Fender Roscoe Beck Bass

Roscoe Beck Bass
Manufacturer	Fender
Period	1995 - 2005 / 2004 - 2009
Construction
Body type	Solid
Neck joint	Bolt-on
Woods
Body	"Modern-Vintage" Select Alder
Neck	Maple
Fretboard	Maple, Rosewood or Pao Ferro
Hardware
Bridge	Gotoh Dual-Access (5-string), Fender 4-Saddle Locking Convertible (4-string)
Pickup(s)	Special Design Side By Side Bass Humbuckers
Colors available
3-Color Sunburst, Candy Apple Red, Shoreline Gold, Teal Green Metallic, Lake Placid Blue, Crimson Red Transparent, Honey Burst

The Roscoe Beck Bass is an Artist Signature Series electric bass guitar made by Fender for Texas bass veteran Roscoe Beck. Modeled after a custom-made 6-string bass built for Beck himself by luthier Michael Stevens of Stevens Guitars, this one-of-a-kind design came in 4 and 5-string versions and features a special-design "modern-vintage" select alder body, 3-ply mint green, 3-ply parchment or 4-ply brown tortoise pickguard, an asymmetrical oval shaped 6-bolt graphite-reinforced maple neck featuring rosewood, maple or pao ferro fingerboard with 22 Dunlop 6105 jumbo frets, two special-design side-by-side bass humbuckers, Hipshot UltraLite tuning machines (with a Drop D-tuner for the E string on the 4-string model), Gotoh (5-string) and Fender 4-Saddle Locking Convertible (4-string) strings-through-body/top-load bridges. Controls include a master volume, a master tone with push/pull midrange shaping feature and a 3-way pickup selector with two 3-way mini toggle switches for series/parallel/humbucking/single-coil wiring. The five-string version was introduced in 1995 and discontinued ten years later. The four-string was introduced in 2004, and saw its last production in 2009. Its master volume and tone/mid shaping controls feature knurled chrome-plated dome Tele knobs. Early prototypes had an abalone dot-inlaid neck, Schaller StrapLock-Ready buttons, lacked of Drop D-tuner on the E string and utilised a standard Fender round string tree. The production model sports black or white dot position markers on the fingerboard, vintage strap buttons and a custom Hipshot string tree.

For purposes of technical reference. Features and Technical Specifications:

Roscoe Beck V (5-String)

• BODY: Special Design "Modern-Vintage" Select Alder Body
• COLOURS: 3-Color Sunburst, Candy Apple Red, Shoreline Gold, Teal Green Metallic (Polyurethane Finish)
• NECK: Maple, Asymmetrical Oval Shape (Gloss Polyurethane Finish)
• MACHINE HEADS: Hipshot Ultralite Tuning Machines
• FINGERBOARD: Pao Ferro or Maple (9.5" Radius)
• NO. OF FRETS: 22 Dunlop 6105 Medium Jumbo Frets
• PICKUPS: 2 Special Design Side By Side 5-String Bass Humbuckers
• CONTROLS: Master Volume, Master Tone (with Push/Pull Mid Shaping Feature)
• BRIDGE: Gotoh Bridge (Strings-through-body/top-load)
• PICKUP SWITCHING: 3-Position Blade Pickup Selector Switch:

• Position 1. (Bridge Side), Bridge Pickup
• Position 2. (Middle), Bridge and Neck Pickups
• Position 3. (Neck Side), Neck Pickup, 2-Mini-Toggle Coil Selector Switches.

Mini-Toggle Switch 1:

• Position 1. (Bridge Side), Both Coils of Neck Pickup in Series Humbucking
• Position 2. (Middle), Front Coil of Neck Pickup
• Position 3. (Neck Side), Both Coils of Neck Pickup in Parallel Humbucking

Mini-Toggle Switch 2:

• Position 1. (Bridge Side), Both Coils of Bridge Pickup in Series Humbucking
• Position 2. (Middle), Front Coil of Bridge Pickup
• Position 3. (Neck Side), Both Coils of Bridge Pickup in Parallel Humbucking, Push/Pull Mid-Shaping Tone Switch/Pot

• HARDWARE: Chrome
• PICKGUARD: 3-Ply Mint Green, 4-Ply Brown Tortoise Shell
• SCALE LENGTH: 34" (864 mm)
• WIDTH AT NUT: 1.875 (47.6 mm)
• UNIQUE FEATURES: Posiflex Graphite Neck Support Rods, Asymmetrical Neck Profile, 6-Bolt Neck Plate, Locking Strap Buttons

Roscoe Beck IV (4-String)

• BODY: Special Design “Modern-Vintage” Select Alder Body
• COLOURS: 3-Color Sunburst, Lake Placid Blue, Crimson Red Transparent, Honey Burst (Polyurethane Finish)
• NECK: Maple, Asymmetrical Oval Shape (Gloss Polyurethane Finish)
• MACHINE HEADS: Hipshot Ultralite Tuning Machines with Drop-D Tuner on E-String
• FINGERBOARD: Rosewood or Maple, 12” Radius (305 mm)
• NO. OF FRETS: 22 Medium Jumbo Frets
• PICKUPS: 2 Special Design Side By Side Bass Humbuckers
• CONTROLS: Master Volume, Master Tone (with Push/Pull Mid Shaping Feature)
• BRIDGE: Fender 4-Saddle Locking Convertible Bridge
• PICKUP SWITCHING: 3-Position Blade Pickup Selector Switch:

• Position 1. (Bridge Side), Bridge Pickup
• Position 2. (Middle), Bridge and Neck Pickups
• Position 3. (Neck Side), Neck Pickup, 2-Mini-Toggle Coil Selector Switches.

Mini-Toggle Switch 1:

• Position 1. (Bridge Side), Both Coils of Neck Pickup in Series Humbucking
• Position 2. (Middle), Front Coil of Neck Pickup
• Position 3. (Neck Side), Both Coils of Neck Pickup in Parallel Humbucking

Mini-Toggle Switch 2:

• Position 1. (Bridge Side), Both Coils of Bridge Pickup in Series Humbucking
• Position 2. (Middle), Front Coil of Bridge Pickup
• Position 3. (Neck Side), Both Coils of Bridge Pickup in Parallel Humbucking, Push/Pull Mid-Shaping Tone Switch/Pot

• HARDWARE: Chrome
• PICKGUARD: 3-Ply Parchment
• SCALE LENGTH: 34” (864 mm)
• WIDTH AT NUT: 1.50” (38 mm)
• UNIQUE FEATURES: Posiflex Graphite Neck Support Rods, Asymmetrical Neck Profile, Neck Plate with Roscoe Beck's Signature, Knurled Chrome Control Knobs, Black or White Dot Position Inlays, Vintage Strap Buttons

Literature

• Peter Bertges: The Fender Reference; Bomots, Saarbrücken 2007, ISBN 978-3-939316-38-1