Clint,
Love that Mary Kay bass!!! We have a Cherry Blossom festival every year in Macon GA. That would be the perfect bass for that gig!
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Roscoe Club
- Thread starter JOME77
- Start date
Clint,
Love that Mary Kay bass!!! We have a Cherry Blossom festival every year in Macon GA. That would be the perfect bass for that gig!
New to the club!
I traded a fantastic custom jazz bass for it, and am so glad that I did. I actually received it a few weeks back, but wanted to give it a test drive at church before making a decision. Needless to say, it passed with flying colors. Hands down, this has been the best playing and sounding bass for me and my style. It's a 2005 SKB with Madrone burl over Spanish cedar, Bart/Bart elecs, and a BE maple fretboard. As has already been stated (I'm just reinforcing), incredibly tight and clear B-string, and evenness between all the strings...more than any other bass I've owned. I'm not sure if this is a Roscoe thing, or if this particular combination just worked out perfectly for me. Sure there are a few build quality niggles, but overall, I love it; and if I decide to move this one, I doubt it would be for anything other than another Roscoe--at this point
View attachment 760331
Welcome aboard Ricky! I've love the look of your Spanish Cedar!. For what it's worth, I haven't had any build quality issues since the first used on that I bought 20 years ago. And as a few of the old time Roscoeheads can tell you, I've had a few since then!
I love my pair (in my avatar pic) but I don't use my fretless as much as i thought I would. I may try trading it for another Roscoe. Maybe try a 4 string "jazz" type if I can find it.
Enjoy. It probably won't be your last Roscoe.
Enjoy. It probably won't be your last Roscoe.
Welcome aboard Ricky! I've love the look of your Spanish Cedar!. For what it's worth, I haven't had any build quality issues since the first used on that I bought 20 years ago. And as a few of the old time Roscoeheads can tell you, I've had a few since then!
What I've encountered aren't really "issues," but rather niggles
(merely trifles). There is a small ding that was filled in and finished over (the dark mark just near the center of the back), and the battery and control cavity have just slightly less than perfect routing...but this is being excessively persnickety. I've seen this particular thing on a few pre-2010 Roscoes (whatever, it honestly happens to the best of builders); however, I've never seen this on any of the newer ones. There is also a very tiny gap at the butt end of the neck on the bass side under the fingerboard (~1/16"); though the treble end is perfectly flush, and the neck pocket is tight. None of these things really bother me at all. This bass has one of the best necks I've played on; the carving and gluing of all the woods was done to absolute perfection; and the bass itself is acoustically so ALIVE....and with DA Chromes--the GROWL! drool This bass has the tone I've been looking for with the best playability and lowest action I've come across (1mm at 12fret on G, 1.5mm at 12fret on B).
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CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
Clint,
Love that Mary Kay bass!!! We have a Cherry Blossom festival every year in Macon GA. That would be the perfect bass for that gig!
No, but I will be playing it at the Save the Boobies event.
lol I think it's called "Save the Ta-Ta's"! And a worth while event if I must so my self!
Here's pic of Clint's dog .....
New to the club!
I traded a fantastic custom jazz bass for it, and am so glad that I did. I actually received it a few weeks back, but wanted to give it a test drive at church before making a decision. Needless to say, it passed with flying colors. Hands down, this has been the best playing and sounding bass for me and my style. It's a 2005 SKB with Madrone burl over Spanish cedar, Bart/Bart elecs, and a BE maple fretboard. As has already been stated (I'm just reinforcing), incredibly tight and clear B-string, and evenness between all the strings...more than any other bass I've owned. I'm not sure if this is a Roscoe thing, or if this particular combination just worked out perfectly for me. Sure there are a few build quality niggles, but overall, I love it; and if I decide to move this one, I doubt it would be for anything other than another Roscoe--at this point
Congratulations. The 'B' string, playability and tone are definitely habit forming. Nothing else (IMHO) is quite the same. I can't say with certainty what makes them unique. I know the neck construction method is one of a kind. The tight body layer bonds eliminate voids, and the tight neck joint are as good as anyone's (even those costing 3X what a new Roscoe will set you back).
Anyway, just enjoy. Always good to add another Roscoehead.
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
lol I think it's called "Save the Ta-Ta's"! And a worth while event if I must so my self!
Here's pic of Clint's dog .....
View attachment 760593
No, my dog is a Belgium Malinois that will bite off you head and bark down your neck. Actually the pink bass is a tribute to my mom who passed from cancer. Her middle name was Lily and her favorite color was pink. She was a pianist and very supportive of my playing music.
songwriter21
I have an obsession for wood. The musical kind.
Hey Johnny!
You are correct, I have totally gone over the bass. It definitely has my seal of approval!
I don't know if it's the larger mahogany SKB body, the Bosse top or the purpleheart finger board (or maybe the combination of all 3?) but this one has some special growl! I did a little research on the Bosse wood and it's typically grown in west and central Africa and has some of the same tonal characteristics as mahogany (sure looks more like maple though;at least when it's figured). It has a Janka hardness Rating of 2600 (that's hard! ). As a reference, African Mahogany is 830.
You'll have to slide by during the holidays to check it out (and bring that chocolate walnut Roscoe with you to do an A/B comparison).
Ok, ok ........ since you insist, just one more pic!
P.S. Notice that chessey plastic concentric knob is gone! Why do you guys still do that Gard?
View attachment 758527
I notice a significant tonal change from my ash SKB to my now mahogany SKB. Man, did I miss my favorite tone wood! I had to alter my preamp set up a lot (effects pedal preamp), and this one has some serious growl, just like JOME77 said. Sure, I have a maple top and not bosse, but I'm sure our basses have the same fundamental power. The tone settings I ended up with last night, just make my new SKB roar...reminds me a of that Spector Haz Lab sound. The B-string wins over Stu's stuff, hands-down, imo.
JOME77, I also have a rendition of Silent Night that I can try to record sometime...proud little achievement of mine.
Also, so you can hear how nasty my new tone is, I'll have to record the riffs to Pantera's "I'm Broken". Aside from some of the overdrive that Rex Brown used, my tone is pretty mean on it's own. The slap tone I got is pretty wicked, too.I'm a happy man!
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
Man, if Roscoe made a 21 fret jazz bass clone, it would definitely be on my list. Maybe a inline headstock similar to the Alleva. Graphite reinforced with purpleheart stringer.
(...taking notes for a future new model....not joking....)
By the way, have I mentioned: We are going to be receiving a Plek in February/March, and will be offering service for all bassists and guitarists that are interested - with special (not determined at this time) pricing for Roscoes.
Many new things happening soon - including all kinds of new swag!
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
OMG, you guys would slay the competition with a JB Clone! From a standard model solid ash or alder to a custom model with some Hot Roscoe Tops... This would make me happier than a viagra and a shot of tequila.
Yup, this hypothetical Roscoe J (and presumably a corresponding P?) would bridge the gap nicely from existing models sporting the AGV option to non-Roscoe more Fender inspired basses. I like where this is headed - 21 fret, 4 inline headstock, maybe go with the AGV electronics as a starting point (I think the Aguilar JJ, P and PJ pickups are killer) and uniquely Roscoe styling.
Then again I'm pretty happy with a Std/Std+ model and the existing options for JJ and PJ pickups in those. My CS4+PJ is one of the best basses I've laid hands or ears on, period.
Then again I'm pretty happy with a Std/Std+ model and the existing options for JJ and PJ pickups in those. My CS4+PJ is one of the best basses I've laid hands or ears on, period.
I was thinking more of a Roscoe spec'd "jazz" bass (alder body, maple neck, Aguilar pups and pre, etc) but I'm sure a 21 feet jazz clone would be cool. Not sure if I'd like an inline headstock though. The headstock is one of the nicest looking parts of a Roscoe. Interesting to see what ideas might be coming from Roscoe.
songwriter21
I have an obsession for wood. The musical kind.
(...taking notes for a future new model....not joking....)
By the way, have I mentioned: We are going to be receiving a Plek in February/March, and will be offering service for all bassists and guitarists that are interested - with special (not determined at this time) pricing for Roscoes.
Many new things happening soon - including all kinds of new swag!
You're getting a PLEK! Talk about a late Christmas present!!
(...furiously scribbling notes...)
All of this is VERY HYPOTHETICAL at this point. But, I'm definitely listening to what's floating around and as things start to solidify, I'll probably be asking a lot of pointed questions....
All of this is VERY HYPOTHETICAL at this point. But, I'm definitely listening to what's floating around and as things start to solidify, I'll probably be asking a lot of pointed questions....
While highly personal, I'm inclined to agree that it's critical to getting "that" sound. Lots of scale lengths work for different things, but they definitely sound different even all else being equal (including adjusting pickup placement to account for scale).
Which we do for 35" PJ and JJ installations.
My tendency is to err on the side of a better functioning B string for a 5 (there wouldn't be a 6 for the foreseeable future), but we won't rule out the possibility of 34" for that application either.
Yes I am well aware (both because you've said so before and I've measuredWhich we do for 35" PJ and JJ installations.
)I agree in general, which is why I think what you do for the existing line of Roscoe basses makes perfect sense with 34" being a custom option on a 5 or 6 if someone wishes. For a more "authentic" take on a P, PJ, or JJ bass 34" makes the most sense (heck I don't even know if you'd need to offer this hypothetical new model in anything other than 4 string considering we can already order any Roscoe with those pickup options in 4, 5, and 6 string).
