The actual amount is very personal, but you likely need a little relief even with fretless. I cant figure out if you are saying you have backbow - which is negative relief - or if youve already got relief and its still buzzing.
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Roscoe Club
- Thread starter JOME77
- Start date
The actual amount is very personal, but you likely need a little relief even with fretless. I cant figure out if you are saying you have backbow - which is negative relief - or if youve already got relief and its still buzzing.
Thanks for posting the results of your experiments - quite useful for those considering a build or modification. Pickup selection and placement, choice of preamp, woods, and strings all matter and it's how they combine which define the range of tones on tap. For me the mahogany body with wenge board, Aguilar DCB pickups in traditional Roscoe position with OBP-3 preamp and DR Sunbeams Medium 125 strings hits the sweet spot.
Some of the terminology is a bit confusing, even though I do understand the basic concepts (like 'the strings need room to vibrate...') and in some of the references the words do not match up with the pictures - much less each other. And none of them specifically reference fretless, with measurements, even as a starting point...
So yes, evidently I did start out with a bit of backbow. I finally found my good, long, rigid straightedge and was able to verify that the fingerboard was in fact _not_ flat. It's a 24" straightedge and stretches pretty much from the first 'fret' to the 24th. After the most recent adjustment I can still see a teeny amount of light under the straightedge. I'll give it a couple of days to get used to this weekend's activities and the storm systems expected through in the next 36-48 hours.
I have been trying to keep the relative string heights consistent by re-tinkering with the saddle height. Already the playability is much better. I think I just went too far in the "loosen neck to raise strings" direction.
So I think I'm back on the map with a much better idea of what it going on. I will try to record stuff like 'height above fingerboard at 12th and 24th fret' once it's dialed in. Probably get it just where I want it in time for winter again...
So thanks everyone!
I got a pretty good "uprighty" kind of tone this week at a gig when we did "standards."
Rolled to the neck pup, rolled off the treble and played near or over the fingerboard. Again, not an upright, and not fretless, but it eluded to that tone.
I could still use a fretless for that kind of thing, and there are a couple tunes this morning at church that would have worked well with fretless, too.
Rolled to the neck pup, rolled off the treble and played near or over the fingerboard. Again, not an upright, and not fretless, but it eluded to that tone.
I could still use a fretless for that kind of thing, and there are a couple tunes this morning at church that would have worked well with fretless, too.
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Could you guys tell me about Spanish cedar as a body wood? I've owned a couple ash bodied Roscoes, but never cedar.
Burwabit
Likes guitars that tune good and firm feelin women
BassHappy
Supporting Member
Hey Funky
Both of my Roscoes have spanish cedar bodies. I am big on mahogany as my PRS #11 from 1978 is honduras mahogany - the same stuff they used to make high end marimbas out of. Light dry and very resonant. At that time, Paul would suspend the wood blanks from eye hooks attached to the ceiling. He would then strike the wood with a marimba mallet and if the blanks didn't ring for at least 15 seconds he would disqualify the wood as guitar wood.
When I told Keith this in 1999 he recommended the spanish cedar. I am not sure what type of mahogany Keith had around at that time but there was already a ban on Honduras Mahogany. Keith felt that the spanish cedar had many of the same qualities as the honduras mahogany. He also thought it would suit me better than the mahogany he had available at that time.
Spanish cedar is used a lot in the construction of high end cigar humidors.
I had him dye the spanish cedar to match the purple heartwood on the back of the neck, so you can't see the grain very clearly.
I am very happy with it.
Good Luck - sounds like you might have a new one in the works!
BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
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Sadly I had to sacrifice the RMLE for our family camping/vacation needs but the RMLE with the Aguilar DCBs is my favorite combo. I also love the Aguilar PJ. That bass and electronics is my dream bass. Great funk/slap tone while retaining a classic P J tone. Very very happy.
Hey Funky
Both of my Roscoes have spanish cedar bodies. I am big on mahogany as my PRS #11 from 1978 is honduras mahogany - the same stuff they used to make high end marimbas out of. Light dry and very resonant. At that time, Paul would suspend the wood blanks from eye hooks attached to the ceiling. He would then strike the wood with a marimba mallet and if the blanks didn't ring for at least 15 seconds he would disqualify the wood as guitar wood.
When I told Keith this in 1999 he recommended the spanish cedar. I am not sure what type of mahogany Keith had around at that time but there was already a ban on Honduras Mahogany. Keith felt that the spanish cedar had many of the same qualities as the honduras mahogany. He also thought it would suit me better than the mahogany he had available at that time.
Spanish cedar is used a lot in the construction of high end cigar humidors.
I had him dye the spanish cedar to match the purple heartwood on the back of the neck, so you can't see the grain very clearly.
I am very happy with it.
Good Luck - sounds like you might have a new one in the works!
BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
Thank you. I'm looking to get back into a Roscoe, but I'm not sure what I want as of yet.
If I were ordering a roscoe, it would be a 34" scale LG5, spanish cedar, maple board, strait pickups aligned with the bassier side of the normal placement. The LG I had was really close to perfect, those tweaks would make it unreal.
Similar situation. My only gig is church a few times a month. Seems like a lot of bass for that gig. Yet, it's probably the best bass I've owned.
