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Roscoe Club
- Thread starter JOME77
- Start date
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
I think I remember Gard or Keith saying the frets wouldn't stay in Diamondwood.
The color was translucent blue with a black headstock.
Ok haha thanks.
although blue is one of my favorite colors, and that would have probably worked well with me,
I now deem it "TalkBass official ok", that you re-painted to shell pink..
ok all good haha..
I'm also saying this because I could never imagine doing something to my little baby.. oh the color..
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
Mine was solid Ash and I am not a fan of the grain pattern of Ash. I would not have painted a nice top like my other two Roscoe's have, I would have just built a standard Roscoe bass to be Shell Pink. I got a really good price from whom I bought the bass used.
Yeah, I figured that may be the case. I haven't talked to Gard yet. I love the bass but I just don't find myself needing/using the fretless aspect. I could get a new neck made but that sounds expensive. It's probably best/most economical to just sell it and get something else, or trade it if the right bass is out there.
It actually will, if you do it a certain way. That certain way is a MAJOR pain, and would require us to totally change how we slot fingerboards - at a significant cost. Since we rarely (less than once a year) had any request for this, we just can't justify investing in what it would require for doing it. I know at least some builders have done fretted Diamondwood, but they are set up from the start to do it, which we aren't.
Back to SteveC's question, no, we can't fret a fretless bass, sorry.
Yup, most economical choice is indeed selling or trading it for another bass that more closely aligns with your needs. Buying a new neck is like going to a car dealership and buying a new engine and transmission...most expensive part you can replace, it's what makes the car, or the bass in this case, go.
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
I think we were talking about fretting a fretless. I vaguely remember something about the way the slots were cut but I couldn't remember the conversation but I guess it brings us to the end result of no.
It actually will, if you do it a certain way. That certain way is a MAJOR pain, and would require us to totally change how we slot fingerboards - at a significant cost. Since we rarely (less than once a year) had any request for this, we just can't justify investing in what it would require for doing it. I know at least some builders have done fretted Diamondwood, but they are set up from the start to do it, which we aren't.
Back to SteveC's question, no, we can't fret a fretless bass, sorry.
Yup. The issue is that Diamondwood doesn't "give" at all, so you cannot press the frets in like you would on wood (heh...would wood?) - there are barbs on the tang (the part of the fret that goes into the fingerboard) that hold the fret into the wood, and that just doesn't work on Diamondwood. What you have to do is twofold - first, you have to get rid of the barbs on ALL of the frets (tedious and time consuming as all heck); then, you have to actually cut the slots a bit wider than normal - which creates a major problem for us with our fretting method: we use a gangsaw to cut all 24 frets and the nut end of the fingerboard, this means that we have 25 very precisely made saw blades that will cut an exact width, and there are specific spacers between them - to change the kerf (the width of the cut), you must have a custom set of blades, AND a custom set of spacers, for one or two instruments a year, this just isn't logical. Once all that is addressed, then to get the frets in the fingerboard to stay, you have to do a messy job of gluing them all in with epoxy.
Let's just say, we ain't gonna do it.
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
When I bought Kim Stone's fretless, it came with a fretted neck as well. The serial number on the fretless neck is KS5. The fretted neck has serial number 3297 and the headstock is brown and not green like the fretless. Gard can you shed some light on this for me?
And if there is no replacement material for Diamondwood (NLA, yes?) there'd be even less justification...
Clint, Keith does not specifically remember making two necks for that bass, but if there are two for it, we did. Keep in mind that bass is an early 90's instrument, and that was quite some time ago...
ArtechnikA, no replacement, yet.
ArtechnikA, no replacement, yet.
You could sell it then custom order a new fretless in 6 months.
Yes, yes I could. I have "cured" myself of 6 string GAS after 3 tries. Maybe after 3 fretless tries...
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
Clint, Keith does not specifically remember making two necks for that bass, but if there are two for it, we did. Keep in mind that bass is an early 90's instrument, and that was quite some time ago...
It is really strange as the headstock is a totally different color. I wonder if the neck came off a different bass that was damaged or smashed and he Kim kept it to use on this bass as he did have few Roscoe basses. Maybe I can stop by the shop later this month and let you guys take a look at it, maybe it will jog a memory.
Hey Clint,
The shell pink LG turned out really well! Unique and interesting; looking forward to some more pics of it.
What's the story and specs on the green one? Fretless, right? Apologies if you've talked about it elsewhere.
Bruce
The shell pink LG turned out really well! Unique and interesting; looking forward to some more pics of it.
What's the story and specs on the green one? Fretless, right? Apologies if you've talked about it elsewhere.
Bruce
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
The Fretless was built for Kim Stone (Rippington's, Spyro Gyra).
Top: is Flamed Maple
Body: looks like Mahogany, it does have a little weight to the bass for an LG.
Neck: Maple, Purpleheart, Maple
Nut: Ivory
Fingerboard: Diamondwood
Pickups: Roscoe Barts
Preamp: Bartolini 3 band, no push/pull on the mids (though I may add it)
Bridge: Crappy Tone Sucking Wilkinson which I will probably have Roscoe upgrade to a Hipshot A
Tuners: GB7
Top: is Flamed Maple
Body: looks like Mahogany, it does have a little weight to the bass for an LG.
Neck: Maple, Purpleheart, Maple
Nut: Ivory
Fingerboard: Diamondwood
Pickups: Roscoe Barts
Preamp: Bartolini 3 band, no push/pull on the mids (though I may add it)
Bridge: Crappy Tone Sucking Wilkinson which I will probably have Roscoe upgrade to a Hipshot A
Tuners: GB7
Ha...I almost bit on your fretted the last couple of times you had it up but I'm glad you kept it. Do what you must but having watched you go through buying this one I hope you'll take your time and be certain. At least, as certain as we bass players can be about such things.
...and now, for something completely different (just gotta share this one, it's really cool 
):
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