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Warmoth Gecko owner's club

#283
miramadar said:
I've got the guitar completely built and wired. It's awesome! But I have a problem...

I have two frets (the 20th and 22nd) that are way out of whack. They buzz badly, even though there's no buzz anywhere else on the neck. And it's not just a buzz...the notes don't even really play at all. They're either too low, or the next highest frets are too high. I took the bass to a very experienced luthier in my area for his assessment. He was very disappointed. He advised me that, if was his bass, he'd send it back. He told me that the amount of fret material that he'd have to remove in order to fix the buzz would be the equivalent of 10 - 15 years of normal wear. On top of that, it will cost me between $100 - $150. I was sick upon hearing this. I don't want my brand new bass to have to go through this (nor my wallet...which is already a bit light).

I've contacted Warmoth about the issue and I'm awaiting a response. I'm hopeful that we can work something out.
Click to expand...


... man, that really must have been a gut shot when you discovered the problems. I would definitily be interested in hearing how they work with you on it. I' m hoping it's as painless as possible .
 
#284
arcopizz said:
... man, that really must have been a gut shot when you discovered the problems. I would definitily be interested in hearing how they work with you on it. I' m hoping it's as painless as possible .
Click to expand...

Gut shot...that's a good way to put it. I've emailed them and they've responded. I'm to take the guitar apart and return the neck to them for inspection. They're going to test it to see if it is "outside of spec", then we'll go from there. If it is "out of spec", then they'll repair/replace. If it isn't out of spec, I guess I'm stuck with it.
 
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#285
miramadar said:
Gut shot...that's a good way to put it. I've emailed them and they've responded. I'm to take the guitar apart and return the neck to them for inspection. They're going to test it to see if it is "outside of spec", then we'll go from there. If it is "out of spec", then they'll repair/replace. If it isn't out of spec, I guess I'm stuck with it.
Click to expand...

Keep us updated on how Warmoth treats this situation. They have treated me well in the past. I hope they extend the same courtesy to you.
 
#287
Headstock finished.
IMG_0298.JPG
 
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#293
lowfreqman said:
I am really glad your Gecko worked out for you!
Click to expand...

It's a really cool instrument. The only issue I have with it is that I have to get super long scale strings if I want to utilize the string-thru-body feature. I put a set of extra long scale D'Addario Flex Steels on it and found that the low B and E strings crossed the nut a bit short...the taper was on the nut, not the fullest part of the string. Luckily, the Hipshot bridge can be used as a non-thru body bridge as well. It looks a little weird to have 4 strings going through the body and 2 not. But oh well. It works. I guess I'll have to get super-long sets from now on. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of variety at that length. But trust me...that's a VERY small gripe.

Regarding the Flex Steel strings, a couple of observations...

I'd never tried this string before, and maybe it wasn't a good idea to put them on this new instrument first. Maybe I should have used a string that I was familiar with...like Nickel Round Wound or Chromes Flat Wound strings. Nonetheless, I tried them. First off...they're pretty bright and have a TON of growl...at least they did paired with the Nordy pups. It's an awesome sound, if that's what you're after. However, I'm finding it very, very hard to find a "sweet" tone. Every note seems to growl, regardless of which pup is being used, in single coil or humbucking mode. Only with the tone knob rolled completely off does the growl sort of leave. I really like this tone overall, but I would like a little more variety. So, my final assessment is that Flex Steels might just be a little too aggressive for my taste. The next set I try will be traditional nickel round wound. I like experimenting.
 
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#294
miramadar said:
It's a really cool instrument. The only issue I have with it is that I have to get super long scale strings if I want to utilize the string-thru-body feature. I put a set of extra long scale D'Addario Flex Steels on it and found that the low B and E strings crossed the nut a bit short...the taper was on the nut, not the fullest part of the string. Luckily, the Hipshot bridge can be used as a non-thru body bridge as well. It looks a little weird to have 4 strings going through the body and 2 not. But oh well. It works. I guess I'll have to get super-long sets from now on. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of variety at that length. But trust me...that's a VERY small gripe.

Regarding the Flex Steel strings, a couple of observations...

I'd never tried this string before, and maybe it wasn't a good idea to put them on this new instrument first. Maybe I should have used a string that I was familiar with...like Nickel Round Wound or Chromes Flat Wound strings. Nonetheless, I tried them. First off...they're pretty bright and have a TON of growl...at least they did paired with the Nordy pups. It's an awesome sound, if that's what you're after. However, I'm finding it very, very hard to find a "sweet" tone. Every note seems to growl, regardless of which pup is being used, in single coil or humbucking mode. Only with the tone knob rolled completely off does the growl sort of leave. I really like this tone overall, but I would like a little more variety. So, my final assessment is that Flex Steels might just be a little too aggressive for my taste. The next set I try will be traditional nickel round wound. I like experimenting.
Click to expand...

I really like DR Nickel Lo-riders and DR Pure Blues on my fretted instruments. I use LaBella tapewounds on my fretless. The DR strings aren't as agressive as stainless strings, but really keep a usuable, fresh-string sound for months. I love 'em!
 
#295
miramadar said:
It's a really cool instrument. The only issue I have with it is that I have to get super long scale strings if I want to utilize the string-thru-body feature. I put a set of extra long scale D'Addario Flex Steels on it and found that the low B and E strings crossed the nut a bit short...the taper was on the nut, not the fullest part of the string. Luckily, the Hipshot bridge can be used as a non-thru body bridge as well. It looks a little weird to have 4 strings going through the body and 2 not. But oh well. It works. I guess I'll have to get super-long sets from now on. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of variety at that length. But trust me...that's a VERY small gripe.

Regarding the Flex Steel strings, a couple of observations...

I'd never tried this string before, and maybe it wasn't a good idea to put them on this new instrument first. Maybe I should have used a string that I was familiar with...like Nickel Round Wound or Chromes Flat Wound strings. Nonetheless, I tried them. First off...they're pretty bright and have a TON of growl...at least they did paired with the Nordy pups. It's an awesome sound, if that's what you're after. However, I'm finding it very, very hard to find a "sweet" tone. Every note seems to growl, regardless of which pup is being used, in single coil or humbucking mode. Only with the tone knob rolled completely off does the growl sort of leave. I really like this tone overall, but I would like a little more variety. So, my final assessment is that Flex Steels might just be a little too aggressive for my taste. The next set I try will be traditional nickel round wound. I like experimenting.
Click to expand...

I have used LaBella Flexcore flats on other fretless, as well as basses where I was going for old school tone. I loved them. They did every thing I wanted them to do, i.e. produce a slightly brighter flat wound tone, and were also easier to play.

Nickel is more dense than stainless, therefore the majority of nickel strings will be less bright than stainless. I have found most nickel strings to be very sedate. Nice, even tone, but kinda lacking in brightness when desired. Note: You may already know this , so excuse my redundancy if this is the case.

I used to use D'Addario Slow Wounds on all of my extended range basses. I found that they had a very good balance of quality mid-to-low end performance from their nickel content, but they were also a touch brighter than any other nickel string I had tried. D'Addario discontinued the Slow wound line and now state that their Nickel XL's are equivalent to the Slow Wounds. That has been my experience, although I rarely play fretted bass these days and there may be a better string out there that I have yet to try.
 
#296
arcopizz said:
I have used LaBella Flexcore flats on other fretless, as well as basses where I was going for old school tone. I loved them. They did every thing I wanted them to do, i.e. produce a slightly brighter flat wound tone, and were also easier to play.

Nickel is more dense than stainless, therefore the majority of nickel strings will be less bright than stainless. I have found most nickel strings to be very sedate. Nice, even tone, but kinda lacking in brightness when desired. Note: You may already know this , so excuse my redundancy if this is the case.

I used to use D'Addario Slow Wounds on all of my extended range basses. I found that they had a very good balance of quality mid-to-low end performance from their nickel content, but they were also a touch brighter than any other nickel string I had tried. D'Addario discontinued the Slow wound line and now state that their Nickel XL's are equivalent to the Slow Wounds. That has been my experience, although I rarely play fretted bass these days and there may be a better string out there that I have yet to try.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight! I like the aggressive, modern sounds that stainless gives. It will actually be hard for me to move away from the Flex Steels. But, like I said, I like to move around the tonal spectrum and have no qualms trying something off the wall for a while. Too bad bass strings aren't like guitar strings...relatively cheap.
 
#299
miramadar said:
The only issue I have with it is that I have to get super long scale strings if I want to utilize the string-thru-body feature.
Click to expand...
miramadar said:
I like the aggressive, modern sounds that stainless gives.
Click to expand...

I've been using Ken Smith Rockmaster stainless steel roundwounds in their Extra-Long length, and they fit my 35" scale Lakland when strung though the body just fine.
 
#300
I guess that I never posted here for some reason. I've had a Gecko 5 fretless for about 12-13 years. This bass has such nice growl and mwah. I have it string with EB Cobalt flats.

The specs are:

- Alder body
- Exhibition quilt maple top
- Oil finish
- Maple/bubinga/maple neck
- Lined Ebony Finger Board; Polyester coated
- 35" Scale
- Bart Quad Coil soap bar P/U's
- Bart 3-band pre
- Black ABM bridge
- Black Gotoh tuners

Here's a pic:

Warmoth Gecko w_polyester coated FB.jpg
 
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