The Roscoe Beck Bass is an Artist Signature Series electric bass guitar made by Fender for Texas bass veteran Roscoe Beck

Roscoe Beck

Roscoe Beck is a multi-Grammy Award winning record producer and bassist. He has recorded and played with Robben Ford, Eric Johnson, Leonard Cohen, The Dixie Chicks. He also has his own signature electric bass: the Fender Roscoe Beck Bass, used by many other players.After earning a reputation from...

. 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

Alder

Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...

 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

Rosewood

Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...

, maple

Maple

Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...

 or pao ferro

Pao Ferro

Pau ferro is an exotic tree found in Brazil and Bolivia. Its wood is often used for making fingerboards for electric basses and guitars. It has a similar feel and similar tonal attributes to rosewood, but is harder and has a slightly lighter colour. The wood may also be used for flooring, fancy...

 fingerboard with 22 Dunlop 6105 jumbo frets, two special-design side-by-side bass humbucker

Humbucker

A humbucker is a type of electric guitar pickup, first patented by Seth Lover and the Gibson company, that uses two coils, both generating string signal. Humbuckers have higher output than a single coil pickup since both coils are connected in series...

s, 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

Fender Telecaster

The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...

 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