Yes. I’ve had trouble with almost any string set I’ve tried. I’ve got the Beatle bass flats on mine, which I love, but I’ll prolly never change them
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Rogue Viola (VB100) Bass Club
- Thread starter Flyingfrets
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Thank you. Not what I wanted to hear, but good info nevertheless. Before I give up on the .105 set though, I'll try the tailpiece disassembly trick I have read about...
My VB100 all ready to be played ....
Just got one of these yesterday. Added flats right away and got it cleaned up. The pots seem... not great. Scratchy even after deoxit, and they cut out if I touch them or bump them when dimed. Not a huge problem once they are set and not messed with but I'm thinking that will be something to replace soon. Anyone here replaced their vb100 pots? I also get some distortion thru the amp when playing the deeper notes on the E string and sometimes A string. I've tried it through the amp and a separate practice headphone amp. I'm wondering if the cheap pots have something to do with that too. Any thoughts on that would be appreciated
Anyway, just wanted to say hi to the club. My first TB post
Just got one of these yesterday. Added flats right away and got it cleaned up. The pots seem... not great. Scratchy even after deoxit, and they cut out if I touch them or bump them when dimed. Not a huge problem once they are set and not messed with but I'm thinking that will be something to replace soon. Anyone here replaced their vb100 pots? I also get some distortion thru the amp when playing the deeper notes on the E string and sometimes A string. I've tried it through the amp and a separate practice headphone amp. I'm wondering if the cheap pots have something to do with that too. Any thoughts on that would be appreciated
Anyway, just wanted to say hi to the club. My first TB post
Firstly.. welcome to Talk Bass! Next; as for your Rogue? One of the reasons VB-100's don't cost a lot is that, while the bass itself is usually well made, the hardware and electronics are... well, not what you'd call top shelf. In addition to the Deoxit, you might try just turning the knobs back and forth - a lot. I generally use the side of my hand to do it, when I have a scratchy pot. It usually works quite well... Might make the cut out problem go away, too. If not? Pull the control panel, and see if there's a loose wire or two. That's been known to happen with these basses. As for changing stuff on it? Yes, a number of members have changed out pots; and knobs; and tuners... Some just replace things with better things; some re-do the control layout; and some of them try to turn it into a Hofner. Personally, I've never done anything to my VB-100; mainly because I never had to. But, mine is an older, '90s Korean one; it's made a little differently than the Chinese ones, and the electronics/hardware are a little better. That's it in the picture, wearing Roto TruBass 88 Tapewound strings. As for the distortion? If you can adjust the pickup height on yours, you might try that. Some basses are very sensitive that way. I know my Gretsch Broadkaster is... But, I'm sure others will be along soon with other things to try. Again; welcome!
View attachment 3696632 Firstly.. welcome to Talk Bass! Next; as for your Rogue? One of the reasons VB-100's don't cost a lot is that, while the bass itself is usually well made, the hardware and electronics are... well, not what you'd call top shelf. In addition to the Deoxit, you might try just turning the knobs back and forth - a lot. I generally use the side of my hand to do it, when I have a scratchy pot. It usually works quite well... Might make the cut out problem go away, too. If not? Pull the control panel, and see if there's a loose wire or two. That's been known to happen with these basses. As for changing stuff on it? Yes, a number of members have changed out pots; and knobs; and tuners... Some just replace things with better things; some re-do the control layout; and some of them try to turn it into a Hofner. Personally, I've never done anything to my VB-100; mainly because I never had to. But, mine is an older, '90s Korean one; it's made a little differently than the Chinese ones, and the electronics/hardware are a little better. That's it in the picture, wearing Roto TruBass 88 Tapewound strings. As for the distortion? If you can adjust the pickup height on yours, you might try that. Some basses are very sensitive that way. I know my Gretsch Broadkaster is... But, I'm sure others will be along soon with other things to try. Again; welcome!
View attachment 3696632 Firstly.. welcome to Talk Bass! Next; as for your Rogue? One of the reasons VB-100's don't cost a lot is that, while the bass itself is usually well made, the hardware and electronics are... well, not what you'd call top shelf. In addition to the Deoxit, you might try just turning the knobs back and forth - a lot. I generally use the side of my hand to do it, when I have a scratchy pot. It usually works quite well... Might make the cut out problem go away, too. If not? Pull the control panel, and see if there's a loose wire or two. That's been known to happen with these basses. As for changing stuff on it? Yes, a number of members have changed out pots; and knobs; and tuners... Some just replace things with better things; some re-do the control layout; and some of them try to turn it into a Hofner. Personally, I've never done anything to my VB-100; mainly because I never had to. But, mine is an older, '90s Korean one; it's made a little differently than the Chinese ones, and the electronics/hardware are a little better. That's it in the picture, wearing Roto TruBass 88 Tapewound strings. As for the distortion? If you can adjust the pickup height on yours, you might try that. Some basses are very sensitive that way. I know my Gretsch Broadkaster is... But, I'm sure others will be along soon with other things to try. Again; welcome!
Thanks for the welcome! I considered tape wounds but don’t have much experience, so I just stuck with what I know, but I bet those sound great on that bass.
I did raise the neck pickup quite a bit to match the output of my Peavey T-20. I’ll try backing that off a bit to see if that helps. Good call on that. I’ll be bringing it to practice tomorrow night and possibly to a gig Friday if I’m confident it’ll work out. I mainly bought this for home use but I’m really digging it!
WOW,,, there are a few places selling a new Togue VB100 for up to $100 off normal price ..... it pisses me off because l paid around $10 more over a year ago for my VB100... 
....
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/rogue-vb100-violin-bass-guitar?rNtt=rogue bass&index=1
my bass
....https://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/rogue-vb100-violin-bass-guitar?rNtt=rogue bass&index=1
my bass
It's too bad that they are giving these basses away! I had two of the early models with black sides. They were cut from a thick block of plywood. Then they changed the construction. They are now curly maple everywhere. The top, back and sides are now of the same 3/16 material and they have kerfing all around the inside seams, like a quality acoustic. I compared these with a new Hofner Ignition, which are simply glued together, and the VB100 is made better. They sound terrific. The fact that they are selling them cheap, makes me think that they are eliminating stock and going to discontinue them. If that's so, that's a tragity.
Saw these on sale for $150 and knew I just had to pick one up! It arrived with a nearly perfect setup but I swapped out the strings for some T.I.s right away and it's an absolute beauty and thumper for sure! I can see this coming out for some club gigs with the band.
Just some things to note - the neck is absolutely perfect for me, with a full D-shape (IMO) it's comfy for me to move around on and the gloss doesn't feel sticky but has to be one of the best glossy necks I've ever played on. I'm also able to get the action low enough for my tastes and the intonation is on point, but I think that was the luck of the draw with my setup. The burst is reminiscent is an ice tea/desert burst rather than the traditional sunburst, and looks fantastic! I did take off the PG right away as it was slightly cheap looking and I preferred it without it. The bass sits comfortably in my lap and with a strap, and only has slight neck dive while being super lightweight. I noticed that the flame maple on the back is much nicer than the front but it doesn't really bother me, and there are some slight flaws in the finish here and there but it's not noticeable unless you're looking for them.
I can see keeping this one around for a while, and for $150 I am utterly stunned at the quality of this bass! I do have a set of the LaBella 50-100 Beatle flats on the way since my main band tunes to Eb, and the only other mod I can really see is replacing the tuners with a set of Gotohs or Hipshot Ultralights.
Yep, love what you did with the pick guard...did the same with mine! Bet it sounds great with that amp.
First thing I did was sand the gloss off the back of the neck. Use 600 grit or finer, steel wool works too.
My VB100 sounds best through my Ampeg BA115HP transistor combo amp. When plugged into my Ampeg SVT classic and 410hlf cab it loses something. Sounds good through a fender rumble amp too. You don't need anything fancy as the output is pretty good and pick attack works great.
I got a set of white pearl knobs for my VB100 and didn't need to change the tuners. They work pretty good and were inexpensive.
I ended up pitying teacups and thumb rests on all my Hofner basses and the Rogue as well /// my Rogue also has a wooden pickguard l made for it
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NBD! Mine just arrived from MF, and out of the box it looks fine. Nothing was broken or any body damage, that's a good start. I'll plug it in later and see how it sounds. I use flats on my other basses (all two
) and I ordered the LB Beatle strings that haven't arrived yet for this one.
Can't believe how light it is, weight was the main factor in buying it. I have a Squier SS Jag that weighs 9 lbs. and an SX Jazz that weighs 10, and they were both killing my shoulder. Playing this will be a treat! L ately I've been practicing a lot of walking bass for Jazz and I believe this tone will be perfect for that.
I don't think the club gives numbers but I'd be proud to consider myself a member in good standing.
) and I ordered the LB Beatle strings that haven't arrived yet for this one. Can't believe how light it is, weight was the main factor in buying it. I have a Squier SS Jag that weighs 9 lbs. and an SX Jazz that weighs 10, and they were both killing my shoulder. Playing this will be a treat! L ately I've been practicing a lot of walking bass for Jazz and I believe this tone will be perfect for that.
I don't think the club gives numbers but I'd be proud to consider myself a member in good standing.
You might have to remove a few sharp edges. I could have shaved with my pick guard when I first got it .
Great bass!
Great bass!
