Roscoe Club

[JOME77]

Keith is about to do the spray on my new Classic 5 J. Shell Pink. Nitro but with little to no relic. Aguilar J with OBP1

Should be an awesome jazz bass. That's a cool looking finish. Very classy looking. What body wood did you go with?

 

[SteveC]

Keith is about to do the spray on my new Classic 5 J. Shell Pink. Nitro but with little to no relic. Aguilar J with OBP1

If I got another Roscoe, it'd be this. I'd probably go 4 string passive, but shell Pink for sure. Dark fingerboard. Matching headstock. Basically this in a passive 4 string.

 

[JOME77]

So, what do the Aguilar Jazz and p-bass picks compare to (sound wise)?
I've heard the Aguilar OBP-1 preamp with Nordstrand p/u's (and liked the sound) but never heard the Aguilar p/u's.

 

[staccatogrowl]

GHS Pressure Wounds. . I installed them last night. . Here's a clip: 1st verse is bass with the EB Cobalt flats. 2nd verse is same bass with GHS Pressure Wounds. .

Back during my Pentabuzz/MVP5 XYZ days (many, many Roscoe hours and years ago), GHS Pressure Wounds were the only strings I used for both basses.

Your audio comparo reminds me why I liked them so much. They have a beautiful mid presence, which I preferred over any flatwound mid sound. I favored them over rounds and flats alike, because of their great tone, smooth feel, and minimization of string squeaks.

They also lasted a long time, highly appealing to a string miser like me. Finally, I never had a problem with the Pressure Wounds being tough on the Pentabuzz XYZ fretless epoxy board. I do employ a vibrato technique that is more akin to a cellist than a caffeinated shakey-hand guitarist, though.

And, Joe, we always enjoy hearing your clips. Nice work, as usual!

 

[JOME77]

Back during my Pentabuzz/MVP5 XYZ days (many, many Roscoe hours and years ago), GHS Pressure Wounds were the only strings I used for both basses.

Your audio comparo reminds me why I liked them so much. They have a beautiful mid presence, which I preferred over any flatwound mid sound. I favored them over rounds and flats alike, because of their great tone, smooth feel, and minimization of string squeaks.

They also lasted a long time, highly appealing to a string miser like me. Finally, I never had a problem with the Pressure Wounds being tough on the Pentabuzz XYZ fretless epoxy board. I do employ a vibrato technique that is more akin to a cellist than a caffeinated shakey-hand guitarist, though.

And, Joe, we always enjoy hearing your clips. Nice work, as usual!

All good points Fritz.
I probably should have given the Pressurewounds a bit more time but I just so preferred the feel and sound of the EB Cobalts on that bass. I may get a traditional 5 string set (B-G) and put them on one of my fretted basses to see how I like them.

 

[oren]

So, what do the Aguilar Jazz and p-bass picks compare to (sound wise)?
I've heard the Aguilar OBP-1 preamp with Nordstrand p/u's (and liked the sound) but never heard the Aguilar p/u's.

Last year I swapped out a set of Fender pickups for Aguilars on a Franken-Fender PJ. Results documented on YouTube. I like them a lot better than the stock Fenders - more articulate with better defined mids, plus they're hum canceling. Before I couldn't really use the J pickup by itself, but now it barks with authority.

 

[Life of Brian]

Should be an awesome jazz bass. That's a cool looking finish. Very classy looking. What body wood did you go with?

Light weight ash, Pau Ferro board

 

[armybass]

So, what do the Aguilar Jazz and p-bass picks compare to (sound wise)?
I've heard the Aguilar OBP-1 preamp with Nordstrand p/u's (and liked the sound) but never heard the Aguilar p/u's.

My Century 4
Dropbox - Motown Beat.m4a - Simplify your life

 

[JOME77]

Last year I swapped out a set of Fender pickups for Aguilars on a Franken-Fender PJ. Results documented on YouTube. I like them a lot better than the stock Fenders - more articulate with better defined mids, plus they're hum canceling. Before I couldn't really use the J pickup by itself, but now it barks with authority.

Very noticeable improvement Oren. Especially the Jazz bridge sound. I wonder how the Fender p/u's you originally had in that bass compare to the Noiseless IV in my Elite (at least the bridge jazz)? I don't have any noise issues with mine but they still aren't very highly regarded sound wise by Fender enthusiasts (although I quite like the sound of them with the Nordstrand pre installed).

So, have you compared the Aggies to Nordstrand? I'm just wondering if I commission a new build with Keith is it worth the effort (and cash extra) to ask for Nordstrand p/u's over his standard Aguilar p/u's.

 

[Bassworship1]

Just got back from the music shop and having the Nordstrand preamp installed in my Koa bass. I really like the pairing with Roscoe Barts. It gave a little more clarity and openness to my ears. My Buckeye was brighter than than it before but now they seem even and maybe the Koa might be a little more open sounding now. The. Or date and preamp is very musical and the addition of the VTC tone control makes a great bass downright beastly with tonal options.

 

[Jeff Moote]

Just got back from the music shop and having the Nordstrand preamp installed in my Koa bass. I really like the pairing with Roscoe Barts. It gave a little more clarity and openness to my ears. My Buckeye was brighter than than it before but now they seem even and maybe the Koa might be a little more open sounding now. The. Or date and preamp is very musical and the addition of the VTC tone control makes a great bass downright beastly with tonal options.

I have the same pairing in my bass and it's so much more open than the NTMB, which to me has a nice sound but works better with brighter pickups as it tends to muffle everything a bit and even when you boost the treble, it's more sparkle on top of that muffled sound. The Roscoe Barts are dark to begin with (especially in series) so to me they've always worked better with other preamps (Aguilar, Demeter for some basses, and definitely the Nordstrand).

 

[oren]

Very noticeable improvement Oren. Especially the Jazz bridge sound. I wonder how the Fender p/u's you originally had in that bass compare to the Noiseless IV in my Elite (at least the bridge jazz)? I don't have any noise issues with mine but they still aren't very highly regarded sound wise by Fender enthusiasts (although I quite like the sound of them with the Nordstrand pre installed).

So, have you compared the Aggies to Nordstrand? I'm just wondering if I commission a new build with Keith is it worth the effort (and cash extra) to ask for Nordstrand p/u's over his standard Aguilar p/u's.

Thanks, Joe! I bought the body loaded - it's a late 90s or early '00s MIM P bass Special, so I would guess that the pickups in your Elite are at least a few steps up from mine. I've never tried Nordstrands, though I like what I hear in video demos. So much gear, so little time!

 

[Bassworship1]

I'm loving this Nordstrand preamp with the Roscoe Quads. It really tightens and cleans the extreme lows up. Especially the E and B string compared to the Bart preamp in my Buckeye bass.

 

[Life of Brian]

Very noticeable improvement Oren. Especially the Jazz bridge sound. I wonder how the Fender p/u's you originally had in that bass compare to the Noiseless IV in my Elite (at least the bridge jazz)? I don't have any noise issues with mine but they still aren't very highly regarded sound wise by Fender enthusiasts (although I quite like the sound of them with the Nordstrand pre installed).

So, have you compared the Aggies to Nordstrand? I'm just wondering if I commission a new build with Keith is it worth the effort (and cash extra) to ask for Nordstrand p/u's over his standard Aguilar p/u's.

I've got Nordstrand's in my PJ classic 4 now all passive and it had Aguilars before. I think it's a push. I like them both. I really like the Aguilars with the OBP1 in a Jazz. Again other factors are in play , string type , your style of play and your hands .

 

[Life of Brian]

I've got Nordstrand's in my PJ classic 4 now all passive and it had Aguilars before. I think it's a push. I like them both. I really like the Aguilars with the OBP1 in a Jazz. Again other factors are in play , string type , your style of play and your hands .

In a Jazz 5 like the Classic 5 Keith is building me now I just assume go Aguilar with a passive tone control that's always in the circuit even in active mode with a boost only OBP 1. It's the closest setup and sound (in my opinion) to a Sadowsky NYC

 

[staccatogrowl]

In a Jazz 5 like the Classic 5 Keith is building me now, I go with Aguilar with passive tone control. .

Agree with your choice. The standard Sadowsky 2-band pre (boost only) with passive tone control is excellent. It's so good that I considered it for one of my Roscoes. Also, it is my understanding that it was developed with Aguilar.

 

[JOME77]

In a Jazz 5 like the Classic 5 Keith is building me now I just assume go Aguilar with a passive tone control that's always in the circuit even in active mode with a boost only OBP 1. It's the closest setup and sound (in my opinion) to a Sadowsky NYC

Agree with your choice. The standard Sadowsky 2-band pre with passive tone control is excellent. It's so good that I considered it for one of my Roscoes. Also, it is my understanding that it was developed with Aguilar.

I've heard the Nordstrand JJ p/u's with the Aggie OBP-1 in one bass and it sounded very good. It's actually the only Aggie preamp that I really like (Greg's former Roscoe JJ Signature 5; which now belongs to @armybass ). The OBP-2 & 3 preamps are just too aggressive sounding to my ears. However, I've only heard them with Nordstrand dual-coils and Bart quad coil p/u's not with Aguilars pickups. They may match up better with their own pickups.
From what you guys state it sounds like I should give the Aguilar p/u's with an Aguilar OBP-1 a try. If it's anything close to what I remember Greg's bass sounding I'd love it.

 

[SteveC]

Agree with your choice. The standard Sadowsky 2-band pre (boost only) with passive tone control is excellent. It's so good that I considered it for one of my Roscoes. Also, it is my understanding that it was developed with Aguilar.

When I had a Sadowsky jazz bass a long while ago, many thought it was the best jazz bass they had heard. They, like Roscoe, certainly have tier sound.

 

[Nightman]

I have used a Sadowsky SBP-1 DI to give my Jazz basses some of that tone.

 

[Bassworship1]

I had a really Nice Sadowsky NYC with jazz pickups and the bass was phenomenal in build and playability but in a full band mix I didn't like the tone at all. They are loved by many though as the jazz bass of choice.