• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Roscoe Club

#19,281
armybass said:
I’ve had two Roscoe 4’s and while they were both excellent basses, for me a Roscoe needs a B string because they do them so darn well.
View attachment 4334035 View attachment 4334036
Click to expand...

Fred312b said:
I’ve been tempted by this 4 string multiple times now, but I agree about that b ;)

Roscoe Century Custom Buckeye Burl Top 4-String Bass | FretSpot | Reverb
Click to expand...

I hear you guys. If someone had told me 4 years ago that I would gravitate back to 4 bangers I would have told them they were crazy. But that was during a time where I played at church 2x a week and most of the songs needed a low B. I'm just not doing that style of music now and the 4 string is all that I need and it feels a bit better to my hands (doesn’t cause as much hand fatigue). However, I totally agree, the low B of a Roscoe IS what makes a Roscoe so special. I know myself well enough to know that if I moved one of my Roscoe 5's for a 4 string I'd eventually miss it.
You can after all play everything on a 5 that you play on a 4 but your can't play everything on a 4 that you can on a 5.;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: armybass, SteveC and Fred312b
#19,282
JOME77 said:
. . the low B of a Roscoe IS what makes a Roscoe so special. I know myself well enough to know that if I moved one of my Roscoe 5's for a 4 string I'd eventually miss it. You can after all play everything on a 5 that you play on a 4 but you can't play everything on a 4 that you can on a 5.;)
Click to expand...
I support and respect any player's chosen model and configuration. However, if I didn't play a Roscoe 5 or 6, I think I would just move over to KB synth, and enjoy playing bass from the ease of not having to deal with physical strings at all. If fewer are better, then maybe none is best? : 0
 
#19,283
My 5 will always be my go to bass. It just feels right and I don’t have to think to play it after all these years. I enjoy my 4 very much, but if I’m going in cold to a gig, I bring the 5. I know I can do whatever I might need to with that bass. I like my 4 (P with flats) for certain things, just like my fretless 5. I could “get by” with any bass at any gig, but I like having options.
I also have a Yamaha MODX6 for my synth needs so that can cover a lot of ground if needed as well. I would
Never give up “real” bass for a synth, but again, I do use it and it’s nice to have options.
 
  • Like
Reactions: staccatogrowl
#19,284
staccatogrowl said:
I support and respect any player's chosen model and configuration. However, if I didn't play a Roscoe 5 or 6, I think I would just move over to KB synth, and enjoy playing bass from the ease of not having to deal with physical strings at all. If fewer are better, then maybe none is best? : 0
Click to expand...


Lol
Well I guess that covers all the extremes of bass configurations!:)

Here’s a pic of the new bass I have coming soon …

14F4433E-8FA7-4841-8E53-DF3734D006CA.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: oo_ee_oo_ah_ah, JLY, Nightman and 2 others
#19,285
JOME77 said:
I hear you guys. If someone had told me 4 years ago that I would gravitate back to 4 bangers I would have told them they were crazy. But that was during a time where I played at church 2x a week and most of the songs needed a low B. I'm just not doing that style of music now and the 4 string is all that I need and it feels a bit better to my hands (doesn’t cause as much hand fatigue). However, I totally agree, the low B of a Roscoe IS what makes a Roscoe so special. I know myself well enough to know that if I moved one of my Roscoe 5's for a 4 string I'd eventually miss it.
You can after all play everything on a 5 that you play on a 4 but your can't play everything on a 4 that you can on a 5.;)
Click to expand...

If I had or needed a 4, I’d want it to be a Roscoe.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mwbonsall, staccatogrowl, SteveC and 1 other person
#19,286
I’d love to get another fretted 5 for a backup. I bring my fretless 5 or a 4, and either would work in an emergency (so would my synth for that matter) but maybe the backup story would get past my wife…or maybe not. She’s pretty smart. There’s a Century Plus J/MM Amit too far away that would
Be a great backup/alternate fretted 5 for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: staccatogrowl
#19,291
SteveC said:
I have a pair of 5’s - ash fretted and mahogany fretless. The mahogany is a little more mellow or woody. I like it for fretless. My ash definitely has more growl to it.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I agree on you description of the sound of mahogany. You know in the early years of Roscoe just about every Roscoe I saw had a mahogany body. That was in the early 90’s. A store called Rhythm City (in Atlanta) was one of the first stores that carried them. I remember that they had the craziest off the chart tops. And everyone that they stocked was an LG model. I never even knew that they made a SKB model until around 2000 (saw one on Talkbass).
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: staccatogrowl, SteveC, steelin4u and 2 others
#19,293
armybass said:
I went to Rhythm City in the 90’s and probably where I first saw Roscoe’s too. But it wasn’t until 1997 that I got to actually see, hear and play one in person. My instructor at the Armed Forces School of Music had a Roscoe fretless six and it was the greatest sounding fretless I had ever heard.
Click to expand...

Hey Scott. What was your instructors name? I did all the repair work for the AFRES band at Robins AFB during that time a turned quite a few of the players onto Roscoe's during that time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: steelin4u, armybass, Fred312b and 1 other person

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back