I looked at about every other bass you could think of. Thumb, Lakland, Mod, Fbass, Spector, Alembic, MTD, Pedulla, Ken Smith, etc. And most of these are fine basses, but the Roscoe was the one for me. The feel, the fit, and most of all... THE TONE!
I'd love to get another one someday.
Model Year: 2003
Price: $0.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Rock City Guitars
Where was it made? Good 'ole USA!!
Body and neck materials? Burled Myrtle top, Swamp Ash body, Purpleheart fingerboard!
How many pickups and what's the configuration? 2 Bart soapbars.
Does it have active or passive electronics? 18volt Bart 3 way pre-amp!!!
What kind of finish? Natural! over the top of a really cool burled myrtle.
What's the body style? Roscoe LG
Can you obtain your preferred action on this bass, and what is it? Absolutely. It came with very low action, I had to take it up a bit, because I am a fairly aggressive player.
How does the neck affect your playing? The Asymetrical neck is the best feeling neck ever!!
How well does it play compared to any other basses? It's like a 6million dollar bass. You know... "better, stronger, faster."
Does it contain any flaws? ONly that it wasn't priced 2 for 1
What amps and effects do you use it with? M-Pulse600
What musical style(s) do you play and well does this bass fit? Metal, contemporary rock, and yes it fits everythig!
Is the sound full, warm, dark, etc? It's very full!! whatever you have heard about the "famous Roscoe tone" is TRUE!
Is it noisy at all, or in particular situations? NO
Does it seem noticeably better for the stage or studio? It was awesome in Studio, and is awesom on stage!
Is it reliable enough for steady live playing? So far!
How often does it need to be adjusted? I set it up to my preferences when I got it, and I've "tweaked" it once about a month after that.
I think it's probably gonna be super durable!
Over a period of two years ( before I ordered the Roscoe )I've looked at, and played the following brands at various music retailers ..... and it wasn't a "one time affair" with the basses - I played each brand on more than one occasion ... when one is planning on making a major musical investment, one wants to be SURE : Modulus, Tobias, Spector, Zon, Sadowsky, ESP, Pedulla, Smith, Yamaha ( Nathan East model ), and Roscoe. The only one's that I liked besides the Roscoe was the Sadowsky and the Zon. But what sold me with a Roscoe is the SOUND! It's HUGE - especially that doggone B string.
This bass gets a high rating from THIS reviewer. But the rating is based upon fact, and NOT enfatuation with a "new" instrument. It it not a "biased" opinion - if you get a chance to hear one "in the flesh" and PLAY one, you'll see where this review is coming from.
Model Year: 2002
Price: $2499.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Rock City Guitars
After reading member comments on what they percieve as "baised" reviews, I'll be as "unbiased" and honest as possible here. I've had a few days to play it and get the feel of it so that I can truthfully call it like it is. So here goes ......
I recieved this bass on Friday November 22, 2002. Upon opening the case, I was blown away by the look of the instrument. After removing it from the case and examining it more closely, I could find no flaws in the fininsh, fret dressing, neck fit ... or anything else. I remember a review from Bass Player that cited the Roscoe as having construction issues ....... well I can tell you straight up - there's no problems with the construction on this one. In English ........ it's downright beautiful - and thats NOT a biased opinion. Anyone who's ever seen a new Roscoe close up will likely concur with my observation. The bass is finished in dark amber ( almost a rich brown ) on exhibition flamed maple. The body is Spanish cedar ; I opted for the birdseye maple fretboard ( nice snap ). Tuners/hardware is from Hipshot finished in gold. It's powered by the the 18 volt Batolini package.
This instrument plays quite nicely. It came set up with low action - playing fingerstyle on this thing is buttery smooth ; smoother than anything else I've played on ( except for a Sadowsky and a Zon ). Slapping, however is a little different. The string spacing is a little closer than I'm used to. For the past 3 years, I've been playing a Carvin LB75 with the WIDE neck option - the spacing on it is similar to that of a 4 string and I'd grown quite used to it ; it allows me to play aggressive slap bass with no fear of inadvertantly hitting the wrong string. But this is something that I can adjust to with time on the Roscoe. The more I play it, the more comfortable I'll become with it.
How does this bass sound? Let's put it this way .... the sound is to die for! Everything you've ever read in other reviews about the sound of a Roscoe is 100% true! And the B string is sweet! Doesn't "flub out" - strong focused sound. Tone controls allow a wide variation of tones - the treble boost really adds bite without sounding "brittle". The bass boost can re-arrange your internal organs. Yep, this baby sounds TOO good!
Seeing that I just got it, I can't give a maximum rating here. But based upon the constrution, I don't forsee any major problems down the road. The instrument is well constructed with obvious attention to detail.
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