NS Design5 String Bass Guitar, Right Handed, Natural Satin (CR5BGNAS)

Just got this new Bass Guitar today, and have had a very hard time putting it down. It took my fingers giving out on me to force me to lay it down. Amazing sound, and superb playability. Warm and crisp when played through GK Fusion 500 amp and a NEO 1x15" cabinet. I am a Rickenbacker 4003W player and this fifth string opens up a new world of opportunity for playing. Still love the Ric, but this guy here is going to get allot of time too. Build is spectacular, fit and finish is flawless to go with the sounds available. Ned Steinberger makes an amazing instrument, even if this was made in the Czech Republic his quality standards have been passed along to them and they are making a very high quality instrument. You could pay an additional $2,000 for a USA made NS Designs Custom Shop model, but I can't see the reason to unless you are a serious pro musician and have the ability to discern the difference in quality.......I can't so this is fine. out of the box intonation is spot on, action is correct and easy, shipped with batteries installed and all I did was tune it up to pitch and started enjoying immediately. If you are on the fence...just get it....trust me you will NOT be sorry in any way at all.Rick

Great sounding Bass guitar, lightweight and well balanced. Beautiful color. I've been trying to attain one of these basses since early July, and it was the hardest thing to find one of this color in stock in the music stores online. I can't really explain the sound of this guitar, except to say that I like the way it growls. It almost makes me want to get rid of the others.

Best sounding most balanced bass I have EVER played.... All my musician friends WANT ONE !! Good mix possibilities with piezo pickup and traditional pickups ... Very versatile bass and LOOKS AWESOME as well ... Would definitely recommend ... Using for Studio environment where different tones are an asset ..

Awesome bass!

Since before he turned the bass guitar world on its head in 1979 with his first "L" series headless bass, Ned Steinberger has not been content to let instrument design remain static. He is always looking for ways to improve comfort, playability, and tone.Many people are unaware that the much-lauded Spector NS series basses were originally designed by Ned Steinberger in 1977 (thus the NS in the name). The Spector bass's carved, concave back made it more comfortable to play, and the design has been mimicked by other makers, including Warwick, for decades.Then in 1979 Steinberger re-conceived how a bass (and guitar) should be designed, and especially tuned. The headless design eliminates the tuning machines on the headstock, moving them to the tailpiece. This design makes it easier to create a balanced instrument that doesn't tend to "neck dive" when seated or when playing with it on a strap. The composite bodies of these instruments were durable, stable, and produced consistent tone across the fingerboard.Steinberger moved into designing bowed instruments, including electric violins, cellos and upright basses, and in this process developed a piezoelectric pickup system that worked well for both arco (bowed) and pizzicato (plucked) playing. For the violin, he developed a new headless tuning system that could be used easily with conventional strings, eliminating one of the issues with the "L" series headless instruments, which required either special strings or an adapter that required tools for changing strings.Finally, things have come full circle.The CR5 is Steinberger's return to the electric bass guitar. It features a body with a carved concave back, like the original Spector NS basses, but with a separate radius to the front of the bass, making it even more comfortable for the player's hand to reach the strings.The body is chambered, which makes it lighter and allows NS to tailor the sound of the instrument. The neck, meanwhile, is mostly carbon fiber, which gives it the stability and consistent tonal qualities of the "L" series basses, but it is wrapped in wood to give a natural feel. The pickup system includes EMG magnetic pickups, as well as an evolution of the piezoelectric pickup system from the violin/cello/bass instruments.And the tuning system from the violin appears now on a guitar, which Ned said was always his hope. So you get the light, balanced neck without heavy tuners on a headstock, and the easy string changing and flexibility of using any string.The result is a light, comfortable (and beautiful!) instrument that's easy to play and has a huge range of tones possible by switching between the various pickups. I found that blending in some of the piezoelectric pickup with the magnetics produced a wonderful, clear tone with clear harmonics that I think will come through very well in a band setting. I'm really looking forward to mine!

I was given a CR4 for my birthday. Amazing tone and versatility and plays like a dream.