That makes some sense. I didn't even think the Bart soap pickups (at least the ones Roscoe uses) where configured as 'dual coils'. I guess you could 'aftermarket' a series/parallel switch with pretty much any bass.
Anyway, interested to know.
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Roscoe Club
- Thread starter JOME77
- Start date
That makes some sense. I didn't even think the Bart soap pickups (at least the ones Roscoe uses) where configured as 'dual coils'. I guess you could 'aftermarket' a series/parallel switch with pretty much any bass.
Anyway, interested to know.
Thanks a lot, I'm honestly not a fan of painted basses, unless they're Brubakers, but this one has a vintage vibe that I kinda like. It's definitely a well built bass, up there with my US Peavey Cirrus 6er (the standard by which I judge all basses!!) Thanks for the response too. I'm not sure who answered the phone when I called Roscoe, but he said there was no info on the preamp, just the wood configuration.
On another note- I didn't look at your screenname when I initially responded, but like aren't you the guy who knows EVERYTHING about bass cabs and amps?? Years ago I bookmarked one of your posts explaining amp and cab power ratings, ohms, and volume differences above 300w. It was like a college course for a beginner back then that helped me tremendously. I still use that knowledge today So, years later, thanks a lot lol! *mushy, emotional rant over*
dedpool1052 said:
Series/Parallel huh? That makes sense to me too...I've only ever had one other bass that had a coil split on it, and those were the thrice-mentioned EMG TW's, so I don't have a huge internal auditory reference to go by...if you say it's Series/Parallel, then that's what I'll go with. When I get home (yep, still at work) I'm going to note the way the switch is wired, and check it against the Bartolini wiring diagrams. I'm interested in seeing how it's wired, especially if it's NOT wired to include a single-coil mode.
I have to concur with you dedpool, I'm sure it's the Bart NTMB pre.
I thought the Roscoe Barts were quad coils? Oren, in the first iteration of the Rosco Club thread stated his has Roscoe/Bart quad coils.
I suppose once I get home we'll sort all this out lol!
I'm over my head on this. All I know is that of the hundreds of Roscoe's I've seen either live or in pictures over the years, none of them had any sort of switch (that is changing now as the Aguilar guts are optional). So, who knows! that is some sort of modification that is out of the ordinary for Roscoe, it seems.
I look forward to finding out what that is!
PS... yes, I'm the amp fanatic
so the mid pot is in fact a push pull? if it was not, the only other answer would be that the preamp is the 4.7 A/P, which uses a switch for the mid-shift instead of the push-pull mid pot.
*edit*
in the control cavity pic, you can see the silver label that bartolini uses on their preamps. maybe you can gently move the wires out of the way to see exactly which preamp it is.
It sounds like the Bart NTMB to me. The mid knob is usually push/pull to select the mid frequency. Even though the NTMB is able to present 3 different frequency choices to the user through a 3-way toggle, Roscoe wires it up to present just 2 choices via the push-pull mid knob.
The Roscoe Barts are indeed quad coils, so they could be wired series, parallel or single coil. It's unusual to find a Roscoe with a toggle switch, but not impossible. Both of mine have toggles.
The Roscoe Barts are indeed quad coils, so they could be wired series, parallel or single coil. It's unusual to find a Roscoe with a toggle switch, but not impossible. Both of mine have toggles.
It sounds like the Bart NTMB to me. The mid knob is usually push/pull to select the mid frequency. Even though the NTMB is able to present 3 different frequency choices to the user through a 3-way toggle, Roscoe wires it up to present just 2 choices via the push-pull mid knob.
The Roscoe Barts are indeed quad coils, so they could be wired series, parallel or single coil. It's unusual to find a Roscoe with a toggle switch, but not impossible. Both of mine have toggles.
Thanks everyone for chiming in, so it really is a Bart preamp lol.
So now my question is Nordy DCs vs the Barts? Just tryna keep the dialog going
Does anyone have actual sound clips? I've seen the 'scoes equipped with big singles and so glue coil Nordstrands, bit not Amy with the DCs that I could actually hear
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
The DCs are a smoother sounding Bart Classic type pickup. I really like the more modern tone they produce and they sound amazing with a Demeter preamp.. In that case the Roscoe Barts and Classic Bart's sound amazing with the Demeter as well.
I called the Demeter guy a while ago about putting the same Demeter/Roscoe preamp in a different bass....he told me his preamp was basically a copy of the Bart NTMB. Is it actually different? I'm considering buying the Nordstrands, and RocketMusic has a great deal going on...its just always hard when you don't actually get to hear the product.
If anything I love modern sounding basses, that's why my Cirrus is still numero uno
It sounds like the Bart NTMB to me. The mid knob is usually push/pull to select the mid frequency. Even though the NTMB is able to present 3 different frequency choices to the user through a 3-way toggle, Roscoe wires it up to present just 2 choices via the push-pull mid knob.
The Roscoe Barts are indeed quad coils, so they could be wired series, parallel or single coil. It's unusual to find a Roscoe with a toggle switch, but not impossible. Both of mine have toggles.
Cool. I also remember the NTMB having the ability of additional tonal 'presets'. Years ago, I had one put in a bass, and the tech installed a three way micro switch that was 'flat', 'mid scoop', and mid scoop with treble boost'. Very subtle and usable.
The preamp is definitely a Bart NTMB, the switch appears to be either a humbucker/single coil or series/parallel switch (easy to be certain - put the switch where the tone is "thin", solo the bridge pickup, take your hands off the bass - buzz? single coil; no buzz? parallel ).
Greg is correct, our "stock" pickups on the Custom (which this is) and Signature series basses are indeed quad coils. The Standard/Standard Plus models have CB's, which look identical, but are not quad coils.
Nice bass!
).Greg is correct, our "stock" pickups on the Custom (which this is) and Signature series basses are indeed quad coils. The Standard/Standard Plus models have CB's, which look identical, but are not quad coils.
Nice bass!
The preamp is definitely a Bart NTMB, the switch appears to be either a humbucker/single coil or series/parallel switch (easy to be certain - put the switch where the tone is "thin", solo the bridge pickup, take your hands off the bass - buzz? single coil; no buzz? parallel
Greg is correct, our "stock" pickups on the Custom (which this is) and Signature series basses are indeed quad coils. The Standard/Standard Plus models have CB's, which look identical, but are not quad coils.
Nice bass!
Good to know. I was wondering what the difference was between the Barts used in the Custom/Sigs and the Standard. Thanks for the info!
Good call on testing what that switch is. Duh.... solo a pickup, switch it up, and listen for hum. You are a genius
I think "genius" may be a bit much.
Let's try "at least he manages to not tie his shoes together when tying his shoelaces....most days....".
Let's try "at least he manages to not tie his shoes together when tying his shoelaces....most days....".
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
Not sure why he told you that, those two preamps are night and day. The Demeter has much tighter lows and smooth highs and a scooped mid, the Bart tends to color a lot in the lower and upper mids.
In my Century 5 JJ, I added a special Demeter preamp James made for me, I had a set of Fralin's in there but they are just a little to clean for the Demeter so I put in a set of the Aguilar's. I would really like to try a set of the Nordstrand NJ5FS pickups as I have heard they have a little more punch than the Aggies. My Century 4 has Roscoe/Barts with the two band Aggie preamp, which is just a little too nasal on the G string so I have a Demeter being built which should come in sometime this week.
My guess is, since that Bart pre was one of the first after market active pre's available, most designers of later units would have probably been influenced by the general design, while not necessarily achieving similar tonality.
I'm actually very impressed with the stock Bart pre in my Signature. Hadn't played one in decades. Powerful, aggressive, and quite usable. Sounds great set 'neutral'. I usually just boost the bass about 10%, and for a more fat tone on some tunes, favor the neck pickup and then boost 800hz mid setting slightly for definition/articulation and a bit of growl. Nice! The only negative for me is the lack of a bypass option, which is just a nice 'peace of mind' thing in case something goes wrong.
The preamp is definitely a Bart NTMB, the switch appears to be either a humbucker/single coil or series/parallel switch (easy to be certain - put the switch where the tone is "thin", solo the bridge pickup, take your hands off the bass - buzz? single coil; no buzz? parallel
Greg is correct, our "stock" pickups on the Custom (which this is) and Signature series basses are indeed quad coils. The Standard/Standard Plus models have CB's, which look identical, but are not quad coils.
Nice bass!
Gard, thanks for the clarification as well! I'm thinking the switch is a series/parallel switch, I haven't heard any buzz from the bass at all with the bridge pup soloed, and I've tried all of the configurations in trying to figure out how this bass sounds.
I remember it like it was yesterday, and honestly, he seemed a little put off that I would ask for the "Roscoe-spec'd" pre for a different bass. I won't judge, maybe he had a bad day, he was pretty short with me when I called him
I had heard a lot of good things about the Roscoe Demeter pre back then, and was thinking about throwing one in my project bass, to pair with the Bart CB dual coils (I still have them in a box lol). Do you think you could record a clip of your bass with the Demeter installed? I'd be really interested in how it sounds.
I suppose that makes sense, I haven't been playing bass long enough to know first hand. Bartolini is one of the strongest custom/aftermarket pickup and preamp manufacturers for a reason, and I can definitely see other designers taking their cues from them.
My old project bass had a similar iteration of the Bart pre, but I sold it a year or so ago, and that bass wasn't all that great lol. The pre in my Roscoe, in conjunction with the pups and wood config, is great IMO. I used to swear by Aggie pre's, and they're awesome in their own way, but I like the darker sound of the Bartolini pre. I've discovered a few sounds that I like, and they go from really smooth, to really aggressive, all from one preamp. It's especially fun when I solo the bridge pup, pull my mid knob out (sounds like it's switching between 300hz and 800hz) and boost it up a quarter turn and crank my treble. Both fingerstyle and slap, I'm really starting to dig it.
I did my setup last night. I noticed the saddles were almost all bottomed out, I could only make very small adjustments to the string height. So I tweaked the truss rod a bit....quite a bit actually since the bass was sitting in a case for a year in the heat. I normally set my relief at .015mm at the 8th fret. The Roscoe can go even lower without any string buzz, which I think is cool. I may tweak it again tonight just to see if I can get it to that super low, breath on it to play action.
I love my Cirrus, especially after I upgraded the preamp to the Pope Flexcore (I highly recommend this preamp!), but it's nice having another high quality bass that is still aggressive, but covers a different tonal spectrum
Beautiful. I am still just so pleased with mine. I think many players don't realize how 'high end' these basses are. Again, coming from years with a top of the line Fodera and MTD, the Roscoe is EVERY BIT as impressive in wood choice, playability, fit and finish, ergonomics and electronics.
I'm just so very pleased with the instrument I was lucky enough to find used at a good price. It just speaks to me
Here it is, paired with a rig (the picture is from my extensive A/Bing of the Jule DeMonique Tardis and my Glock Blue Soul through the Berg CN212) that really brings out the 'warmth and burp and preciseness' of the classic Bart Roscoe voicing.
Wonderful stuff!
I'm just so very pleased with the instrument I was lucky enough to find used at a good price. It just speaks to me
Here it is, paired with a rig (the picture is from my extensive A/Bing of the Jule DeMonique Tardis and my Glock Blue Soul through the Berg CN212) that really brings out the 'warmth and burp and preciseness' of the classic Bart Roscoe voicing.
Wonderful stuff!
It's been a while since I posted the whole family.
From left to right:
Century Signature Fretless Five
Century Custom Fretted Five
Latest addition, SKB Custom Fretted Six
Cool picture Johnny!
That's an awesome looking trio!
KJung said:
Glad to hear that you're still loving the Roscoe Ken. Great to have you as a Roscoehead!
I'm stuck in the rental house in Orlando watching G-kids. I tried to talk my wife into letting me trek over to BC but she said I couldn't leave her alone with all 3 kids! Bummer! Probably best. I'd end up getting fretless GAS ......
I'm stuck in the rental house in Orlando watching G-kids. I tried to talk my wife into letting me trek over to BC but she said I couldn't leave her alone with all 3 kids! Bummer! Probably best. I'd end up getting fretless GAS ......
Carol says "No Problem !!!", Just take them with you.
