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Roscoe Club
- Thread starter JOME77
- Start date
All I put on my Roscoes are the NYXL’s they are well balanced and last
That bass was very nice. It didn’t have a bit of neck dive on me. Of course I use a really good leather strap by Ethos so maybe the strap makes a big difference.
OK,
Favorite fretted, Custom Century Five,
mahogany body, Wenge shim, walnut top, Wenge fingerboard and Wenge/maple neck
And favorite fretless,
Century Signature, da' Flagship
One piece ash body, one piece Bubinga top (wild figuring), Wenge wedge neck
Custom made for the Gardfather
Love both of those. I bet that Nordstrand DC bass sounded good with those pickups.
2 beauties for sure!
As for the sound of the Nords verses the Bart’s in the 6 string fretless, the Bart’s sound much better in that bass to my ears. As does the Bart pre over the Audere pre.
Hard to beat the Bart/Bart in a fretless!
Fretless LG3005, mid 90s model with the scarf joint maple/purpleheart/maple neck, Diamondwood fingerboard, Spanish Cedar body, with a quilted Maple top, Roscoe Bart's, with a Bart 3 band pre.
It was my first Roscoe, and it has been my main bass for 20 years. You just don't get any better.
Joe my signature has a unique reverse tapered wide Purple Heart stringer.The real difference is the Wenge wedge neck. That’s the real sonic difference. Cosmetically, I’m not a fan of the capped head stock rear. Oh but that abalone or pearl Roscoe “R”. I’m a huge fan of that!
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It did sound really good. But for a fretless I really prefer the compression that Roscoe Barts bring to the table. Just my preference.
But, the original pickups are safely stashed in the hardcase just in case.
Okay for all you who've had multiple Roscoes- what's the difference in sound between a spalted purpleheart fingerboard and a wenge one? Thinking I'm going to jump on getting a neck recarve and possibly a new fingerboard for my Century 5 (with a birdseye maple 'board- I'm drowning in ash body/maple fingerboard basses, need some variety 
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Purpleheart is snappier, like a warmer sounding maple. Wenge will have more growl to it and a warmer top end.Okay for all you who've had multiple Roscoes- what's the difference in sound between a spalted purpleheart fingerboard and a wenge one? Thinking I'm going to jump on getting a neck recarve and possibly a new fingerboard for my Century 5 (with a birdseye maple 'board- I'm drowning in ash body/maple fingerboard basses, need some variety
View attachment 3715150
Le Roscoe est arrivé!
It is certainly one of the best basses I've ever played, bar none. Unreal sustain, clarity, laser-focused low end and the sweetest C string ever. All is bliss.
More pics: 2020 Roscoe LG-3006 Custom Build
It is certainly one of the best basses I've ever played, bar none. Unreal sustain, clarity, laser-focused low end and the sweetest C string ever. All is bliss.
More pics: 2020 Roscoe LG-3006 Custom Build
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Thanks- I had a wenge fingerboard SKB with an ash body before, really dug the tone, so that's probably the route I'll attempt to go.
I've owned three, all Century Standard 5-strings. My since-departed mahogany JB was the first, and did a lot of gigs.. my cocobolo-top headless is a stunner and sounds fantastic.. but I gotta say the best Roscoe I've owned is my fretless. Ash body, primavera top, Bartolini MM pickup, skinny neck profile, and most important -- diamondwood fingerboard. It absolutely sings, even in my hands.
I've owned three, all Century Standard 5-strings. My since-departed mahogany JB was the first, and did a lot of gigs.. my cocobolo-top headless is a stunner and sounds fantastic.. but I gotta say the best Roscoe I've owned is my fretless. Ash body, primavera top, Bartolini MM pickup, skinny neck profile, and most important -- diamondwood fingerboard. It absolutely sings, even in my hands.
View attachment 3715279
That is a nice bass. Love the fretboard.
Thanks. The fretboard looked even cooler before I had it Plek'd. It had this really cool white "cloud" figuring on the top 5 or 6 fret positions, but the Plek shaved it away. You can still see the outline of it. I don't regret it though, because the Plek made it play 100% better.
Yes the Plek makes a huge difference and makes them play so good. I can't believe how low I can set the action on my 2 new ones.
If I got another fretted bass I'd get a Wenge board. I had a beautiful wenge board on my 6 string "jazz" from a few years ago. If that were a 5 string I'd still have it. I like the diamondwood for my fretless.
There is something beautiful sounding with ash body, Maple Wenge Maple Neck and Katalox Fretboard (similar to Ebony with more open Clarity). I always wished the Roscoes had a little more clarity and this setup get's me there. Very pleased with the tone of my Roscoes. The only difference in my basses is the Koa is a thick top and the Buckleye is a thinner top. The Buckeye is more smooth and the Koa is more Growly and Open sounding. Both have great clarity but there is a noticeable difference tonally between the 2 with all things being the same except for topwood and thickness.
