Building a wide necked 5 string

[neepheid]

I'm definitely more P than J so I'm trying to source a nice wide spaced 5 string neck. I'm quite in love with the Warmoth Wide Gecko 5, but I'm not in love with the price! I'm thinking I could find a cheap 6 string from eBay, change the nut, fill the existing tuner holes, slap a headstock veneer on to cover up and redrill for 5. Does this seem plausible?

[The Burpster]

Sounds VERY plausible, in fact sounds a damn good idea.

I might go for the filled and painted headstock as opposed to veneered but give it a go...!

[d-basser]

the peavey gring 6er is a thinish neck 6er so would make a good wide neck 5

[tauzero]

[quote name='neepheid' post='155395' date='Mar 11 2008, 04:32 PM']I'm definitely more P than J so I'm trying to source a nice wide spaced 5 string neck. I'm quite in love with the Warmoth Wide Gecko 5, but I'm not in love with the price! I'm thinking I could find a cheap 6 string from eBay, change the nut, fill the existing tuner holes, slap a headstock veneer on to cover up and redrill for 5. Does this seem plausible?[/quote]
As long as the pickups are solid bars all the way across - the Bart 6-string pickups, for example, couldn't be used as there would be no signal from the A string. And there's also the bridge to consider, you'd really want one which started life with a monolithic bridge rather than individual bridge units as you should then have a bit less trouble filling and drilling. Oh, and probably not string-through originally either.

[neepheid]

[quote name='tauzero' post='155837' date='Mar 12 2008, 10:43 AM']As long as the pickups are solid bars all the way across - the Bart 6-string pickups, for example, couldn't be used as there would be no signal from the A string. And there's also the bridge to consider, you'd really want one which started life with a monolithic bridge rather than individual bridge units as you should then have a bit less trouble filling and drilling. Oh, and probably not string-through originally either.[/quote]

Oh don't worry, I am butchering the 6 string just for the neck. The bridge is a Badass V - can cut the saddles to suit and it will be drilled for string-thru. The body is a rescued mess of someone's aborted project, needs a lot of alterations anyway - neck pocket, pickup routs, control cavity is all to pot. But it's a lovely piece of zebrawood/zebrano and it needs to be made into a viable instrument. I'm intending to use EMG 40 pickups, they're bars.

[steve]

[quote name='neepheid' post='155882' date='Mar 12 2008, 11:46 AM']But it's a lovely piece of zebrawood/zebrano and it needs to be made into a viable instrument.[/quote]

PICS!!!

have you looked at Squier 5 string necks? mine's like an aircraft carrier, i'm (very) idly considering using it for a six, maybe even some kind of classical thing

[neepheid]

[quote name='steve' post='156150' date='Mar 12 2008, 04:17 PM']PICS!!!

have you looked at Squier 5 string necks? mine's like an aircraft carrier, i'm (very) idly considering using it for a six, maybe even some kind of classical thing[/quote]

They look quite good, but they're not long enough. Because of the body being the shape/size that it is, any neck must be a 24 fret neck to give enough heel/body area.

Pics you say?



It's got some finish on it already, and someone attacked it with a forstner bit, but I'll rescue it.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Ummm.

That body looks like a Warwick Thumb.

Sort of.

Not aware of them existing in Zebrano, save in Custom Shoppe guise.

Nonetheless, nice body.
Beware, that if the body IS modelled on a Thumb BO, they have 26 Frets...

And the pick-ups DO need to have blades for pole-pieces in this instance. Sounds like that's covered, though....

Edited March 20, 2008 by Lfalex v1.1

[neepheid]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='160728' date='Mar 20 2008, 11:42 AM']Ummm.

That body looks like a Warwick Thumb.

Sort of.

Not aware of them existing in Zebrano, save in Custom Shoppe guise.

Nonetheless, nice body.
Beware, that if the body IS modelled on a Thumb BO, they have 26 Frets...

And the pick-ups DO need to have blades for pole-pieces in this instance. Sounds like that's covered, though....[/quote]

Where I've had to put the Badass to cover up the preexisting bridge holes, with the saddles fully out the 24th fret (at 34" scale) is approximately here:



There's a lot of scope for intonation adjustment in a Badass bridge, so I could move closer to the bridge a few mms for the right neck. I'm ideally looking for a 24 fret neck with some material beyond the end of the fingerboard. Or as you point out, a 26 fret neck. Not something you see on eBay every day

[tauzero]

[quote name='neepheid' post='160793' date='Mar 20 2008, 01:31 PM']There's a lot of scope for intonation adjustment in a Badass bridge, so I could move closer to the bridge a few mms for the right neck. I'm ideally looking for a 24 fret neck with some material beyond the end of the fingerboard. Or as you point out, a 26 fret neck. Not something you see on eBay every day [/quote]
Actually, a couple of years ago, PMT in Brum had several Warwick necks in, assorted peculiar ones - I got two 5s (one's a little twisted and has been defretted) and a short-scale 4, there were also a broadneck (can't remember whether it was 5 or 6) and assorted others. All gone now though.