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My Future Roscoe

RocketMusic

RocketMusic

Gold Supporting Member
Commercial User
Oct 31, 2007
10,754
8,929
Blacksburg, VA
www.rocketmusic.net
Disclosures
Owner, Rocket Music
#1
My wants are pretty simple...

Century Sig V
Koa #2 Top
1-piece Ash Back
Wenge Wedge Neck
Natural Oil Finish (body and back of neck)
Joe Barden JB5 pickups
Audere 4-band EQ (Roscoe version)

The fretboard is the last sticking point for me now... Ebony? Plain Maple? Bird's Eye Maple? Ebony?

Yep, I said Ebony twice... it's the easy choice for me, it's what I've played on one bass or another for 15+ years... I'm giving myself until Monday to decide... until then, by all means send me some input one and all :)

Picture this on a bass:
3000.jpg
 
#3
Schawing!

Greg, can you help me understand the sonic qualities of wenge wedge and the Joe Barden pickups? Between those and that pre-amp, I'm just wondering if you might want birdseye maple or maybe even cocobolo/similar on the fretboard? Total uneducated guess at this point. Aesthetically, in my eyes it'd be a coin toss between (regular) maple and ebony. I love 'em both, and think either would look beautiful against that top.

By the way, you forgot the "I" at the end of "Century V." :D I'm just here to help. :ninja: :hiding:
 
#4
Yep, ebony is the obvious choice for me. I'd like to try Maple for the look, but I haven't owned a Maple fretboard bass since my very first $150 P-Bass copy back in the early 80's... the Maple would definitely be a leap of faith sort of choice right now.

Anyway, to my ear, the wenge wedge neck brings the thunder. Deeeeep but tight tone.

I think the Ash will add some clarity and some growl? Prominent mids, right? Koa, I'm not sure about. Gard's advice was don't even consider Spanish Cedar with it. I'm guessing Koa is a little dark? Honestly, the Koa is all about looks for me... tonal consequences be damned. But if it is dark, then maybe a Maple board WOULD be wise?

Joe Bardens are hot, passive humbucking pickups that sound a lot like regular jazz bass pickups, just on steroids. There's plenty of beefy bottom, plently of sparkle, lots of clarity. Some people call them glassy, I call them clear. And of course they're noiseless.

The Audere to me is pretty transparent, but the 4-band EQ gives you GOBS of tonal control. Wanna give them no choice but to dance? Turn up the low mids and thump the crowd into submission. Wanna cut through for a solo? Turn up the high mids. Add bass and treble to taste, but I don't really mess with those knobs too much. The mids are where it's at.

And the congregation should now stand and say "So Sayeth The Gard, The Mids Are Where It's At".
 
#5
DEFINITELY go with the ash body, IMO.

Birdseye maple would look killer with that top, but if you are more comfortable with ebony, that's the route you should probably go.

I've only played one bass with Joe Barden pickups in it--don't know which model they were, but they were put in a Fender Jazz at my local store. Probably THE best sounding passive jazz bass I've ever played. (wonder how they'd sound in my Streamer Stage II??)

I wasn't a huge fan, in the end, of the Audere preamp in the last SKB3006 I had (also had Nordy DC's in it too, to maybe it was just the combination of the Audere/Nordstrands that left me feeling a little "lacking"??). But then, I'm a firm believer in the Bart/Bart system in a Roscoe.:smug: (I was also not a fan of the Demeter preamp in a Roscoe, so go figure).
 
#7
Cool - thanks for all the input, fellas!

Last night as I was falling asleep (or failing to fall asleep - curses, Rocoe!!), I had myself convinced to go Maple... why not try something different, eh? I've got two ebony boards already (Alembic Europa and Warwick Thumb NT), do I really need a third?

I'm back to waffling this morning, but I'm still leaning Maple... Gard has such good taste, I'll certainly seek his advice as I put the order in... he does live right next to the woodpile, after all :)
 
#8
Greg, just my take....you use words like sparkle and clarity with regard to the electronics, I'm thinking the maple board might be perfect.

Aesthetics....do you have an idea on the final color of the koa...will it be lighter, darker, or about the same as it is now? If it's the same, or even darker, I'm thinking the maple will be the perfect contrast to really show off the grain of the top.

Good luck...what a terrific problem to have! Between you and Gard, I'm sure you'll make terrific choices.
 
#11
Yep, and I'd say "fish" is about how I feel. Man, I hate that sinking feeling when you commit a bunch of money... it's not second thoughts, it's just more of an "oh, crap, there goes what could have been a serious dent in my mortgage". It's so much easier ordering basses for my store inventory, I never get nervous about that... I know I'm only paying for those basses temporarily :)

And, Jerry - yeah, I expect the Koa to darken a bit with the oil finish. Oil finishes are usually pretty amber-ish, so that should darken the wood slightly. And I think you're absolutely right, maple will set it off really nicely. And I let Gard talk me into Bird's Eye over plain Maple (not that it took much convincing).
 
#17
Yeah, I can't wait, Rob. I feel like asking for progress pics already. Surely they've glued something up by now?!? It's been AT LEAST three hours since I put the order in... JUST KIDDING, GARD!!

It's funny - I do a TON of custom orders for Suhr and Gadow guitars, but I've never ordered anything custom for myself. I bought my Alembic off the rack back in the day, and same for my Thumb NT a couple years ago. I already have a better appreciation for what my custom order customers go through... man, it's nerve wracking. It's all I've been able to think about for two weeks... and once you commit, it's like "where is it?!?!?!"

Patience, I must tell myself... breathe in... breathe out...
 

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