First Post. Gecko 6.

[danox574]

Hi.  I am new to the forum.  I have decided to build this Gecko 6.

The body is swamp ash, with transparent green.  The neck was a showcase neck in Indian Rosewood (!!!) and a gorgeous Ebony fretboard with SS frets.  It will house an EMG 45TWX in the sweet spot and a BQC 3 band.  Hardware is gold and matched to the basic options that Warmoth offers.

Untitled by danox574, on Flickr
Untitled by danox574, on Flickr

Tonight, I assembled the tuning machines.  Goth GB7s are used, and I used a #49 drill for the locator screws and countersunk it very slightly with a 2.05mm drill for the top of the screw.  The thread here was excellent - one of the six resisted just a hair going in, so I backed it off and worked very slowly - nothing broke, all went to plan.  I have tightened the nuts on the front to German torque specs (Good-n-Tight) because I couldn't find a spec, making sure the wood did not speak up, and just drove the locators in until they stopped and turning them made the screwdriver want to pop out, seating them flush with only gentle pressure against the GB7.

Untitled by danox574, on Flickr

Now, I'm down for 3 days of Stewmac conductive shielding paint on the body before I can continue.

I will have to enlarge two of the body holes for the concentric BQC pots - I was not expecting this but I don't feel too worried about it.  The only scary drilling left is the end pins and the Electrosocket, but these are not as scary as the tuning peg locators were for me.

I don't think I want to use the black plastic truss rod cover, but a quick search shows very few things on the shelf out there that really match the rest of the appearance of the instrument, so I will probably leave that off unless there is a compelling reason not to.

Your comments and suggestions are appreciated!

 

[stratamania]

Welcome to the forum. You've got some nice parts there.

Take your time and it should turn out fine.

 

[bagman67]

That's a crazy fretboard - crazy good.


Great choices all around.  What's not to love about a green gecko?

Not sure you really need to do the shielding paint thing, given the EMG's, which are noiseless to begin with, and also that you're only shielding the underside of the big antenna anyway.

 

[MikeW]

That's a crazy fretboard - crazy good.

This. Welcome to the forum. I'm looking forward to seeing that put together. That fretboard should look awesome up against the trans green.

 

[danox574]

That's a crazy fretboard - crazy good.

Not sure you really need to do the shielding paint thing, given the EMG's, which are noiseless to begin with, and also that you're only shielding the underside of the big antenna anyway.

I think the neck is what made me build the whole thing when I saw it.

Anyway, on the topic of the EMGs, I have read every dissenting opinion on that, and the manual does say not to ground a bridge, and the pickups themselves are shielded.  Won't the wiring and electronics in the cavity still function as an antenna though for noise?  Not arguing, just trying to understand the sub-systems in play here.

 

[bagman67]

The fact is all the shielding you can possibly apply to the guitar won't necessarily cure the tendency for the wiring to behave as a giant antenna for RF noise.  You can't simultaneously build a completely shielded environment AND have the pickups do what they do.  Assuming you do cover everything you can possibly apply copper foil or shielding paint to, the resulting cage still has a huge pickup-sized holes in it.  Those pickups consist of a mile or more of wire that can indeed function as a noise antenna.    That said, it certainly won't hurt anything to do it, but it may not result in any great improvement vis-a-vis noise reduction. 


Folks debate this endlessly, and I have no horse in the race.  I do know that for a custom axe you should really build what you want, and not what some schmo on the internet thinks you should build.  If that means shielding the pickup cavities, that's absolutely the right answer for you.

 

[danox574]

well, there is no one that says additional shielding hurts, and it may not always have this pickup in it, so I'll just get it done now.  Good info though, thank you.  Will update in a week or so!

 

[danox574]

Hey folks - could use your advice on this.  I have the correct .669" spaced bridge for the Gecko 6 but the holes in the body don't seem to line up at all.

Excuse the poor photo, but in this photo the right hole is square and you can see how far off they are by the time you get to the left hole.

The through-body situation is the same problem.

Has anyone run across this before?  I figured with only one bridge option I wouldn't see that.

Putting a mic on the set of six holes for the through body, I would expect them to be spaced 3.345" total (.669" x 5) but I'd say we are looking at 3.28" which doesn't really match any Hipshot A bridges (.669" spacing is their most narrow).  If it was a top load, a fill and a few new holes would solve it, but there are countersunk holes on the back for string through body that I don't feel can really be shifted. 

Am I expected just to middle it?  I'm worried about the B sting fitting through if I tried to do so.

I'll call Warmoth of course but this seemed very strange and I figured I'd check here with you guys first.

IMG_7550 by danox574, on Flickr

 

[stratamania]

Have you measured the bridge and the string spacings ?


If the holes are correct it would seem there are a number of spacings available for Hipshot A 6 string bridges.

If the bridge is correct and the hole measurements are out then contact Warmoth, but I would check all measurements first.

 

[danox574]

No, the spacing is verified.  The .669" Hipshot A should be 3.345" from first to last hole, and the bass body is drilled as narrow as you see.

http://www.hipshotproducts.com/files/all/6stgastyle.pdf

I've verified with a micrometer and the drawings shown that the bridge is correct, and the guitar is drilled narrow.  And, I can confirm that the drill pattern on the body doesn't fit any Hipshot A bridge as the .669" one here is the narrowest that they make.

I'm just wondering if this mirrors anyone else's experience with the Gecko 6 or if this is abnormal.  I'm getting ready to grab a B and C string and see if they can even fit through the ferrules and the bridge at the same time.

-Dan

 

[stratamania]

There does seem to be an option for a .656 http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=348 but then again that doesn't account for what you describe.

I think Customer services is the best port of call with the measurements etc.

 

[danox574]

Interesting.  And Eureka.  Hipshot does list a .656 but there is no dimension drawing for it on their page.  Online stores don't seem to offer it that I can find, but I'm sure it can be ordered.

And, I think you've hit the jackpot too, from a math standpoint.

.656" string spacing times 5 gaps between six strings equals 3.28" - exactly what I measure on the bass body itself instead of the expected 3.345"

I would wager dollars to donuts that this is drilled for a .656" bridge instead of a .669" string spacing bridge.

I'm not sure if .013" of string spacing makes a huge difference for me - but having to buy two bridges does.

 

[stratamania]

Ok,  ccasion14:  perhaps you may be able to exchange the bridge ?

 

[danox574]

Well - Warmoth has written me and offered to cover all the costs of obtaining a .656" bridge.  They do drill for .656" but at this time have not yet updated their website, so I followed their published .669" rule.  They are updating it now.  Just bad luck and timing, I guess.

They've even offered to buy me a new bridge if I do not have the option to exchange it.  The vendor I used only offers 669 and 708, so I'm not sure what I will need to do.  Honestly, I'd rather just order a .656" and send this bridge to them, but I'll try.

Fast response and a solid offer to cover my expenses from Warmoth, good customer service.

 

[stratamania]

That's good news... Glad to have helped in some small way.

 

[Howard]

Wow,  nice project! Glad to hear about warmoths response regarding the bridge.  ccasion14: Are you leaving the neck as is, polishing it or what? Looking forward to seeing the end result.

 

[danox574]

Untitled by danox574, on Flickr

Untitled by danox574, on Flickr

Probably won't do a thing to the neck, the wood is so dense it has a nice natural feel that I do like, if I feel myself getting hung up on it later I may try to burnish/polish or similar, but I will try it without first.

Warmoth needs some time to get me the bridge replacement so I am forced not to rush my way to full assembly.

 

[fdesalvo]

Damn that makes me want to play bass!

As an aside, why can't we get those side fret markers!  I'd go nekkid' board with those on the side.  Very Parkeresque. 

 

[Phaedrus]

That neck. is. beautiful.
It actually made me happy to look at it.