Jethro_Dull
New member
Can anyone identify whether this is a Legend or a Performer or something else? Range for year of manufacture? It has no serial number. The pups are EMG SSDs.
Spector starter bass
- Thread starter Jethro_Dull
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Johnny the Kid
Shaunofthedeadologist
Re: Spector starter bass
Try looking underneath the neck joint. It might have the serial number there.
Try looking underneath the neck joint. It might have the serial number there.
dystrust
New member
Re: Spector starter bass
I'm pretty sure that's a Performer since it appears to be flat, and it also appears to be one of Spector's alternate body styles from the late 90s / early 2000s . Spector has a page for their older imports here, and it looks like either a NS2002B or a Performer 4.
I'm honestly pretty surprised what Spectors go for on the used market considering their build quality (Euros anyway). Longcat and I picked up her NS-4CR-FM off of craigslist for $625; you can't touch a USA Fender for that, and the Spector is miles ahead in terms of tone, build quality, and playability.
I'm pretty sure that's a Performer since it appears to be flat, and it also appears to be one of Spector's alternate body styles from the late 90s / early 2000s . Spector has a page for their older imports here, and it looks like either a NS2002B or a Performer 4.
I'm honestly pretty surprised what Spectors go for on the used market considering their build quality (Euros anyway). Longcat and I picked up her NS-4CR-FM off of craigslist for $625; you can't touch a USA Fender for that, and the Spector is miles ahead in terms of tone, build quality, and playability.
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Johnny the Kid
Shaunofthedeadologist
Re: Spector starter bass
Playability and tone are subjective, but Spectors have extremely high quality.
Playability and tone are subjective, but Spectors have extremely high quality.
dystrust
New member
Re: Spector starter bass
Agree with you there; I should have stated that I generally prefer the Spector sound to a typical Fender, though for some songs a Spector is a bit too modern sounding. longcat's Ibanez sounds much more like the typical Fender, so it still gets used for that.
Agree with you there; I should have stated that I generally prefer the Spector sound to a typical Fender, though for some songs a Spector is a bit too modern sounding. longcat's Ibanez sounds much more like the typical Fender, so it still gets used for that.
Johnny the Kid
Shaunofthedeadologist
Re: Spector starter bass
And I probably came off as a prick for that comment, but I wanted to say that I agree with your general premise. Sometimes the Jazz Bass sound is great and I've recently come to like small bass necks, so a Spector is probably not in my wheel house unless they offer a slimmer Jazz style neck that I don't know about.
And I probably came off as a prick for that comment, but I wanted to say that I agree with your general premise. Sometimes the Jazz Bass sound is great and I've recently come to like small bass necks, so a Spector is probably not in my wheel house unless they offer a slimmer Jazz style neck that I don't know about.
dystrust
New member
Re: Spector starter bass
The only Spector I'm aware of with a Jazz style neck is the Doug Wimbish signature, but it's only available as a USA or Euro model. They also tend to demand a premium on the used market both because of the neck shape and relative scarcity. Otherwise their typical nut widths are 1.57" (roughly 1 9/16") for the Legend series and 1.64 (just over 1 5/8) for the Euro series. Things get a bit more interesting when you look at back shapes. The current Spector Euro 4LX and previous Euro 4 both have a rather thick C-shape neck that's somewhat similar to a vintage P-bass or 50s LP. The slightly older NS-4CR and NS-4CR-FM are similarly thick, but have a soft-V shape instead, which feels a lot like Fender's Custom Shop '56 Strat. longcat and I really like it because you get the 'big neck' tone in a package that feels significantly smaller than it actually is. An added bonus is that both the NS-4CR and CR-FM have Vol / pan / EMG-BT electronics instead of the Vol / Vol / Tone Pump found in later Euros. The only downside is that CRs and CR-FMs are in pretty high demand among those that know about them, so they tend to sell a couple hundred dollars higher than similar Euros on the used market.
The only Spector I'm aware of with a Jazz style neck is the Doug Wimbish signature, but it's only available as a USA or Euro model. They also tend to demand a premium on the used market both because of the neck shape and relative scarcity. Otherwise their typical nut widths are 1.57" (roughly 1 9/16") for the Legend series and 1.64 (just over 1 5/8) for the Euro series. Things get a bit more interesting when you look at back shapes. The current Spector Euro 4LX and previous Euro 4 both have a rather thick C-shape neck that's somewhat similar to a vintage P-bass or 50s LP. The slightly older NS-4CR and NS-4CR-FM are similarly thick, but have a soft-V shape instead, which feels a lot like Fender's Custom Shop '56 Strat. longcat and I really like it because you get the 'big neck' tone in a package that feels significantly smaller than it actually is. An added bonus is that both the NS-4CR and CR-FM have Vol / pan / EMG-BT electronics instead of the Vol / Vol / Tone Pump found in later Euros. The only downside is that CRs and CR-FMs are in pretty high demand among those that know about them, so they tend to sell a couple hundred dollars higher than similar Euros on the used market.
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Johnny the Kid
Shaunofthedeadologist
Re: Spector starter bass
Yeah, Spectors are just not for me. Sound great in other hands but I just wouldn't gel with them.
Yeah, Spectors are just not for me. Sound great in other hands but I just wouldn't gel with them.
