the NS5 Classic

 

[Sean]

11 minutes ago, Kiwi said:

The NS2 has PJ pickups, the NS4 and NS5 both have dual humbuckers although the original NS5 had twin jazz shaped pickups (not sure if they were single coil or stacked HB).  Spector has since reissued it as the NS5 Classic

 

 

A lot of nomenclature systems get messy over time. 

We don’t really know what LX stands for. Despite my speculation at Length Xtension, it’s more likely a reference to the layering of the wings as it came after the solid wing Euros. LT = No idea??? RST = Roasted (must be). CST = Custom Shop Top? 

XL (as in NS5-XL) must refer to the 35” scale. I had a ’01 and that was 35”. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Sean