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Fender Roscoe Beck Settings

PolkaHero

PolkaHero

Supporting Member
Jan 5, 2002
2,641
3,296
Michigan
#1
Hi, just received a Roscoe Beck IV and I am a little overwhelmed by all of the pickup controls. Seems like humbucking parallel mode is a way to retain the single coil sound without the noise, is this a correct assessment? I don't hear alot of difference between these two settings. Now series humbucking is a completely different animal, huge sound! I was just wondering what your favorite settings are, those you find most useful. I plan on using this in a band that covers everything from polkas to rock to country so I'm looking for what settings will work for each style.

Can someone explain the "extra" allen screw on the top of the bridge saddles? It looks like an extra height adjustment for the rear of the saddle.

Really impressed with this instrument so far, it seems to incorporate any improvement one could think of to add to an existing Jazz Bass. Only thing I would change right now are the control knobs, not sure if I like the rounded dome ones currently installed.

Sorry, no pictures yet!
 
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#2
The third screw is a locking screw, keeps the saddle locked down tight.

I find the parallel humbucking sounds a little fatter and less agressive than the single coil mode.

I often favour the neck in series, and bridge in single coil combo, though I do change my settings a lot.

:)
 
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#4
PolkaHero said:
Hi, just received a Roscoe Beck IV and I am a little overwhelmed by all of the pickup controls. Seems like humbucking parallel mode is a way to retain the single coil sound without the noise, is this a correct assessment? I don't hear alot of difference between these two settings. Now series humbucking is a completely different animal, huge sound! I was just wondering what your favorite settings are, those you find most useful. I plan on using this in a band that covers everything from polkas to rock to country so I'm looking for what settings will work for each style.
Click to expand...

I mostly use series humbucking: with neck pickup soloed, it gives the nice woolly P-bass vibe that I prefer. For classic J-bass tones I use both pickups in single-coil. The neck pup soloed sounds great in single-coil mode, but noise will often (usually?!) be a problem. So, as you've observed, parallel humbucking is a nice alternative.

As noted, experiment. A friend of mine likes neck pickup in parallel and bridge pickup in series. Maybe you'll prefer the reverse, who knows?

The only issue -- as you've noticed -- is the huge difference in output between series mode versus single-coil and parallel. That makes it difficult to switch between series and the other modes on the fly.
 
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#6
Thanks for the suggestions guys, there's so many combinations to work with and all of them sound musical! I used to have a G&L L2000 that had similar switches but its pickups didn't sound as good as these plus this has a more comfortable neck. Can't believe Fender didn't sell more of these to prevent it from being discontinued.:confused:
 
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#11
Congrats on getting this bass. I think it is the best J bass Fender ever made, it is a shame the 4-and 5-stingers have been discoutinued. There was only one thing I did not like about the 5-stringer which is the reason I eventually sold it: the string spacing it too wide for my hands.
 
#12
Hi, what strings are best choice for this bass, I recently got it, string are pretty old and sound is terrible, no punch at all, too many mids, and I hate the slap sound. at this moment it appears to be impossible to get any modern sound from this thing.

I'm wondering anyone has had same issue?

maybe something is wrong with pickups? I checked the wiring and all seems to be ok.

before this I have played usa deluxe 5 w/o preamp and was very happy with sound both with new or old strings

thanks
 
#16
Okay, after using my Roscoe for a couple of months here's my favorite setting:

Both pickups on in series humbucking!
Volume and tone all the way up

Absolutely huge tone and with enough output to rival that of an active bass. If the song calls for it, I will favor the bridge pickup but the above is where it's usually set at.
 
#17
The parallel setting is smoother and more "modern" sounding. I like that one a lot with the tone knob pulled up for a tone that is 2 clicks toward a stingray sound from a J-bass sound.

The best sound is single coil blended strait up. Perfect J tone. Pulling up on the tone knob gives it that bridge blend burp.

There are some interesting sounds where you set one pickup to parallel and the other to series, and use the tone pull or not ... but I find those to sound better solo than in the mix, where the J tone tends to really shine.

I don't really care for the series sounds, but I never like series sounds.
 
#18
Darkstrike said:
The third screw is a locking screw, keeps the saddle locked down tight. . . .
Click to expand...

Yes, and a note of caution: Make certain that you loosen these before you attempt to raise the saddle pieces. If you don't it is fairly easy to break the saddle piece. If you break it, a replacement will not be easily found.


I really liked running my bridge PU in series and the neck in parallel. I thought gave me that middy grunt without being too muddy.

I also used the push-pull function quite a bit. I never opened up the bass to look at the circuit, but I think that it basically just cuts the output of the neck PU.
 
#20
Chasarms said:
I think I would go even further out on a limb and say that in terms of design and functionality, it is the best bass, PERIOD, that Fender has ever made.


Mine was a heavy hunk though. I sure won't miss that. Especially going to an 8.5 lb bass.
Click to expand...

I'd definatly agree with that, seriously, the thing is a masterpiece.

I was lucky, and snagged one thats not heavy, no featherweight, mind you, but definatly no anchor.
 

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