Modulus or Roscoe?

[Miles Berry]

Its finally time you guys, After 4 months of saving and talking about it, im finally getting a new bass. I want a six string and at most I have about 2000$ to spend. Whats the best six string for that price. The modulus and the roscoe would be used of course. But any input would be highly appreciated.

Thanks

Miles Berry

 

[supernaut]

they are both very nice basses. Have you had the opportunity to play a Modulus Q series (I assume you are interested in a Q6) and a roscoe bass. they both have different characters. I have a preference toward roscoe but unless you play both it is hard to describe the differences, both have their up-sides.

 

[Miles Berry]

I'm hopefully going to try out both basses tomorrow in sacramento at basses electric and acoustic. I guess I'll just have to see what strikes me.

thanks man.

 

[Alistair R]

Yeah, both are killer makes so just try them both out and see which suits your fancy.

Personally, I'd go for the Roscoe.

 

[Dave]

Both basses are very very good, among the best, if not the best in the price range. Roscoes are well known for their 6 string necks, theyre by far my personal favorite.

What kind of sound are you looking for? What music do you play? This can help us get you goin in the right direction. The Roscoes have a very unique sound, whether or not its for you, is for you to decide. Let us know how it goes tomorrow at the shop.

 

[Bassmanbob]

I like the Modulus basses, but not only do I prefer a Roscoe, IMHO, no bass is better built regardless of price. I've found basses as good, but not better. I've been a big fan of Roscoes for about three years now.

Good luck with your search!

 

[Gnome]

Wow. I'm surprised I'm the first. I'd go for the Modulus. Yeah, they'll tell you it's a matter of taste and whatnot. I've tried a few Roscoes and Moduluseseses (Moduli?)

From what I've tried, both are pretty unique basses. However, the Modulus has those growling lows. It may need a bit of equalizing, especially when playing midrange stuff, but it's totally worth it.

I don't really know what to say about Roscoes. I think I may just have been unlucky and tried a couple of bad ones. It wasn't the setup, definately. Or maybe they just didn't rock my boat.

Insert any number of courtesy phrases, apologies, and whatnot.

 

[chris-piano]

Roscoes I'm told have a little more 'character' and 'personality' and al those x-factor words associated with woods. I've never played one sadly, but they look beautiful. I just dont like bolting wood to wood, when i bought my modulus it was because it took the bolt-on clarity philosophy to its natural conclusion. Quantums are the most disturbingly clear and accurate basses I've played on which is great, but as many might point out- the sound is probably too even for alot of people and the low B is an absolute beast that ive certainly had to tame a bit in my EQ section.

 

[DrGroovenstein]

I like both, but they are pretty darn different. Having owned an LG and Q5, I'd have to pick the Q5. I tried an SKB 3006, but it just didnt physically "fit" me. I personally like the modulus basses with the wood fingerboard option by far over the phenolic as well.

 

[lpjiang]

I played a Modulus Q5 for a long time, and become a Roscoe lover for a couple of years.
Both are excellent basses, but still there're some differences can influence the final choice.
The neck feel is very different. The usual Maple/Purpleheart Roscoe neck feels like wood, and the graphite Modulus neck feels like a big glass plate. And for the basic sound, Roscoe tends to reflect the neck/body materials, while Modulus gets more influenced by pickups/electronics combination IMHO.
The third thing should be noticed is the string spacing issue. Modulus only provide very narrow (16.5mm) and super wide (20mm) options on 5-string Quantum models, and Roscoe can be ordered from standard ~18mm to other variations.
It's totally personal to say which one is better.

 

[DEEPENDMUSIC]

I own both a Q5 and an LG3005. I love both basses. The Roscoe has the best tone I've ever heard and the B-string is better than the Modulus. The Modulus' sustain can't be beat, although it's not as punchy as the Roscoe. One thing that I don't like about the Roscoe is sometimes the pickups can get in the way because of how close together they are, although I think the pickup position is the reason for the incredible tone.
If you get a Modulus, try to get one with the Chechen fretboard instead of Phenolic. You'll get a better, more woodsy tone and still that Modulus sustatin. I love both bass, although I've favored the Roscoe lately because of the tone and punch. I hope this helps.

 

[T. B. Player]

There's a dynamite SKB3006 on Ebay that's under your 2K - purpleheart fingerboard and all. I thought I had wanted a Modulus (especially with the sound that Dave Matthews bassist gets), but the string spacing is too narrow for me. I played a Roscoe in March and it took all that was in me not to place an order for one (since I favor the Century body over the SKB). Incredible tone and playability. I know my 6 string fretless will be a Roscoe (when ever the $$$ starts rolling in...which should be any decade now.)

Z

 

[Fawkes007]

Roscoe all the way. If I wanted a graphite necked bass, I wouldn't go Modulus. That being said, if I waned another bass, period, I would go with a Roscoe.

 

[Psychicpet]

I've only had a chance to play a Modulus 6 and it was waaaaaay easy to play and even BUTT I've always loved the sound of Roscoes that I've heard recorded, everything from Ten Shekel Shirt (Christian pop/rock) to ;ofcourse; Mr.Jimmy Haslip whose Roscoe tone has almost and a very close almost caused me some financial ruin

but all the best in your search and remember, whatever makes you want to play... grab it and gruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuve

 

[blmeier7]

Both are great basses. I owned a Q5 for about 4 years and sold it to get a SKB 3005. Most of this has already been stated but the Modulus has the best sustain of any bass I have played. There is a lot of precision and clarity to each individual note on the Modulus. The 17mm string spacing of the Q5 is not as easy for me to play as the SKB. I would also get a chechen fingerboard if I ever went with another Modulus. The Roscoe has more punch and a nice organic tone. The neck on the Roscoe is probably the most comfortable of any bass I have played. The SKB I have lighter in weight than the Q5 I owned. I think the Modulus had better overall construction than the Roscoe. Sorry to jump around so much but those are my thoughts after owning both. I would try to play both before buying because they are different.

 

[RAM]

Having owned a Modulus Q4 for a while (which was subsequently traded to fund my Spector), and having played numerous Roscoes over the years, I will back up those statements about both being great instruments, but very different animals. The single biggest thing both had in common, IMO, is their inate ability to produce incredibly clear, harmonic-rich tones.

Harmonic-rich tones that sing with incredibly clear notes is great, if you are looking for that modern, hi-fi sound, and neither bass is a bad choice for that. What I couldn't get past, with the Modulus, was the fact that it always had a certain unnatural sound in the attack and decay. The attack always seemed to overpower the fundamental, in a way that reminds me of someone hitting a bell with a metal hammer. Those Moduli I've played that had Barts had less of this attack, but the harmonics and fundamental still had a strange quality to my ear. I could see why people love them, but the tone just wasn't for me.

The Roscoes I've played had the same clarity, as I stated above, but had a more organic quality to the tone (which will vary greatly, depending on the wood choices). There was also a certain quality to their attack that seemed to blend more with the fundamental, as opposed to fight the fundamental. That may be why I perceived Roscoes to have more warmth and not sound as "sterile". Also, because of the perceived advantage Roscoe has in this department, the pickups allow better variations in tones.

Interestingly, however, as many Roscoes I've played, there always seemed to be slight differences from one-to-another that made some play well, others play like butter...I can't explain it. And, not to take away from Roscoe, I've also found the same "issues" in MTDs (which I'm an enormous fan of), Laklands, Spectors, Alembics, and even (perish the thought) Jerzy Drozd. These wood basses all have a human element to them that explains these slight variations.

OTOH, Modulus necks are molded, and are more consistent from one to the next. As a result, no Modulus ever played even the slightest bit differently from the next (with the exception of adjustable factors, such as string height or string gauge).

 

[Hollow Man]

I'd get a Roscoe without a second thought.

 

[Miles Berry]

Thanks for the replies guys. I had a pretty awesome experience at Juan's, and I must say hes a pretty awesome guy with a pretty awesome shop. He had no problem staying late to have a few punk ass kids come and try out his basses, and he sat and talked with us for a while, it was really cool. I started out by playing his modulus q6 which I really liked the feel and sound of. Then I played a roscoe 5 which I wasn't really digging the sound of. Then a dingwall afterburner II which was easy to play, I just wasn't digging it too much either. Then a Zon 5 string which felt good, and a Lakland dj 5.

I must say the Mudulus q6 felt and sounded the best to me. I liked the feel of the graphite neck, and the clarity of the sound. The roscoe didnt feel all that great to me, but like you guys said, they can come out different since the necks are wood.

So, I still don't know what to do, after playing that modulus yesterday, I was kind of set on getting one of those, and that remark from RAM saying that all moduli played the same is pretty heartening. I guess I'm just gonna wait until one comes into my price range online.

I play pretty much everything. My main instrument is a messenger electric upright, I play a lot of jazz as I'm in the jazz band at the CC here. I also play lots of fusion and world funk and stuff, and occasionally blues, but im not the biggest fan. I also play some metal, and with the 6 string I think i could cover all of that pretty well, and still do the solo thing when I have the time. So we'll see.

Thank you for all the replies guys, and any more input would be highly appreciated.

Miles Berry

 

[BuffaloBob4343]

I've owned both a Modulus Q5 and a Roscoe SKB3005. I still own the Quantum.

I thought the Roscoe was beautiful and very well made, but I'm not a big slapper and I felt the sound was best suited for that 70's J-bass type sound.

I love my Quantum. While the neck is smooth like glass, I find it to be quite fast and comfortable to play. The string spacing is 17mm, not 16.5mm as stated in one post above. The action is extremely low and fast, and the tone is crystal clear but with some warmth. I attribute that to the Chechen board. It responds well to right hand position and dynamics. The fit and finish is perfect, as it was with the Roscoe.

I think it depends upon what sound you are looking for. For what I needed, I found the Q5 to be more versatile and applicable.

 

[JOME77]

Personally I'd go for the Roscoe over the Modulus. I've found the Roscoe to sound much phatter than the Modulus. All of the Modulus basses that I've played sounded a bit thin and bright. I would suspect that you could warm it up a bit by using specific body woods but the graphite neck is going to greatly influence the sound.

I've owned 4 Roscoe 3006 basses and they all played and sounded great. In the end just one too many strings!