Which fretboard for my gecko ?

[eloann]

Hey

I'm trying to pick a fretboard for my upcoming Gecko 5 medium. I'm pretty much set on everything else :

- Oiled black korina body (since it's the cheapest option I like)
- Hipshot A bridge & ultralite tuners
- Wenge neck
- Nordstrand dual coil pickups
- Possibly John East BTB-01 preamp but I'll start off passive and see how it goes

I'm mostly considering :
- Bubinga (I have a snare made from that stuff so I know how it looks, feels and sounds... on a drum)
- Pau Ferro (really liked the slick feel on basses I've tried, but it would be a gamble look-wise as I don't like every board)
- Wenge (con : I already own a bass with one / pro : I already own a bass with one and I like it)

I ruled out purpleheart, bloodwood and goncalo since I think they would clash (wouldn't they ?), rosewood as it's not my favorite, and the more expensive ebony and ziricote.
Any thoughts ?

 

[kurcatovium]

I would suggest something dense and bright (ebony, bloodwood, pau ferro) to couple with midrange heavy wenge and korina. Else you might get sound too muddy and not bright at all.

 

[AutoBat]

I've got a wenge/bloodwood neck.

The amount of natural light that gets to it makes it appear anywhere from reddish brown to vibrant red.

here's the only one in stock in that combo as a tele:

and here is the bass neck that got me to go with wenge/bloodwood when it was in the showcase:

 

[line6man]

I ruled out purpleheart, bloodwood and goncalo since I think they would clash (wouldn't they ?)

Nonsense!  Bloodwood looks great on BK. Looks even better over a Wenge neck shaft.

 

[kurcatovium]

I forgot to say I had wenge/bloodwood neck on my last Warmoth J bass and it was fantastic. Shame on me I didn't buy 5 string version...


Please excuse terrible picture quality, but my camera was having a funky time back then...

 

[eloann]

My bandmates want me to switch back to drums since our drummer left today... great

But since I already ordered the pickups and some hardware I guess I'll finish this build anyway.
Bloodwood does look fine actually, I could imagine a streaky (pau ferro/macassar/goncalo) dragon in here...

EDIT
Slightly off topic, but I don't see string through routs on showcase bodies... anyone know why ?

 

[Cagey]

My guess would be that most bass bridges are surface mounts, so they wait until you specify which bridge you're going to use before they drill/route on the thing. Most of the guitar bodies are that way, even if they're going to use vibrato bridges. There's a certain amount they can do ahead of time, then the balance is done per order depending on the mounting scheme and how much more clearance is needed.

 

[eloann]

I meant I don't see an option for string through routs on unrouted showcase bodies

 

[Cagey]

Pick a bridge. The bridge style will force either a top-load or thru-body setup. You can also choose to have them leave it for you to do, if you'd like. In any event, it's bridge-dependent.

 

[eloann]

Somehow we're not understanding each other

I'd like "Hipshot A - string through" (which is an option on custom orders) to show up but it doesn't

 

[Cagey]

Ok, now I see. Not sure why that would be. Maybe it's a bug feature in the code.

 

[Wyliee]

The thru body holes need to be done at time of construction while the body is on its face and before the neck pocket is routed.  (The index hole is in the neck pocket area.)  Once the pocket is routed, the index hole goes away and there's no way to reindex the body.

Remember, a Gecko is 35" scale.  If you try going string thru, you need to add another 1.75" to the string length.  You're going to have a hard time finding strings long enough to use on the bass.

 

[tubby.twins]

Wyliee has a good point.  In most cases, the Takeuchi bridge (non-thru) and Hipshot A-style bridge should both hold the strings securely without needing to run the strings through the body.  I haven't noticed much difference in tone between Takeuchi non-thru and string-thru.

Back to the original question: definitely bubinga for the fretboard.  It's an awesome wood. 

 

[eloann]

Hmmm, except these bodies do not have a neck rout yet since we get to chose between "small" and "medium" sizes :dontknow:

My thought was if I get the string-through rout I can chose how to string it, but if I don't I'm stuck with top load. Not that it's a big deal.
Thanx for your answers

 

[tubby.twins]

Hmmm, except these bodies do not have a neck rout yet since we get to chose between "small" and "medium" sizes :dontknow:

That's probably one of the "corner cases" that the Showcase web code doesn't yet handle properly.  In any case, if the body doesn't have a neck pocket routed yet, and (according to Wyliee) they can route for string-through bridges before the neck pocket is routed, it should be possible.

Sounds like a phone order would be the best way to get what you want out of these unrouted Showcase bodies.  It's always a good idea to make the call. 

 

[Wyliee]

Hmmm, except these bodies do not have a neck rout yet since we get to chose between "small" and "medium" sizes :dontknow:

My thought was if I get the string-through rout I can chose how to string it, but if I don't I'm stuck with top load. Not that it's a big deal.
Thanx for your answers

In the case of the Showcase bodies not having neck pocket routs, you'll need to select your neck pocket first.  Once that is determined, the Showcase options will update with the appropriate bridge options for that neck pocket.