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Roscoe Beck Forum?
- Thread starter Ezbass
- Start date
Chef
In Memoriam
Thanks. I've seen a couple on ebay sell for upwards of $1700 in like-new condition. Weren't these things like $1100 brand new?
I've heard of $1250-$1550. Someone on the boards just got one recently for $1250. I've seen more for sale in the last 3-4 months than i did for the last 3 years. I wonder if that's a sign of people moving on from that instrument or trying to cash in on the uptick in price? Curious..
That is hard to determine the reason for visibility ?
But the following is for certain:
Roscoe Beck himself on his FACEBOOK page says NOT EVEN HE HIMSELF can persuade FENDER to re-issue this model. The reasons could be many, not the least being the cost factor versus sales totals. These basses are PASSIVE with custom Bill Lawrence ( recently deceased ) pickups and I personally have not played ANY ONE Bass that comes close to this bass ( I have a RB5 ) for nailing the classic Jazz, Precision, and Music Man tones. The Lakland 55-94 comes second BUT it is active and has that distinctive Bartolini sound.
Last night I had a play off with some decent high end 5 basses that I own. They were all active/passive. Whether the other test basses were in active mode or passive mode It mattered little---- ALL EARS present gave the TONE AWARD to the Roscoe Beck--including yours truly
Many attest and I agree that this is THE BEST FENDER 5 ever made. I have owned them all--- Custom Shops, American Deluxe, Standard etc.
THESE BASSES WERE ONLY MADE FROM 1996-2007. THUS ARE LIMITED IN NUMBER. $1500 or so is a steal
I recently had mine on the TB classifieds and quickly came to my senses after hearing "crickets" and using it on a session last week. I withdrew my For Sale ad immediately.
If any of you all have any for sale $1500 or so, hit me up.
Not much quibbling or discussion with me on their value as I have one.
One of my very very expensive highly sought after boutique Fender clone may be over in the classifieds soon as it was not even close to the TONE of the RB5, it however played nicer.
That is hard to determine the reason for visibility ?
But the following is for certain:
Roscoe Beck himself on his FACEBOOK page says NOT EVEN HE HIMSELF can persuade FENDER to re-issue this model. The reasons could be many, not the least being the cost factor versus sales totals. These basses are PASSIVE with custom Bill Lawrence ( recently deceased ) pickups and I personally have not played ANY ONE Bass that comes close to this bass ( I have a RB5 ) for nailing the classic Jazz Precision and Music Man tones. The Lakland 55-94 comes second BUT it is active and has that distinctive Bartolini sound.
Last night I had a play off with some decent high end 5 basses that I own. They were all active/passive. Whether the other test basses were in active mode or passive mode It mattered little---- ALL EARS present gave the TONE AWARD to the Roscoe Beck--including yours truly
Many attest and I agree that this is THE BEST FENDER 5 ever made. I have owned them all Custom Shops, American Deluxe, Standard etc.
THESE BASSES WERE ONLY MADE FROM 1996-2007. THUS ARE LIMITED IN NUMBER. $1500 or so is a steal
I recently had mine on the TB classifieds and quickly came to my senses after hearing "crickets" and using it on a session last week. I withdrew my For Sale ad immediately.
Ill agree with you on all counts. I'm a longtime Fender guy myself, and i'm just overcome with what a fantastic bass this is. Mine is a (near mint, some plastic still on the PG) '97 and the tone is out of this world. I paid much, much less than $1500 for mine, mainly because the guy had no idea what it was. My main point was that i've seen more up for sale recently as opposed to a few years back.
IMHO a sadowsky metro rv5 is a better bass, so as you approach that price it starts not making sense to me. Really solid bass @ $1000.
Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide 2014:
Roscoe Beck 5 string $ 1300 -$1600
MADE IN USA
Sadowsky Metro $ 2550-$3150 direct from Sadowsky
MADE IN JAPAN.
The Roscoe Beck has a total of 15 different tonal settings.
ALL OF THEM MUSICAL AND USABLE.
The Sadowsky basses that I owned and played had only 3 basic tones--which for the most part were very bright and lacking in mids ?
In any case........
End of my 2 cents.
I am looking for those $1000 Roscoe Beck 5 basses about now
Wonder if the Dimension HH is Fender's answer to a reissue of the RBV. Reading through the posts in this thread, there's definitely a demand for it. The Dimension could be the closest to a reissue w/o actually being one. They look similar, but I think they're active.
I'd say going price for a dead mint RBV is around $1600 (although just recently I've seen some go for a little more--not sure if that's a trend or an anomaly). The last few on ebay went for $1650, $1775 (which was too much imho), and $1200 (and that one WAS a serious steal!).
Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide 2014:
Roscoe Beck 5 string $ 1300 -$1600
MADE IN USA
Sadowsky Metro $ 2550-$3150 direct from Sadowsky
MADE IN JAPAN.
The Roscoe Beck has a total of 15 different tonal settings.
ALL OF THEM MUSICAL AND USABLE.
The Sadowsky basses that I owned and played had only 3 basic tones--which for the most part were very bright and lacking in mids ?
In any case........
End of my 2 cents.
I am looking for those $1000 Roscoe Beck 5 basses about now
A used metro is 1700-2000 and with some single coil J pickups has lots of mids.
The best tone on an RB5 is the blended single coil sound, just like the sadowsky.
They are very similar basses but the neck on the sadowsky is much sleeker.
I love RBVs but they are not a $1500+ used bass.
Ditto…more or less. I've owned the RBIV and RBV, and could see having a IV sometime again. I've also owned (and own) Sadowskys. The RBV is well-conceived and well-built, but at the end of the day it does not have the flexibility of the Sadowsky.
Let's try to do apples with apples - A Sadowsky Metro 5 JJ and an RB V. Alder/Morado for both.
Pau Ferro boards, decent string trees, great wood for the necks, great fretwork for both. In fact, the RB basses seem to have Fender custom shop quality. But the asymmetrical neck on the RBV is not for everyone, and I felt like the fingerboard wood on the Sadowsky was a bit less processed and just felt better under my hands.
Body - IMHO, IME, the slightly smaller Sadowsky body just plain works better - this is specific to me, but when seated, I often play with the axe in a classical guitar posture rather than on my right thigh - I like how it lets me get to upper frets quickly…but it is a drag with RB J-style body. Also suspecting that Sadowsky might have accessed better body wood, and uses a lighter finish that allows the axe to speak more.
Bridge - the RBV Bridge is finicky beyond belief - lots of adjustments …. too many adjustments…hard to get right, hard to keep right, and may the paranoia ensue concerning problems. The Sadowsky bridge is simple, efficient and effective - perhaps my absolute favorite.
Electronics - the Sadowsky pre-amp rules…none of that cardboardy sound that a lot of 3-band pre-amps offer...that killer VTC control which is such an asset in either passive or active mode, and great passive or active options. OTOH, the RBV has 3-way coil switching for each pickup. This is freaking BRILLIANT. Some of the two-pickup combinations are useless, but others are the voices of Gods and Angels. But with a 3-way blade selector among bridge, both or neck pickups, it seems that some of the potential of this switching is squandered. A pan knob, or V/V/T, would have provided so much more. Nonetheless, if you don't need active, then the RBV is looking real good…but the Sadowsky lets you make much finer distinctions in tonal range.
One thing - my Sadowsky experience is P/J or dual-soapbar, so I can't speak as to whether the Lawrence pickups on the RBV, supposedly designed to eliminate beat frequencies that occur with traditional J pickups in the upper frets, really are better.
Net net: a used Sadowsky Metro, findable in the $1800 range, is an incredible deal for the money. An RBV, at $1500, is a bit steep in comparison…still a noble axe, but not likely to provide a proportionate degree of satisfaction.
Actually, ample evidence shows people are paying more than $1,500, so yes, they are a $1,500(+) used bass. It's simple - the market dictates the value.
Now, you may not find them to be worth $1,500 to you, but the open market disagrees.
I own one, and it's definitely an unconventional Fender in a lot of ways. Many people don't like the asymmetrical and massive neck, the bridge is not the most friendly thing in the world - but the tone on these things is incredible.
It's much like owning the nicest vintage Jazz you ever heard, except that it can do a lot of other things. I owned a '66 CAR Jazz that I sold during hard times many years ago, and until I got the RBV, I thought it was the best sounding bass I ever owned. The RBV is actually better IMHO than the '66 was. Were mine lost or stolen, I would not hesitate to pay $1,500 to replace it.
Since this has sort of transitioned into an RB vs. Sadowsky thread, I'll have to say that while I have a great deal of love for Sadowsky basses, I see them as very solid, but not really "exceptional". Having played several P/J or J/J Sadowsky models, I would have to take the RB over them for tone alone, although I'd give a slight nod to the Sadowsky on build quality. I've never had the opportunity to play a M5-24, and would really like to check out one of those, so my mind is open and I'm neither a strong proponent nor a Sadowsky "basher". It would great fun to play an RBV through one of the Sadowsky outboard pramps. I may have to find one of those...
There is all kinds of crazy stuff going on with used bass pricing over the last couple years that i dont understand or agree with. I really do love RBVs so the new pricing makes me a little bitter and i think with what people are asking/getting now there are other better options, i just used the rv5 as an example because they are so similar so its a really direct contrast.
Well you live in Calgary right ?
Well I was at the big Long and McQuade store there near Axe Music in early February on a visit--- and they had one of these new Dimension 2 Pickup models a $1995 plus tax in Ash with Maple board.
Well first I almost cut the fingers on my left hand from the razor sharp fret ends that were from wood shrinkage ?.
The sound was all over the place and VERY active sounding with no depth or richness. It took me less than 60 seconds to realize---for my tastes anyways--that the Roscoe beck is LIGHT YEARS superior in looks, sound, playability, and inventiveness. This new Dimension sounded like I was a G&L/ MusicMan hybrid trolling to catch un-suspecting Fender lovers--the Roscoe Beck is not like that--it totally sounds like MUCHO FENDER. I could not wait to get home to Toronto to play my RB5 after that experience
Chef
In Memoriam
I've never owned a Roscoe Beck, though I have spent a few minutes with one.
I've owned many Sadowsky's.
I really have no idea why you'd compare them. They sure don't sound or play the same.
The closest thing I've ever played to a Beck in terms of sound is the Reverend Brad Houser 5, which is still it's own separate thing, really.
I've owned many Sadowsky's.
I really have no idea why you'd compare them. They sure don't sound or play the same.
The closest thing I've ever played to a Beck in terms of sound is the Reverend Brad Houser 5, which is still it's own separate thing, really.
