First experience with the new Century line.

[JPJ]

Roscoeheads,
Talking to Gard over the weekend, he asked for feedback on the new Century V I just received, which is the first one of the new line that I've received. We did a "no top" LG a little while ago, so I had a pretty good idea of what I would be getting, but you just never know until you actually have the instrument in front of you.
Overall, I was extremely impressed. In an age where it seems like EVERYTHING is being made overseas, including virtually every entry-level or budget boutique bass, the fact that Keith is able to hit the price points he's hitting while keeping the entire process in-house (Greensboro, NC), is a great accomplishment.
The fit, finish, playability, level of craftsmanship, and overall quality is exceptional...the same level of quality that you would expect from an LG, SKB, or Century Signature. The price-saving elements are largely cosmetic...no top, no matching headstock, limited options, etc. While I personally don't feel that the new Century line is a subsititute for the regular modles (there are some tone differences due to the actual differences between the lines), this new option gives customers an option to attain that classic Roscoe tone and playability who might not otherwise be able to get an LG, SKB, or Century Sig.
Just wanted to share a few thoughts. If you have any questions, this is the place to ask.

Happy Holidays,
Jay
BHB

[Gard]

Jay, thanks for the comments/review, sounds positive (not that I was expecting otherwise! )....

[JOME77]

Cool Jay!

It was real hard for me to get use to the idea of "no top" Roscoe's. I guess that the wild exotic Roscoe tops were one of the main things that originally got my attention. Of course then I played one and I was hooked.
The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that I really like (like not love! ) a couple other brand basses that primarily offered solid bodies with no tops (or at least offered more solid body "no top" basses than exotic top basses).

I like the look of the solid body. Especially with the grain enhancement finish. I know that you can get the Black w/white enhanced grain. I'm not sure about the natural ash w/enhanced grain..... That's definitely my favorite on a solid ash body.

One complaint (or maybe comment) though is that I really don't like the chrome hardware. I'm thinking that I read somewhere that you could get black hardware on a Standard now. If not, it should be made available. I know that the idea is to simplify and limit the variations but black and chrome hardware take the same amount of time to install (unless it's real dark when you're doing the install! )
The other thing would be that I really like the carved tops! The solid body even allows deeper more dramatic carving (since you don't have to worry about going through the top laminate). I guess though that there's a lot of labor involved in carving the top and if you add very much of an up-charge you've be better off to get a 3005 or 3006.....

Regardless (ever notice that Gard's name is in that word?! ), kudos for Roscoe keeping it in the states and offering an affordable great looking, sounding and playing bass!

Nothing personal China, Korea and Mexico, but I'm tired of all of our jobs being sent overseas. ......and I like being able to call Gard and talk to him in good ole' English (OK maybe slightly Cajun influenced English)

[CrashClint]

The Century Standards are pretty cool and sound great! I remember picking up the Standard VI and was like, wow! This bass is light!

I understand Keith wanting to keep everything limited to only a few selections for the Standard. Once you start adding upgrades in one area, how do you say no to upgrades in other areas of what people would like special. Like me, I want a Cherry Sunburst Standard 4 string. He has to pay his crew the same whether they are building a standard or a signature. In order to make some money off of the Standards you have to make them as basic as possible so they can be produced quicker. After the employees and bills are paid, Keith is not making a lot of profit, honestly I don't see how he can afford to build them in the U.S. for the price he is asking. He could easily outsource the Standards to another country and sell them to compete with the Korean Laklands and American Fenders price wise.

I believe Keith has put his commitment into both his staff and making sure the Standards are built to the highest quality over making a lot of money. I mean really, who would want to buy a Music Yo Roskorean Century Standard bass? Think about what happened to Tobias once Gibson licensed them out.

[Gard]

Originally Posted by JOME77

One complaint (or maybe comment) though is that I really don't like the chrome hardware. I'm thinking that I read somewhere that you could get black hardware on a Standard now. If not, it should be made available. I know that the idea is to simplify and limit the variations but black and chrome hardware take the same amount of time to install (unless it's real dark when you're doing the install! )
The other thing would be that I really like the carved tops! The solid body even allows deeper more dramatic carving (since you don't have to worry about going through the top laminate). I guess though that there's a lot of labor involved in carving the top and if you add very much of an up-charge you've be better off to get a 3005 or 3006.....

Joe, your questions are valid, so here are answers:

Chrome hardware: costs us less per unit than black, and is a quick and obvious way to set the Standards apart from everything else that has the black hardware. We won't be offering a "factory option" for anything other than the satin chrome (which I have begun to really dig). However, if someone HAD to have black hardware on a Century Standard, they could easily source the proper bridge and tuners from numerous sources and replace them in just a matter of moments on their own. (I'm not advocating anything, but once someone owns the bass, it is THEIR bass, and they can change what they wish... ).

Carved tops: Yes, they look great. However, labor cost per body goes up pretty quickly when we have to sand the complex shapes of the carved top versus the CS's "flat" top, enough to make a difference and affect pricing. So, if someone REALLY wants a solid swamp ash body with a satin finish and a carved top with black hardware, they can certainly have it, in either LG, SKB, or Century Signature form! That's always been an option, even I exercised it for my fretted bass!! See:

[CliffD]

Oh that's butter love Gard, I love seeing that baby.

[JOME77]

Originally Posted by Gard

Joe, your questions are valid, so here are answers:

Chrome hardware: costs us less per unit than black, and is a quick and obvious way to set the Standards apart from everything else that has the black hardware. We won't be offering a "factory option" for anything other than the satin chrome (which I have begun to really dig). However, if someone HAD to have black hardware on a Century Standard, they could easily source the proper bridge and tuners from numerous sources and replace them in just a matter of moments on their own. (I'm not advocating anything, but once someone owns the bass, it is THEIR bass, and they can change what they wish... ).

Carved tops: Yes, they look great. However, labor cost per body goes up pretty quickly when we have to sand the complex shapes of the carved top versus the CS's "flat" top, enough to make a difference and affect pricing. So, if someone REALLY wants a solid swamp ash body with a satin finish and a carved top with black hardware, they can certainly have it, in either LG, SKB, or Century Signature form! That's always been an option, even I exercised it for my fretted bass!! See:

I see your points. Especially with the carved tops. I'm sure that the labor is quite significant on that operation (the YouTube video show that quite well).

I actually like the satin chrome much more than the plosihed chrome. Much nicer looking.

....and I certainly remember the solid ash 3006! Very classy looking Roscoe!

........ and one heck of a sexy belly button on the rear!

[Big Red Bass]

I think I’ll chime in here because I am one of the proud owners of a Century Standard 6 fretless. Also, I have owned a SKB 3006 fretless and an LG 3005. I currently own the Standard and a very special SKB 3006.

In my opinion I don’t see the Century Standard as a stripped down version so much. I see it more as basically a standard model. Now I know we get caught up in having every possible option available to us so that we can pick the ultimate bass but I think it’s great that I had to put zero thought in what I wanted in this instrument. Why? Because everything on the instrument is tried and true. Ash body check, three piece maple neck check, hipshot hardware check, bart pickups and preamp check. These are the makings of a winner and it’s made in the United States. All this for the price they go for is very reasonable.

The thing that I was not sold on at all was the finish. I sweat acid, so I figured it would not stand up at all. It stands up just fine. And it looks pretty ridiculous with the enhanced grain. It has a rather understated beauty to it. I took the bass to work, I’m in the US Army MEDCOM Band at Fort Sam Houston, several of my fellow soldier/musicians had no idea it was a “standard” model, they only know my super customized SKB 3006. The tuba player was floored by the fingerboard, the comment was “ what is that made out of, it’s beautiful.” I explained to him that it’s diamond wood and what that actually is.

But the important factor is how does it sound. For me, in my head, there is only one fretless bass sound that works for me and it is a Roscoe. There are many manufacturers that make good fretless basses but for me it has to be a Roscoe. And even more so it has got to be this Roscoe. My Century Standard vs. the SKB 3006 I owned is very easy to compare. The SKB had a figured maple top, mahogany body, rainbow diamond wood fingerboard, bart pickups and an Aggie preamp. It was a great bass that was also about 12 pounds. The Century is about 8. I have a bad back. Round one goes to the Century. The Century because of the thin finish also, unbelievably, has a more singing quality to the notes than the SKB did. The vibrato I can do on the Century bass borders on ridiculous. Round two to the Standard. I also enjoy the larger body shape of the Century, for me it is more comfortable for seated playing than the SKB. I am not saying the SKB is uncomfortable but I dig the ergonomics of the Century more. Round three goes to the Standard. And finally it made my rather cantankerous 1SG, First Sergeant, happy. In a jazz combo rehearsal he said, “ Can you make the bass have more bite?” Sure, I blended more bridge pickup. And he said, “It’s that easy?” Yes Top it’s that easy. And he liked it.

I have used the Century in every ensemble I play in, Jazz Combo, Big Band, Concert Band and a couple of Rock Band rehearsals, and it fit in just fine. Once I get the video from one of the TV gigs we played I will post it on my myspace and you can judge for yourself against a recording I have of the SKB.

Oh and when I received the bass and took it out of the box and gig bag it was still in tune.

[rc_1manband]

I love traveling to store to play Roscoes and I have checked out a bunch. The Century Standard is a great bass. The one I played was the Standard V with onyx/enhanced grain finish.

The loss is not severe at all. The Roscoe meaty tone is still evident. The classic bass pickups aren't as dark as the LG/SKB/Cent. Signature but not a far cry. Obviously, the bartolini preamp is great. Sounds wonderful. Just a little less output with a 9V system but you can have at that personal modification to 18V if you're brave enough.

The playability is the same, the maple neck and fingerboard is beautiful. You can still see some style in Roscoe's simplicity.

I've seen musicians go on the road with the lower standard of other brands of basses (e.g. Instead of the MTD American they use the MTD KZ, even Elrick Evolution and Expat) but this is the best "road-ready", rugged, sturdy bass that I can find. It seems to be able to gracefully take a licking and keep ticking.

This bass in my opinion is a great buy.

When I get more money and less bills, I'll get one.

[51m0n]

I recently got a Century Standard V from bassdirect (sn A007) - in retrospect I was kidding myself when I thought I'd get in there and out again without buying anything, Mark's just too good at letting you find the right bass for you!

Its a fantastic bass, amazing fingerstyle tone, esp the bridge pickup - so warm compared to a jazz, yet still punches like a heavyweight champ and growls wonderfully. Superb neck, tasty low action. I'm loving it!

My 4 string is a light bass, by anyones standards, but amazingly the Roscoe is even lighter, staggering!

Personally I love the lack of a super fancy top wood as well, it sounds the business, looks very pro and yet not too ostentatious. Plus I think its one of the very first in the UK if not Europe which makes it pretty unique

Just wanted to let you know how much pleasure its giving me!