getting more bottom end from my Roscoe

[the_hook]

I picked up a Roscoe Standard Century IV some months back. Love the look, style, light weight, super low action...but I've been playing it for a while in my Jam band (we play mostly Rush) and I just can't seem to dig the tone. I run a MarkBass F1 into a pair of EA Wizzy cabs (12").

Everyone loves the sound, but there just isn't enough bottom end for me. I'm actually playing my SX Jazz bass more (at home) thru this rig and dig the deeper tone on that. I use Marcus Miller Fat Beams on the Roscoe, and DR Lo Riders on the SX Jazz.

Any suggestions? I've had a friend set the Roscoe controls to give it as much bottom as possible. I run the F1 Gain and all knobs at noon, and both V knobs at zero

[Fishheadjoe]

Hey Nick,
I am suprised that you are having any issues getting bottom end out of that bass... not something I have encountered with mine.
I am assuming that you have tried to boost the low mids and bass on the bass?
Fishheadjoe

[LilRay]

Brother If you can't get enough low end out of a CS something is wrong. Tried changing preamp batteries?

I can boost the low so much it turns to a deafening rumble



God Bless, Ray

[Bipslapper]

Originally Posted by LilRay

Brother If you can't get enough low end out of a CS something is wrong

I heard somewhere that if you want more "low" end, you have to hang the bass really low on the strap, like Dee Dee Ramone



Seriously, pull out the mid-range knob and turn to the right. That will help you feel more low end, in addition to cranking the bass control.

[LilRay]

Originally Posted by Bipslapper

I heard somewhere that if you want more "low" end, you have to hang the bass really low on the strap, like Dee Dee Ramone



Seriously, pull out the mid-range knob and turn to the right. That will help you feel more low end, in addition to cranking the bass control.

God Bless, Ray

[Blake Bass]

I have never heard of anyone having trouble getting lows out of a Roscoe..maybe it's the Wizzy cabinets. I have a Wizzy 1x12 that I use for rehearsals but I wouldn't take it on a gig..especially a rock gig..I have had excellent results with my Roscoe Century V, Little Mark II, and Epifani 3x10..it shakes the entire room!!

[Darkstrike]

Hmmm, this is very odd, how do you have the dials set on the preamp? What about pickup balance?

[JOME77]

+1

If there's one thing that all Roscoe's that I've owned had, it would be awesome sounding sounding lows.

I would rather suspect the cabinets. The MB heads that I've played through have a great deal of nice lows (unless you've got a real mid scooped sound EQ'd).

[VroomVroom]

Well, if another bass gives you what you're after through the same rig, it probably ain't the cabs.

Already mentioned, but...fresh batteries? Pete's suggestion to boost the lower mids is a great one as well. Pickup adjustment...how close are they to the strings?

Can you give us an idea of your basic settings on the instrument itself - volume, pickup blend, mids (frequency & level), lows, & highs? I'm sure we can get to the, ahem, bottom, of this.

[eo.]

I agree, of the 3 I own all have tons of bass. However, I will say that the center freq. on the standard bart seems to be at or below what most cabs will actually do so it's worth trying to pull some mids (and maybe highs) and boost the overall volume to see if this gives the freq. balance you want.

[the_hook]

I had the bass setup at a store that sells Roscoe basses, so I'm confident it's setup well. The action is nice and low, it's improved my playing speed nicely over the cheaper (and higer action) basses I have.

As stated above, it's not the cabs. The SX Jazz sounds pretty much like it did thru my Bag End cabs (pre-amp was a Yamaha PB-1).

Last night it hit me: I suspect it's the Bartolini 'tone'. Some basses I hear in songs do have low end, but have a certain 'tone' that I don't really like (MusicMan's do that for me).

I love the Roscoe, the pluses far outweight any minor issues I have with it. But I played it again last night, and it's really that 'tone' that just doesn't stir things up for me. I'll play the same song with the Jazz and the mojo is all there.

The deeper 'bark' I get out if it sits better with my ear. And it could also be in my fingers. I'll have to get a few friends to play it for me, see if it sounds the same to my ears.

[Darkstrike]

Any local dealer that stocks Roscoes?

If so, it might just be worth carrying it down and a/b-ing it with a bass with "Roscoe Barts" these are the usual pickups used in Roscoes, but they use Classic Barts in the Century Standards, the Roscoe ones would be deeper and thicker sounding, and may just be what you want.

[the_hook]

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

Any local dealer that stocks Roscoes?

If so, it might just be worth carrying it down and a/b-ing it with a bass with "Roscoe Barts" these are the usual pickups used in Roscoes, but they use Classic Barts in the Century Standards, the Roscoe ones would be deeper and thicker sounding, and may just be what you want.

That's interesting. The bass store is local, but I'm not sure if they install/swap pickups. I'll have to bring my bass and check out the other Roscoe models to see if there's enough of a sound change to warrant the swap.

[pbasswil]

Never played a Century Standard, but... how 'bout trying this:

Rather than boosting the lows, lower the mids and highs, and then adjust your volume up.
Just a fresh approach to try -- on either bass preamp or amp.

[Gard]

Originally Posted by pbasswil

Never played a Century Standard, but... how 'bout trying this:

Rather than boosting the lows, lower the mids and highs, and then adjust your volume up.
Just a fresh approach to try -- on either bass preamp or amp.

^good advice - sometimes subtractive EQ is more effective than additive EQ. Back off on the treble instead of boosting bass, see what happens. Keep in mind a little goes a long way, and try to favor your neck pickup with a bit of bridge pickup for clarity. Don't go to the center detent on the blend control, that won't help add lows.

[nostatic]

I personally wouldn't go swapping pups - my guess is that it isn't going to significantly change what you're hearing.

If you like the SX jazz tone through the same rig, my guess is that you are getting a ton of rich mids with the Roscoe and by comparison it sounds weak in the bass. You also might want to ponder what your band members are saying as well. If they dig it in the mix and it is supporting the songs well, then maybe the sound in your head isn't the one that works best. I've recently gone through that with one of my bands.

When you say you "don't like the tone" is that when you're playing it by itself, or when playing with the band? Often the solo bass tone that sound "odd" can kill in a mix. As Gard and others suggested, tweak the eq, especially rolling off some mid and/or highs rather than boosting bass. Also, check your preamp level. If you aren't pushing the front end hard enough it can sound thing. Also, check where you're plucking the string. With the pup placement and longer scale, you might be plucking closer to the bridge than you are on other basses, which could also thin out your sound. Finally, try raising or lowering the pup height (leaving the string height as-is).

To me the Roscoe is a "slice through the mix" voice due to the awesome mids. It has a lot of booty as well, and the eq is pretty potent on-board. You can dial up a lot of different sounds with it. That said, the F500 probably isn't my favorite head with a Roscoe. You might try the rolling in some VLE and see what that does. The bottom line is that it is worth it to experiment with all aspects of the sound chain that are cheap/easy (pup height, eq, playing technique) before throwing parts/money at the problem.

[bertbassplayer]

I found the lack of lows comment to be surprising as well. I recently got a LG, took it up to church (I'm currently filling in for the normal bassist). Everyone commented on how full it sounded and how nice the lows were.