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Roscoe Club

All, I am thinking of replacing the round wounds on my 90's LG-3005 (burl redwood top, Spanish cedar body, Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, Bartolini pickups, 3 way eq) with flat wounds. I have a set of TI JF344s on my Precision bass and love them. Anyone here have experience with TI's 5 string set on a Roscoe?
Thanks for the replies about the flat wound strings.

Is there a replacement for the stock Bartolini pickups/Bartolini 3 way eq that can cop more of a Precision bass tone on this bass? Something that will open up the tone and be less dark? I have been playing a Custom Shop Precision for the last 2 years, love its simplicity, but I pulled out the Roscoe recently, and the Roscoe is such a solid bass.
 
So @Freddy-G., what bass caught your eye and your wallet?

And show off that Wenge Neck with the Wenge fretboard. :thumbsup:
Thankfully, I was able to stamp down the GAS that attacked me recently. It's always tempting to go looking around the bass candy shops.

I need to take some new photos of my latest Roscoe, so let me see if I can get around to it soon. It might be this weekend, though.
 
Thanks for the replies about the flat wound strings.

Is there a replacement for the stock Bartolini pickups/Bartolini 3 way eq that can cop more of a Precision bass tone on this bass? Something that will open up the tone and be less dark? I have been playing a Custom Shop Precision for the last 2 years, love its simplicity, but I pulled out the Roscoe recently, and the Roscoe is such a solid bass.

If Im being honest I think the "darkness" is inherent to the Roscoe spec Barts. I personally replaced them with Bart CB's and havnt looked back. I added a toggle switch which adds the ability of going single coil with the pups. I can then pan to a preferred pickup or keep it centered and cop a ton of tones. Is it spot on J bass or P bass, no but extremely functional. I will say the mod did require drilling a new hole fwiw.

I will say Im seeing really good reviews of folks switching to Nordstrand pre's with a tone control. Might be more up you alley with no drilling.
 
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I will say Im seeing really good reviews of folks switching to Nordstrand pre's with a tone control. Might be more up you alley with no drilling.

^ THIS!

I installed a Nordstrand 3B-4a pre in my LG Custom with a set Chromes flats and never looked back at the Bart/Bart, but I was not after a "P" nor a "J" sound. I have a passive Jazz bass with a special cap for that. :thumbsup:
 
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The tone control with a Nordstrand 3 band preamp is downright magical. By far my favorite preamp. Matter a fact these knobs I just received yesterday will be installing on the Nordstrand 3b-5b preamp with Tone control.
k3.jpg
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Thanks for the replies about the flat wound strings.

Is there a replacement for the stock Bartolini pickups/Bartolini 3 way eq that can cop more of a Precision bass tone on this bass? Something that will open up the tone and be less dark? I have been playing a Custom Shop Precision for the last 2 years, love its simplicity, but I pulled out the Roscoe recently, and the Roscoe is such a solid bass.
To me a Roscoe bass with the custom Barts has a P bass vibe, but a bit darker and more compressed. I would personally put in a more neutral preamp and keep the pickups. Those pickups are really special, and a more neutral preamp would make it less dark and less compressed. You will lose some punchiness though, as that preamp's compression is part of what makes the combination punchy. It's all a balancing act. Maybe reach out to Roscoe and ask them? You could also try some Nordstrand Big Split pickups. They are a great blend of J and P bass. Killer with a Bartolini preamp.
 
Can the Nordstrand 3-band w/tone control be retrofitted for the standard 4-knob Roscoe layout? Possibly stacked volume/tone, mid, pickup pan, stacked treble/bass?

Mine has Stacked volume, tone p/p, mid p/p, stacked treb/bass. You can check the Nordstrand website for more wiring configurations.
 
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So, interesting thing. I had a Roscoe with Keith a month or so ago and via the phone I asked about this. He sort of gave me the runaround and said, "well people are doing all kinds of things... I'm not sure what all is out there."

So I guess my question is will Keith doing the wiring if I sent him a Roscoe?
I think he has some pre-wire module opportunities in play, as well as a tech that wires for him. Depends on the day in question though, meaning it's fluid.
 
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The carved-top Signature in that run has my attention and admiration. Wow wow wow. Check out the Wenge wedge neck. Also, the top-matching rear headstock overlay totally works in this application. Bubinga and Wenge presented side by side.

1.png


It has has potential to be a stunning bass, one worthy of playing and keeping for a lifetime (vs being just another flipper).

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Definitely one of the finest Roscoes I've seen. Maybe even the best of the best!


* * All photos shown above are from the Real Roscoe Guitars FB page * *
 
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The carved-top Signature in that run has my attention and admiration. Wow wow wow. Check out the Wenge wedge neck. Also, the top-matching rear headstock overlay totally works in this application. Bubinga and Wenge presented side by side.

View attachment 4281182

It has has potential to be a stunning bass, one worthy of playing and keeping for a lifetime (vs being just another flipper).

View attachment 4281186

Definitely one of the finest Roscoes I've seen. Maybe even the best of the best!


* * All photos shown above are from the Real Roscoe Guitars FB page * *

Be insanely better if it were an LG :drool:

(I know, I know, completely subjective but still..)