6 String Warmoth Build

[FarrellwithanF]

Hey Bassfolk.

thanks for taking the time to look through my build, this is my second time in the luthier's realm.

In mid August I was ready for a new bass, my trusty self made 34" 4-banger was just not doing it for me anymore, tone and playability wise. i was looking for something completely different. I'm a massive fan of warwick basses for their feel and look. but being an apprentice joiner, i couldn't afford the aud$4000 for a new Thumb 6. so i decided to have a go at somthing similar, but with a few of my own touches.

after a month of planning i had a design, an concept ready, i was planning to make the whole thing from scratch, but i suddenly stumbled upon a beautiful gecko neck from warmoth.



As i was going for the natural look, dark wood had to have a black hardware. here's the hardware list.

35" Scale 5 Piece Gecko Wenge/Bubinga neck w/Maccassar Ebony Fretboard @ Warmoth
1 Piece Brazillian Walnut Body
Takeuchi 6 bridge @ Warmoth
Gotoh GB7 tuners
2 Bartolini P4 Shape Classic Bass Series Pickups
Aguilar OBP-3 Preamp, with active/passive switch
Finish: Cabots Danish Oil & Ron Disney Beeswax.

After all my Hardware and parts had arrived, my band at the time was offered a gig at the annandale hotel in sydney. this being one of sydneys best live venues, i decided what better place to show off the new beast. the only problem was trying to make the body and fully assemble in a week, ready to play. i had the help of a skillful joiner at work who had picked up a bass 2 months earlier and was keen to help out and see what goes into designing and making a bass.




day 1 (saturday). template, body cut out

unfortunately i didn't get much time to take photos during the routing + sanding process, everything went as planned.

Sunday was spent sanding the edges and trimming the basic profile.

Monday The neck pocket was routed.

Tuesday my co-worker asked me if he could have a go at free-hand routing the pickup pockets.... I calmly said yes. This guy has an incredible amount of skill & eye for detail. he was more freaked out about ruining $175 worth of timber than i was, but he did a more than excellent job.

Wednesday I routed the electronics cavity, created a matching cavity cover (unfortunately it had to be opposite grain direction, but i wanted a wood cover), rasped the contours, and brought the final shape down to a 600 Grit sanding.

lets skip forward to the next thursday, where i was able to put the first coat of oil on.







I applied one coat at 5am and one at 5 pm on the Thursday and Friday. and was able to have a bit of a break after many late nights.

Saturday Morning i woke up early to apply a coat of Beeswax, Buffed it up and Started to Install Hardware & Electronics. words cannot describe how relieved i was to know I would be able to turn up to rehearsal the day before the gig with this beast.

Here She is, moments after the few final tweaks of action & intonation.



I was absolutely loving it.. my mate desribed the tone as "Warwick-like, but about 5 times the balls". The Bart/Aggie Combo was stunning, Clarity with power.




At the show the next day



Thank you for taking the time to read through this. 4 months later and i still pick her up every day.

[David Pinton]

Lovely! And fast!
And as far as freehanding rectangular cavities I'm too scared to try it. I use a set of two 3mm thick (roughly 1/8") rectangular templates, that I double-stick tape one on top of the other. They make an adjustable routing template, and I use it for just about every rectangular cavities (pickups, battery boxes...).

[VroomVroom]

This was a really fun read. Good for you and congratulations on what looks like a stunning instrument! Any chance you have some sound clips? With those electronics...and that pickup placement...I can only imagine the aggressive cut this instrument must have. Nice!

[Eight_Stringer]

Hey nice work all round. Lovely end result. Apprentice you say, well someone is lucky to have you work for them. Your bass left and right hand technique is impressive also, how about those long fingers on the neck!! If you have not tried one yet, try a fretless....took me 34 years to try one.....

Keep up the good work, how did the Annandale gig go?

Regards

[FarrellwithanF]

Thanks for the response.

VroomVroom, i have some samples recorded, solo and band stuff, but have been too lazy to put them online yet, i will post when they are.
You're right about the cut through, it has such a nice mid presence, that it fills up a mix very nicely. without over-powering.

Eight stringer, thanks for the compliment on my technique! i've dabbled around with a fretless, but not too sure i would play it enough just yet. However i've been thinking once i feel accomplished with the 6, ill add a fretless 6 to my lineup.
The Annandale gig went very smoothly, but it was my last show with that group. i've joined up with a new band recently, and will be playing my first show at the Agincourt with them in January, it's always awesome to get a positive response from other musicians when they have a look at the bass..

[Ben Wilkie]

Awesome bass! I'm in Oz too I've often thought about doing a Warmoth build, but I've never been sure about the costs of it all, mostly with shipping at the moment.

And congrats on getting a gig at the Annandale!