Okay, folks, I don't usually do this often, but I've reached the point where I must admit that I don't play this beautiful bass as much as I'd prefer. So I need to let it go in order to make room for other new instruments and to spend my time on several projects which are more important to me.
I'm going to start at
$900 not including shipping or any sort of case, and we'll see where things go from here. Please read the description carefully.
This bass was assembled (not by me) around 2006, from a body and neck purchased from Warmoth Guitar Products in Puyallup, Washington, USA. Both body and neck are the
Gecko 5 medium size, which means that the nut width is 1.875" and the string spacing at the bridge is 0.75". I purchased this bass on eBay a few years ago, and did some upgrades to it while I've owned it.
The neck is made of maple, with two purpleheart laminates running the length of the shaft, up to the angled headstock. The fingerboard is made of solid black ebony, and includes inlaid fretless lines of maple. (I believe the Gecko inlay is made of pau ferro.)
The neck is protected by a translucent dark brown glossy finish, which nicely complements the body. I haven't seen any other Warmoth necks with this finish; I believe it was a special order. The finish covers all areas of the neck except for the playing surface of the fingerboard. The neck also has a thin koa laminate on the front face of the headstock, which matches the laminate top of the body. There is also a nut, which I believe to be made of white Corian. The nut has been cut for standard tuning (B-E-A-D-G) and I have used it with standard 5-string gauges (.045 to .130).
The body is made of solid koa, with a highly figured koa laminate top. You would be hard pressed to find another Warmoth Gecko body of solid koa, given the rising prices of this rare and desirable tonewood, as well as the fact that the most beautiful pieces have already been purchased! Warmoth is legendary for the quality of their woods, and this bass is no exception. The body is quite heavy, which means the bass weighs nearly
12 pounds with all hardware. (I can provide a more exact measurement if requested.)
The bridge is made by Kahler, and is the original 7450 series adjustable bridge. For a number of years, Warmoth sold these bridges along with Gecko bodies, and routed many of their Gecko bodies in the Showcase for these bridges. The bridge is currently adjusted for a comfortable string spacing (slightly less than 0.75"). Note that one of the mounting screws for the bridge's baseplate has broken off. This does not affect the tone, sustain or playability. The remaining 3 mounting screws provide sufficient force to hold the bridge rigidly against the body.
The pickups (which are
not the same as the Lane Poor pickups pictured above) will be a pair of passive EMG40-sized humbucking soapbar pickups made for Sadowsky. These dual-coil pickups have a bright, full and assertive tone which works well with the rich and warm tone of the woods. I believe these pickups were made by Seymour Duncan.
This bass also includes a custom-configured Audere 4-band "3ZB" pre-amp with three EQ controls (bass, low-mid, high-mid) as well as a passive tone control for rolling off the treble. This pre-amp also has a master volume and a blend control, for a total of 6 knobs on the front of the bass. It could probably be re-configured to have dual volume controls (one for each pickup) if you like. It may also be possible to replace the passive tone control with a treble EQ control, if you really need to boost the treble. (Contact me and let me know if you want this work to be done.) I installed this pre-amp and used it to test several types of pickups before settling on the Sadowsky humbuckers as the best match for this bass.
I don't have pictures to prove it at the moment, but the wiring cavity is fairly well shielded with adhesive copper foil, and despite there being a lot of wire inside (due to the complexity of the Audere pre-amp controls) it isn't unmanageable. I can provide pictures, if requested.
Not pictured at the moment are the other bits which make up a complete bass. All the hardware is chrome, including the shiny Gotoh GB-7 tuners attached to the headstock. Dunlop Straplocks are installed on the body. Please note that the previous owner had installed the strap nut on the
back side of the upper body horn, not in the current location. There is a small screw hole in the body horn at this location, and I do not believe that I am qualified to repair it. It does not pose any structural risks.
This bass is used, and although carefully handled there are always some scratches, small dings and other oddities. The most significant of these is a small chip in the finish (less than 8mm square) near the side of the neck pickup cavity. This mistake was caused by a tool which lost its grip and impacted the side of the pickup route, while I was changing pickups. It is not pictured (because I accidentally caused this damage after the picture was taken) and I will include new pictures soon. I will try to photograph other damaged areas and post them here, in the interest of full disclosure.
In summary: the pickups aren't as shown (since they aren't available any more) and there are a few signs of use, but the bass is still in very good condition and really needs a new home.
Will you be the new owner for this bass?
