I just spent a few hours getting my brother-in-law’s Gecko fretless 5-string bass back into shape. It was a rewarding effort, since we solved some issues that had been bothering him for some time. Continue for more details.
Archive for the ‘My Geckos’ Category
Adjustments
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010Carvin pickups
Saturday, April 24th, 2010I’m pleased (and a bit surprised, actually) to report that Carvin’s newest “H50AS” stacked-coil humbucking soapbar-shaped pickup works amazingly well in the traditional “neck” position, at least on a Gecko 5-string fretless bass. I tried one today and I was very happy with its upper-midrange and treble detail. I had tried these pickups previously in the “bridge” position and found them to be overly aggressive and brash, but those qualities seem to work well in the “neck” position. (Perhaps this would be a great candidate for a single-pickup “P” style bass?)
Egads! (part deux)
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010Let’s see now. Where were we? Oh yes, I was recounting all I had done in the past two weeks. I shall continue.
Egads!
Monday, April 19th, 2010It’s been a busy 2 weeks since I last posted anything. Here’s what’s been happening:
Neck pickups (part 2)
Monday, April 5th, 2010This is an update from my previous post. (more…)
New Gecko neck, maple with wenge
Saturday, April 3rd, 2010My latest fretless Gecko neck arrived this week. It is made of Maple (yes, that’s right, I ordered a Maple neck!) with a beautiful Wenge fingerboard. (more…)
Neck pickups (part 1)
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010The more I use the traditional “neck” pickup location on a fretless bass, the less I like the sound. It just isn’t working for me. As I’ve been trying several brands of pickups over the past few years, I’ve learned that they all have different sounds, but the “neck” pickup location just doesn’t have enough of the rich midrange that I’ve come to expect on a fretless bass.
I’m finding the tone of the new “sweet spot” location to be far better for my tastes. However, I’ve now got at least 5 fretless Gecko basses which have a neck pickup (among others) and I’m not sure than I’m happy with them.
What to do? Should I sell some of these Gecko bodies and replace them with new ones with better pickup locations for my needs?
One more project completed…
Saturday, March 13th, 2010As of now, the all-Purpleheart neck is now attached to the Black Korina body, with two P2 pickups in custom locations. (Refer to earlier posts for more details.) It sounds wonderful. Nice punchy midrange, warm fundamentals, and lots of upper-mid details. Moving the neck pickup to the “sweet spot” does wonders for a fretless bass. (more…)
More new Gecko necks?
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010Yup. Two new Gecko fretless 5-string necks arrived this week. One’s made of Wenge with Pau Ferro. The other is almost entirely made of Canary wood. They’re beautiful. More details (and pics) to be posted shortly.
The Gary Willis Tone
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010Okay, this was unexpected but I thought I’d share it anyway. I think I may have just “nailed” the signature fretless tone that bassist Gary Willis has used (both on Tribal Tech albums and his own solo work) with a bass of my own. However, my bass (aside from being fretless) is just about completely unlike his. (more…)