Having issues with a Roscoe neck

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by Basso Gruvitas

WOW, Congrats Bongo! Let us know how you like the bass when it shows up! Start a new thread....and use other words besides "words can't describe...."

You may have to change your name to Roscoemania!

TBH, no, I won't be doing that. The LG3005 looks beautiful and sounds good... but the neck shape is killing my left hand. It actually hurts to play longer than 10 minutes, and I have some notable soreness in that hand long after each session of playing. The neck has a completely flat "spine" area about 1" wide, which then curves sharply toward the fretboard- meaning the curved part has a tight radius. I don't know if there's a common or proper name for that profile. I have short fingers, so I usually have my thumb at around the 7:30 position behind/below the neck; on my other recent basses, a Fender ADPV and a Sadowsky Modern, that position is very very comfortable, but on this Roscoe it's right on the short-radius curved portion, which sucks. I have tried positioning my thumb back on the flat portion of the neck, but then my finger reach was even shorter, which made me strain my fingers more.

Then there's the fact it's 35" scale and I'm used to 34", and the short upper horn...

Here's where I'm going with this:
It occurred to me I could have a local luthier shave the lower curve of the neck for a flatter radius just where needed, which would produce an ergonomic asymmetrical profile. There's enough "extra" wood there that I don't think shaving some would hurt its performance. But then would I be harming its resale value, and/or would I be wasting my time considering the scale length and upper horn "issues"?

Does anyone have any other suggestions for ways to make this bass work for me, aside from just flipping it?

[NJL]

i would think that it's just muscles that you haven't used before that are giving you trouble. i would just practice and build stamina.

Just my 2 pesos... btw, i'm a 6 string (extra wide spacing) Century owner..

[Jeff Moote]

I guess we all have different hands, but I'm surprised to hear anyone take issue with a Roscoe neck. IME they are one of the most comfortable shapes I've felt, but then again my hands are large enough for the worst of the baseball bat necks out there.

[JOME77]

Wow!
I'm with Jeff in that I very surprised that you're having issues with the neck.

I know that each neck is a bit uniquely shaped but they're roughed in to very consistant shape prior to the hand finishing.
I have small hands also and consider the Rosoce to be the most comfortable neck that I've ever played.
I even play the 3006 and have never had any discomfort at all.

Not to question your technique but maybe if you could take some pic's of some of your left hand positioning then someone could spot some problem areas that may be contributing to the discomfort issues.
Certainly if the thumb isn't positioned properly on the back of the neck you could develop issues but I would think that would be manafested on other brand basses also.

I just don't believe that the 34/35 scale factor is really a contributor unless you have some prior damage to the tendons in your hand. I suppose what you're seeing could be a sign of tendinosis.

(I'm not a doctor but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express a few weeks ago!)

[CrashClint]

I hope I am not letting the cat out of the bag, but the necks on both of Gard's Roscoes have been reshaped and wood removed so it is not as thick as most necks. His basses play like a dream. I played my 6 string side by side with his 6 strings and the thinner necks on Gard's are the bomb. Roscoe necks are probably the most stable necks I have ever seen, I have never had to adjust mine. I would talk to Gard to find out how much reshaping can be done on your bass.

I have seriously considered letting the guys at Roscoe make the same adjustment to my neck.

I guess all said, I think if Roscoe does the work, there should be no decline in value of the bass, it would be no different then adding any custom changes. Peter Parker has the pickup location changed on his basses, I don't see that it takes away from the value, it is just a customized Roscoe.

[Gard]

We can absolutely re-profile the neck to a certain degree. Keep in mind that the "inner works" of the neck (i.e. graphite rods, trussrod) are in there and we need to be cautious not to "expose" them, so there is only so far we can go. However, we can probably get the shape MUCH more to your liking than it is now.

Give me a call at the shop (336-274-8810) or e-mail me (info@roscoeguitars.com), and I'll be happy to go over all of the details. (My availability today will be "spotty" [day after Thanksgiving AND my birthday , so I'm going to be in & out of the office...], so if I don't answer the phone leave a message and I'll get right back to you)

[bongomania]

That's awesome, thanks. I'll call you in a couple days. Happy birthday BTW! I guess we'll hash it out further over the phone, but based on what I described above, does it sound like it would be a smart choice to go ahead with this? Or would you recommend a different approach?

Re: my technique, I'll try to get a pic later today. It's entirely probable that my technique does need improvement, but OTOH as I mentioned the Sadowsky and recent Fender necks feel great to me, with no discomfort.

[TCube]

Hi BongoMan…
I think I feel your pain, quite literally. I have had the same or similar problem with my left had. In my case, it’s the fact that you turn the palm of your left hand outward (to get into position) and then stretch up to the first fret – that’s the killer -- especially, if you hit a double-stop octave (ouch!). The fact that you have a 35” scale makes this problem, imo, worse because you reach farther out than on the 34” scale.

This happens with me whether I play an Alembic, Warwick, or Roscoe (SKB3006), all of which have aircraft carrier deck necks. I’ve been trying to play the low notes on higher frets whenever I can. Being up on the higher frets makes it a lot easier on those sore points.

Maybe you won’t have to re configure your neck, just your arm. Anyway, good luck. I feel your pain, and more to the point, mine.