Roscoe bass

[bluesdragon]

Hi , I am new to talkbass and this is my first thread.. I am looking to go high end on a new bass. Playing all types of stuff. Need a real solid instrument with some different tones. Thinking about Roscoe. Heard lots of good things about them.. However, its seems to be big money for a bolt on... What's the deal with roscoe??

 

[BurningSkies]

They're very well designed and built basses...and have a very strong presence here on TB. Do a search and you might find a thread or two...or maybe even a WHOLE forum area dedicated to them.

The 'lot to spend on a bolt on' thing may have held water 20+ years ago, but not these days. the vast majority of high end booteeek basses are now bolt on.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Hi , I am new to talkbass and this is my first thread.. I am looking to go high end on a new bass. Playing all types of stuff. Need a real solid instrument with some different tones. Thinking about Roscoe. Heard lots of good things about them.. However, its seems to be big money for a bolt on... What's the deal with roscoe??

Bolt-on =/= big money? Bull! MTD's cost +4K and they're bolt-on. Get over the bolt-on vs. neck-thru debate and buy what feels good, sounds good, and is within your budget. That being said...

The Roscoe Century Std. is a great value....Roscoe quality without the frills. I snagged one and couldn't be happier. From your description of needs, it would be a perfect choice.

Riis

 

[Baird6869]

I love Roscoes and used to own 2 of them (a 5 and a 6).

They are amazingly constructed and sound great. The only negatives I can suggest is that IMO the slap tone is not great (a Jazz or a SR is better IMO) and on the 6er, the high C string sometimes got lost in the mix.

I would recommend buying used as resale on Roscoes isn't great.

 

[J. Crawford]

Just played my first yesterday and loved it. You wont regret it.

 

[AugustusFlora]

Hi , I am new to talkbass and this is my first thread.. I am looking to go high end on a new bass. Playing all types of stuff. Need a real solid instrument with some different tones. Thinking about Roscoe. Heard lots of good things about them.. However, its seems to be big money for a bolt on... What's the deal with roscoe??

Most high end basses are actually bolt on. My LG 3000 is the most comfortable and well built bass I own. The action is great and the price is lower than a great chunk of the competition (Zon, Modulus, Lakland, MTD, Pedulla, etc). I prefer LG 3000 over Modulus Quantum I used to own. It filled the modern active bass sound void that I had in my arsenal.

Lakland basses are very versatile and are worth looking into if you're a "one bass" guy.

 

[T-MOST]

I owned 2 Roscoes in the past and they were very nice instruments. If you think they are expensive bolt on's try looking at a MTD! Maybe "high end" isn't what you really should be looking at. Try a Cirrus.

 

[Kwesi]

Great basses with some of the best B strings around (if you decide to go with 5 or more strings). I have yet to play a Roscoe I didn't enjoy. Very versatile too.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

The roscoe fretless I had was without doubt the nicest piece of woodworking I've ever seen. I sold it for 2 reasons: It had a cedar body that give it a VERY dark sound... and it was a 35" scale bass, and I've moved back to playing 34" exclusively. But the quality was *great*. Besides, many folks think that bolt-on or set-neck (rather than neck-through) basses sound better. Including me.

If you decide to buy a roscoe, make sure it's what you want: He makes them with many different woods.

 

[RAM]

I also owned a Roscoe, and would still own it if the unemployment bug and a lengthy, costly divorce didn't lay claim to 60% of my collection.

Roscoes are simply amazing basses, with tremendous attention to detail, and among some of the best-playing basses I've come across.

Don't worry about the bolt-on / neck-through argument. The pendulum has swung all the way back, and there's a lot of belief nowadays that neck-through doesn't automatically make a better bass. Luthiers who build both bolt-on and neck-through basses don't feed this argument very well since there's a general perception that more expensive = better, and neck-through is usually the most expensive option in a luthiers product line.