Until I can afford a new Roscoe bass this will have to do.
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Roscoe Club
- Thread starter JOME77
- Start date
Good to see that Talkbass is back up but it appears that all the Roscoeheads have found other things to occupy their time (not many posts on this thread).
I will tell you one thing that I did during the hiatus that I’ve been petrified to do.
That would be remove the neck from my new to me Roscoe Custom PJ 5 to verify that it didn’t have a shim installed!
After having my Signature SKB-3005 worked on at the Roscoe shop (so the shim that it’s always required could be removed) I sure didn’t want to have to box up the PJ and send it to the factory (or pay another $400+ to get it done).
Well ........ drum roll .......
No shim was installed and it plays awesome!!!
I will tell you one thing that I did during the hiatus that I’ve been petrified to do.
That would be remove the neck from my new to me Roscoe Custom PJ 5 to verify that it didn’t have a shim installed!
After having my Signature SKB-3005 worked on at the Roscoe shop (so the shim that it’s always required could be removed) I sure didn’t want to have to box up the PJ and send it to the factory (or pay another $400+ to get it done).
Well ........ drum roll .......
No shim was installed and it plays awesome!!!
Good to see that Talkbass is back up but it appears that all the Roscoeheads have found other things to occupy their time (not many posts on this thread).
I will tell you one thing that I did during the hiatus that I’ve been petrified to do.
That would be remove the neck from my new to me Roscoe Custom PJ 5 to verify that it didn’t have a shim installed!
After having my Signature SKB-3005 worked on at the Roscoe shop (so the shim that it’s always required could be removed) I sure didn’t want to have to box up the PJ and send it to the factory (or pay another $400+ to get it done).
Well ........ drum roll .......
No shim was installed and it plays awesome!!!
I've been dragging my feet. But I need to email keith and send mine his way. The neck pocket definitely needs a shim.
No idea. My fretless definitely does not. But my fretted I just can't get the action low enough above the 12th fret.
I did some very needed healing during the server outage.
And this morning was the first time since 3/22 that I played a bass guitar!!
And this morning was the first time since 3/22 that I played a bass guitar!!
I think it has to do with the thick plates on the bridges Roscoe uses and the desire to have low action.
I don’t believe I have shims in any of mind. They have all been PLEK’ed and play great. I don’t have suoer low action. I just play them how they come from the shop. I had my Classic P at church today and it kicked ass.
Yeah. It's not an issue from the 12th down, but the 12th up, I just don't like how I've got the saddles bottomed out and I can't get any lower than what I've got. I figure I should be able to make it go too far, and have to bring it back a bit- Like I can with my fretless.
There! Fixed it for you, Joe.Basses shouldn’t kick ass at church Steve!
Not all Roscoes need shims*. Not all shims are made for Roscoes. Not all shims are really shims (how many matchbook covers acheived their version of eternal life in Fender guitar and bass neck pockets around the globe, ever since Leo, and in the great-flood profusion of the copycat and counterfeit ripoff instruments of all price ranges in his wake?).
Shims are in such great demand that StewMac sells them for about $10 each plus shipping (nice markup). And, make note that none of StewMac shims are in the shape of a Roscoe neck pocket (no real call for that).
If worse came to worse, and I did have a Roscoe that needed a shim, I would probably send it back to Keith for a pocket scribe, if the matchbook cover didn't work. While this might seem outrageous and completely unacceptable to some, I will contrast this to another experience I had with a set-neck fretless bass.
This was an expensive, famous, beloved-builder bass that needed constant truss rod tweaks due to seasonal changes in my area. One day the truss rod snapped during minor adjustment. I called the builder, and he scolded me for breaking the rod, stating that I should have called him before the rod broke (I had no warning to do so). He then quoted me a repair price of $2,000 plus shipping, with a warning that the resulting finish would likely show evidence of repair. I declined and sold the bass as-broken, for pennies on the dollar.
I'll gladly take a bass that needs just a simple pocket scribe or shim, in place of this latter experience any day. And now and forever, I avoid set-neck basses. Bolt-on neck resets/repairs are just so simple in comparison.
* I've had 8 different Roscoes, circa 1998 to 2019, over many years of catch and release. None of them had, or needed shims
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Maybe so, but that classic p with TI’s to the Empress and REDDI...that was some killer tone. I used a pick and the Muff (set pretty subtly) for the first song. Finger style “clean” after that. The REDDI is big and not board friendly, but it is a killer DI.Basses shouldn’t kick ass at church Steve!
It’s really hard as I’m torn. Obviously the passive Classic P with flats has a sound. And the active Century 5 with nickel rounds has a sound that’s totally different. Yet they both work in that setting. I love playing both. I love listening to both. It kind of sucks. And I have yet to try the fretless through the new compressor/DI rig. Then I’ll have 3 that I’ll love.
Because of the tunes and the flow, I use the 5 with rounds for the cover band. It’s just easier. Though there are some tunes the P would be great with.
At church I rotate all 3 basses. They can all work, some more than others depending on the times for that day. That’s usually how I chose.
For singer/songwriter gigs, or a jazz gig, or musicals, I’ll often use the P. Sometimes the fretless.
It’s nice to have choices, but sometimes I wish I still only had one. I don’t know what you folks with 5 or more do.
Because of the tunes and the flow, I use the 5 with rounds for the cover band. It’s just easier. Though there are some tunes the P would be great with.
At church I rotate all 3 basses. They can all work, some more than others depending on the times for that day. That’s usually how I chose.
For singer/songwriter gigs, or a jazz gig, or musicals, I’ll often use the P. Sometimes the fretless.
It’s nice to have choices, but sometimes I wish I still only had one. I don’t know what you folks with 5 or more do.
Some bassists like low action. Some like high. Some bassists could care less what B-string height is above the 10th fret, because they never play a note on that string in that area. It's hard to reach for most, and is not a tonal sweet spot for that string, in my experience.
When I custom ordered a bass from Keith, I specified neck shape, action, weight range, and pickup placement. He met all of my requirements, no problem, delivering a beautiful bass. When I've sent used instruments to Keith for modification or repair, he met my requirements when they were reasonable and possible. The costs were always fair, too.
When I had something that didn't meet my expectation, he made it right. Every time.
The bottom line for me follows: If I have a problem with a Roscoe, I call Keith Roscoe for help. He is available to help in a courteous, meaningful way. Otherwise, no Roscoe ever got fixed talking about it in this thread.
When I custom ordered a bass from Keith, I specified neck shape, action, weight range, and pickup placement. He met all of my requirements, no problem, delivering a beautiful bass. When I've sent used instruments to Keith for modification or repair, he met my requirements when they were reasonable and possible. The costs were always fair, too.
When I had something that didn't meet my expectation, he made it right. Every time.
The bottom line for me follows: If I have a problem with a Roscoe, I call Keith Roscoe for help. He is available to help in a courteous, meaningful way. Otherwise, no Roscoe ever got fixed talking about it in this thread.
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