Roscoe Club

[ArtechnikA]

Let me re-frase that (back up)
I meant like a bass you would bring so you don’t beat up your Roscoe. Lol

I don't know why I would own a bass I don't like as much as a Roscoe...
1) I don't beat up my instruments, although I do take reasonable precautions like hard cases at gigs where there is likely to be alcohol (this is most of them)...
2) They're beautiful instruments that I love to see and handle, but they are not museum pieces. They're for playing, not display.

 

[staccatogrowl]

No back up. . my G&L would sound better if I ran it into a preamp of some kind, like a new YYZ pedal. .

Ha ha. An XYZ bass into an XYZ pedal. .

 

[Bassworship1]

I don’t own or keep a bass if it doesn’t match everything I want in a bass. So my basses are pretty much all equal in build, playability and tone. I can keep a bass for years and it still
Look brand new so I do t worry about it getting dinged up on stage as I’m very careful with my basses.

 

[Nightman]

Let me re-frase that (back up)
I meant like a bass you would bring so you don’t beat up your Roscoe. Lol

I have a MTD Kingston ZX5 and had a Sadowsky MV5 (just sold it) that I use as grab-and-go to rehearsal basses. They are not backup basses, just the lower totum pole basses. All of my basses are displayed on a wall, as I view them as playable art work! All of my basses are subject to be used on my gigs, so each bass is a backup bass to the others.

 

[MattLplaysBass]

Yeah, I've had a bunch of "keeper" basses over the years. Ken Smith, Sadowsky, Lakland, Modulus, etc. Sometimes I wish I would have stopped 25 years ago with a set of really nice G&L basses (L2500, L2000, L2000 fretless) I bought thru a local shop. I'd have 3 nice basses and a WHOLE LOT MORE money in my pocket. But, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to try a bunch of nice basses, and meet some great people. Not everything can be/is measured in dollars. While I could have made any of those basses "my bass" over the years, I'm glad I'm playing a Roscoe. I like everything about it and it covers all my gigs.

I sometimes wish I had a few basses, P, J, flats, etc. to choose from, but there's something to be said about just grabbing your bass that you know so well and heading out the door to play.

You’re not the only one- looking back thru my pictures on my phone, lots of gear bought and sold. A few I regret, but overall it was nice to try ‘em but it they were’t working, probably best to get rid of them. Since I’ve gotten more comfortable with buying used, I haven’t lost as much $$$ lately, so at least there’s that.

 

[armybass]

Ha! And on the same day as my earlier post.... I traded for a new to me LG 3005 Custom. Thank you Lord! Wooo hooo.

 

[DGbass70]

I don't know why I would own a bass I don't like as much as a Roscoe...
1) I don't beat up my instruments, although I do take reasonable precautions like hard cases at gigs where there is likely to be alcohol (this is most of them)...
2) They're beautiful instruments that I love to see and handle, but they are not museum pieces. They're for playing, not display.

I see,
Well...I love my Roscoe as much as many, however I feel that sometimes when I have to go practice/play at another church is better for me to take “the beater/not so expensive” bass to avoid the Roscoe from getting banged up by careless musicians or curious people.I don’t believe in the whole “museum” thing. I like to play my Roscoe but if I can help for it to stay in great shape why not.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Hi.

Sorry for chiming-in in this way as I’m in no way a Roscoe user or owner.
I’m looking for a twin humbucking pickup bass of good quality, ideally I would be looking for a so-called boutique bass after years of satisfaction, yes, but also struggling, only playing Fender basses.
I was driven towards Elrick e-Evolution basses or Fodera Monarch basses, although the price of Foderas is generally higher than it should be, even when non-fancy top woods are used ... my search is for a deep bass tone a-la Jimmy Haslip .. I’m an old Yellowjackets fan and knew that Jimmy used a Tobias for a long time ... I didn’t know, however, that it switched to a Roscoe some time ago (don’t know what he plays now ... is he still using a Roscoe or he switched to MTD?) .. however, I admit I did know very little about Roscoe, so I started searching and ... these are definitely high-quality bass for players .. now I have found a used 5-strings Roscoe of this model at a good price:

It’s called Roscoe LG 5 Std. +, year 2015, 35” scale.
Well, aside from the fact that I never played 5-strings bass guitars (it’s always time to start new things), I’d like to know if some fellows here has ever played or tested a Roscoe similar to the one above, to get opinions on pros & cons of this instrument ..

Thank you all for any replies!

 

[DGbass70]

When I got my Roscoe my “other” bass was a Spector NS5 (USA) which I sold months after. Then I got an Mtd Kingston Saratoga w/Barts and Aggie pre, sold it to a friend then got the Cort A5.
Now I probably will sell the Cort and get a Sire M7 (ash)
Just curious what others have besides the Roscoe, if I had a choice ($$$$) to buy another high end bass most likely it be another Roscoe.

 

[JOME77]

Hi.

Sorry for chiming-in in this way as I’m in no way a Roscoe user or owner.
I’m looking for a twin humbucking pickup bass of good quality, ideally I would be looking for a so-called boutique bass after years of satisfaction, yes, but also struggling, only playing Fender basses.
I was driven towards Elrick e-Evolution basses or Fodera Monarch basses, although the price of Foderas is generally higher than it should be, even when non-fancy top woods are used ... my search is for a deep bass tone a-la Jimmy Haslip .. I’m an old Yellowjackets fan and knew that Jimmy used a Tobias for a long time ... I didn’t know, however, that it switched to a Roscoe some time ago (don’t know what he plays now ... is he still using a Roscoe or he switched to MTD?) .. however, I admit I did know very little about Roscoe, so I started searching and ... these are definitely high-quality bass for players .. now I have found a used 5-strings Roscoe of this model at a good price:

View attachment 3391132

It’s called Roscoe LG 5 Std. +, year 2015, 35” scale.
Well, aside from the fact that I never played 5-strings bass guitars (it’s always time to start new things), I’d like to know if some fellows here has ever played or tested a Roscoe similar to the one above, to get opinions on pros & cons of this instrument ..

Thank you all for any replies!

Hey Orlandez.
Haslip has been using a Roscoe for quite a while now. Of course he sounds equally well on a Tobias and a Roscoe.
That's a cool looking Roscoe Standard that you posted. It appears to have Bart MM pickups. Keith typically uses Roscoe Barts (which is a quad coil pickup made for Roscoe). I would suspect that the Bart MM models would sound good really good though. Probably a lot more sound options via coil taps and series/parallel switching.
I know you from the Fender Precision thread. I'm also a big Precision fan (more so lately).
The first review that Bass player did on the Roscoe resulted in them describing it as a P-Bass on steroids. I think that was due to the rather throaty tone you can get with the neck pickup soloed.
At any rate, the bass that you found appears to be walnut top with either ash or alder body, wenge finger board and 3 piece maple neck (hard to confirm from the pic). Bottom line though is that's a great combination of woods! Not sure what electronics it has but it's probably the Bart 3-band with 2 toggle switches to achieve coil taps and series/parallel switching.
If the price is good I'd say start your Roscoe experience with it and see where it takes you. Swapping out electronics for additional tailoring isn't a big deal.

 

[JOME77]

Here's one that might be very similar to the one that you found:

Invalid Link Removed

It'll probably give you some good info on the electronics

 

[staccatogrowl]

. . sometimes it's better for me to take “the beater/not so expensive” bass to avoid the Roscoe from getting banged up by careless musicians or curious people. I don’t believe in the whole “museum” thing. I like to play my Roscoe, but if I can keep it in great shape, why not?

As demonstrated and commented a few pages back, the dilemma of not having a favored Roscoe getting beaten and banged up has been solved in the acquisition of a distress-finish (pre-relic'd) Roscoe Classic.

Pity the fool me, however, as I attempt meticulous care of any instrument in my possession (even an XYZ bass!), expensive or not. Sadly, I take poorly to any new bumps or bruises. Ouch! The answer?

I scratched my beloved Classic the other day. . can you see it?

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Here's one that might be very similar to the one that you found:

Invalid Link Removed

It'll probably give you some good info on the electronics

Thank you very much for the inputs @JOME77 ... I’m seriously considering this purchase and start my Roscoe experience

 

[JOME77]

As demonstrated and commented a few pages back, the dilemma of not having a favored Roscoe getting beaten and banged up has been solved in the acquisition of a distress-finish (pre-relic'd) Roscoe Classic.

Pity the fool me, however, as I attempt meticulous care of any instrument in my possession, expensive or not. Sadly, I take poorly to any new bumps or bruises. Ouch! The answer?

Me too. But sometimes divine intervention takes place!

 

[JOME77]

Just curious what others have besides the Roscoe, if I had a choice ($$$$) to buy another high end bass most likely it be another Roscoe.

fenders .....

 

[Jeff Moote]

A bit late to the reverse slant discussion from a few pages ago, but if anyone has a 5 string with that config and is interested in trying some Nordstrand BigRig pickups I have a custom set I might consider selling. P4 shell, poles spaced specifically for this configuration on a Roscoe (required lots of measuring, which the guys at Nordstrand used to get these just right).

 

[Bassworship1]

A bit late to the reverse slant discussion from a few pages ago, but if anyone has a 5 string with that config and is interested in trying some Nordstrand BigRig pickups I have a custom set I might consider selling. P4 shell, poles spaced specifically for this configuration on a Roscoe (required lots of measuring, which the guys at Nordstrand used to get these just right).

What was your impressions of those pickups? I had a really nice Devon that had those and in a band mix they got lost. Loved the tone playing in my practice room but had trouble cutting through the mix.

 

[Jeff Moote]

What was your impressions of those pickups? I had a really nice Devon that had those and in a band mix they got lost. Loved the tone playing in my practice room but had trouble cutting through the mix. View attachment 3391363

Were you running them in series or parallel and have trouble cutting? Both pickups on 50/50? I really like them and enjoy the complexity compared to other dual coils or similar. I can see how they'd get lost in some mixes, but I suspect favouring one pickup will cut better. On my bass the bridge is super thick (for a bridge pickup) and can stand on its own, and the neck pickup is like a slightly fatter, smoother P bass.

 

[Nightman]

fenders .....

Hang your head high, @JOME77!! After all, it's still a bass, and bottom line, that what we play and like!

 

[staccatogrowl]

. . (XYZ) bass in a band mix got lost. .

Kind of follows the old English proverb from the 15th century, "Children should be seen and not heard. ." A likely corollary for many XYZ basses: XYZ basses are often seen, yet rarely heard. .