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For a Roscoe: Bartolini or Aguilar?

svoncampe

svoncampe

Jul 10, 2008
165
37
Norfolk, VA
#1
Hi! I also posted this message under the Pickups & Electronics forum, but I thought it would be wise to do so here as well.

I am considering purchasing a Roscoe (5 string) bass sometime in the near future and am, among other things, trying to figure out what electronics to choose. My roomate owns a Roscoe with Barts preamp and pickups, and I love the sound that it gets. While I know that the wood plays a major role, the sound none the less is noticeably different than any of my other basses. I own three, all of which have Bartolini pickups and preamps as well: Ibanez BTB1205, Tobias Basic, and a custom fretless by David Pushic.

While I would love to get the sound my roommate's Roscoe gets, and even though the Roscoe Bartolinis are specifically made for Roscoe, I would not mind ordering this bass with something other than Bartolini, since all of my other basses already have Barts. However, I will stick to Bartolini for all of the good reasons I mentioned if I'd be sacrificing tone or quality in any way.

Can anyone out there give me advice and/or comparisons between the 3-way Bartolini and 3-way Aguilar preamps, be it in direct relation to Roscoe or any other bass? The other preamp upgrade, Audere, is too expensive. As far as the pickups go, I am also debating which way to go: Bartolini or Norstrand, the latter being an upgrade Roscoe offers.

Thanks!
 
#2
The Aguilar OBP-3 is a very aggressive pre IMO/IME. The controls cut and boost VERY quickly, so you have to watch them. I wish they were a little less extreme and offered more room to fine-tune. If you want modern/aggressive tone, then the OBP-3 can be very nice. I'd prefer, on any modern bass, to have a modification that allows for sweepable mids.
 
#5
Yeah, the Aggies are aggressive, they will reach out and slap both the guitarist and drummer in the face. I do prefer the bart over the aguilar for all the stated reason posted. For me, even with the Mid on the aggies turned all the way down it is still mid heavy.

My Roscoe has the Bartolini Classic Pickups which open the tone a bit with the bart preamp. The classics have more of a jazz sound compared to the Roscoe/Barts that have more of the "P" sound.

Another option if you are having the bass built is to go with the GlockenKlang preamp, The Perfect Bass has them in a 4 knob version made to fit a 4 knob Roscoe bass, but it does require a little soldering and a standard 5 knob version that requires a little less soldering. Both are around $150. check the Roscoe Forum for some reviews of the Glockeklang.
 
#6
CrashClint said:
My Roscoe has the Bartolini Classic Pickups which open the tone a bit with the bart preamp. The classics have more of a jazz sound compared to the Roscoe/Barts that have more of the "P" sound.
Click to expand...

Clint, this is interesting to me. I'm quite happy with both my SKB but if it had more of a J bass tone I think I'd be happier still. In other words if my Roscoe had an option for a j bass slap tone I'd be complete. will the classics do that?
 
#7
I was going back and forth with the same issue when I ordered my Clement custom a few months ago. I has never owned a bass with either system so I made a leap of faith and ordered the Bart and I love it!
I especially love the low-mids centered around 250 hz. Pull up on the mid pot, give a little boost and look out!
I believe the Aggie's low-mids are centered around 400 hz which would obviously give a different sound.

Unfortunately, I did not get to A/B the pre's-I had to make up my mind one way or the other and as it turns out, I'm happy with my choice.
Now that we've added a 2nd guitarist, I think those low-mids will become even MORE important!!
 
#8
I'm glad you posted this here. I posted a similar question (though not specific to Roscoe basses) over in "Pickups and Electronics" and didn't get many replies.

I'm considering one or the other (Bart or Aggie 3 band) for my fretless GWB1 - I just am not crazy about the Bart 2 band pre (NTBT).
 
#9
i love the sound of the Aggie.

im using the three band on my Clements. Only criticism is it goes from "zero to sixty" way to fast. Touch the bass pot and its a wall of thunder.

I need to ask Brian Ristola if its actually something we can fix with a different pot. Otherwise I find the aggie tone to be just about perfect.
 
#10
My Roscoe has Bart pickups and a 3-band Bart pre. My favorite thing about the Bart pre is the highs sound warm, or even a little compressed. I also like the Bart pre's midrange. My only complaint is that my Roscoe is pretty noisy in some of the clubs that I play at. I have sn Aggie OBP-3 in my Lull 5-string and I absolutely love it. I've meant to have my Roscoe's Bart preamp swapped out for an OBP-3, but I haven't got around to it.
 
#11
And thanks for the specific comments on the sound of the Barts. Now my mind is made up. It will be another year before I can order my Roscoe, but now I know I'll go with the Bart pre and pups based on these few comments alone, especially the smooth upper and mids comment. My Ibanez has Barts, but I'm sure the custom Bart setup on the Roscoe will sound even better. One more y e a r seems like such a long time.:crying: But my resolve is steel and I will own a Roscoe!:)
 
#12
Steve Clark said:
Clint, this is interesting to me. I'm quite happy with both my SKB but if it had more of a J bass tone I think I'd be happier still. In other words if my Roscoe had an option for a j bass slap tone I'd be complete. will the classics do that?
Click to expand...

In my fretted LG I have the Demeter preamp with the Classics. I can get a real good jazz tone, but it is not exact. I would think that if I tapped the coils and only used the inside coils of both the pickups (due to placement of pickups) it would nail the jazz tone 100%. As for tone of the Classics, I have compared them with a SKB3006 with the Roscoe/Barts and you can tell a difference, the classics just seem smoother through the range of tone, they are not quite as compressed or dark as the standard pickups and they sound a little brighter on the highs. If you are looking for the jazz tone, the Classics will get you much closer than the standard pickups.

In my SKB I have the Bart preamp with the Classics and it sounds wonderful. I leave the treble and bass flat, boost the mids and balance at 9 o'clock and it sings.
 
#14
It is probably about a 4 hour drive from VA Beach to Raleigh, but if you want to drive down on a Saturday we can carry both my Fretted and Fretless with the classics to Sam Ash and Guitar Center (they are across the street from each other) and you can try them out on a bunch of different amps and compare mine to your friends LG. This invitation goes out to anyone who would like to try a Roscoe.
 
#16
Hey Svon,

Alpha music in Va Beach was carrying Roscoes a few years back. Still looks like they are a retailer. They may only have a few basses but I'm sure one will be the Bart-Bart setup your looking for. I would test drive as many as possible. While the quality will be unsurpassed you may want to take the time and check on various wood and electronics setups before settling. Tone is SO subjective. While the opinions on here are great it doesn't mean squat if it isn't the tone your looking for.

I picked up a used LG3000 last year with the Bart-Demeter setup. Simply loved the tone through the PA but not so much in my in-ears. This seems to be the case with all Barts I have tried.The term often used is Whooly and I can say without a doubt this is the case. I opted to sell it to pay off debt and eventually order one with the look and sound I really want.
I would also check out the forum dedicated to Roscoe basses. Lots of great discussion and input.

Not bashing any product out there , they all are wonderful. I'm just saying you may want to research all of your options before dropping $2500+ and being completely unhappy.

Oh..they pop up used from time to time.. :)
 
#17
LightGroove said:
Hey Svon,

Alpha music in Va Beach was carrying Roscoes a few years back. Still looks like they are a retailer. They may only have a few basses but I'm sure one will be the Bart-Bart setup your looking for. I would test drive as many as possible. :)
Click to expand...

Definitely! I have actually done so already. I visited Alpha less than two weeks ago. They currently have three SKB's in stock (4, 5, and a 6 stringer). Two are set up completely with Barts, the other with Audere and Norstrand. I was tempted to get the 5 stringer right away (Barts, Cocobolo on Spanish Cedar), especially since Alpha ordered this baby before the price increase, but I have to wait to drop this amount of money (am getting married in a couple of months) plus I like the idea of doing just what you say: take my time, do the research, and place the order for a bass that will be just for me....my custom Roscoe. :) Besides, my bride-to-be said she'd buy it for me!! :hyper:
 

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