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Who has built a Warmoth guitar?


Shask

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I have been thinking about this more and more...

 

If you buy a body and neck, do they drill the holes in the neck to attach it to the body? What are the typical things you have to do to put it all together? I guess let me say things that arent typically expected like installing hardware, finish, etc...

 

How did you finish it? I know the rub on oils like tung oil are pretty popular. I think a nice dark stain and oil would look pretty good.

 

I am just thinking about this, so I am trying to get a good idea of what to expect beyond receiving a box of parts, and going from there...

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I built one a few years back, before they drilled neck holes. It wasn't very hard to do, but it is a little more involved than just bolting the neck on the body. Little things like tuner hole reaming, ferrule installation, and nut work take a lot more time and 'fine' work than I expected. It was a fun project, and I was able to do all of it, just not as fast as I had planned. Measure twice, drill/cut once.

 

I bought a finished neck and body, so I didn't deal with the painting stuff.

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I also should add that the setup after assembly is a large piece of work...as everything is off. Bridge height, action, truss rod, intonation, etc. Everything will be WAY outside of spec, more so than on any guitar you have probably ever played in your life.

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I love my Warmoth. It's a bit over the top, but it really is a great guitar. White korina, quilted maple top, ebony fretboard, Lindy Fralin pups.

 

I honestly don't play it too often, but it's a really nice guitar.

 

I also have a Warmoth scalloped neck that I really like. They make excellent, high-quality stuff...

 

 

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Kramer Pacer with Warmoth scalloped neck:

 

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I love my parts-o-caster - it has a Warmoth neck. It wasn't great until I got it setup by a real tech though. Also, in hindsight I got lucky with the neck pocket, and the overall balance of the guitar. I can see how the pocket could have been sloppy, or that the guitar could have been neck-heavy.

 

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One tip I read that paid off was looking for in-stock necks with problems. Mine is a factory second with a couple of nicks in it - I saved like $200 off what it would have cost if I had ordered a neck with the same options.

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One tip I read that paid off was looking for in-stock necks with problems. Mine is a factory second with a couple of nicks in it - I saved like $200 off what it would have cost if I had ordered a neck with the same options.

 

That's a great tip. Thanks!

 

Lovely guitar btw. :thu: What is the body from?

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I can recommend KNE bodies. http://kneguitars.com/

Mitch out in Calf. does good work for a fair price. Any type of routs, drilled holes, configuration, woods, and he'll do all you ask for about $115 to your door. Clean work.

 

I bought a USA spaced steal trem from GFS and it is really a nice trem for little money. Plus of a handful of other hardware, all for around $100.

 

Got my neck from Warmonth, $250 shipped. Stainless steal frets, compound radius neck, custom profile.

 

 

If you can do the finish on the neck and body you will save a good chunk of change. I'm doing it in tung oil, but guys are having very good results with spray cans, elbow grease, and a good dose of patience too.

 

 

If you have learned what it is you like on a guitar, it's a great way to go.

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Yes, Warmoth drills neck holes and all the others holes you ask (bridge, controls, etc).

They can also install bridge studs and nuts (both locking and not).

They won't install the hardware (bridge, ferrules, tuning machines) and they won't install the electronics (pick up, switches, wiring, etc...).

They can sell both finished and unfinished bodies and necks: the finished ones cost much more.

Finishing a neck with oil or shellac is quite easy and the result can be really good (I love my shellac finished necks), but Warmoth's warranty is not valid with this kind of finishes (but...who cares after all...there are plenty of oil finished necks that don't warp).

Finishing a body with a sealer can be a bit harder and the result will be really different from a classic solid and glossy "factory" finish (not necessarily worst, but surely different).

Assembling the guitar is not that hard, but you have got to have a bit of experience.

I've assembled my warmoths by my own, but then I took them to a luthier for nut set up and fretboard leveling.

About the electronics...I had a friend helping me and he had also all the spare electronics parts I forgot to order to warmoth :rolleyes:!

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Yes, Warmoth drills neck holes and all the others holes you ask (bridge, controls, etc).

They can also install bridge studs and nuts (both locking and not).

They won't install the hardware (bridge, ferrules, tuning machines) and they won't install the electronics (pick up, switches, wiring, etc...).

They can sell both finished and unfinished bodies and necks: the finished ones cost much more.

Finishing a neck with oil or shellac is quite easy and the result can be really good (I love my shellac finished necks), but Warmoth's warranty is not valid with this kind of finishes (but...who cares after all...there are plenty of oil finished necks that don't warp).

Finishing a body with a sealer can be a bit harder and the result will be really different from a classic solid and glossy "factory" finish (not necessarily worst, but surely different).

Assembling the guitar is not that hard, but you have got to have a bit of experience.

I've assembled my warmoths by my own, but then I took them to a luthier for nut set up and fretboard leveling.

About the electronics...I had a friend helping me and he had also all the spare electronics parts I forgot to order to warmoth
:rolleyes:
!

 

Actually Tru-oil does conform with Warmoths warranty.

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I don't mind the electronics, drilling smaller holes, etc....

 

Its the neck holes, bridge studs, etc... the things that could make the whole guitar useless.

 

I think the nut is the only thing I am not really experienced at. I don't mess with painting :cop: I have a bad karma with that, lol.

 

So, they drill the neck holes in the neck and body?

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I don't mind the electronics, drilling smaller holes, etc....


Its the neck holes, bridge studs, etc... the things that could make the whole guitar useless.


I think the nut is the only thing I am not really experienced at. I don't mess with painting
:cop:
I have a bad karma with that, lol.


So, they drill the neck holes in the neck and body?

 

Yeah, the 3 Warmoths I have built I used necks and bodies from warmoth and they were all pre-drilled and fit perfectly. The bridge holes are also pre-drilled and were dead on.

 

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One thing that should be mentioned here.......by the time you buy a body and neck, and then all the hardware and electronics.....you'll most likely have as much invested already as if you'd bought a true custom made instrument. And that won't include any of your time and labor. So if it's a custom instrument that you're after and you're not "hell-bent" on finishing and assembling it yourself, it's probably to your benefit just to buy a custom instrument from a good custom builder. I normally wind up with at least 60 or 70 hours in one of my complete custom builds and that's not including setup time. A good setup job alone will require 6-8 hours or more. I have a couple of my customs posted here this week......both are telecaster versions. Check them out if you're interested.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=2590475

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=2590464

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One thing that should be mentioned here.......by the time you buy a body and neck, and then all the hardware and electronics.....you'll most likely have as much invested already as if you'd bought a true custom made instrument. And that won't include any of your time and labor. So if it's a custom instrument that you're after and you're not "hell-bent" on finishing and assembling it yourself, it's probably to your benefit just to buy a custom instrument from a good custom builder. I normally wind up with at least 60 or 70 hours in one of my complete custom builds and that's not including setup time. A good setup job alone will require 6-8 hours or more. I have a couple of my customs posted here this week......both are telecaster versions. Check them out if you're interested.


 

 

I disagree. I've built two Warmoths and ended up with Custom Shop level instruments for about the price of a standard MIA Fender...and that was with Warmoth doing the finish.

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Wish they made a wheel truss rod or one at the headstock.


The pro doesn't count cause that side thing is for small adjustments and it gets in the way of a fender contoured heel.

 

 

They do make one that adjusts at the headstock - "Vintage Modern"

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I disagree. I've built two Warmoths and ended up with Custom Shop level instruments for about the price of a standard MIA Fender...and that was with Warmoth doing the finish.

 

 

I'd have to see your math on that. A finished body from Warmoth is generally between 400 - 500, but realistically in the 500 range. A finished neck is a minimum of 300. That's 800 right there without any hardware or electronics and you can expect to invest another 300 minimum easily for that. Now you're at 1100. But without a case. Add another 100 for a decent quality case and you're at 1200. That's just monetary investment. Still doesn't account for any of your time or labor. My solid and semi-hollow customs generally sell for 1200-1500 completely setup to buyer preference with a HS case and a lifetime warranty. Mark Swanson of Swanson guitars has similar pricing structure. Not all custom makers charge 6K for a build.

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I'd have to see your math on that. A finished body from Warmoth is generally between 400 - 500, but realistically in the 500 range. A finished neck is a minimum of 300. That's 800 right there without any hardware or electronics and you can expect to invest another 300 minimum easily for that. Now you're at 1100. But without a case. Add another 100 for a decent quality case and you're at 1200. That's just monetary investment. Still doesn't account for any of your time or labor. My solid and semi-hollow customs generally sell for 1200-1500 completely setup to buyer preference with a HS case and a lifetime warranty. Mark Swanson of Swanson guitars has similar pricing structure. Not all custom makers charge 6K for a build.

 

I got my bodies and necks from the Showcase section. Had to be patient, but I ended up finding exactly what I wanted.

 

Finished body: $400

Unfinished neck: $200

By the time I bought all the hardware and electronics, I had $1100 in it, plus another $100 for the case. Took me a couple of hours to put it together, wire it up, and get it set up.

 

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Finished body: $275

Unfinished neck: $175

Total cost after all hardware and electronics was under $1k. Right around $1k including case.

 

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Both guitars whip the crap out of any off the shelf $1000 range guitar I've ever played.

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Prages...they're nice looking guitars but you just verified what I said to begin with. You have as much in yours as you would've have spent buying a custom built from myself or plenty of other custom builders out there that build very nice guitars in that price range. Plus, they include a warranty. And I don't doubt for a minute that your guitars will out perform an off the shelf of the same range. One thing you didn't mention or allow for in time was the amount of time and cost involved in finishing both of your unfinished necks.

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Prages...they're nice looking guitars but you just verified what I said to begin with. You have as much in yours as you would've have spent buying a custom built from myself or plenty of other custom builders out there that build very nice guitars in that price range. Plus, they include a warranty. And I don't doubt for a minute that your guitars will out perform an off the shelf of the same range. One thing you didn't mention or allow for in time was the amount of time and cost involved in finishing both of your unfinished necks.

 

 

I left both necks unfinished, not to save money, but because I like the feel of the unfinished necks.

 

Warmoth parts come with a 1 year warranty.

 

I'd rather build a 'custom' guitar myself than to pay someone else to do it for me. At least when all is said and done, I know that the guitar will be built as well as I can possibly build it. You can't really say that for all custom makers.

 

Plus, like I said, I probably don't have more than about 6 hours of labor into each guitar. I figure it's kind of a moot point to talk about how much my time is worth in this case, because I actually enjoy fiddling with stuff and would be doing it anyway.

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That's why I made the comment that I made earlier. If it's the learning experience that you're after or you just enjoy putting one together yourself, then maybe it's OK. But if the end result you're after is a true custom guitar, then you should consult a reputable builder. Because, I'm sorry to say, but it's just a fact......at the end of the day, a Warmoth guitar is still just a partscaster. And when or if it's time to resell or trade, it will be perceived and valued that way. That's just the way it is. And their 1 year warranty is really the moot point because that's actually just about the amount of time a guitar needs to play and wear itself in good. So you're warranty is gone right when the instrument is coming into it's own. Also, another point worth mentioning, with Warmoth or any other parts suppliers, you're limited to the options they offer and what they have available at any given time. With a custom builder, most of the time, you're options will be virtually unlimited. Quality of materials is another concern. Warmoth as well as others have some quite decent products but they buy in bulk and they pull of the top as they get to it. Custom builders, specifically myself, buy in smaller quantities and handpick and choose the woods they work with. Not only for looks and beauty but for correct and optimum grain structure. There are countless other points that could be brought up but bottom line is this......if you want the experience of building it yourself and can live with the end results, then Warmoth may be the perfect solution for you. Believe me, I fully understand that....I love what I do. But...if it's a true custom instrument you're after, then a Warmoth parts guitar is the furthest thing from it. Because, like I said earlier, in the end, you haven't built a custom.....you've just assembled some prefab parts to make a parts guitar.

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Because, I'm sorry to say, but it's just a fact......at the end of the day, a Warmoth guitar is still just a partscaster. And when or if it's time to resell or trade, it will be perceived and valued that way.

 

 

And at the end of the day, an emcrae custom guitar is still just a custom guitar from a maker that nobody's ever heard of and it will be perceived and valued that way.

 

It doesn't matter if you make the best guitar on the planet. If the name of the guitar isn't something that people recognize, they aren't gonna pay a lot of money for one on the used market.

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