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Roscoe Beck Forum?
- Thread starter Ezbass
- Start date
I have wondered this same thing, my RBV is very noisy in some rooms
Anyone try extra shielding foil?
Man that's gorgeous! My RBV is Candy Apple Red, have always hated that white pickguard. My pbass is red w/ tort, have always thought of trying a tort guard on my RBV. Where did you get yours? I've only found one site with them, and their color examples aren't great, don't wanna drop $80 on crappy tort. Yours looks truly fantastic though.
Chef
In Memoriam
PLEK is not a magic bullet; and, there are several reasons not to do it.
When you're talking about surface hardened material, if you take very much off, you can actually end up with frets that wear faster.
If the PLEK machine isn't well maintained, it can do other bad things.
A human who does great fretwork is better, IMO.
ymmv
When you're talking about surface hardened material, if you take very much off, you can actually end up with frets that wear faster.
If the PLEK machine isn't well maintained, it can do other bad things.
A human who does great fretwork is better, IMO.
ymmv
Would it be a bad idea to move the switchable resistor to the volume pot so I coud install a ToneStyler in the tone position?
Anyone interested in trading their RB? I have a couple of vintage Pbasses that we could work a deal with if interested.
My favorites are Thomastik Infeld Power Bass. Right now I'm trying some D'Addario Chromes on it to get a little more thump for some country tunes. They sound good, too, but different. They give a pretty deep sound.
Roscoe Beck used Hard Rockin' Steels, did you ever try them? I liked them on my RB5.
I also liked Thomastik Infeld Jazz flats, but those are really expensive and have really low tension that takes some getting used to.
I wish I was still an RB5 owner.
Long story short, I don't have room for more than a half-dozen basses or so.
I did know that he used Hard Rockin Steels, but I have not tried them. I am generally not a fan of steel these days, I don't want any piano-like brightness right now. But I will say, with the DR HI-Beams I used to string my RBV with, it really excelled at that sound! Basically, every time I heard Roscoes sound I always heard a warm, tube-like, bluesy, slightly overdriven sound. On his two blues bass instructional videos, you can even see the clip light on his Trace Elliot stack pretty much glow with every note he plays! I always assumed he had some really nicely tuned preamp, and some tube od going on in his signal chain to achieve that sound, cause puttin steels on an RBV bass really gets bright!
I also heard he uses a .140 B which makes me curious about that routing on the bridge opening! I sometimes struggle to yank a .130 through there! (Ok not yank, gently coax... But I can't imagine trying to get a .140 in!)
I haven't tried any Tomastiks, since I also heard that their tension is a completely different game than most other strings out there, and I've heard that their low B is quite "floppy" which I guess is a matter of personal taste and feel. I have played their flats on a vintage Pbass and it was pretty sweet! Of course you could probably put anything on a 61 Pbass and I'd love it.
I haven't tried anything from LaBella but their Deep Talkin Roundwounds, and I wasn't a fan at all. I felt they sounded kinda weak on my RBV. They did not talk deeply. Wrong strings wrong bass, I suppose.
Sorry didn't mean to turn this into a string thread! I am impressed at the wide range of character that the RBV can exhibit depending on string changes though.
I also heard he uses a .140 B which makes me curious about that routing on the bridge opening! I sometimes struggle to yank a .130 through there! (Ok not yank, gently coax... But I can't imagine trying to get a .140 in!)
I haven't tried any Tomastiks, since I also heard that their tension is a completely different game than most other strings out there, and I've heard that their low B is quite "floppy" which I guess is a matter of personal taste and feel. I have played their flats on a vintage Pbass and it was pretty sweet! Of course you could probably put anything on a 61 Pbass and I'd love it.
I haven't tried anything from LaBella but their Deep Talkin Roundwounds, and I wasn't a fan at all. I felt they sounded kinda weak on my RBV. They did not talk deeply. Wrong strings wrong bass, I suppose.
Sorry didn't mean to turn this into a string thread! I am impressed at the wide range of character that the RBV can exhibit depending on string changes though.
One of the biggest, baddest, meanest sounding B-strings I've ever played is a TI Jazz Flat .136. To me the Jazz Flats feel EXCELLENT. They sound excellent, too. I haven't tried them on an RB (though I did have an RBIV for a while - shoulda kept it), but they are excellent strings that seem to last forever.
If you don't want the piano-like tone from steels, consider the Circle K strings. I have a .142 set on my USA Jazz V and the B-string unbelievably clear and articulate, but they are very pliable. Another great feeling string. Mine are settled in nicely, but they aren't quite bright enough for me. They sound really good anyway, very clear and articulate, but there's no way to get "Marcus Miller" out of them. Definitely warm and big sounding.
If you don't want the piano-like tone from steels, consider the Circle K strings. I have a .142 set on my USA Jazz V and the B-string unbelievably clear and articulate, but they are very pliable. Another great feeling string. Mine are settled in nicely, but they aren't quite bright enough for me. They sound really good anyway, very clear and articulate, but there's no way to get "Marcus Miller" out of them. Definitely warm and big sounding.
I've owned many Fenders over the years, but I've never seen a problem like the one I've experienced with my RBIV. It's a 2004 and I am the original owner. The finish has been separating from the bass -- I removed a large section of polyester from the back of the bass with my hands.
I took the bass in to Ron Pace this morning. He's Houston's it-may-take-forever-but-the-results-will-be-worth-it guitar guy. The original finish was 3-tone sunburst; I'm having it done in Shoreline Gold metallic. Will post pictures when it's done (which will be before Labor Day, I hope).
I took the bass in to Ron Pace this morning. He's Houston's it-may-take-forever-but-the-results-will-be-worth-it guitar guy. The original finish was 3-tone sunburst; I'm having it done in Shoreline Gold metallic. Will post pictures when it's done (which will be before Labor Day, I hope).
I feel sorry to hear this story, but in the other hand, i would really love to see your's when its done in shoreline Gold metallic. My favorite color for this model (Roscoe's, sadly it didn't come factory for 4s) Actually, and eventually (its just the Trans Red is really nice tough) i will refinish my RBIV at Shorelines. I think Roscoe had (special one) one at 96-97 G3 tour. A RBIV shoreline. It is just gorgeous!
I've actually had my RBIV up for sale for a while, as I didn't have the heart to sell my '71 Jazz to pay for it, but it didn't sell.
I'm glad, because I've been playing it a lot recently with both pups on series, and the tone dialled back, and it sounds beautiful.
I think the J will have to make way....
I'm glad, because I've been playing it a lot recently with both pups on series, and the tone dialled back, and it sounds beautiful.
I think the J will have to make way....
What the heck's with the allen screws on the top part of the saddle? What do they do? Also, I can't get the low B (a D'A Chrome) to intonate. Bummer.
The screws are to lock the saddle down.
I've seen a few mentions re: the B being difficult to intonate on the V. I don't know if there's a resolution.
Why worry about locking the saddle down? The string and neighboring saddle seems to do the trick. Is there something I'm missing?
Well in the off chance I'm really in trouble and the bridge won't set up right are there other bridges that can be installed?
I'm wondering this same thing, as I have actually just broken the saddle of the B string on my RBV. I think it was just the 15 years of gigging, string changes, intonations, set ups, etc. Never had this happen before on a bass! The stinkin thing just came right in half as I changed my string! It's only the Allen head locking part, it's still fully functional to guide the string, and I'm playing it right now, but for the sake of sanity I'm going to change it.
Anyone do any bridge replacing on their RBV? Wondering if there's something that fits the same screw holes directly without having to drill new ones?
I'm in the market for any bridge that's not a quan badass, I don't really like piano-like qualities in a bass guitar, as it seems the ba really just does that. Anything that sounds or acts similar to the original bridge? Anything that makes it sound deeper and more fundamental? I'd dig that!
