Members waltchwarzkopf Posted November 16, 2017 Members Share Posted November 16, 2017 Hi guys, I found this guitar on the swiss equivalent for ebay. There is no information at all and the seller has no clue about the guitar. In his others listings, he sells a Harley Benton tele, a Music Man Silhoutte and a Warmoth Tele. The ad says the following: Very nice LP with a gorgeous top. Eye-catcher Body and neck quality parts from Warmoth. Seymour Duncan Pus etc. Parts valued over 1000.- So. I asked him: Was the guitar built by a luthier with the parts from Warmoth? Also, could you include more information about the guitar? For example, woods of the neck, top, body, fretboard, scale length and model and magnet type of the pickups. And sadly he replied: I wish i could give you an interesting answer but i have absolutely no idea about it. What if you come and watch it? Otherwise we would discuss about a cheaper price and i send it to you? Im also inteested in exchsnges with stratos. Cheers From the pictures I could made out the following: Warmoth style neck, unspecified wood, seems to be (flame?) maple (around $350) Regal style body, unspecified wood, top seems to be quilted maple (around $450) 2 Seymour Duncan humbuckers, one of them is SH-1N (59 neck) (around $200) Planet waves locking tuners (around $90) Unknown nut Unknown bridge 1 volume + 1 tone + 5? Way switch, also unspecified What do you think? He has no idea about the guitar and at least he doesn’t claim to have built it himself. However, it has been dismounted and opened for the pictures, hopefully carefully enough… Without me saying anything, he offered to lower the price and that I could see it and test it. He wants 550CHF (for simplicity let’s say 1CHF = 1USD), I told him that the guitar is not worth 500 bucks if all parts are unknown to him. I’ve heard many times that Warmoth parts put together in a “forced marriage” usually end up in a sh¡tty guitar with quality parts. Thanks a lot for reading and for your comments, Cheers, Walter P.S. If you live in Zürich and want to get together and jam, send me a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted November 16, 2017 Members Share Posted November 16, 2017 I guess you know that Warmoth does indeed make good necks and bodies. However I would share some of your concerns primarily if the bridge was properly located. Bolt on necks can be easily adjusted so not much of a worry there. Do you live near this seller so you could inspect it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 16, 2017 Moderators Share Posted November 16, 2017 $750 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members waltchwarzkopf Posted November 16, 2017 Author Members Share Posted November 16, 2017 I guess you know that Warmoth does indeed make good necks and bodies. However I would share some of your concerns primarily if the bridge was properly located. Bolt on necks can be easily adjusted so not much of a worry there. Do you live near this seller so you could inspect it ? About one hour on train, should be doable to see how it plays. $750 Is that your offer for the guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted November 16, 2017 Members Share Posted November 16, 2017 I agree with Tomm that Warmoth necks and bodies are very good - they are made in the US (rather than China, I know you are in Zurich) and if someone is going to build a parts guitar that is a very good way to start. I've worked on a couple of Warmoth necks and they did need minor fret work, but then I'm pretty critical of frets. A screw on neck is not "correct" for a Les Paul but it does make working on it much easier. I'm not a huge fan of the combination bridge/tail piece but they seem to work fine. The question for you is how well did they put it together and what kind of condition is it in now. Is the geometry correct, do you have enough adjustment in the bridge to get the kind of action you want (and adjust it in the future). Is the setup OK or can you or someone adjust it? Is the wiring good, do you like the sound of the pups? A name brand guitar will have more resale value or at least appeal to a larger audience if you decide to sell it - is that important? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted November 16, 2017 Members Share Posted November 16, 2017 I agree with the above, and have my own 2 cents to throw in. The 5 way switch will, most likely, be akin to the PRS/Ibanez wiring of neck, neck parallel, both, bridge single tapped, and humbucker. Nice design, but not for everyone. The quality of woods and parts, are all of high quality, but remember, it IS nothing more then a parts o'caster, or parts o'lester. Unless it melts your heart and soul when playing it, it's not worth the 550 the seller is asking. I would start at the 300 mark.I doubt it's anything more special then the hundreds of bolt on neck Pauls that are available from various companies. But then again, I haven't played it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted November 16, 2017 Members Share Posted November 16, 2017 Guitars like this tend to be a great deal more valuable to the original owner than anyone following. The excitement of spec'ing out your own guitar can fog the true value upon resale. I would say you're going to have to put hands on it to know what it's worth to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pekelnik Posted November 16, 2017 Members Share Posted November 16, 2017 If I wanted to buy something off Ricardo it'd rather be that '55 ES225 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted November 17, 2017 Members Share Posted November 17, 2017 The ironic part of this thread is that today a partscaster tele hit my bench. It was put together by a local kid, real Fender body, a neck off the internet somewhere, nice pups and bridge. He brought it to the local store to adjust the action, they called me when they couldn't. Short story, the neck heel is way too tall to meet Fender's specs so the overstand is way too high so the bridge screws get maxed out and the action is way to low (how often do you hear that?). I've got a call to the kid to come to my shop to look at options - routing or planing or shimming or all three. My point, a guitar put together in a factory stands a slightly better chance that every will work correctly (but not always). When you look at this one just make sure that everything looks right. A very simple test - if the action is acceptable AND you have a bit of adjustment in all the saddles (both up and down) then probably the geometry is all right. If something is maxed out, pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members waltchwarzkopf Posted November 17, 2017 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2017 Hi guys, a quick update: I manage to get his phone number and asked him more about the guitar.According to him, he is in a band and they have/had a lot of equipment, so they are trying to sell what they don't use. He claims to have bought the guitar from a guy (luthier maybe) who makes guitars in a city nearby, in this case with parts valued over 1200CHF. What IS strange, is that if he/they have so many guitars and anyone can tell the parts with a simple google search, he still claims to know nothing about the guitar. Being that the truth or a lie to scam people, I would not pay those 550CHF that he wants. As far as I know, he is trying to sell his/their "left-overs" and get whatever they can, that is probably why he offered to drop the price immediately. I will offer him 300 bucks and ask to test it. To be honest, I was looking for a Les Paul, two humbuckers, 2 tones + 2 vols and a set neck and this just showed up; I have been avoiding any bolt-on LP copies or wrap-around bridges. I cannot afford a Gibson so I was going for a 2009 Epiphone Les Paul Custom AW for 250CHF which suits my need better than this, I want to try a few mods on it. So this only has the Les Paul body and the HH pickups, I was already thinking about adding another vol and tone to it, and checking if the scale is 24.75 or 25.5 and I guess that is already a bad start... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 17, 2017 Moderators Share Posted November 17, 2017 I've built quite a few Warmoths with lesser parts than that, in the UK, by the time I get ass-raped by HMRC, I'm paying well over £500, and as they're usually very bespoke Strats, with stainless frets, ebondy boards, fat necks, and very light swamp ash bodies, I'm pretty happy to pickup other peoples Warmoth projects for around 350-400GBP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 17, 2017 Moderators Share Posted November 17, 2017 That's the thing about a Warmoth....don't pay to build one unless you intend to keep it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 17, 2017 Moderators Share Posted November 17, 2017 Hey man...long time no see....how that Tele you built....quite a few years ago now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 17, 2017 Moderators Share Posted November 17, 2017 There was an old forumite, who had a bolt on Lester made, who proclaimed it to be the best LP type he'd ever owned, played and heard. The first Strat I ever built, was only a Warmoth neck, but the best Strat I've ever owned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted November 17, 2017 Members Share Posted November 17, 2017 There is something to be said for good copies. According to numerous stories, Slashs main LP was not a real Gibson but a copy built by a very good luthier. Being a parts guitar doesn't mean it won't play well, you just need to check it carefully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members waltchwarzkopf Posted November 17, 2017 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2017 NEW UPDATE I got the price down to 400 bucks, he says that is 2-3 years old and that it was never played, only showing on the wall and it may need a setup. I'm gonna go see it and play it and maybe take it from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pekelnik Posted November 17, 2017 Members Share Posted November 17, 2017 Hi Ratae! It was actually in 2011! I know that because I just finished rebuilding it - I wanted the neck thinner (it was almost an inch thick at the 1st fret), and I needed to fix some things that were a smidgen off. I refinished it in nitro this time around, and I got myself a workshop helper meanwhile: http://100acrewood.org/stuff/telecaster/teleredux8.jpghttp://100acrewood.org/stuff/telecaster/teleredux9.jpghttp://100acrewood.org/stuff/telecaster/teleredux11.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted November 18, 2017 Members Share Posted November 18, 2017 To be honest, I was looking for a Les Paul, two humbuckers, 2 tones + 2 vols and a set neck and this just showed up; I have been avoiding any bolt-on LP copies or wrap-around bridges. I cannot afford a Gibson so I was going for a 2009 Epiphone Les Paul Custom AW for 250CHF which suits my need better than this, I want to try a few mods on it. So this only has the Les Paul body and the HH pickups, I was already thinking about adding another vol and tone to it, and checking if the scale is 24.75 or 25.5 and I guess that is already a bad start... Changing the wiring to 2 volume and 2 tone with a 3 position switch is not trivial. If nothing else you are going to have to drill holes in the top and will probably damage the finish. The scale could be either - Warmoth makes both but most of their necks are Fender scale. It is interesting that they make necks to convert a 25.5 scale guitar to 24.75. I find the first set of pictures kind of weird. Why is the neck off the guitar (and strings wrapped at the bridge) if its just been hanging on the wall? Looking forward to your report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members waltchwarzkopf Posted November 20, 2017 Author Members Share Posted November 20, 2017 UPDATE The seller's an idiot... Here's why: On Friday evening we agree that I will go and see/play the guitar on Saturday morning and since his house is 1:30hrs away I have to plan ahead and leave early. On Saturday morning, I receive an e-mail from Ricardo (swiss eBay) saying that the listing had ended, so I go look it up and see that it had ended with an offer of 490CHF (instead of the 550CHF), I feel a bit relieved so I can go for the Les Paul that I want (not this hybrid). Nevertheless, I contact him just to make sure and he says that he had removed the listing because someone had offered him a guitar in exchange. I say "ok", better for him because he was looking to exchange for another guitar. I do things calmly at home instead of rushing out at 8 am to go and see this guitar; I tell the other guy from the Les Paul that I will see it on Sunday and also make plans for the rest of the weekend. Then, the Warmoth seller sends me a message asking when will I arrive at his house. So I tell him, "you told me that you will exchange the guitar, so there is no need for me to come over anymore" and then he says that he doesn't need the other guitar... Then why cancel the listing? Why tell me that he was offered to exchange it? I told him that I could come in the afternoon and he said that he doesn't have time and yadda yadda yadda a week is lost because I don't have time to go during weekdays. As a side note, I did get a guitar and it rocks! I'm thinking about a few mods that I want to perform just for personal taste. IF he gets back to me AND I have time, I may go see the guitar just to try it out. I don't want it and I don't need it, but if he drops the price a bit more I may take it off his hands just because it looks nice and could be a good investment. Otherwise, I'll save my money and focus on playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted November 20, 2017 Members Share Posted November 20, 2017 There are enough red flags with that guitar that I wouldn't waste any time on it (except maybe out of curiousity) - I sure wouldn't spend three hours traveling to see it. I question its value as an investment - off brand and home assembled guitars usually don't have the resale value of a name brand (as you are probably learning from this experience). More important, what did you get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members waltchwarzkopf Posted November 21, 2017 Author Members Share Posted November 21, 2017 More important' date=' what did you get?[/color'] I went for the Epiphone Les Paul Custom in Alpine white! Plays and sounds great, near-mint condition, and I only say near because is not longer white abut is aged yellowish-white (think Randy Rhoads guitar). I already have some mods in mind, not that there is anything wrong with it, but I just can't help it, I like messing around with stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 21, 2017 Moderators Share Posted November 21, 2017 Happy ending Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted November 22, 2017 Members Share Posted November 22, 2017 Glad to hear you found a guitar you like. I just wish you hadn't ended up wasting time with the other seller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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