“Vibrant new color options, tonewoods, and the classic Spector growl”: Spector unveils three new basses – featuring fresh tonewood and finish options and a gnarly preamp created with Darkglass
The Euro CST and LX models – offering through and bolt-on necks – add variety to its bass range while underscoring the “classic Spector growl”
(Image credit: Spector)
Spector has launched three new bass guitars to its Euro and LX series of instruments, offering new tonewoods, electronics, and finishes to the ranges.
Fresh from unveiling new signature basses for Living Colour's Doug Wimbish earlier this year, including a replica of his iconic 1987 five-string, comes a trio of new low-enders: The Euro CST, Euro LX, and the Euro LX Bolt On.
The Euro CST headlines the new additions, a premium bass drawing inspiration from its Woodstock, NY-based Custom Shop.
A high-figured poplar burl top is pleasing on the eye, and augmented by cross-continental tonewoods in the form of a European ash body and a three-piece North American maple neck.
Its ebony fretboard impresses with abalone crown inlays, while at the other end, a lightweight aluminum bridge delivers “precise and reliable” intonation.
A set of EMG X series pickups offer a silent-but-deadly and clear attack which “defines the Spector sound.”
Those pickups are bolstered by an all-new Spector Legacy preamp, designed in collaboration with Darkglass Electronics, heavy-hitters in the world of gnarly bass tones, to capture the “classic Spector growl”.
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They are available in four- and five-string configurations in a choice of Natural, Natural Black Burst, Natural Red Burst, and Natural Violet Burst high gloss finishes.
Spector: Euro CST Series with Ian Allison - YouTube
The Euro LX and Euro LX Bolt On, as the names suggest, offer Spector-favorite features in neck-thru and bolt-on constructions – a first for the LX range.
Inspired by its NS-2 bass, which offered an eye-catching sandblasted NS Pulse model a few years back, they offer fully carved and contoured bodies, high-grade tonewoods, and top-of-the-range electronics.
(Image credit: Spector)
A European alder body pairs with a figured European maple top, with the same three-piece North American maple neck and rosewood fretboard combination of the Euro CST returning for “strength, stability, and sustain.”
The same lightweight aluminum bridge can also be found on the new LX models, as can the Legacy preamp, with EMG active pickups a slight deviation.
You can choose from four hand-rubbed stains, including fairly bog standard Transparent Black and Natural Sunburst colorways, and two beautifully-named variatnts in Haunted Moss, and Nightshade. Each has a matte finish.
Spector: Euro LX and Euro LX Bolt-On Series with Ian Allison - YouTube
John Stippell, Director, Korg Bass Division, says Spector is “thrilled” to announce the new series, cutting out from the pack with “vibrant new color options, and the all-new Spector Legacy Preamp, delivering the classic Spector tone with unmatched precision.”
(Image credit: Spec)
The four-string Euro CST costs $3,199, raising to $3,299 for the extended range.
The LX (neck-thru) costs $2,999 and $2,099 for four- and five-string models, with a six-string model (Haunted Moss only) also available at $3,299.
The Bolt On version comes in at $2,699 and $2,799.
Head to Spector Bass to learn more about the Euro CST and LX models.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
