More Fresh Roscoe Porn

[oren]

Any other good fretless stuff to check out? I got all the time in the whirl

In another vein altogether (though I love, love, LOVE, Jaco and those other guys):

The first guy that I saw play fretless was Freebo with Bonnie Raitt back in the early '70s (when that bad mofo Alphonso Johnson was still playing with Weather Report). Here's a good clip of just the two of them:



Tasteful to the extreme, p-bass with flats, and great intonation!

 

[LilRay]

^^Yea man! I likes Bonnie Raitt^^



God Bless, Ray

 

[Bipslapper]

99.9% of the reason people believe they can't play fretless is equal parts impatience & believing that you can't play fretless. I say BULL $#!t!!! The other 1/10th % is because they just don't want to. Practice & Patience will get you everywhere...

If I may add to Ubone's thoughts- when buying a fretless as a newbie, get the fretlines! Made the mistake years ago buying a FL MIJ Fender Jazz without lines while in an all white Reggae band.

Luckily I had my Ibanez SR 1305 as my main bass, but being the daredevil I am I would bust out the "unlined" Jazz and struggle with intonation. I listened to a ton of Weather Report, Jaco Solo, Tony Levin, Pino -so I wanted to throw in the fretless aspect to some mellow tunes and the band was cool with it. Bottom line: if you play fretless in front of an audience, you have to have decent intonation (use the fret lines and fret on the line). My 2 cents.

That being said, I really do want to proceed with the bubinga Roscoe 5 (or 6) string fretless build. Only snag- $$

 

[VroomVroom]

FWIW, a coupla' more fretless favorites:

Richard Bona w/ Pat Metheny.


Anyway, on fretless in general. Just do it. Everyone should at least experiment. And play with others - get out of the living room to discover your comfort zone. Heck, that applies in general, but realizing that you CAN play in tune with others will give you tons of confidence. And I guarantee you, if I can do it...you can do it.

Fretless Roscoes. Nuttin' like 'em. I've owned three of 'em now, and all are magnificent instruments. Took awhile for my stubbornness to subside, but once I accepted that I need lines on a 35" scale fretless neck, it opened up an awful lot of music for me. IME/IMO, my only recommendation would be to consider your woods and electronics carefully. The harder the better. Mine has an ash body and a myrtle top, along with Bart pickups and an Aguilar pre. The upper mids on this bass are just remarkable, yet there is gobs of bottom end and high sparkle that I never worry about getting lost...in any mix.

Sorry for the long post - catching up after a long week. Bottom line - listen to Steve and Pete. Fretless, more than any other variable, exposes you. You'll have to "fail" now and then...and if you're at all like me, you will. But..you'll realize that it's not the end of the world, and the sonic possibilities will take your music to a whole new level.

 

[JasonP]

Being the (future) owner of the bass this thread is based upon, I must say that my level of excitement has reached a new height. I'm hoping my skills can match the workmanship of the guys at Roscoe. Greg has been fantastic in guiding me through the design process. A custom, (made in the USA) hand made bass is something I've always dreamed of, and since I am now juggling several gigs, it felt like the right time to pull the trigger.
The biggest factor (other than the awesomeness that is a Roscoe bass) in deciding on a Roscoe was walking into the Roscoe shop unannounced, and being given the nickel tour (I live in Charlotte but have clients in Greensboro). The guys were cool and seeing the process from raw wood to finished product was such an eye opener.
Quality work from quality people that took the time and allowed me see what they were all about.

BTW, if you really wanna go fretless, get an upright. It'll change everything...

 

[VroomVroom]

BTW, if you really wanna go fretless, get an upright. It'll change everything...

First, congrats, Jason! You're going to love the bass, and thanks for sharing the tidbit about your visit to the shop. Just awesome.

Upright. IMO it does change everything...it's just a totally different animal. I spent a few years trying to grasp it, but it was like wrestling a grizzly bear. I never won, and all I ever seemed to accomplish was pissing off the bear. Frustrating to say the least...I wanted to play NOW,without having to learn all of the physical dynamics. For me, discovering the Rob Allen fretless was a huge milestone. It gets me close enough to that tone, but without any of the grief.

 

[baltimore]

Your entire experience will be unequaled!!! And us Roscoeheads are here to assist and humor you if needed!!! Welcome to the family!!!!

 

[Bipslapper]

I echo Jerry's comments. A true upright bass is a beast and I tip my cap to any one who can truly master it- I couldn't . I have owned a Fender fretless Jazz & Pedulla Pentabuzz fretless and miss the ammo in the arsenal. I am in the process of working out the specs with Gard (Ash body, Bubinga top, diamond fb?) and have the OK from my wife I do seriously value your feedback, so please chime in. (My wife, Shauna, actually said "well, you got to have a fretless" . OMG- I will try to clone her next week after my golf round


Guys (ie: Jerry, Joe and Steve Ubone)- what tops & fingerboards do you prefer for a Roscoe fretless? Gard said the Century Standard w/ diamond wood is fantastic, questions, comments, obscene remarks?

 

[ubone]

To echo Jerry's comments a third time. A quality upright is an experience to be relished, but lugging it and a rig to a gig is a pain in da butt. I'll stick with my Roscoe fretless and my Fender Jazz. And yes, both my fretless basses are lined. Muscle memory for intonation aside I need those lovely lines since my ears aren't quite what they used to be (along with a lot of other things). Age does that to you ya know...

 

[oren]

I'm a far more mediocre upright player than I am a bass guitarist, but I've been working at it for about the last seven years, in my usual half-assed manner of fitting it in around work, family, and the rest of life. When I first started I took some lessons from Doug Miller, a wonderful Seattle bassist, and he told me "upright is a big instrument, and if you don't approach it right it will hurt you. Luckily, you have a couple of hundred years of experience you can take advantage of on how to do it right."

Even though I'm much better on electric, almost all the calls I get these days are for upright - guess the competition's not as stiff. But I miss being able to show off my Roscoe!

 

[RocketMusic]

FWIW, a coupla' more fretless favorites:

Richard Bona w/ Pat Metheny.


Anyway, on fretless in general. Just do it. Everyone should at least experiment. And play with others - get out of the living room to discover your comfort zone. Heck, that applies in general, but realizing that you CAN play in tune with others will give you tons of confidence. And I guarantee you, if I can do it...you can do it.

Fretless Roscoes. Nuttin' like 'em. I've owned three of 'em now, and all are magnificent instruments. Took awhile for my stubbornness to subside, but once I accepted that I need lines on a 35" scale fretless neck, it opened up an awful lot of music for me. IME/IMO, my only recommendation would be to consider your woods and electronics carefully. The harder the better. Mine has an ash body and a myrtle top, along with Bart pickups and an Aguilar pre. The upper mids on this bass are just remarkable, yet there is gobs of bottom end and high sparkle that I never worry about getting lost...in any mix.

Sorry for the long post - catching up after a long week. Bottom line - listen to Steve and Pete. Fretless, more than any other variable, exposes you. You'll have to "fail" now and then...and if you're at all like me, you will. But..you'll realize that it's not the end of the world, and the sonic possibilities will take your music to a whole new level.

Hall Of Fame post there, Jerry!!! Wow, I'll be digesting that one all morning...

 

[LilRay]

If I may add to Ubone's thoughts- when buying a fretless as a newbie, get the fretlines! Made the mistake years ago buying a FL MIJ Fender Jazz without lines while in an all white Reggae band.

Luckily I had my Ibanez SR 1305 as my main bass, but being the daredevil I am I would bust out the "unlined" Jazz and struggle with intonation. I listened to a ton of Weather Report, Jaco Solo, Tony Levin, Pino -so I wanted to throw in the fretless aspect to some mellow tunes and the band was cool with it. Bottom line: if you play fretless in front of an audience, you have to have decent intonation (use the fret lines and fret on the line). My 2 cents.

That being said, I really do want to proceed with the bubinga Roscoe 5 (or 6) string fretless build. Only snag- $$

Definately lined Pete. Totally agree, especially for somebody like me

FWIW, a coupla' more fretless favorites:

Richard Bona w/ Pat Metheny.


Anyway, on fretless in general. Just do it. Everyone should at least experiment. And play with others - get out of the living room to discover your comfort zone. Heck, that applies in general, but realizing that you CAN play in tune with others will give you tons of confidence. And I guarantee you, if I can do it...you can do it.

Fretless Roscoes. Nuttin' like 'em. I've owned three of 'em now, and all are magnificent instruments. Took awhile for my stubbornness to subside, but once I accepted that I need lines on a 35" scale fretless neck, it opened up an awful lot of music for me. IME/IMO, my only recommendation would be to consider your woods and electronics carefully. The harder the better. Mine has an ash body and a myrtle top, along with Bart pickups and an Aguilar pre. The upper mids on this bass are just remarkable, yet there is gobs of bottom end and high sparkle that I never worry about getting lost...in any mix.

Sorry for the long post - catching up after a long week. Bottom line - listen to Steve and Pete. Fretless, more than any other variable, exposes you. You'll have to "fail" now and then...and if you're at all like me, you will. But..you'll realize that it's not the end of the world, and the sonic possibilities will take your music to a whole new level.

Post full of win and great advice. Thanks "Mr Cleartone"

Hall Of Fame post there, Jerry!!! Wow, I'll be digesting that one all morning...

+1

You guys are awesome. Thanks for everything.



God Bless, Ray

 

[Darkstrike]

If I may add to Ubone's thoughts- when buying a fretless as a newbie, get the fretlines!

I'd never think of lines as something for newbies, though, as much as personal taste. Espcially when you see most pros using them, IIRC Jaco has even remarked that they "saved his a$$"

 

[ubone]

Hell man,, I've always thought the fretlines on a fretless looked bitchin....

 

[Darkstrike]

They certainly do on a Roscoe anyway, since they're metal, I love how their visiblity changes with the lighting, and how you move the neck.

 

[metalbob]

Hell man,, I've always thought the fretlines on a fretless looked bitchin....

Very cool stuff I just checked out your reverbnation page and you are close I am in Vista I have been talking to Greg on getting a couple Roscoes

 

[ubone]

Very cool stuff I just checked out your reverbnation page and you are close I am in Vista I have been talking to Greg on getting a couple Roscoes

LOL!!!! Small world... I grew up in Vista....

 

[VroomVroom]

Great stuff, fellas.

Fretlines. It was a selfish ego thing for me, and I'm a stubborn rat bastage. But I finally remembered that it's about the music, and that which helps us bring it to life is good. My Rob Allen doesn't have lines, and in general I'm 'ok' on a 34" bass without them. However, any future fretless I buy...regardless of scale...will have lines.

Woods. Pete, I agree with Gard - a CS fretless has to be a beautiful thing. In fact, I remember the first CS I played...my initial thought was that it'd be awesome as a fretless. I'd guess it's the pickups, but also the simpleness (for lack of a better worrd) of the woods that allows the fundamental to really bark. For me, I've always subscribed to the notion that when you remove frets from the equation, you take away quite a bit of upper mids with them. So, assuming you want to 'regain' that level of cut, you'll need to choose your spec accordingly. My choice on a Roscoe would be ash, possibly with a maple top...or at least one equally hard...diamondwood board, and now that I've experienced it, I probably would lean toward the Aguilar OBP-3 (and I'm a die-hard fan of the Bart NTMB). It's a little more open (or less-compressed) and it's got this inherent emphasis on the 800-1k-ish zone in the frequency range. On a fretted bass, it can be too much of a good thing, but - at least on my bass - it's the perfect sonic replacement for those missing frets.

 

[PlanetEarth]

+ $0.02 - If you're a bad-ass no one's gonna care if your bass has fret lines or not. Having said that - IMHO: you really want to move from the visual to the audible on a fretless to develop good intonation, but they're both equally necessary; e.g. on a crappy stage where you can't hear anything to intonate against, some visual aid and decent relative pitch will be a lifesaver.

-PE

 

[ubone]

Those blessed little fretlines have saved my keister so many times it's not possible to count. I've gone to shows where the bassist is playing an unlined fretless, sometimes it's good, and sometimes it's an absolute train wreck. I'm sure the venue acoustics and volume levels are a major factor but still.. Why not just play a lined fretless and stay ahead of the game... Being the cause of a train wreck is a terrible thing in my book....