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Roscoe Club

#12,901
So, I’m finally getting what all the fanfare is for P basses, or basses that can emulate a P-bass sound!
I’ve heard several P’s in an isolated playing/hearing situation and the sound was too (?) for my ears. I guess I lean more towards a ‘modern’ sound.
Well, at yesterday’s service, I decided to EQ the XYZ bass to its P-bass sound setting just for grins and giggles. To be honest I didn’t care for the sound I was getting at my relative position, but I just left it there and played through the entire service, which included Total Praise (Smallwood), Thank You (Hawkins), and others the minister wanted to do to enhance the message.
So, last night I got to hear a few FB postings of the service recorded with cell phones and I was totally pleased with the way the bass was setting in the mix with the drums and keys!
I guess I’m a P bass fan!!! Go P!!! :laugh:
 
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#12,902
So you need a Roscoe P is that what you mean ?
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#12,908
Actually, the bass I used is a passive jazz bass with Norstrand pups that has a heat treated cap that helps with its various tone capabilities.
So, my need for an actual P bass would only be for the appearance, and it has to be a 5’er.
 
#12,915
I have a love/hate relationship with the P bass. I want to love 'em and they sound great in so many mixes or in the hands of someone like Pino. But when I've dabbled in P bass territory I just couldn't escape the fact that I like other tones much more. I don't necessarily like zing, but I do like bite and to me, the P bass just doesn't have enough bite to it. Sure, the P has that certain thing going on in the midrange and has it's own way of sounding aggressive, but it just doesn't have quite the snarl that a jazz, StingRay, or some of the modern soapbar basses can get.

I had a Fender P5 that I wanted to love, took it to a few gigs and it quickly got put up and the jazz bass brought out. So, I had it modded to a PJ with a Nordstrand Big Split. Sounded better to me - like a thicker, richer jazz tone, but in the same ballpark - but I still didn't play it much. Poor thing sat in the rack at home forever until I finally decided to sell it fairly recently (I didn't particularly care for the 1.875" width at the nut either).

Same goes for a Sadowsky PJ5 I had before that. It had a good sound in the same way as the modded Fender P5 - thicker, richer jazz-type tone - but there's a particular growl that a jazz has that I've grown to love and the Sadowsky didn't quite have it.

Now, playing primarily country, there's a lot of albums with P bass on them and sometimes I do roll the blend to the neck pickup on the Century 5JJ to get a more P bass tone. It gets me close enough. I remember the Roscoes I had with typically placed soapbars, and they'd get close enough for me, too. But, like others, I prefer the close enough sound of a P bass, but the more modern or J bass sound for 90% of what I do.
 
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#12,916
KaseOfBass said:
I have a love/hate relationship with the P bass. I want to love 'em and they sound great in so many mixes or in the hands of someone like Pino. But when I've dabbled in P bass territory I just couldn't escape the fact that I like other tones much more. I don't necessarily like zing, but I do like bite and to me, the P bass just doesn't have enough bite to it. Sure, the P has that certain thing going on in the midrange and has it's own way of sounding aggressive, but it just doesn't have quite the snarl that a jazz, StingRay, or some of the modern soapbar basses can get.

I had a Fender P5 that I wanted to love, took it to a few gigs and it quickly got put up and the jazz bass brought out. So, I had it modded to a PJ with a Nordstrand Big Split. Sounded better to me - like a thicker, richer jazz tone, but in the same ballpark - but I still didn't play it much. Poor thing sat in the rack at home forever until I finally decided to sell it fairly recently (I didn't particularly care for the 1.875" width at the nut either).

Same goes for a Sadowsky PJ5 I had before that. It had a good sound in the same way as the modded Fender P5 - thicker, richer jazz-type tone - but there's a particular growl that a jazz has that I've grown to love and the Sadowsky didn't quite have it.

Now, playing primarily country, there's a lot of albums with P bass on them and sometimes I do roll the blend to the neck pickup on the Century 5JJ to get a more P bass tone. It gets me close enough. I remember the Roscoes I had with typically placed soapbars, and they'd get close enough for me, too. But, like others, I prefer the close enough sound of a P bass, but the more modern or J bass sound for 90% of what I do.
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All of the above.

I G.A.S. so hard for a P bass after I go see Pino play with Mayer. I even met Pino and shook his hand...no dice. I still sound like me on a P bass. :cool:

I also am a 5 tring guy and I just don't like the look of 5 string P basses. I think they look "off" somehow. I think the same about a 4 string Roscoe. Just doesn't look "right" to me.

My current gigs are church (fretless) cover (fretted) and jazz (a little of each). My fretted and fretless 5's work great for all those gigs. I can get "close enough for a live show" P, J and other tones with some quick variations of the blend knob and right hand placement. I don't know that we give right hand placement all the credit/attention it deserves. Not perfect, but I often don't have time to switch basses when we go song to song without break. I need to be able to do a few different tones within seconds.

As for the B string, I use it when it's needed, otherwise it's a thumb rest...and a damn nice one.
Fretless is the same. I can play it like a fretless, or control it and it sounds almost like a fretted. Sometimes people have thought I was playing a fretted bass until they get close or feel the fingerboard.
 
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#12,919
The Honey Badgers sounded great in a PJ I tried a couple of years back. Unfortunately they closed up shop last year, though there are rumors they may come back.

Here’s a video on the topic:




Freddy-G. said:
So has anyone tried Honey Badger pickups? There are so many great pickups to choose from now. How does the new pickup (new to me) on the block stand out?
Click to expand...
 
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#12,920
Nightman said:
Actually, the bass I used is a passive jazz bass with Norstrand pups that has a heat treated cap that helps with its various tone capabilities.
So, my need for an actual P bass would only be for the appearance, and it has to be a 5’er.
Click to expand...
I think you can get a better P bass sound with a J bass than with a Roscoe with DC pickups. The only true 5 string P bass I've owned was a Lull (they're all passive). I played it on a couple of gigs and loved it. It had Seymour Duncan pups. I wish I had that one back. All you guys wanting a 5 string P bass, get a Lull! Of course, Keith might make one for you. Dang! Now that I'm thinkin' about it, I want a Roscoe 5 string P Classic!:)
 
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