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Rogue Viola (VB100) Bass Club
- Thread starter Flyingfrets
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Ok, I've got a Hofner TRC, Allparts pickups and bridge, teacup knobs and banjo tuner buttons on their way.
I was going to replace the pots (and maybe the switches) and add some caps for more tone control, but upon removing the control panel, I was disappointed to find that everything is on a circuit board. I found a control assembly on ebay for $40 that doesn't use a PCB, but I don't know what the dimensions of the control plate are and so far the seller hasn't responded to me.
The problem is; if I get new switches, I have no way of attaching them to the control plate (except to epoxy them on, which I'm not crazy about), so I kind of have to buy a pre-made control assembly (with the switches riveted to a copper plate), replace the pots and hope the switches don't crap out... Unless somebody has a better idea.
I was going to replace the pots (and maybe the switches) and add some caps for more tone control, but upon removing the control panel, I was disappointed to find that everything is on a circuit board. I found a control assembly on ebay for $40 that doesn't use a PCB, but I don't know what the dimensions of the control plate are and so far the seller hasn't responded to me.
The problem is; if I get new switches, I have no way of attaching them to the control plate (except to epoxy them on, which I'm not crazy about), so I kind of have to buy a pre-made control assembly (with the switches riveted to a copper plate), replace the pots and hope the switches don't crap out... Unless somebody has a better idea.
Yes, the circuit board on the latest model Rogue VB100 is not at all like the diagrams or even photos provided earlier in this thread.
I'm just happy it works the way I have it set up!!
I'm just happy it works the way I have it set up!!
You could make a new control plate out of a piece of pickguard material, and wire it V-V-T, like a Jazz bass. Or you you do V-B-T, or maybe V-V (or B)-Tone knob (500k pot)-capacitor switch (toggle or rotary)...plenty of options. The switches are a weird design anyway--this seems like a good opportunity to ditch them.
I had considered that, but I'd kinda like to keep the traditional look of the controls. I was going to have a master volume and a blend pot and add caps of various values to the switches for tone control. It's still an awkward arrangement, though.
Ok, I got a couple of parts in the mail today and I'm a little disappointed. The Allparts bridge that I got is a LOT taller than the stock bridge on the Rogue (like 3/8" taller!). Also, the radius on the base is not the same. I didn't expect it to match the Rogue perfectly, but it's not even close (much flatter). Much more than "a little sanding" can fix and I have no way of reckoning what the radius of the top is. But I figured I could solve that problem by using the top of the Allparts bridge on the base of the stock bridge. That would fix the radius mis-match and reduce the height a bit, but I'd still have to cut about 1/4" off the bottom of the bridge to make it work. While I was debating my options, something else occurred to me... I hadn't even thought about the radius of the top of the bridge! Since nothing else about this thing is compatible with the Rogue, I had little hope as got up to fetch my radius gauges... Sure enough, the Allparts bridge has a 10" radius while the Rogue fretboard is 15". If the radii were a little closer, or if the bridge radius were flatter than than the fretboard, I might shrug it off, but this bridge is gonna need to be be completely re-manufactured at this point, and I don't really feel like doing it. It's going back... unless someone wants to buy a bridge for a real Hofner! 
I also got the Allparts pickups. Nothing instills more confidence in me than pickups that come shrink-wrapped on a blister card.
As expected, they're a little smaller than the stock pickups and I'll have to have custom bezels made for them. OR, I might be able to mount them on top of the existing rings. I'll have more to report on that later.
I also heard back from the person selling the replacement Hofner control assemblies with the hand-wired switches. They said the control plate is 5.5" x 2.5". That's WAY too big for a Hofner, which is 4.25 x 1.25 and still quite a bit larger than the Rogue's control plate (4 7/16 x 1 11/16). I guess I'll just wire the pickups to the stock controls for now while I debate over what I want to do about that.
In the meantime, I rounded the corners of the stock control plate with my Dremel and started 'aging' it. I'll post some pics when it's finished.
I also got the Allparts pickups. Nothing instills more confidence in me than pickups that come shrink-wrapped on a blister card.
As expected, they're a little smaller than the stock pickups and I'll have to have custom bezels made for them. OR, I might be able to mount them on top of the existing rings. I'll have more to report on that later.
I also heard back from the person selling the replacement Hofner control assemblies with the hand-wired switches. They said the control plate is 5.5" x 2.5". That's WAY too big for a Hofner, which is 4.25 x 1.25 and still quite a bit larger than the Rogue's control plate (4 7/16 x 1 11/16). I guess I'll just wire the pickups to the stock controls for now while I debate over what I want to do about that.
In the meantime, I rounded the corners of the stock control plate with my Dremel and started 'aging' it. I'll post some pics when it's finished.
Got my Rogue Bass. Took it out of the box and it looked really nice. Plugged it in, tuned it up, and started to play. Much to my surprise, the setup is great. No scraping frets, action just about right, no dead spots. Hey its fun.
I had sold both my basses that were not ubasses. I sold my 1990s Fernandes because it was just too heavy. Sold the Ibanez Mikro because I just never bonded with it and it seemed kind of meh. But after I did I felt a bit of remorse because it left me with a bunch of basses where I can't make much use of the upper frets. And sometimes for playing rock I need metal strings and the metal wound strings on the uBass don't cut it for me. Mostly I wanted a hollow bass with a short neck and not a big investment. So far I think this Rogue is great. Definitely neck heavy though. I'm really happy to have access to the upper frets again. Also, its nice to get a quality of sound that is entirely different from the ubasses.
Flatwound light gauge La Bella Beatle Bass strings are already on their way to me. The strings that came on the Rogue are awful.
I'm not that good at setup and intonation. I'm thinking that when I get the flatwounds I might take it to a really good tech and get it set up properly even though the setup seems just fine to me now. I suspect putting the flatwounds on will throw things off.
I had sold both my basses that were not ubasses. I sold my 1990s Fernandes because it was just too heavy. Sold the Ibanez Mikro because I just never bonded with it and it seemed kind of meh. But after I did I felt a bit of remorse because it left me with a bunch of basses where I can't make much use of the upper frets. And sometimes for playing rock I need metal strings and the metal wound strings on the uBass don't cut it for me. Mostly I wanted a hollow bass with a short neck and not a big investment. So far I think this Rogue is great. Definitely neck heavy though. I'm really happy to have access to the upper frets again. Also, its nice to get a quality of sound that is entirely different from the ubasses.
Flatwound light gauge La Bella Beatle Bass strings are already on their way to me. The strings that came on the Rogue are awful.
I'm not that good at setup and intonation. I'm thinking that when I get the flatwounds I might take it to a really good tech and get it set up properly even though the setup seems just fine to me now. I suspect putting the flatwounds on will throw things off.
The Rogue really comes alive when you put LaBella flats on it. When I got mine, both the setup and intonation were pretty close to perfect. If your intonation is close with the rounds on, just change the strings one at a time so the bridge doesn't move. If the intonation is a little off after all the strings are replaced, it shouldn't take more than a little nudge to put it right. I don't think perfect intonation is achievable with this type of bridge (McCartney's biggest gripe about the Hofner). But you can get it pretty close... Or close enough.
The LaBella Flats came in the mail. I debated changing them myself or taking them over to a good tech for a setup. I decided to take them to a pro. When I brought in the bass, the tech agreed with me that the setup was really good. He said that he could tweak it a little, but he shared my opinion that overall the fret work and setup were well done. He said he really couldn't justify charging me for a full setup so he offered to make the few changes and change the strings for less than a full setup. I left the bass and will pick it up in a few days.
It's kind of amazing what you get for the price. I really was not expecting the Rogue bass to be so nice. In particular I was expecting a few things to be off or the frets to be unfinished. I've had a lot of fun playing this bass so I'm excited about getting the flats on it. The stock strings are simply awful. The bass cries for flats.
It's kind of amazing what you get for the price. I really was not expecting the Rogue bass to be so nice. In particular I was expecting a few things to be off or the frets to be unfinished. I've had a lot of fun playing this bass so I'm excited about getting the flats on it. The stock strings are simply awful. The bass cries for flats.
I picked up the Rogue from the repair shop today. When the LaBella flats came, I decided to have a professional setup done as well as get the strings changed.
It came out just fantastic. The tech lowered the action a bit and fixed the slight bit that the intonation was off. The fretwork needed no changes. The bass sounds amazing with the LaBella strings, and they are really nice to play. The action feels like butter. It was already fine out of the box, but with the pro setup its just really really nice. I can't believe this bass was so inexpensive. It feels like a really good instrument and sounds very pleasing.
It came out just fantastic. The tech lowered the action a bit and fixed the slight bit that the intonation was off. The fretwork needed no changes. The bass sounds amazing with the LaBella strings, and they are really nice to play. The action feels like butter. It was already fine out of the box, but with the pro setup its just really really nice. I can't believe this bass was so inexpensive. It feels like a really good instrument and sounds very pleasing.
+1
I took the PG off of mine and replaced the truss rod cover almost immediately. I thought the pickguard and matching TRC made the bass look kinda cheap (or maybe it just looks classier without it). I also have an Epiphone Casino in vintage sunburst, and removing the PG had the same effect.
So when I saw Musician's Friend having a sale on the VB-100 ($149) I had to get it. Mind you I've had two of these in the past but gave one of them away and sold the other. Anyway in their website, they had a level 3 for $95 and took advantage of it but when it arrived, had a couple of scrapes, no big deal but the neck had a nasty twist, I can fix a bowed neck but a twist... haven't tackled that yet. Back it went with no problem and ordered a new one for the $149.
Got the new one a couple of days ago, neck is as straight as an arrow and could use a bit of fret work, couple of slightly higher frets but even so I was able to lower the action real low without buzz, I'll tackle the fret work later on. Finish is almost flawless, I would say a 9.5 out of 10, looks a little darker than the yellow on the website. Changed the strings to an old set of Fender flats 45-100 and it came to life, eventually I'll get La Bella flats for it.
I'm just impressed what can be had for that kind of cash, this bass plays real nice and looks great, has good output with the Fender flats, loud and very thumpy and to my surprise, lots of sustain even with the foamy protection between the bridge and body. Oh and I also removed the pick guard, I like it better naked.
Got the new one a couple of days ago, neck is as straight as an arrow and could use a bit of fret work, couple of slightly higher frets but even so I was able to lower the action real low without buzz, I'll tackle the fret work later on. Finish is almost flawless, I would say a 9.5 out of 10, looks a little darker than the yellow on the website. Changed the strings to an old set of Fender flats 45-100 and it came to life, eventually I'll get La Bella flats for it.
I'm just impressed what can be had for that kind of cash, this bass plays real nice and looks great, has good output with the Fender flats, loud and very thumpy and to my surprise, lots of sustain even with the foamy protection between the bridge and body. Oh and I also removed the pick guard, I like it better naked.
