Roscoe Beck Forum?

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by wateroftyne

Pulling out the tone knob backs off the neck pickup a bit, that's all.

I can see the kick in the bridge pickup being considered "beefed up mids" though. It does add a nice punch.

[Tommygunn]

I assume this is the Roscoe Beck Club?

Does anybody happen to know the current value of a BN Roscoe Beck IV? A local store has one I really want to get but they have it tagged at $2000 which seems a little much.

Thanks guys

[JimB52]

They don't show up often, but when they do they are more like $1500 or less. A few sold here in the classifieds this year, always pretty quickly.

[Tommygunn]

But those are used, right? This one is BN with all the tags and plastic. I guess its one they just never sold from back when they were still produced.

[BadB]

Before Fender discontinued the RBIV, they were $2399 if I am not mistaken. B.

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by BadB

Before Fender discontinued the RBIV, they were $2399 if I am not mistaken. B.

Maybe list price, but nowhere near in actual cost.

[BadB]

Maybe not that high, but over $2k. Either way, if you want and can find NOS, snatch 'em while you can. B.

[thiocyclist]

What were the stock strings that came on a Roscoe Beck V? I have heard some pretty weird gauges may have been there to match the pickups. Only numbers I have seen so far are 50-70-85-105-135. I've never seen a set in those gauges though...

[thiocyclist]

Okay so I found out that is a D'Addario 5-string set that is common enough.

Does the pau ferro fingerboard need oiling periodically?

[sgraham]

My RB5 came with the Fender Tapercore set with those gauges, if I recall. The Ernie Ball Power Slinky 5-string set (with the purple pack) are 135-50 as well. Don't know about the fingerboard - good question.

[two fingers]

Originally Posted by sgraham

My RB5 came with the Fender Tapercore set with those gauges, if I recall. The Ernie Ball Power Slinky 5-string set (with the purple pack) are 135-50 as well. Don't know about the fingerboard - good question.

This is going to sound strange I know. But I used Slinky strings forever until I got my RBV. As soon as I got mine, I put a set on. And I almost sold the bass! They sounded awful! Just lifeless and flat! (And I am not a string snob by any stretch.) I tried a second set from another dealer to make sure there was no "bad lot of strings" kind of thing going on. Last minute I decided to try some XL's and SHAZAM! There was the bass I had heard so much about. Since then I have tried several different nickel sets (my body chemistry makes my fingers stick to steels) and they all sound great. But the EBs were just horrible. I have no idea why so don't ask.

[ShoeManiac]

Originally Posted by thiocyclist

What were the stock strings that came on a Roscoe Beck V? I have heard some pretty weird gauges may have been there to match the pickups. Only numbers I have seen so far are 50-70-85-105-135. I've never seen a set in those gauges though...

Wow. Good question! I wish I could recall, because I bought mine new in 1999. But I've been using Dean Markley Blue Steels almost exclusively since I got my RB5, and it's been pretty awesome. But the string ferrules don't really work well with a B-string that's over .130.

Still, when I bought the bass, taperwound strings were much more of a "thing" at the time. It very well could have come with taperwound strings.

[Darkstrike]

They were old Fender nickles or nickle plated steels, they don't make them any more.

They had black silks, and IMO, were utterly fantastic strings, wish I could get some.

[thiocyclist]

So I did end up buying an RBV. It is probably the best Fender bass I've ever played, and its competition including lots of the boutique copies.

It doesn't sound like it has any real shielding as it picks up more (non-60-cycle) buzz and interference than my other basses... not a serious concern but it's something I might consider addressing. Also some of the magnetic slugs inject noise when they are touched--should I cover them with some clear nail polish?

The stuff that actually matters--tone, playability--is killer. I think those strings I mentioned above are pretty good but I'm going to try some taper cores later. The cool thing is how good the low strings sound, which I guess is related to the pickup construction mentioned in the BP review.

[casperbass]

Howdy,
Love my RBV. Shoreline Gold. Hated the white pick guard, got a tortoise shell replacement. Anyhoo, anyone with a V have their's PLEKd? Amazing difference?
thanks!

[thiocyclist]

Has anyone shielded their RB or grounded the pickup magnets? Mine has some noise including when I touch the magnets.

[ShoeManiac]

I had a noise issue when my band played a bar with VERY POOR electrical grounding. Luckily I had also brought a well shielded Jazz bass with me that was able to get through the gig pretty quietly.

I've definitely thought very seriously about having my RB5 shielded. But in the case of that bass, I would probably opt for the foil instead of the shielding paint.

[thiocyclist]

What's the value of the resistor that is switchable for the neck pickup (the tone pot switch)? Just wondering what kind of resistor you need to get that effect.

[thiocyclist]

Sorry to keep reviving this apparently zombie thread... anyone know if the case that came with the RBV is special or a generic Fender case? Just asking because it's also a great fit for one of my other basses and might want a second to keep around.

[ShoeManiac]

I honestly couldn't say. I look at the case of my own RBV so infrequently since I usually use gigbags. All I know is that my case is that classic tweed, with the pink/red lining.