Spector ReBop 5

$460 at a Guitar Center, used with
some visible wear but no problems.

I have no need or or use for neck
through designs, and I'm very fond
of my other bolt-on Spector. This
one feels the same but sounds very
different with different PUs, body
wood and pre-amp.

I can play this with a very low
action and a nearly flat neck,
even with a touch of fret wear.
It's a really effortless player.

Tone is phenominal. I use a GK,
or sometimes a tube Bassman, an
Ampeg cab with horn, and so the
bass has to be pretty clean as
there's some dirt from the amps
at most settings. I also use a
very clean AI head, yet this ax
is very smooth, super smooth, on
a clean rig, no clanks or honks.

There is always a punch to the
attack, but gloved, not bare
knuckled, and the rest of the
tone is pretty much up to the
player, as even with minimal
controls you can dial up about
any electric tone. There's no
'acoustic' sounds in there.

UI had to finish almost every fret
end myself, using a small grinder,
as they were really annoying, and
so they were quite a distraction.

You have to open the cavity to get
at the 9v battery. It has two vol
pots instead of a fader set up. A
midrange control would be useful
but it's not a major problem as it
seems the bass/treble ranges have
a wide spread to each of them.

The neck PU could be closer to the
neck for my tastes. The 3 tuning
keys on one side of the head are
too close together but that can be
easily altered. String spacing at
the bridge is a bit narrow for me,
but not a deal breaker.

Other than having to finish all the
fret ends, I'd say the fingerboard
wood looks a little tacky, as does
the black finish on the bridge, but
those are minor things. The neck
and body finish are minimal, which
I like, and everything else in the
woodwork seems perfectly fitted.

The bolt-on neck uses a deep-inset
desigh to maximize contact area and
strength, and this seems to work as
designed. Neck looks to be 3 piece.

The bridge has a lock-up screw for
the saddles, but when unlocked they
are held in place only by a string.
You almost need 3 hands to adjust
the intonation.

The saddles are soft metal and I
expect roundwound users will need
to de-burr them occasionally.


The tone is the real deal here, and
if you gotta have it, you won't be
happy without a Euro or US Spector.
Both Aguilar and Spector pre-amps
are similar although you may prefer
one or the other.

These things are $900 new, and I've
seen plenty of $300 Korean basses
without the protruding fret ends.
Maybe only some of these have the
problem. Other than that, you can
easily spend $900 or more on lesser
basses, and you can spend way over
$900 and wonder what the difference
is delivering beyond eye candy.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com