Fender Roscoe Beck IV Bass

Model Number 019-6400-(Color #) and 019-6402-(Color #)
Series Artist Series
Colors (800) 3-Color Sunburst,
(802) Lake Placid Blue,
(838) Crimson Red Transparent,
(842) Honey Burst,
(Urethane Finish)
Body Special Design ???Modern-Vintage??? Select Alder Body
Neck Maple, Asymmetrical Oval Shape,
(Gloss Urethane Finish)
Fingerboard Rosewood (P/N 019-6400) or Maple (P/N 019-6402), 12??? Radius (305 mm)
No. of Frets 22 Medium Jumbo Frets
Pickups 2 Special Design Side By Side Bass Humbucking Pickups
Controls Master Volume, Master Tone (with Push/Pull Mid Shaping Feature)
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
Bridge Fender 4-Saddle Locking Convertible Bridge
Machine Heads Hipshot?? Ultralite??? Tuning Machines with Drop-D Tuner on E-String
Hardware Chrome
Pickguard 3-Ply Parchment
Scale Length 34??? (863.6 mm)
Width at Nut 1.50??? (38 mm)
Unique Features Posiflex??? Graphite Neck Support Rods,
Asymmetrical Neck Profile,
Neck Plate with Roscoe Beck Signature,
Knurled Chrome Control Knobs,
Black Dot Position Inlays,
Vintage Strap Buttons
Strings Super 8250M, NPS,
Gauges: .045, .065, .085, .105TW, (Taperwound E),
P/N 073-8250-006
Accessories Deluxe Black Hardshell Case with Orange Interior,
Cable,
Strap,
Plexi Pickup Ramp
Case Deluxe Black Hardshell Case
Introduced 1/2004

This bass has a wonderful sound and a wide variety of controls. I would say you can do just about anything with this bass you can do with a passive bass of any kind and with an outboard preamp you can get most any active bass sound as well. The bass has great tone all around.

Finish is great as well as the fit of all the parts. The setup was horrible but this is something you should expect to do yourself with any bass once you change the strings to your liking upon purchasing it. I have to say setup was easy to do and the bridge is very good.

Should be good it's all solid and passive

don't know

A spectacular bass I really love this bass if you are looking for these very specific features this one is hard to beat for the price. It is the best fender I have ever owned or played.

This is a 2005 built RB IV bass that I got to compliment my Warwick Corvertte $$, as I wanted a more traditional feeling bass and also wanted it with humbucker pickups. I thought of doing a custom order on it, but was fortunate to find one in a local bass only shop, and in the Lake Placid blue that I wanted.. VERY hard to find. This is a metallic dark blue color with a tint of green in it, and they also finished the head in the same blue.

The Bass is (of course) made in the USA, as any respectable Fender should be, and it's made to the best quality standards that I've seen. I've owned Specter, Alembic, and now Warwick basses, so I've seen the best, and for $1400 this bass hold it's own. The Body is Alder, the best material for a Bass IMHO, and neck is maple with a carbon fiber rod for stiffness, rosewood fret board option as well. Most important is the sound of course, and this instrument sounds great! You can hear it on Roscoe Beck's latest album Walk On.. http://www.roscoebeck.com/DiscVideo.aspx

It's got more controls than any other Fender I've seen. The body most likely is a P-Bass body, but I am told that it's really a fusion of the P and J.. hard for me to tell. The Bridge is the best bridge I've seen on a Fender product. More details here:

http://www.fender.com/products/view_specs.php?full_partno=0196400&name=Roscoe+Beck+IV+Bass

Over all, I think it's safe to say this is the MOST feature packed Fender Bass sold today.

I love to slap, but I also love to play more traditional fingering and this bass is great with both. The action is top notch, as I've noticed most later model US Made Fenders are. I prefer the bolt on neck basses as I think they sound better for slap, and this one doesn't disappoint.

The number of controls, and switches on this bass are more than any other Fender I've seen.. with at total of 10 possible pickup configurations for the dual double humbuckers. You're tone knob has a pull feature, and you have 2 switches for the pickups, as well as a blade switch for moving between both pickups entirely. It's almost too much for me, but I just play with it till I find the sound I like. It's amazing that a US Made Fender with this much sells for under $1400 street price! I think that this may change as supplies shrink.

Set up we perfect, but I think the shop had as much to do with that as Fender. The pickups were placed perfectly, and I added the Roscoe Beck invented bridge that goes between them to create a finger rest where the normal P bass pickup is, which is a great idea.

All hardware and finish was top notch, but the access hole for the bolt at the base of the neck and the paint finish work under the pick guard leaves a bit to be desired for a $1999 retail instrument..

I've only played it in studio/home environment, and it's large, but light enough.. The hardware seems top notch, and especially the screws appear to be made of a high grade steel.

I've not owned it long enough for dependability issues to come up, but I've never known Fenders to be anything but, at least the US built ones.

I called them twice, and asked a bunch of questions on the instrument and they seemed to be professional and helpful. I haven't had any dealings with them on problems, so I can't say much in that dept.

I've been playing on and off for 23 years and I've owned some fine instruments, and this one is up with the best of them... even though it's about 1/3 the price of some of them. I frankly would consider a Fender P or J bass to be the perfect all around bass, and this version (the RBIV) to be a perfect customization of that bass.

I wish it came with a better strap, as having a cheap "Made in China" strap come with an American made bass is a bit of an insult.. I'd sooner use it as toilet paper rather than put it on my American made bass. I bought a Levy and that works great, but I also have a $17 fender strap made by Levy (in Canada) that is what I think Fender should have included.

I happen to like the bright orange inside of the case, and the contrast on the metallic blue bass is kinda over the top, which is something I like.

Bill Lawrence special design passive Humbucker pickups, 3 position pickup selector switch, volume & tone controls. Tone control pot also has mid-boost feature. Two mini toggle switches for pickup coil phasing. Drop D tuning on E string. Hard Case is included. Very hard to find, it usually needs to be custom ordered.

Very load and clear sound for passive pickups. Pickups seem to be very well balanced. Lots of different tones but the mini toggle switches are hard to adjust while playing. Easier to adjust if you use a right angle jack on your cable. Changed the strings to nickel wrapped 7150?s, 45 ? 105 gauge for more of a vintage sound. My main rig is an Ampeg B2re head and an Ampeg BXE410hlf. I play Blues & funk. The Roscoe IV with this rig does a great job

This guitar has an alder body with a flawless 3 color sunburst finish. The machine
heads, bridge, string tree and all other metal parts have a great chrome finish. Fret board is rosewood with a low and fast action making it very easy to play. Fret dressing and neck finishing is very good. Neck pocket on the body is ok, I have seen much worse. The set up wasn?t that bad and the intonation was very close. Guitar was shipped from a music store in Calif. to the East Coast, which can cause the setup to change somewhat.

I have gigged with this Bass only twice. No problems at all. The craftsmanship on this Bass is very good, being made with high quality material and components. I feel it will be a very durable and trustworthy instrument.

Never have had to deal with Fender but I have heard ?The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.?

I?ve been playing Fender Basses since 1964. I currently have a 2000 American series Jazz with ?62? Custom Shop pickups and vintage hardware and a G&L L-2000. Although I feel that G&L instruments are far more superior to Fender, the Roscoe IV is a move in the right direction for Fender. I really like the feel and the tones of the Bass. This is a high priced instrument that is hard to find and bought it without a test drive but I am totally satisfied with this Bass.

Vol/Tone Controls with 3 position pickup selector switch. Also uses two seperate mini-switches to control the pickups.
Custom order through a local Fender dealer and guitar was made in California.

Very good varity of sounds with the different configurations with pickup selector switch along with the mini pickup switches. Currently using a Fender 400 Pro Bass Amp and a Marshall VBA 400 Bass Amp with (2) VBC 412 cabs. Both amps produce great tone ranges with the guitar. Very quiet guitar, no hum. Only dislike I've found is the position of the mini switches. Hard to change while playing.

Bass was set up at factory with no problems. Intonation is 95% on. Action is low and playability is great. When guitar arrived at the dealers and after closely inspecting it I found the tuning posts were not all chromed. Three posts are a brushed finish and the drop "D' post is chrome. Fenders answer is...the tuners are outsourced from Hipshot and that's just the way the bass comes. The fret markers are black dots and not the shown abalone...Fenders answer was that Roscoe Beck could not see the abalone markers so the black dots went back into production as per Roscoe Beck (thanks Roscoe, they look really sad on the neck)looks like a plain Jazz bass at this point. The finish was to be a 842 Honey Burst. It was shipped with what appears to be a Brown Burst finish...Fenders answer, the woods are different so the finishes are going to be different. Well, no kidding! I didn't fall off the finish wagon yesterday. SORRY, this is a POOR EXCUSE FOR A HONEY BURST FINISH!!!!!! I had to loosen the volume knob and raise it. It was rubbing against the pickguard and I had difficulty turning it. The 3 position selector switch was bent and rubbing against the pickguard. I had to straighten it to work freely. Should I continue?

Have not played out with it yet. Took it to an extended practice session and it performed well. Again, the mini switches are difficult to adjust becaust of the placement but they should be setr prior to the song you're going to play anyway. No other opinions at this point. ALWAYS take a backup guitar!

Don't get me started. I contacted the customer service department with my complaints and received more dancing lessions than you can get at any dance studio. I was told everything in the world that THEY thought I wanted to hear. Even the wrong case was shipped (as per Fenders spec sheet) I'm to receive a Brown Deluxe Tolex case as spec-ed out but it hasn't arrived yet. Let's put it this way and being upfront...if you read the spec sheet and look at the guitar, it "appears" and I repeat "appears" to be a classic case of bait and switch. My guitar had been on order for NINE (9) months from Fender. The last day I contacted them (customer service dept)which was March 1, 2005, I was told that my guitar was to built next. It must have been a miracle because it was shipped the VERY SAME DAY. When I inquired as to the guitar actually being mine or someone else's, I never got a straight answer. With all of my complaining and whining I kept the guita because I want this model and I am not going to wait another 9 months for a replacement. BUYER BEWARE OF CUSTOM ORDERING FROM FENDER AND THANK YOU ROSCOE BECK FOR A NIGHTMARE SIGNATURE MODEL GUITAR!

Playing guitar for approx 40 years. Majority of equipment (guitars) is Rickenbacker. I wish I had asked or known ahead of time how much grief this guitar would cause on a special order. I would have ordered another Rickenbacker bass. If this piece was lost or stolen, I'd replace it with anything but a custom order from Fender. Again, I like the playability, the balance of the guita and the combination of pickup configurations (settings) for sound. I hate the fact that it was not manufactured as per the specs and photo. Fenders response to the photo in the 05 Frontline is that the picture is the prototype. Why would a company show the prototype and manufacture somthing different? That's poor business practices to the end user "ME". The only thing I wish it had is what was advertised it was to come with. Finally, buyer beware. Don't make the mistake I did in ordering and you won't have to drone on the way I just have.