Three Gecko 5-string fretless basses

[tubby.twins]

OK, first up is the Black Korina body that I received last month.  Original forum posting here:  http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=10319.0

This body has been temporarily attached to its neck, which is made of Purpleheart.  I originally had this neck attached to its matching all-Purpleheart body, but it was just too much purple in one bass, and there wasn't any contrast to speak of.  That body now has a neck of its own, and I think it looks better that way.







I really love the way these woods look together.  The different grain patterns make a nice contrast.  I really expect this bass to have a rich and resonant acoustic tone once it's complete.  Plus, the neck feels GREAT to the touch.  I never thought I'd like playing on Purpleheart as much as I do.

After I took these pictures, I took the Purpleheart neck off and put it back on another Gecko body which I am using for a pickup comparison.  Once that project is complete, the Purpleheart neck will go back onto this body, along with a hand-carved matching Purpleheart thumb-rest near the pickups.

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Next up is the blue Alder body that I just received a few days ago.  Original forum posting here:  http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=10802.0

I have attached my fretless Bubinga neck, originally posted here:  http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=10220.0









This wasn't the neck that I had originally planned to attach with this body, but I have to say that it looks nice anyway.  (The original neck is still being made, and I won't reveal any of its details until it arrives.  But it will be equally special.)

I had originally planned to attach this neck to an all-black body in Swamp Ash, but I have new plans for that body, which I'll reveal shortly.  

[weldfish]

Sweet

[NonsenseTele]

Both looks cool!
Have you tested putting the Bubinga on Korina and Purpleheard on blue??

So you're only reveling this misterious body and neck when the neck arrive??

[tubby.twins]

Have you tested putting the Bubinga on Korina and Purpleheard on blue??

I tried the Bubinga on Korina, but it didn't look as nice.  I may swap the necks briefly and take a few pictures tonight, to see how the Purpleheart looks on the blue Alder.

So you're only reveling this misterious body and neck when the neck arrive??

Have patience.  The neck is a very special order, and I don't want to get your hopes up. 

[nathana]

That purpleheart neck looks unbelievable on the black korina body. I love the looks of the Gecko basses so much. Brilliant work!

[Llama Llama]

WOW!!  That looks nice.  What bridge are you using?  Looks nice. 

[tubby.twins]

The bridge on the blue Alder is a Kahler 7450 fully-adjustable bridge.  I think these are the best bridges to use with the Gecko basses.

The bridge on the Black Korina body will be Warmoth's Takeuchi 5-string wide-spacing bridge.  I actually forgot to order the bridge for this one...   

[NonsenseTele]

So you're only reveling this misterious body and neck when the neck arrive??

Have patience.  The neck is a very special order, and I don't want to get your hopes up. 

Where can I buy it, sir?

[tubby.twins]

Have you tested putting the Bubinga on Korina and Purpleheard on blue??

OK, here are the pictures.  I did this for you. 













I think I am going to put them back the way they were before.  I think they look better that way. 

[nathana]

The BK + bubinga looks pretty good, but the transblue + purpleheart not so good. Definitely leave 'em as they were.

[MUYFUE]

Oh, man that's beautiful!

[NonsenseTele]

I may be a little bit conservative here, but I think it looks better this second arrangement... But it's yours

[rockskate4x]

I'm not sure that the purpleheart matches any of those bodies. The bubinga looks ok with the BK but definitely rocks the blue! IMO of course....

[tubby.twins]

It was hard to find a good match for the Purpleheart neck.  At least from a color perspective - it sounds great and is really nice to play.

I think I've discovered that rigid, dense neck woods work best with softer body woods.  Both of these combinations as well as others (to some extent, those with Mahogany bodies) produce some incredible acoustic tone.  On the other hand, the harder and denser body woods (i.e. Koa, Purpleheart) don't seem to resonate as much.

Thanks to all for the positive comments.  I'll get some sound clips recorded eventually.

[tubby.twins]

Here's another work in progress.  I guess this makes it the third of a perfect pair!

The body is made of Swamp Ash and has a solid black finish.  It was purchased in autumn of 2009.  The neck is very special to me.  I purchased it in 2006 from the Showcase, and recently removed it from the second Gecko bass that I purchased and assembled.  It is made of Bubinga with a Bloodwood fingerboard and laminate stripes of Purpleheart on the back.  I think the neck looks better on this body.




















As you may have guessed, this project was influenced by line6man's outstanding fretless Jazz bass, which also has a black body and a beautiful exotic wood neck.  I decided to carve a piece of Bloodwood as a matching thumbrest across the length of the strings.  It took some effort and time to cut and shape the Bloodwood using only hand tools, since that's all I had at the time.

So far, the tone is incredible with just a bridge pickup.  The pickup is a Bartolini "classic bass" dual-coil humbucker (model P25CBC-T) and it has a really nice upper midrange character, which works perfectly with the "zingy" treble response of the very rigid Bloodwood fingerboard.  I can get tones approaching those made by Gary Willis (from Tribal Tech) but I'm nowhere near that good yet.    Eventually I plan to test other bridge pickups in this bass, and install some volume/tone controls, but that will happen a bit later.

PS - The first two pictures show a slight "rippling" effect on the body, which is actually a reflection from the wall near my photo table.  That shows how reflective the finish is.