Rogue VB100 Violin Bass Guitar Vintage Sunburst
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- $399.99
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A classic design with updated appointments to make it even sweeter than the original!
The Rogue VB-100 violin bass guitar features a flamed maple arched top and back with the European-style hollowbody that makes it lightweight and capable of deep, resonant bass tones. The violin bass's traditional 31" scale offers immediate familiarity in your hands. A custom trapeze tailpiece, pearloid pickguard, and body binding on front and back are added touches. Don't be fooled by the tiny price; this Rogue a serious violin bass nicely made with all the playability and tone of the original at a fraction of the cost.
Features
- Violin style hollowbody
- Arched flamed maple top
- Flamed maple body
- Set-in neck joint
- Hard rock maple neck
- 22 frets
- Rosewood bridge with custom trapeze-style tailpiece
- Mini humbucker bridge and neck pickups
- Controls: dual volume; bass, mid, and treble switches
- Die-cast tuners
- Chrome hardware
- Vintage sunburst finish
- Pearloid pickguard
- Front and back body binding
- Traditional 31" scale length
The style made famous by the Beatles. Now you can make it famous again. Order yours today.
Review Snapshot®
by PowerReviews(based on 49 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
88%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Pros
- Fun to play (22)
- Good feel (20)
- Good tone (14)
- Good pick up (10)
- Solid electronics (7)
Cons
- Fret buzz (5)
Best Uses
- Practicing (17)
- Jamming (15)
- Small venues (12)
- Recording (10)
- Rock concerts (5)
- Reviewer Profile:
- Experienced (17), Professional musician (8)
Most Liked Positive Review
After setup, an incredible bass guitar!
The only reason I don't give this instrument a 10 is that the appearance of a crack in the neck really spooked me, and the bass needs a setup to really make it fly. ...Read complete review
The only reason I don't give this instrument a 10 is that the appearance of a crack in the neck really spooked me, and the bass needs a setup to really make it fly. I wish you could hear how this thing sounds, freshly set up and with my upgraded Marshall amp. The sound is loud (instrument has hot sounding pickups when played in the solo switch position) and the tone is awesome. I love it.
The Rogue VB100 violin bass has all the features you want, if you want an incredibly good acoustic (big upright) bass sound. Other folks indicate this is is not a suitable bass for slap bass technique, but that is not my style anyhow.
At first, I was greatly dismayed that there was an apparent crack at the heel of the neck, where the neck curves around and then joins the body. A luthier said it is not a crack, but rather a lamination joint, and the glue had oozed out just a trace, raising the finish just enough to make it visible. I'm no long as concerned on that matter. The good news is that you get an incredibly good sounding bass for a give-away low price. The bad news is that this instrument really needs a good set-up to make it play and sound professional. Being an amateur luthier, here are my hints:
(1) The pickups are not adjusted properly. They should be 1/8 inch (three mm) from the bottom of the string to the top of the pickup, for both forward and rear pickup; this is done while you are pressing on the string at the last fret. Turn the small screw just to the side of the pickup bar clockwise to raise the pickup, and counter-clockwise to lower it. Here comes the rub. The rear pickup (close to the bridge) is way too low to allow enough adjustment to get it into specs! To fix this, go to the hardware store, and buy four mounting screws that are 1/4 inch longer. Buy eight small brass nuts, just big enough for the screws to slip through. Remove the existing screws, lift up the mount of the pickup, and use two nuts under each screw, with the nuts between the body of the bass and the bottom of the pickup mount. You are thus shimming up the pickup body with these nuts. You could use other material , but brass goes with the color of the bass body. Attach the pickup with your new, longer screws. Now you can adjust the pickup to get it into specs. (If you don't do this, the rear pickup will be too low, so it sounds kind of dead, and you will only be getting appreciable tone out of the front pickup.)
(2) Replace the strings with flatwound. I like the Fender stainless steel light gauge full length strings. The are inexpensive, and sound like a million bucks.
(3) Take a fine mill-cut file, and lightly file the frets, with the file laying flat across the frets, lengthwise with the instrument. This will level the frets. Use the file on any sharp fret edges at the side of the neck. (Do this before you put on the new strings!)
(4) Remove the pickguard and fill the mounting screw holes with two small black-coated screws from a hardware store. You don't need a pickguard on a bass that is played with the fingers.
(5) Put some thin oil on on the tuners, where the knkobs turn. From the factory, the tuners are squeeky and sound cheap. With the oil, they are much better.
(6) Nut adjustment: Use a small set of files to lower the action on any strings that are too high. Excessive string height at the nut will throw off the intonation.
(6) Adjust the intonation. With a chromatic tuner, play each string and then play it at the 12th fret. It should sound the same. If it is too low in pitch when played at the 12th fret, the bridge needs to be brought forward; if too high, move the bridge back. The bridge itself can be moved, and also the individual strings can be adjusted by removing the string, and moving the little fret piece the string sits on in the bridge, forward or back.
There are very some minor finish issues, which did not exist with my Korean model of this instrument. (This is made in China). The switches and knobs all work OK. For the INCREDIBLE tone and low price, I am not sweating out tiny finish issues.
I think this Rogue violin bass is an absolute steal at the low price it is, considering that it is the best sounding bass I have ever heard, once I got it all adjusted. My Korean bass of the same model didn't sound this good, but then I was ignorant about the need to shim up the rear pickup. Also, after selling the Korean model, I put an Emminence Legend P102 speaker in my Marshall MB30 amp, giving an upgrade in sound.
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Review by Dan
I give the guitar a 6 for overall rating due to cosmetic flaws by manufactuer.
There were several cosmetic flaws which were very notable upon inspection of the instrument. There definitely needs ...Read complete review
I give the guitar a 6 for overall rating due to cosmetic flaws by manufactuer.
There were several cosmetic flaws which were very notable upon inspection of the instrument. There definitely needs to be more quality control in the factory that is assembling the guitar. Glue was sprayed over with clear coting and where the neck meets the body of the guitar and there were flaws in trim lines. There were wear marks on the headstock where the guitar was hung to dry.
The price is the lowest on the market for a violin bass and the sound is great for the price paid, but should be priced lower due to consmetic issues. The guitar could be sold at a higher price if the cosmetic flaws could be corrected. Rogue should require quality inspections on the assembly line and not accept guitars in the condition that I received.
Reviews
Reviewed by 49 customers
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Displaying reviews 1-10
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Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
Cons
- Poor Quality Craftsmanship
Best Uses
Comments about Rogue VB100 Violin Bass Guitar:
I purchased this knowing it would need a pro set-up, but I didn't think it would need as much work as it did. It definitely needed a fret level as well, and it still buzzes on certain notes. This continuing buzz may not be a fret issue -- it seems like it could be sympathetic resonance with the pickup springs/mounts or even the bridge. It is hard to track down. That's part of the risk you take buying sight unseen. That said, I put some flatwounds on it and it is very fun to play, and has a great low end.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Good Pick Up
- Good Tone
- Solid Electronics
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Rogue VB100 Violin Bass Guitar:
I purchased this bass for our new bass player, she was playing a Carver (not her own) and the weight was getting to her. I wanted to get her a low cost starter bass - I had a Hoffner at one time (got stolen). The weight and feel while playing are fantastic - everyone in the band wants to play on this thing and not the $1400 Carver. She named her Trixie Rouge
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Good Pick Up
- Good Tone
Cons
- Cosmetic flaws
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- Small Venues
Comments about Rogue VB100 Violin Bass Guitar:
Don't let the price fool you. This lightweight bass has a great bottom end, and has that nice hollow body thump. I re-stringed it with RotoSound Monel flat wound short scale strings for that classic Sixties sound. It sounds great pushed through a Fender Bassman 15" speaker cab.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Good Pick Up
- Good Tone
- Solid Electronics
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- Recording
- School Bands
- Small Venues
Comments about Rogue VB100 Violin Bass Guitar:
I've had this Rogue Violin Bass since August '05. Great bass for the price. Honestly if you'd handed me this bass and asked me how much it cost, I'd wager it would be more than twice or three times what it's being sold for.
Great tone, really loud pickups, a lot of tweakability for the sound, plays like a dream. Only drawback is it's not the greatest materials in the instrument. My nut broke pretty soon after buying it. It looks great, though.
Take good care of it and this bass will do you just as much a bass two or three times this price. Pair it with flatwounds and you'll swear it was a Hofner (watch gauge though, you'll need a smaller sized string for this bass).
Pros
- Economy Sound And Good
- Fun To Play
Cons
Best Uses
- Perfect All Around Bass
Comments about Rogue VB100 Violin Bass Guitar:
I put the vb 100 next to my hofner icon series and played the same song with both the rogue sounded more aggressive and has a kick to it I think for the price it can beat almost any bass out there
Pros
- Easy-to-adjust Bridge
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Good Pick Up
- Good Tone
- Light In Weight
- Solid Electronics
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- Recording
- Rock Concerts
- School Bands
- Small Venues
Comments about Rogue VB100 Violin Bass Guitar:
I generally play this right into a Zoom R16 multitrack recorder/DAW interface, a Korg Pandora (i.e., headphone amp), or into a little battery-operated practice amp and it sounds great!
It's quite nice to have separate volume knobs for each pickup, too. As piano/keyboards are my primary instrument, this feature has helped me to get a better understanding of the sound of each pickup. (I already own another bass, but it has just a single "soapbar" pickup.)
The bridge is easily adjustable.
There's a video somewhere (YouTube?) of a guy dressed as Sir Paul and playing Beatles tunes and when i saw that i was sold on it, even before reading all the positive reviews... ;-)
One more thing: This axe is really light in weight, so it's just great for grabbing it and playing around with it for a bit whilst sitting down, sans strap. I put a mount on my wall next to the bed so nowadays i'll sometimes reach up for it and play her for a bit while still lounging around in bed on weekend mornings.. (This is so much more immediate and rewarding then sitting and waiting 2+ minutes for my workstation synths to power up just so i can play a little piano! :-)
Oh, and that reminds me: this bass seems kinda loud to me while un-amped (i.e., it resonates well) so i hardly ever bother to plug it into a headphone amp in the fore-mentioned situation...
I am really happy to have purchased this bass !!!
Pros
- Inexpensive
Cons
- Flat Sound
- Neck heavy
- Not Fun To Play
- Poor Connections
Best Uses
- Practicing
Comments about Rogue VB100 Violin Bass Guitar:
I'm a big proponent of Rogue equipment and have always been pleasantly surprised at the quality.
Unfortunately, this bass was not up to the usual standard.
1. Very neck heavy - wants to dip down.
2. Poor soldering - scratchy electronics when switching pickup configs. Often you have to wiggle the switches to get them to get a good connection.
3. Pickup jack very poor quality.
3. The sound is not the least bit lively - dull and duller.
I would not recommend this bass to anyone.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
Cons
- Fret Buzz
Best Uses
- Practicing
Comments about Rogue VB100 Violin Bass Guitar:
Guitar looks great and action seems good. There is a buzz that I haven't identified on the d string. The front pick up volume control has a short-- ie it only works in the center position. The back pickup was loose and needed to be raised and tightened. Besides theses issues I think this was a good purchase. It is easy to play and has a great tone.
Pros
- Fun To Play
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- Recording
- Small Venues
Comments about Rogue VB100 Violin Bass Guitar:
This little bass suprised me. I got it on the Stupid Deal of the Day just before Christmas on a whim. It's a good bass at a great price. It has a small blemish in the finish but nothing that anyone would ever notice when I'm on stage. I threw away the cheesy stock strings and put some Ernie Ball flats on it and it came to life. I normally play high end, long scale basses with active humbuckers and got this for the looks more than anything else, but it sounds dang good in recordings and has that Paul-tone live, especially palm mutting with a pick. It may not sit on my shoulder live for more that a few songs in each set, but when it's there, it sure gets noticed for all the right reasons.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Good Tone
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Recording
- Small Venues
Comments about Rogue VB100 Violin Bass Guitar:
I also own various sting instruments, but this one was a sentimental buy, it was the same violin type of bass my father gave me for a birthday gift, many years ago. Now with a bit more experience, I can say this is a good start to middle level bass for anyone perusing this as a hobby or ladder step up grade. Grate hallow sound for my projects, but there was only one thing that was not of my like, the frets needed some work, they were sharp as a knife, after that work around everything else is like a charm.
