After watching the video I stand corrected. When Keith has free rein to create, this is the result. It sure is a beauty!
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Roscoe Club
- Thread starter JOME77
- Start date
After watching the video I stand corrected. When Keith has free rein to create, this is the result. It sure is a beauty!
I own 4 Roscoe basses and got them all used. Some changed hands several times prior to arriving at my house. Why? I have really no explanation other than many of us have the habit of always looking for something....more or better or........???
I traded for my fretless Century 6 and bought the others: SKB 6, Century 5 and LG 5.
I am speaking to myself as well when I say: "We need to just decide to be happy with the basses we have and spend our time practicing rather than shopping."
Weather is kind of iffy here these days but when it improves I will take some photos of my Roscoe basses and some of you will be able to say..."Hey, I used to own that bass!"
I traded for my fretless Century 6 and bought the others: SKB 6, Century 5 and LG 5.
I am speaking to myself as well when I say: "We need to just decide to be happy with the basses we have and spend our time practicing rather than shopping."
Weather is kind of iffy here these days but when it improves I will take some photos of my Roscoe basses and some of you will be able to say..."Hey, I used to own that bass!"
Agreed. I have WAY too much gear, but looking at the stuff I have, it's all so nice. 20 years ago I wouldn't believe I own it. But there's always something new and shiny
It's also good to see that a lot of the basses I've moved in the past have found a more permanent home, as I haven't seen them up for sale again since, so maybe it was just me, and not them
Beautiful but Priced a bit high for a used Roscoe. Love the fingerboard too!
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The quest for tone. I had that for a while and it was terrible and good at the same time. I have been pretty good for a decade or so now. Once I got my Roscoe situation settled I as good. I strayed a little a couple times recently to try a couple things I thought I "should" like, but I always come back. I wish I wouldn't have sold my fretless to try the Fender P5 and Sadosky MJ4. They were both nice but I have a P and the Sadowsky was nice but not a Roscoe. I don't have a lot of "spare" cash these days, and no bass to sell to finance, but I'd love to have one of my Century 5 fretless basses back. That was my "master plan" for a long time, to have a pair of basses, fretless and fretted, and call it good. My Classic P is an unexpected pleasure and gift from my wife so it stays. I really like that bass and I've never liked a P bass before getting it. If someone wanted my Yamaha MODX6 I could find a way to get by without that. That would get ma about 1/2 way to a used Roscoe fretless maybe.
I think it’s considered a “demo”, so it has the warranty… but we’ll see, he moves a lot of gear, which as a dealer, is a good thing
Yeah, the "chasing the tone" thing can get a bit tiring. In the end you just have to make one work for you (or several). I can honestly say that with all the Roscoe basses that I've owned (ashamed to type that number these days) none of them sounded bad. Yeah, there were a few that were special in the way that they sounded, played or looked but I could have gigged with any of them. And I've only had one that had issues that absolutely had to be corrected. But was it fun getting to try all of those various configurations or Roscoes? Well heck yeah!
And in the end, when all the smoke cleared, I ended up with exactly what I always said that I wanted, a fretted Roscoe 5 and a fretless Roscoe 5. And whatever those can't do I supplement them with a few basses from other builders that do that well. And IMO there's no shame in that.
In the end, they're nothing but tools of the trade.
And in the end, when all the smoke cleared, I ended up with exactly what I always said that I wanted, a fretted Roscoe 5 and a fretless Roscoe 5. And whatever those can't do I supplement them with a few basses from other builders that do that well. And IMO there's no shame in that.
In the end, they're nothing but tools of the trade.
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I feel like I have the perfect combo in my modded SKB3005:Yeah, the "chasing the tone" thing can get a bit tiring. In the end you just have to make one work for you (or several). I can honestly say that with all the Roscoe basses that I've owned (ashamed to type that number these days) none of them sounded bad. Yeah, there were a few that were special in the way that they sounded, played or looked but I could have gigged with any of them. And I've only had one that had issues that absolutely had to be corrected. But was it fun getting to try all of those various configurations or Roscoes? Well heck yeah!
And in the end,when all the smoke cleared, I ended up with exactly what I always said that I wanted, a fretted Roscoe 5 and a fretless Roscoe 5. And whatever those can't do I supplement them with a few basses from other builders that do that well. And IMO there's no shame in that.
In the end, they're nothing but tools of the trade.
Roscoes impecable build quality, Roger
Sadowskys amazing 2 band preamp and my favorite soapbar pickup Aguilar DCBs. I recently put Elixirs on it and it sounds so amazing, I get so many compliments on the tone
And we are but fools of the tradeYeah, the "chasing the tone" thing can get a bit tiring. In the end you just have to make one work for you (or several). I can honestly say that with all the Roscoe basses that I've owned (ashamed to type that number these days) none of them sounded bad. Yeah, there were a few that were special in the way that they sounded, played or looked but I could have gigged with any of them. And I've only had one that had issues that absolutely had to be corrected. But was it fun getting to try all of those various configurations or Roscoes? Well heck yeah!
And in the end, when all the smoke cleared, I ended up with exactly what I always said that I wanted, a fretted Roscoe 5 and a fretless Roscoe 5. And whatever those can't do I supplement them with a few basses from other builders that do that well. And IMO there's no shame in that.
In the end, they're nothing but tools of the trade.
And after all the smoke cleared here’s a pic of my two ….
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No better time to get a fretless than now, or tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or whenever! 
There’s a nice Garry Willis in the classifieds (no affiliation). I’ve heard from a number of folks that these are pretty great. For Sale - Ibanez GWB20TH-TQF 20th Anniversary Gary Willis Signature Fretless
I’ve heard that as well. I’ve never played one. It’s light. It’s $1K less than a used Roscoe. It’s probably a great bass. The string spacing is a little tight maybe. But I KNOW that a Roscoe plays and sounds amazing. It’s hard to think of playing anything else.
And that silly ramp... Ugh.
I'm sort of kidding. I'd actually like to try playing a bass with a ramp to see whether my gut reaction of "oh hell no!" is accurate or not. Gary Willis is an amazing player, and he has my full respect -- but that doesn't mean I think I need to emulate his technique choices. Without ever experiencing it, I assume a ramp would feel like it was in the way and obstructing my picking. But I've never had a chance to try it.
I played a new and very nice Ibanez that came with a ramp as standard equipment. I always liked the idea of a ramp, but when I played it, I realized that my fingers don’t dig down between the strings enough to make a ramp useful. My fingers are more perpendicular to the strings.
So as much as I liked the idea (and that bass!), I really see no need to have a ramp to n any of my basses.
So am I misunderstanding the purpose of a ramp? I've had a couple and like them because I use it to anchor my thump and it allows to play in more physical locations between the bridge and neck (provide different sounds and string tensions).
It sounds like your stating it's suppose to keep your plucking finger from going down too far between the strings.
