Roscoe 6-String Shootout

[RocketMusic]

Ryan L. wanted to hear two of my Roscoe 6'ers compared, so I figured I might as well compare all 6 that I currently have in stock.

Each of the basses was run with the blend centered and everything flat on the onboard EQs. And I left everything pretty much as is all the way through to mastering, just a little compression/limiting at the final stage to make everything prominent and clear in the mix.

You'll hear my silky smooth pipes introduce each bass in the clip, but here's the order visually.

Myrtle Prism Century-3006

Ziracote SKB-3006

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Cobalt Blue SKB-3006

Yellow SKB-3006

Doug Baltimore's Koa LG-3006

And here are the clips with and without drums:
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I dare say this is probably the most useful recording I've done to date. Especially for those of you actually in the market for a 6 string. I played essentially the same riffs on every bass, and I tried to maximize the range that I covered on each bass so that you hear the tone across all 6 strings.

I'm anxious to hear how you guys pin adjectives on these basses. Which ones are punchy? Which ones growl? Which ones are fat? Which ones are open? Which ones are compressed? etc.

 

[RocketMusic]

And here's a useful chart to compare the construction of each bass:

Myrtle Prism Century-3006
Body: Ash Back, Myrtle Top, Wenge Shim
Neck: Wenge Center w/ Wenge Fretboard
Electronics: Bart CB, Bart 3-Way/18V

Ziracote SKB-3006
Body: Spanish Cedar Back, Ziracote Top
Neck: Standard w/ Maple Fretboard
Electronics: Bart CB, Aguilar 3-Way/18V

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Body: Ash Back, Figured Malpe Top
Neck: Wenge Wedge w/ Wenge Fretboard
Electronics: Roscoe Barts, Bart 3-Way/18V

Cobalt Blue SKB-3006
Body: Ash Back, XQM Top
Neck: Standard w/ BEM Fretboard
Electronics: Roscoe Barts, Bart 3-Way/18V

Yellow SKB-3006
Body: Ash Back, QM Top
Neck: Standard w/ Maple Fretboard
Electronics: Roscoe Bart, Bart 3-Way/18V

Doug Baltimore's Koa LG-3006
Body: Ash Back, Koa Top, Wenge Shim
Neck: Standard, BEM Fretboard
Electronics: Bart CB, Bart 3-Way/18V

 

[Ryan L.]

Oh wow!! Thanks Greg, for taking the time to do this!

This is definitely THE most helpful set of clips you could possibly have done.

Now I gotta listen to em some more...........

 

[Ziltoid]

I think I prefer the Ziracotte and the Vroom Vroom Orange, but they all sound soo good!!!

 

[RocketMusic]

Last piece of the pie - Invalid Link Removed so ya'll can judge how these basses sit in a mix. That's my Koa fretted Roscoe run through one of Sonar's phasers. I played the part once and then copy/pasted it to make it them same for each bass.

Of course, as I mentioned, all of the basses had no EQ adjustments made to them, so there's plenty of room to tweak on any of them.

 

[CliffD]

Hey Greg, now do 'em all with slap samples!

(This is BAD ASS BTW)

 

[Ryan L.]

One thing I've really noticed, is even with the different wood combos and different electronics, all of the basses really share that "Roscoe sound". There's a certain inherent tone to all of them that comes through, which has been my experience, too, with the different ones I've owned over the years.

 

[RocketMusic]

Yep, that's also been my experience. They almost all share that similar sound - some are a little phatter, some are a little crisper, but they all have that same general bite to them, and that's what I really think of as the Roscoe sound.

And FYI - I just remixed the "rhythm guitar" clip. There was some unintentional distortion in my first attempt You can just use the previous link to reload the clip, there's no need to preserve that first mix...

 

[Freddels]

I could be happy with any of those. They all sound great. If I had to pick one and only one based on tone, it would probably be the Vroom-Vroom Orange. It must be all that wenge and the bart/bart combo.

 

[RocketMusic]

Yeah, I want to take them all home now, too There's not a bad one in the bunch.

 

[Freddels]

Now, I'd just like to get the tone out of an amp that you get on the recordings.

 

[RocketMusic]

You might want to look into an Alembic F1X (I'm not a dealer, just an avid user). I am using that before I go into the PC, and it's a fantastic preamp. Paired with the right power amp, it's EASY to get tons of clean, fat bass tone.

Prior to getting the F-1X, I was using an Ampeg SVT-III Pro head... I thought the Ampeg was pretty good until I heard the F1X through a Crest CA series power amp. It wasn't just 5-10% better, it was like an entirely different league of tone. Of course, I got it home and paired it with a QSC lightweight power amp that I had pulled out my PA system. But I was like, where'd my tone go?!? It was actually worse than the Ampeg. So I ordered up a Crest CA6 power amp, and the two together got me back to tone nirvana. The lesson there is that your entire signal chain matters - from your fingers all the way to the speakers, one less than ideal piece can ruin the whole thing.

Anyway, if none of your local guys carry it, I'd recommend Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center in Wheaton, MD. That's where I got mine 10-ish years ago, and they're great with pricing - no BS. Paul Shine is the bass guy.

 

[Ryan L.]

^Or an Aguilar DB750. Big, fat, hard hitting tone.

 

[Freddels]

The F-1X could be a doable option but there's really no way I want to carry around a 44 lb amp. Same thing with the Aggie. For the small jazz gigs I don't need the big stuff.

 

[Darkstrike]

Damn, thats an awesome shootout Greg, kudos!

Real hard choice too, as they all have "that" sound, suprisingly though, the Myrtle Prisim, or Vroom Vroom's Orange one, are the two I like the best(really expected to go for a maple boarded one), but between them two, I couldn't decide.

 

[RocketMusic]

The F-1X could be a doable option but there's really no way I want to carry around a 44 lb amp. Same thing with the Aggie. For the small jazz gigs I don't need the big stuff.

I am picking up TC Electronics in January... they have a few lightweight heads that really blew me away with their low end tone. Their cabs not so much, but the heads are pretty awesome... I'll do some more in-depth testing once I have the product in stock.

 

[Freddels]

I've tried the Rebel 450 but only with their cabs. The head is interesting.

 

[Ryan L.]

The F-1X could be a doable option but there's really no way I want to carry around a 44 lb amp. Same thing with the Aggie. For the small jazz gigs I don't need the big stuff.

Yeah, I don't blame ya. The Aggie is a pig to carry, no doubt. I'm still looking for something in a lightweight package that might come close to giving me what it does, tonally, but I haven't had much luck yet.

 

[Ryan L.]

Damn, thats an awesome shootout Greg, kudos!

Real hard choice too, as they all have "that" sound, suprisingly though, the Myrtle Prisim, or Vroom Vroom's Orange one, are the two I like the best(really expected to go for a maple boarded one), but between them two, I couldn't decide.

For me, it's the myrtle prism Century (might be listening with my eyes a little on that one), followed by the ziracote SKB. The SKB sounds slightly darker to my ears, whereas the Century sounds a little more "alive" and slightly punchier.

But hell, at the end of the day, after listening to all the clips over and over, there isn't one of them that I wouldn't be happy with. They all sound damn good.

 

[ubone]

Killer job Greg.
After listening to the clips a number of times I would still be hard pressed to determine my absolute favorite but, the Myrtle Prism and the Vroom Vroom Orange are the two I would be more inclined to lean towards.