Roscoe Club

[steelin4u]

Not at all Roscoe specific but how many of you guys use a compressor when you gig live?
I haven't played out in a while where we didn't have some sort of compression at the sound board and now that I'm gigging with minimal sound reinforcement (minimal bass through the mains and no compression) I'm considering getting a pedal compressor to use when I play out.
Also, which pedal or rack mount compressor are you using.

Thx!

I use a compressor when I gig live. I like the Empress compressor because it has LEDs and that helps me on many levels, to name a few: (1) I have an additional tool besides my ears to understand what the pedal is doing in real time, (2) I can gig different instruments with diff strings, pups, and 'pre's, and I can adjust knobs on the comp due to the graphic LED output before we even soundcheck.

I also have dreams of using the side chain of the Empress someday at church during a song with a straight-ahead driving kick drum as the side chain input.

 

[JOME77]

Well it appears that all you guys are using a compressor of some type.
Excellent! Thanks so much for the feedback. Very helpful.
Sounds like I need to check Scubaduba's thread out.

In the meantime, I got some very good news ...... No huge deal but my buddy was able to create some nice cherry inserts for a set of STD concentric dome knobs so I could have matching knobs using the Noll Concentric 250K pot with P/P DPDT sw.
He also had to mill down the top knob .10 so the set screw would contact the shorter pot shaft but if eventually worked! It's a bit shorter than the STD top knob but it looks much better to my OCD.

With that worked out, and the fact that the bass sounds so stinking good with the VTC and A/P modes, I canceled the back ordered Nordstand pre. And, since the cost of the pre has given me a surplus in my music budget, I can order a compressor.
Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

 

[Nightman]

That’s our Roscoe R&D department alive and kicking!!

 

[Brad Maestas]

I use a compressor when I gig live. I like the Empress compressor because it has LEDs and that helps me on many levels, to name a few: (1) I have an additional tool besides my ears to understand what the pedal is doing in real time, (2) I can gig different instruments with diff strings, pups, and 'pre's, and I can adjust knobs on the comp due to the graphic LED output before we even soundcheck.

I also have dreams of using the side chain of the Empress someday at church during a song with a straight-ahead driving kick drum as the side chain input.

View attachment 3678152

I'm also using the Empress from time to time. Live I'm typically running into a Noble pre then the Bullhead 1K but when I have the space to breathe and bring pedals the Empress is always there. I use it during tracking sometimes as well. It's very transparent and has a superb readout to know exactly what's happening.

 

[MattLplaysBass]

Not sure if there's any other midwesterners in here besides myself and @steelin4u , but fyi

US: Midwest - 2020 Chicago area GTG

 

[JOME77]

Well it appears that all you guys are using a compressor of some type.
Excellent! Thanks so much for the feedback. Very helpful.
Sounds like I need to check Scubaduba's thread out.

Well I looked at quite a few various compressor reviews on his thread and it got to be quite overwhelming!
So many good ones out there, all similar in some ways and yet quite different in some ways too.
I finally went with the one that impressed me the most, the Darkglass Hyper Luminal. It's probably a bit overkill for me but I really liked what I heard on the Sweetwater video and thought that the ability to tweak the software settings was really cool.

 

[Nightman]

I took my Plek'd Buckeye Burl Roscoe to rehearsal last night, where we are doing 'Glorious' (Martha Munizzi). You guys who have experienced playing your bass after a Plek job was done can probably relate to this, but those who haven't, sorry. HOLYCRAPSHOTFIRE!!!

 

[SteveC]

I’ve kept a shipping box at home just in case...

 

[Nightman]

That bass is 15 years old and played very good! But after having Roscoe (Keith and the person who mysteriously removes the bass from Keith's work bench during the night and returns it the next morning) finish their Bass Spa services, it's like a brand new, finely tuned bass!
I'll tell you what, it's well spent coins for what you get back!!!

 

[MrWarwick71]

Hello Roscoe lovers !
I recently acquired a Roscoe SKB Custom 5. I love it!! Build quality is second to none. Tone and playabilty is perfection. The only negative I ca say is its neck heavy. So I went after a Roscoe Century Custom. I recieved it the other day. So disappointed. The build quality is there. But the neck is fat. Like Warwick Ovankoi neck fat !
The SKB neck is maple with Wenge center. The Century is maple with purple heart center. I guess I'm feeling around to see if most of the Roscoe 5 strings are fat necks. Did I get lucky with the SKB? Maybe it was shaved? I really dont like the fat neck. I will be selling it. Just wondering if i should bother looking for another. Or am I going to get more of the same....
Any feedback would be great.
Thanks all
Cheers
Steve from Canada
Eh

 

[Laklandfan]

Hello Roscoe lovers !
I recently acquired a Roscoe SKB Custom 5. I love it!! Build quality is second to none. Tone and playabilty is perfection. The only negative I ca say is its neck heavy. So I went after a Roscoe Century Custom. I recieved it the other day. So disappointed. The build quality is there. But the neck is fat. Like Warwick Ovankoi neck fat !
The SKB neck is maple with Wenge center. The Century is maple with purple heart center. I guess I'm feeling around to see if most of the Roscoe 5 strings are fat necks. Did I get lucky with the SKB? Maybe it was shaved? I really dont like the fat neck. I will be selling it. Just wondering if i should bother looking for another. Or am I going to get more of the same....
Any feedback would be great.
Thanks all
Cheers
Steve from Canada
Eh

Send the century to me and I will let you know if it’s still too fat.

 

[Bassworship1]

Hello Roscoe lovers !
I recently acquired a Roscoe SKB Custom 5. I love it!! Build quality is second to none. Tone and playabilty is perfection. The only negative I ca say is its neck heavy. So I went after a Roscoe Century Custom. I recieved it the other day. So disappointed. The build quality is there. But the neck is fat. Like Warwick Ovankoi neck fat !
The SKB neck is maple with Wenge center. The Century is maple with purple heart center. I guess I'm feeling around to see if most of the Roscoe 5 strings are fat necks. Did I get lucky with the SKB? Maybe it was shaved? I really dont like the fat neck. I will be selling it. Just wondering if i should bother looking for another. Or am I going to get more of the same....
Any feedback would be great.
Thanks all
Cheers
Steve from Canada
Eh

you are the first person I’ve ever heard say Roscoe necks are fat. Matter a fact, everyone I’ve talked to or heard say that Roscoes are some of the best necks they have ever played. I’ve had every model with the exception of the Classics and they all have perfectly balanced bodies and necks that are fast and lean.

 

[Laklandfan]

I have emailed Keith in the past and he said that neck dimensions do vary a little bit. He provided me a few different dimensions of random centuries around the shop, I’m guessing there is a little hand shaping/finishing that might account for this.

 

[MrWarwick71]

you are the first person I’ve ever heard say Roscoe necks are fat. Matter a fact, everyone I’ve talked to or heard say that Roscoes are some of the best necks they have ever played. I’ve had every model with the exception of the Classics and they all have perfectly balanced bodies and necks that are fast and lean.

I know. Everyone says that. My SKB neck is thin and fast. But the Century is FAT. I was surprised when I held her for the first time. Was expecting the neck to be similar profile as my SKB. Strange....
Maybe it was a custom order for someone who prefers fat neck....
The SKB is not balanced by any means. Probably dude to the very light one piece ash body. It has considerable neck dive.

 

[mikezimmerman]

I seem to recall many years ago (15-20?) that at that time, there were fatter and thinner neck profiles available as options from Roscoe.

I know. Everyone says that. My SKB neck is thin and fast. But the Century is FAT. I was surprised when I held her for the first time. Was expecting the neck to be similar profile as my SKB. Strange....
Maybe it was a custom order for someone who prefers fat neck....
The SKB is not balanced by any means. Probably dude to the very light one piece ash body. It has considerable neck dive.

 

[MrWarwick71]

Send the century to me and I will let you know if it’s still too fat.

Sell it to you ? Sure....

 

[Nightman]

Check with the seller to see if they can provide the specs on the Century, or better yet, give Roscoe Guitars a call and see what they have on that bass.

 

[MrWarwick71]

I have emailed Keith in the past and he said that neck dimensions do vary a little bit. He provided me a few different dimensions of random centuries around the shop, I’m guessing there is a little hand shaping/finishing that might account for this.

Thanks. Buying online, unseen , unplayed is always a gamble. Roscoe doesn't pop up for sale around here often. Almost never.... Maybe I will sell both and then Order a new one custom made to my preferred specs....

 

[MattLplaysBass]

I know. Everyone says that. My SKB neck is thin and fast. But the Century is FAT. I was surprised when I held her for the first time. Was expecting the neck to be similar profile as my SKB. Strange....
Maybe it was a custom order for someone who prefers fat neck....
The SKB is not balanced by any means. Probably dude to the very light one piece ash body. It has considerable neck dive.

I agree with you - I had an SKB custom and that neck was thin and fast, but like you the body shape didn’t work for me. I got a Century and it balances so much better, but the neck feels bigger/thicker. i wouldn’t call it “fat” (or big-boned, plus size, etc ), but it’s not the same as the neck as on the SKB, that’s for sure. I measured the depth and width (both at the nut and at the 24th fret) of them and they were similar, so maybe it’s the shape? It’s not uncomfortable or unplayable by any means, but definitely different. I’ve never played a baseball bat Warwick, so I can’t comment on that. Handmaking instruments is an art, not a science, I guess

 

[KaseOfBass]

Hello Roscoe lovers !
I recently acquired a Roscoe SKB Custom 5. I love it!! Build quality is second to none. Tone and playabilty is perfection. The only negative I ca say is its neck heavy. So I went after a Roscoe Century Custom. I recieved it the other day. So disappointed. The build quality is there. But the neck is fat. Like Warwick Ovankoi neck fat !
The SKB neck is maple with Wenge center. The Century is maple with purple heart center. I guess I'm feeling around to see if most of the Roscoe 5 strings are fat necks. Did I get lucky with the SKB? Maybe it was shaved? I really dont like the fat neck. I will be selling it. Just wondering if i should bother looking for another. Or am I going to get more of the same....
Any feedback would be great.
Thanks all
Cheers
Steve from Canada
Eh

Like others, I definitely associate the standard Roscoe necks as thin front-to-back, with a fairly slim nut (my last was 1.81”). They’re nothing I’d call thick. There’s no doubt differences from bass to bass, but out of the four Roscoes I’ve owned, I wouldn’t call any of them fat or remotely resembling the profile of the few 5-string Warwicks I’ve played over the years.

With that, if it happens to be a bass with optional 19mm spacing, and I’ve had one of those, it was definitely wider to accommodate the wider string spacing, but still thin front-to-back.