Roscoe Beck V

[Dr. Cheese]

Yep that was me....but as IIRC-you bought if from me . It was an amazing sounding instrument, but it probably weighed 11 or 12 lbs and was therefore flipped. I agree with your suggestion it'd be a superb bass with a downsized body, and probably a simpler bridge, but the same amazing 'lektronix package........it was as versatile as G & L's twin Humbucker offerings....could get almost any tone out of it.

Dang, I really have forgotten a lot! It was one of the heaviest basses I ever owned. That Roscoe Beck V, my old Purple Peavey Forum V, and my first generation SR5 HH, were all around 12lbs. They were all capable of putting my leg to sleep when I played while sitting.

 

[stephanz]

I saw Roscoe with Eric Johnson a few years ago. Eric was absolutely amazing.
Roscoe Beck is the best pocket player I have ever heard. They were great together. I was stunned by how tight they were.
Roscoe came out to talk to people. He was talking to a young guy and I didn't
want to interrupt. He is not a large man, although in my minds eye he is.
All he played was his signature bass.

 

[sumeursault]

Was this one advertised on Ebay like few weeks ago?

Not sure. It was on consignment at a shop called Loud & Clear out in Petaluma, CA.

 

[bordinco90]

So what makes these basses special? I've always seen people praising them, I'm just wondering what gives them the "it" factor. Thanks!

 

[MingusBass]

If anything, as someone who owned one for a few years, I think they’re a bit overrated.

The neck wasn’t particularly comfortable and while it offered many good sounds, none of them were particularly great. Mine was around 11 lbs and the B string was decent at best.

 

[oren]

If anything, as someone who owned one for a few years, I think they’re a bit overrated.

The neck wasn’t particularly comfortable and while it offered many good sounds, none of them were particularly great. Mine was around 11 lbs and the B string was decent at best.

I have to agree. I had one in CAR for a while and could never get a sound I really liked out of it - to my ear it just didn’t have much personality. I sold it and got a (Keith) Roscoe 5er that I love.

 

[pfschim]

Challenging due to failure?

yes, the 3 way switch contacts wear out (these are 20-25 year old basses so it's not too strange of a failure). It's not a complicated fix per se, just pull the old one and put in a new one ... easy to find them and fairly easy to repair as long as you are reasonably handy with a soldering iron.

 

[pfschim]

I'd be interested to try a 4-string at some point. They were available with maple FBs as well, no? The FB on my new V is actually Pau Ferro, which I've never experienced before.

I've seen them with rosewood and maple FB's. I prefer a rosewood or ebony fretboard so that's what I generally look for.

 

[pfschim]

So what makes these basses special? I've always seen people praising them, I'm just wondering what gives them the "it" factor. Thanks!

again, mine are 4s not 5ers like the OP. But I'll just say that, for me, they are exceptionally well built passive Jazz basses with some interesting switching combinations that make them much more than just a Jazz bass (if you want that). The Bill Lawrence passive pups are great, tons of clean output for a passive bass. With the series/parallel/single coil switching options, there are lots of tonal options available, and you can definitely get into MM style territory tone wise (if you want).

They can tend to be a bit heavy (my RB IVs are not too bad ... 9 and 9.5lbs respectively) ... can't comment on the weight of the 5ers. I feel like Roscoe pushed Fender to produce a bass with custom shop quality at a price point that was reasonably accessible. Of course, I have seen the more recent asking price for these basses go sky high ... but that's more of a market statement IMO as we have seen the prices for everything go up.

 

[sumeursault]

I have to agree. I had one in CAR for a while and could never get a sound I really liked out of it - to my ear it just didn’t have much personality. I sold it and got a (Keith) Roscoe 5er that I love.

I played a few Keith Roscoe basses years ago (never owned), and definitely got the sense that those were built for speed, so to speak. Very facile playability. Jimmy Haslip certainly gets a good sound from his. Although notably, the pickups are in the reverse orientation relative to the strings on his due to the reverse lefty thing, which I would imagine changes the sound characteristics quite dramatically.

 

[sumeursault]

If anything, as someone who owned one for a few years, I think they’re a bit overrated.

The neck wasn’t particularly comfortable and while it offered many good sounds, none of them were particularly great. Mine was around 11 lbs and the B string was decent at best.

I will say this, although my experience counts for zilch because I've only owned the RBV for a few days...

I purchased my first 5-string in years recently, prior to the RBV, because I'm getting back into doing wedding gigs and feel like a 5 is just a better tool for the job. That one is a Yamaha BBP35, which is P/J and doesn't really do a J-bass sound at all. However, the neck is night-and-day more comfortable relative to the RBV. My very early (and liable to change) initial sense is that the Yamaha will end up in the gig bag more often for that reason alone. Plus, my personal taste tends more towards the P-bass sound for most situations...although I really love good J-bass tones as well. That's why I thought I might try the RBV...it was labelled the Swiss army knife of basses by Fender. Time will tell how much utility it holds for me. My hands are not quite as, let's say, 'agricultural' as many bass players.

 

[sumeursault]

Dang, I really have forgotten a lot! It was one of the heaviest basses I ever owned. That Roscoe Beck V, my old Purple Peavey Forum V, and my first generation SR5 HH, were all around 12lbs. They were all capable of putting my leg to sleep when I played while sitting.

Mine weighs 10.1lbs, which seems like it's within the acceptable range for a 5-string, although certainly not light by any stretch. My beef will probably end up being more with the beefy neck, not so much the overall weight...

 

[BobKos]

I don't want to derail, but I noticed this pickup pole configuration in this pic. Inspired by the EBMM Smoothie bass, I thought about dropping a set of 5 string Jazz Bass pickups into a 4 string bass to see what happens. Of course the bass will be ruined if it is a fail so I held off. Now I see the same thing here tied into a bass with a good reputation. I never knew the RB basses were set up this way. I am wondering - is a major part of the tones this bass is known for due to the pole piece configuration? Or is it that way PLUS a heavy dose of Bill Lawrence magic? Seeing this rekindled my old idea so any feedback is appreciated.

 

[sumeursault]

I don't want to derail, but I noticed this pickup pole configuration in this pic. Inspired by the EBMM Smoothie bass, I thought about dropping a set of 5 string Jazz Bass pickups into a 4 string bass to see what happens. Of course the bass will be ruined if it is a fail so I held off. Now I see the same thing here tied into a bass with a good reputation. I never knew the RB basses were set up this way. I am wondering - is a major part of the tones this bass is known for due to the pole piece configuration? Or is it that way PLUS a heavy dose of Bill Lawrence magic? Seeing this rekindled my old idea so any feedback is appreciated.

View attachment 5148831

From the original Bass Player Magazine review:

"Another important element of the instrument's fat-and-round sound is the pickups' alnico "Tri-Pole" magnet configuration. Although the pickups appear to have 12 polepieces each, there are actually 22, as each string has two dedicated magnets directly below it, located underneath the pickups' covers. Fender says this arrangement reduces the "double-beating effect" for better intonation past the 12th fret, because the magnets have a softer magnetic pull, especially on the B and E strings. It works, as the bass has a very clean and stable sound in the upper positions, even along the B."

EDIT: On second reading, this doesn't really make sense to me... If each pup has 2 magnets per coil per string, and it's 5 strings, wouldn't each dual coil pup have 20 magnets (2x2x5)?

 

[Core Creek]

Oddly there are to Roscoe basses on Craigslist near me at the moment - a 4 string for a crazy price and a 5 string for $999. Seems like a good deal. If anyone is looking for one check it out in Trenton NJ. No, it’s not mine….

I’d take a look if I hadn’t permanently made the switch to 6’s. Also I have tiny hands… you guys have convinced me it’s probably not going to be a comfortable neck for my puny fingers.

 

[sumeursault]

Oddly there are to Roscoe basses on Craigslist near me at the moment - a 4 string for a crazy price and a 5 string for $999. Seems like a good deal. If anyone is looking for one check it out in Trenton NJ. No, it’s not mine….

I’d take a look if I hadn’t permanently made the switch to 6’s. Also I have tiny hands… you guys have convinced me it’s probably not going to be a comfortable neck for my puny fingers.

That one's a scammer. I know, weird, right? Contact him and he'll claim it's in NC, not NJ. Trust me, at that price, if it was for real, it'd be long gone by now.

 

[jim nolte]

Oddly there are to Roscoe basses on Craigslist near me at the moment - a 4 string for a crazy price and a 5 string for $999. Seems like a good deal. If anyone is looking for one check it out in Trenton NJ. No, it’s not mine….

I’d take a look if I hadn’t permanently made the switch to 6’s. Also I have tiny hands… you guys have convinced me it’s probably not going to be a comfortable neck for my puny fingers.

Just curious if you have small hands what 6 string are you playing, Ibanez ?

 

[JeanBG]

Congrats! Awesome basses, played mine for years but sold it recently due to the neck profile and rather heavy weight. It was a plain sunburst one, yours is much cooler!

 

[Core Creek]

Just curious if you have small hands what 6 string are you playing, Ibanez ?

I have a bunch of Kiesels - all 16mm spacing I believe, and relatively thin necks (two Icons and a Vader headless).

I also recently bought an Ibanez multi scale headless. It’s probably a little thinner than the Kiesel necks but the Kiesels feel a little better and the electronics are definitely better too.

 

[dylanjohnson]

I love mine and basically play it on all my electric gigs. I love the neck and the string spacing. Didn't think I would but I do. Anthony Jackson would always talk about keeping the Fender string spacing for his 6 strings, and I can see why. It is a little low output but I love having a passive bass with just enough versatility. I think like all basses, some of these will be exceptional and a few will be maybe good but not great. Mine is wonderful. By the way, if I remember correctly, there was a Bass Player article where Bill Lawrence discussed how there are more poles under the pickup cover than the ones you see. Something about the location of the hidden magnets being used to balance out the B string with the rest of the strings.