# (NBD) Roscoe SKB 6-string Fretless with Fretlines



## phaeded0ut (Aug 5, 2009)

The UPS dude finally delivered this beastie, today (something about UPS showing up around 11AM the two prior trips). Only spent the day waiting for him to show up. Grrr....

It's a Roscoe 6-string fretless bass with fretlines. The fingerboard is "rockwood" (I've never heard of this one previously). Not sure if it is purpleheart or not for the middle stripe, but it is definitely maple for the rest of the bolt-on neck. Body is quilted maple top and the back is mahogany... The headstock is a combination of a quilted maple top with the woods from the neck showing through the tip of the top of the headstock.

Come to find out, the neck is rock maple, with a large purpleheart center stripe (neck is finished in a satin coat). check out the lip at the top of the headstock.
The body is coated in clearcoat, with the front of flamed maple (two pieces) and the back is mahogany.

Electronics-wise, it is a pair of Bartolini soapbars with active electronics (don't think that it has the optional Aguilar preamps).

Roscoe Guitars SKB Series Basses for the website.

Still have to set it up a bit more. The shipper did an unbelievable job in packing this beastie up for shipping via UPS.

Here are the obligatory pictures:






















































Pardon, was in the middle of doing laundry when this came in.


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## caughtinamosh (Aug 5, 2009)

Nice stuff, man! How does she sound? That is, presuming that your laundry is done and dusted.


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## phaeded0ut (Aug 5, 2009)

LOL! Yeah, I did have to do a little dusting in between, pardon that. Ok, laundry was done a bit of time ago, lunner (lunch and dinner) was quite cold and needed to be re-heated and well, I have to agree with Harmony Central's various posts concerning this bass guitar; A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! It is one of the easier fretless basses I've ever played. The neck is shaped damn near perfect for my hands, it has enough depth that is very comfortable for me and is a little bit more thick than my David King Bass's neck (which is very thin). Greatly enjoyed the added touch of rounded corners on the sides of the neck. Only needed a few tiny tweaks on the setup and was then everything the ebay seller said it was. About the only thing that I really need to do to is to add some Dunlop Strap-Loks to it, as it doesn't sit the greatest (most flat bodies don't) on me, the lower horn is a bit tiny for seated playing (it's the only real downer I can give this bass guitar). 

Sound-wise, well, it is very crisp and clear, it reminds me of a Cort Curbow fretless bass guitar with a little more lower midrange and more even bass. Slapping*, tapping, walking, skipping, what-have-you, this bass deals with them all very nicely. The slapping end might be a little more bass heavy and not have as mid-range and treble as you'd like at first (took a little bit to dial it in for me). Harmonics require a bit of the bass rolled off and a little treble (but this sound works really well on its own without harmonics, too)... Really loathe using this description, but it can go from overly twangy (not usable for me), bright and full to near Jaco, though not as muddy as a Fender Jazz Bass Guitar. In other words, this bass can have very large bumps of treble and midrange, but is not quite capable of producing the same bumps in the bass area of an EQ. I'm sure if you wanted to go for a more Mark Egan sound with this instrument, it is probably possible, but I honestly didn't try for that this round. The pickups aren't the loudest in the world, but then again, I'll live with a bit more clarity to what is being produced from the instrument (was origionally thinking that I'd be switching out the pickups for dual coil Bartolinis). The end result is that it has a very good range of different usable sounds (my David King isn't quite there on this). 

There are a few of these up on Ebay/Craigslist/other auction or wanted sites, and well, if you're like me and prefer to be the (not first) owner of a bass guitar and save quite a few dollars, it's not a bad way to go. Silly quirk, every bass guitar, with the exception of my Steinbergers, I've been the second or more owner and then I've been REALLY happy with the instrument. Those were I was the first owner, not so much to not at all in the end. 

Anywho, I have to say that this one is more than a keeper.  Back to the bass guitar, if you please.


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## xtrustisyoursx (Aug 5, 2009)

My friend has a roscoe six (fretted) and it's the best playing and best sounding bass I've ever heard. I've never heard it sound less than perfect ever, no matter what it's plugged into.


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## Harry (Aug 5, 2009)

That looks fantastic, congrats!


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## Ramsay777 (Aug 6, 2009)

That looks awesome man! I like the fretboard especially! 

What's the scale length on this beasty?


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## Leec (Aug 6, 2009)

The top is quilted, not flamed. And that looks like mahogany for the rest of the body, or alder. Might be wrong, though. 
Whatever it is, that looks fucking killer, and I'm very jealous. I'd love a bass like that.


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## Apophis (Aug 6, 2009)

looks great, Congrats


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## phaeded0ut (Aug 7, 2009)

Ramsay777 said:


> That looks awesome man! I like the fretboard especially!
> 
> What's the scale length on this beasty?



It's 35" scale length, I'm not sure what the compound radius is (there is a difference between the 5th and 7th "fretline" and after the 12th fretline).



Leec said:


> The top is quilted, not flamed. And that looks like mahogany for the rest of the body, or alder. Might be wrong, though.



Thanks for the fix, you're right and I'll correct it in the post description.


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