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Roscoe Beck Forum?
- Thread starter Ezbass
- Start date
I've looked through the Fender Roscoe Beck Bass threads and this one seems to be the most robust conversation on the subject.
I'm bringing it up because I have wanted one of these basses since they came out almost 20 years ago.
I'm happy to say that the wait has finally ended. Here's my new baby. 
I read a lot of people raving about this model, but of course the poof is in the pudding. I can't (and won't) say this is the best Fender 5 ever made as others tend to do, but I will say that the feel of this bass reminds me of the old Valley Arts basses when they were still a relatively small company in Southern California.
I'm taking this bass to a recording session later this evening. I can't wait to hear it through the monitors.
I'm bringing it up because I have wanted one of these basses since they came out almost 20 years ago.
I'm happy to say that the wait has finally ended. Here's my new baby. I read a lot of people raving about this model, but of course the poof is in the pudding. I can't (and won't) say this is the best Fender 5 ever made as others tend to do, but I will say that the feel of this bass reminds me of the old Valley Arts basses when they were still a relatively small company in Southern California.
I'm taking this bass to a recording session later this evening. I can't wait to hear it through the monitors.
Blackbird, that's a beautiful bass. Congrats on an enviable acquisition.
murphy, your Roscoe Beck is just spectacular. It looks to be in close to pristine shape, too! Thanks for sharing - I bet it will sell quickly.
Heh. Funny to see this post (should've checked earlier!). I've been recently re-visiting my RBV (did a fret-level, setup, yadayada) and noticed two of the intonation screws were stripped. I guess the guy who had it before me probably didn't understand the locking mechanism and stripped them (I haven't played it in almost a decade). Anyway, millions of calls and google searches later, and finding parts for this bridge is impossible; even Gotoh no longer has or makes the parts.
The screws are, as you said, M3. Length is 30mm. Most important measurement is head diameter, which is 5mm. This is critical because the hole for the E&A screws is 12mm, so anything bigger than 5mm head diameter won't fit.
I finally managed to find proper screws in China (on eBay). They'll be chrome instead of black, but I'll take it!
My fear is that some day I'll have to replace the whole bridge for the same reason - lack of parts. And I'm not sure of what options we RBV owners have?
Don't worry about it. The bridge isn't going to fall apart or wear out.
If you're careful, yes. I've heard of people breaking saddles, stripping set screws, losing the nuts for the intonation screws, etc.
But, if you're careful and know how it all works, it'll totally last forever.
All the colors plus a fretless. Enjoy, I sure do.
Do you really have to be "careful"....or just not be insanely reckless? Not sure how you'd break a saddle, but I suppose Paul Simonon and Pete Townshend have figured out how. Haven't seen an intonation screw with a "nut" on it yet. I'll take your word that one exists.
Do you really have to be "careful"....or just not be insanely reckless? Not sure how you'd break a saddle, but I suppose Paul Simonon and Pete Townshend have figured out how. Haven't seen an intonation screw with a "nut" on it yet. I'll take your word that one exists.
Ah, I see. I now assume you do not own a Gotoh 206 bridge
To break a saddle, just tighten one of the intonation screws without unlocking the saddle. It'll snap right in the rear.
The saddles have a "housing" that contains the nut, into which the screw goes. The way it works is... tightening (or loosening) the screws moves the nut, which moves the saddle back and forth. On most bridges the intonation screw goes directly into the saddle, but on these the screw doesn't touch the saddle at all. In this image, 8 is the nut, 13 is a plastic washer. 2 is the housing for said nut. 4 is where the actual string rests, and it's adjustable (for string spacing) by loosening screw 5. Screw 9 locks the saddle in place via nut 6, which goes into a little channel on the bridge itself.
Good news is, even with a stripped intonation screw you can still set intonation by manually moving the saddle and then locking it.
Holy cow. I consider myself lucky to have one!
What's been done to the fretless? New neck or new fingerboard? Also controls have been changed to what?
Ah, I see. I now assume you do not own a Gotoh 206 bridge
To break a saddle, just tighten one of the intonation screws without unlocking the saddle. It'll snap right in the rear.
The saddles have a "housing" that contains the nut, into which the screw goes. The way it works is... tightening (or loosening) the screws moves the nut, which moves the saddle back and forth. On most bridges the intonation screw goes directly into the saddle, but on these the screw doesn't touch the saddle at all. In this image, 8 is the nut, 13 is a plastic washer. 2 is the housing for said nut. 4 is where the actual string rests, and it's adjustable (for string spacing) by loosening screw 5. Screw 9 locks the saddle in place via nut 6, which goes into a little channel on the bridge itself.
Good news is, even with a stripped intonation screw you can still set intonation by manually moving the saddle and then locking it.
And there it is, a bridge with nuts for intonation screws. I stand corrected. That is insanely complicated. Glad that Fender didn't use that style bridge on my RBIV.
In practice, they really are good bridges. Not all that difficult to use, except they can be a little more finicky when you go to tighten the set screw. I've had mine for a good 17+ years without any problems.
The fretless started when I found a new body and bridge together on ebay about 2003. I had my luthier take the CAR bass and make an exact copy of the neck using a piece of birdsey maple with ebony board. Fender was still selling parts so I got the pickup sand tuners from them. Pre is an Audere 4 band with passive tone and I've got the regular pickup coil switches on it. I made the pickguard. Decals are bootleg.
