Roscoe Club

[JohnnyR]

I filling in for a church in Durham, NC on Sunday. I just ran through the 5 songs on fretless and was pretty pleased. I just about have the songs down with a glance at the music so by Sunday I should be comfortable enough to add some mwah flavor. I will carry Lily (shell pink LG3005) as my backup.

Most of my playing in Church is accompaniment for contemporary stuff and (what I call) "thump-thump" (or alternating fourths with an occasional walk thrown in) for most of the old hymnal music. For that I usually reach for my Walnut fretted five. But, whenever there is something special going on I grab one of my fretless Roscoe's and watch for the smiles when I do a slide and let the MWAH swell to fill the room.

Now that's good stuff !!!

 

[JLY]

I played both my Roscoes fretted and FL at church Sundsy and both were great (maybe my playing wasn't however)

I actually played in song on the FL with a pick and it sounded really good. During part of the soung the bass was out so I played a line using Harmonics for some flavor and wow! Crystal clear. The FL sounded tremendous with a pick

 

[BassHappy]

Those are sweet cabinets and very hard to find.

Hey Clint

Not cheap, but they have been available on Amazon new for quite a while, both in 4 and 8 ohm versions. You see one on ebay now and then for around $350-$450 too.

QUOTE="Gard, post: 18207755, member: 1601"]No one is knocking using lined fretless, just saying that you can't rely COMPLETELY on it for your intonation points. I think the biggest issue with proper intonation in live settings is more just HEARING yourself than anything else. The lines or side dots are just a good starting point.

I've used both extensively (I am almost exclusively a fretless guy), and the single biggest asset I have for my intonation on a gig is this:

[/QUOTE]

And Gard

Not to mention that if you play with PA support your sound person should buy you dinner every night - for giving him the best chance to make the bass sound stellar in the FOH. Best idea is buy a couple for the band too with their own volume controls. No bass carrying through the room from the stage is such a plus, especially if your band is big on board tapes. I have "board tape" albums out where the bass is frighteningly low in the mix because there wasn't enough in the house - due to the coverage in the room being too strong with my rig. Learned my lesson soon enough....

 

[mmbongo]

EDIT:
Well, Aguilar got back to me right away and said no issues at all. They will work fine.

So, let's change this to discuss how the Aguilars will sound different than the Barts



Question about Aguilar pickups!

I sent a message to Aguilar, but figured I'd ask here as well. The 4 string Century I just got has Bart soapbars and I'm thinking of changing to Aguilars. The Barts just don't have any punch or depth on the E and A strings and as the bass is a little older and the pickups look beat to crap I'm wondering if they are working properly. They sound nothing like the Barts in my 5 string Century. Anyway, I haven't even measured them yet but I think they are the same size as the 5 string pickups. Would there be any issues using the 5 string Aguilar DCB's (dual ceramic bar) on a 4 string bass?

 

[Gard]

The 4 string Barts are not the same size as the 5 strings, they're smaller. If you're going to order DCB's, you need the DCB-D1 size to match the Bart 4 string. Are both of your Century basses Standard or Standard Plus? I'm curious, the pickups should sound essentially the same....

 

[mmbongo]

Thanks Gard! My 5 string is a Century Standard Plus.

My 4 string is this one, which you said before is kind of an oddity that was made before there was a Century Standard or Plus:

And I'm still tweaking on it, I put new strings on it last night. The D and G are crispy clear but the E and A are dead and rubbery, but I have not ruled out strings yet. I just haven't had a chance to try putting some different ones on. Those could be dead out of the box, I've seen it before.

It has an OBP-3 which is one reason I wouldn't mind putting Aggie pickups in it.

 

[Gard]

Ah, ok, there are a couple things I can point out here.

The pickups are NOT Bart CB's, they're the "custom wound" ones we use on the Custom & Signature as the base option. Next, the pickups are located a bit closer to the bridge than our standard locations, which will really affect the tone. Last, I believe that's an OBP-1 preamp (2-band, boost-only), if I'm seeing that correctly - there'd be a stacked knob to the "back" of the control layout.

 

[mmbongo]

Ah, ok, there are a couple things I can point out here.

The pickups are NOT Bart CB's, they're the "custom wound" ones we use on the Custom & Signature as the base option. Next, the pickups are located a bit closer to the bridge than our standard locations, which will really affect the tone. Last, I believe that's an OBP-1 preamp (2-band, boost-only), if I'm seeing that correctly - there'd be a stacked knob to the "back" of the control layout.

What would be the general tone difference of the pickup locations? I love the sound of the D & G, but the E & A are just rubber..but again I haven't ruled out bad strings just yet and can't get enough quiet time to sit down and listen to it unplugged!

It is definitely and OPB-3 and it does have a stacked knob, but that may very well be a replacement preamp.

 

[Gard]

Typically, the closer to the bridge you get with the pickup, the more pronounced the upper-order harmonics will become - in English: makes it a bit thinner. Might be a combo of pickup location, strings, and pickup type. I would try a different string first, maybe something a bit heavier gauge - cheap change compared to the pickup.

Yes, it must be aftermarket, because I remember that bass well, and it definitely shipped with the OBP-1

 

[CrashClint]

I actually changed the preamp out to the OBP-3 when I owned the bass. It was a Friday rush job because I had a gig that night so it may be bit of a rats nest in the cavity as I don't think I went back in and cleaned it up. I used Sunbeams 40-100 on the bass when I owned it. I also believe it has the active/passive/push/pull volume control. The pickups were a little beat when I bought the bass but sounded good with no issue from string to string. That's not to say the person who owned in between me and mmbongo didn't mess with anything.

Ah, ok, there are a couple things I can point out here.

The pickups are NOT Bart CB's, they're the "custom wound" ones we use on the Custom & Signature as the base option. Next, the pickups are located a bit closer to the bridge than our standard locations, which will really affect the tone. Last, I believe that's an OBP-1 preamp (2-band, boost-only), if I'm seeing that correctly - there'd be a stacked knob to the "back" of the control layout.

 

[mmbongo]

I actually changed the preamp out to the OBP-3 when I owned the bass. It was a Friday rush job because I had a gig that night so it may be bit of a rats nest in the cavity as I don't think I went back in and cleaned it up. I used Sunbeams 40-100 on the bass when I owned it. I also believe it has the active/passive/push/pull volume control. The pickups were a little beat when I bought the bass but sounded good with no issue from string to string. That's not to say the person who owned in between me and mmbongo didn't mess with anything.

It looks fine! But someone may have cleaned it up afterwards

Well I'm making some headway, never occurred to me to play with some EQ-ing. Cutting the mids definitely helps and makes it sound more like my Century 5. I don't know if it's 400 or 800hz, whatever the 'up' position on the push/pull switch is but that removes the mud and makes it crisp and clear like I'm used to. I tried a bunch of different strings but none of them changed anything in a good way.

Long story short, Aguilar DCB's are on the way. Hopefully they will be a little less bloated in the mids! I've got to try them

 

[CrashClint]

You will like the DCBs, I have them on my LG3005 and they sound great. The DCBs are similar to the Classics but to my ears the lows are tighter and clearer. See the Shell Pink Bass.

It looks fine! But someone may have cleaned it up afterwards

Well I'm making some headway, never occurred to me to play with some EQ-ing. Cutting the mids definitely helps and makes it sound more like my Century 5. I don't know if it's 400 or 800hz, whatever the 'up' position on the push/pull switch is but that removes the mud and makes it crisp and clear like I'm used to. I tried a bunch of different strings but none of them changed anything in a good way.

Long story short, Aguilar DCB's are on the way. Hopefully they will be a little less bloated in the mids! I've got to try them

 

[mmbongo]

Oh that shell pink is sweet! I've never seen one like that!

 

[the yeti]

See the Shell Pink Bass.

good work clint!

 

[CrashClint]

I really need to get a better picture of it as the lighting kind of whites out the pink. The finish was done by Rowyco Kustoms in Durham, NC. Stike does some really nice work.

Oh that shell pink is sweet! I've never seen one like that!

Thanks, we need to get together so you can see and hear it now.

good work clint!

 

[Gard]

I wasn't sure how I felt about the pink idea....I think I like it.

NTTAWWT

 

[the yeti]

Thanks, we need to get together so you can see and hear it now.

i'm down, but i may try to steal it!

 

[bassfacer22]

Well now you can have a good matching piece of furniture for that Flower picture in the background.. In fact, why not just take out the string winders and holders and put Roses through them..

Cause that ain't gonna match anything at any gig / live concert! haha

*edit - Actually I was thinking if the Power Rangers needs a backup band that bad boy would fit right in! haha.


but seriously, what was the original awesome design and color? do you have a picture of it originally?

See the Shell Pink Bass.

 

[SteveC]

Would it be foolish, or even practical/possible to turn my fretless into a fretted?

 

[Freddels]

Would it be foolish, or even practical/possible to turn my fretless into a fretted?

If it's dymondwood then they won't put frets in it (at least that's been their position in the past). Might be better to just get a fretted neck made for it.