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Roscoe vs. Spector

#21
mmbongo said:
The Spector punches you in the gut, while the Roscoe smacks you in the head..for lack of a better description :)
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I agree 100%!

A local consignment shop has a 90s Czech Spector for around $1000 in natural maple finish and is sounds great though a little on the heavy side.

Like mmbongo, my Roscoe gets 90+% playing time. I love the tone when I roll all the way to the neck pickup and cut the treble, just an incredible old school slap tone.
 
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#23
After having put on my Elixirs, and adjusted the truss and saddles, the action almost lets the bass play itself. I will, however, be taking my SKB in for a fret dressing, as one fret (figures, ONE) has a bad buzz, almost fretting out, and it's an area where I play a lot. Everywhere else on the board is butter...just kind of annoying. The neck is very easy - playing, though.
 
#24
Both great basses. I would caution you on swapping out the Barts for the radiused Carvins. If you like the feel that's fine, but for them to work correctly the radius should match the fretboard radius. Barts are a better PUP IMO, but see if Carvin can make (or does make) one that fits the neck radius on the Roscoe before you make your decision. Best wishes.
 
#25
songwriter21 said:
I indeed was playing a Cirrus (US Tiger Eye 5), but after having it for around a month and a half, I went to adjust the trusssrod, all to find out that the nut was all but stripped. I took it to my luthier, who got a little grip on it, but said that the rod was basically maxed out, and cracked the ebony board as a result. All of that, combined with neck-thru construction, was the kiss of death. The cost of fretboard replacement would've been pointless, considering what I paid for the bass in the first place. I should've spotted all of this within the TWO-WEEK return period that the seller gave me...lesson learned. Even though the Spector is neck-thru, it doesn't have an ebony board. One or the other is fine, but never again will I get the two together on ANY bass.
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I wouldn't write off the neck through/ebony board combo based on one defective instrument. Lots of basses use this combo without issues.
 
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#27
If you want to do a real fair comparison...try one of Spectors Coda 5 Deluxe Jazz, P or P/J basses, retro 60's Jazz bass body and neck. I owned one of their Coda 5XL DLX Jazz and it was amazingly built, playing and tones were fat. You can select many options like pickup type/brand, preamp brands, fingerboard material, body and headstock color/finish. The only reason I sold mine after 2 years is because of a permanent shoulder injury where I needed a lighter bass. It weighed 10.5#. The best Jazz bass I've played by far! Wish I could've kept it.
 
#28
Funny that I should run across this considering that I just bought a Roscoe from the OP.

I have a Spector Rebop 5 and have owned 2 Roscoes. So far the Spector has the best tone of almost ANY bass I've ever owned. The second runner-up tone-wise was a Zon buckeye burl I had. The Roscoes sound awesome, no doubt, but the Spector kicks. Comparing them visually, I much prefer the Roscoe shapes and finishes.

I'll probably keep the Roscoe on the wall; it's more of an investment. I love it, but the Spector is going to get more playing time. It's a lot less expensive, anyway, so I worry about it less.
 
#31
I've got a Spector euro 6lx exotic listed in the classified ads here right now, not because it is no good, but it is heavy and doesn't see the use it deserves. It is a beautifully crafted bass, no flaws at all. It plays great and has a balanced, clear tone. The sustain is crazy and the PUs split-able for lots of variation. It does have the tone pump pre which has a huge amount of boost with overall output trim adjustment inside so it doesn't constantly overdrive the amp. The active boost controls don't have notched zero points which I wish they did so I could be confident that my settings are consistent. I've never played a Roscoe so I cant comment on it, but I was very impressed with build quality on the euro
 

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