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Roscoe Club

#4,901
I can play a 35" scale for a while but sight reading on it tends to be a problem for me. Even that little bit of extra length throws off my muscle memory. Then those 3 or 4 hour gigs where I'm laying down a groove that may go on for quite a while will cause my hand to cramp more easily b/c of the extra stretch b/w those first few frets.
 
#4,903
SteveC said:
I don't think the scale is as much of a factor as the "hang" of the bass. The 35" scale doesn't bother me on a Century body, but I do notice it on an SKB or LG body as they see to hang further left and makes for a slightly longer reach. Thus, my pair of Century body basses after trying all 3.
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Yup, my previous bass was a 34" jazz, and there is definitely a difference in reach coupled with a 13th fret strap button placement as well. But that last thing (horn length), is what I surprisingly like about my SKB. It reminds me of my Guild B302, which also had a shorter horn (14th fret button) than a jazz, but a greater feel playing in the higher registers. Roscoes seem to be very well thought out, indeed. (and thank God it doesn't have the neckdive my Guild had!)
 
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#4,904
Jeff Moote said:
Makes sense I guess. I can see where this would be an interesting direction, but not really where I (or Clint I'm guessing) would be interested. I do think it would have a market however.
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I can see myself playing a Roscoe 4 string Fender Clone, I really like the classic look of the inline headstock, with rounded lines. 34" scale with the 19mm spacing is definitely what I want. I would definitely want a stable neck, it seemed I was adjusting my Fender necks 4+ times a year depending on the weather.

If I were Keith, I would build two 5 string Alder clones as close to each other as possible, one 34"/19mm and one 35"/19mm. This way the tightness of the B can really be evaluated to see if it really makes that big a difference in this type of bass. If these were ready in time for a Roscoe Get Together where 20 or so people can get their hands on them for a test run, Roscoe would have a good idea of what player are looking for in the bass. I guarantee both test basses would sell the same day if offered to the public so there wouldn't be a waste of money to do the test build this way. Anyway, just my thoughts.

If it is offered inexpensively, is Roscoe looking at competing against the Lakland Skyline Series price wise?
 
#4,905
mmbongo said:
And what's the official term for that fingerboard on that 4 String Century I have on the way? Does it need to be oiled like Rosewood or Wenge?
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When I owned that bass, I used Howard's Feed and Wax. The grain on that purpleheart was very tight so it didn't absorb much. I use Guitar Honey on dark woods like ebony, wenge and cocobolo.

41CcTU6zSNL._SY355_.jpg
 
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#4,906
All 35's are not created equally.

Some add the extra scale length in the neck only (same body and bridge position for all scale lengths). If that's the approach taken, longer scale lengths can become real problems for some players. All added scale length equates to extra reach for the left hand.

I've compared my Century five to several others and found that there is not that much difference in the neck length between a 34" and a 35" scale length (between two Roscoes that is). A good deal of the extra scale length looks to be in repositioning is the bridge. I've heard Gard say the difference in "reach" was less than 1/4". I can't say that 1/4" is the absolute number, but I can say it's a small difference.

I suspect playing position and neck width (i.e. different string spacing, more strings) play a large part in some players problems with a 35" scale Roscoe. A good strap, or maybe switching to a model with a longer upper horn will usually clear all but the most extreme problems.

My 35" Centuries are easier to play than most 34" scale from others luthiers.

Just MHO. :cool:
 
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#4,907
Does the Howard's have petroleum in it? If so, I could've sworn that anything with this in it, is a big no-no for fingerboards (even though enough companies have it!).

Also, I wouldn't think very oily woods like rosewood, and especially wenge and cocobolo wouldn't need any oiling, but just light cleaning here and there. What are your opinions on pau ferro? I've owned several basses with this fingerboard wood, and nary a problem (both of my SKB's have it).
 
#4,908
Whew. Lots of activity the past 24 or so hours! :D

I'm sure I'll overlook something, but here's a few answers (to the best of my ability):

The way we do the 34" t0 35" adjustment is to add from the "middle out" - or 1/2" at each end of the string. So, there is a little more reach, but not a lot - .5" is pretty small in the overall scheme of things. Further, the difference between the nut and first fret on a 34" versus a 35" is 1/16". Let me repeat that: 1/16". Or, less than the width of a fret. It's VANISHINGLY small. Not saying it isn't there, not saying you won't feel it, but it is tiny tiny tiny.

Fingerboard treatment - we use, and recommend, for any non-finished (finshed: maple) fingerboard, this stuff: Invalid Link Removed I'm sure that other stuff is just fine, but I don't suggest any kind of lemon oil (drys the wood out! good cleaner, not a sealer or protectant).

On the "old" Standard - well...yeah, that's an oddball, in a couple of ways. First, it was built during the "how do we want to do this?" phase, so there are some "Custom" model features (Maple/Purpleheart/Maple neck, gloss finish), and that pickup location (long story - that is NOT standard, but it does work well for certain tones....). The preamp on the one in question was an Aguilar OBP-1 (note the non-stacked knob where the treble/bass on a 3-band would normally be), which also explains the lack of a trim pot in the back.

The "tapering nut" thing was just done on the Customs and Signatures with either diamondwood or ivory nuts. It was totally aesthetic, and it just kind of faded naturally, no reason it was done, no real reason it isn't.

I'm sure I missed something....just holler at me if you didn't get an answer you were looking for. :)
 
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#4,910
Gard said:
Whew. Lots of activity the past 24 or so hours! :D

Fingerboard treatment - we use, and recommend, for any non-finished (finshed: maple) fingerboard, this stuff: Invalid Link Removed I'm sure that other stuff is just fine, but I don't suggest any kind of lemon oil (drys the wood out! good cleaner, not a sealer or protectant).
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Looks like I need to make a change for my Ebony board.
 

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