"Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

T

The Don

New member
I've been hellbent on building a guitar for quite awhile now and I've finally saved enough money to order a custom guitar (not Fender Custom Shop custom, more like Warmoth custom...). Since the idea has entered my head I've been laboring over what to do with my little project here.

My goal is to create one very ballsy metal guitar. A composite of my all-time favorite distortion tones mixed in with my own personal tastes. Put modern Tony Iommi together with EMG/Mesa Boogie era Metallica, Black Label Society and a touch of Dimebag Darrell and you'll get my dream sound. While we're at it throw in some Joe Satriani just for the heck of it. I'm looking for something with a tremendous bass response, a pronounced midrange (read: NOT SCOOPED) and <i>just</i> the right amount of treble, enough to cut through but not enough to dominate the sound. Something unique, never quite heard before. And not something that will sacrifice clean tones either!

So I think I'm going to go through Warmoth. But I can't even decide on a body shape :smack:. This is because I've got really small hands . Not necessarily weak hands (I use 11's on my LP) but small enough to the point that I have trouble reaching the higher frets on both my Stratocaster and my Les Paul. Therefore I'm looking for a body that has a pretty deep cutaway, more than a regular Stratocaster or Les Paul. The body shapes I am considering are the Soloist, the VIP, and the LPS. Each appear to meet my needs.

It gets tougher. I narrowed my choice in body woods down to Mahogany, Korina and Koa. I'm sort of eager to try something new and the latter woods seem as if they'd be good alternatives to Mahogany. From what I've gathered Korina is very similar to mahogany, but with more clarity and note separation and a little less brightness. And Koa is also similar to Mahogany but with less bass, more midrange and a little more treble. Korina seems to be the best bet in this situation, but the appearance of Koa is tempting. I'm really torn between the two, is there such a noticiable difference between the two?

Back to the actual SHAPE of the body, I'm confused. I assume the reason a Les Paul gets such a thick, distintive tone is because of the sheer amount of body wood. Shape, thickness, etc. Therefore I want a guitar that is on the thick side. I'm afraid that even with a Korina or Koa body, a guitar like the Soloist or the VIP (ideal for me), being on the thin side, would still sound too thin for my tastes. Even with a carved top adding to the thickness of the guitar.

And then there's the issue of the neck and neck material... I was intending on purchasing a 24 3/4" scale neck but Warmoth only offers them in different varieties of maple. Which would provide a thicker tone, a 24 3/4" maple neck with thicker strings (11's) or a Korina/Koa/Mahogany, 25.5" scale neck with thinner ones (10's or 9's)?

So I'm just looking for some basic info/advice from those of you experienced with the matter. Given what I'm looking for, what would be the best route to go with this, regariding body shapes / body woods?
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

I'd go with a tone wood you've heard and liked and forget about the exotic stuff. I'd stick with the traditional woods used in the guitars of your heroes. The fancy woods usually do not sound as good as plain old alder or swamp ash. Lew
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

I've always found the maple/mahogany combo on Les Paul's to be too "hard sounding." The best sounding Les Paul I've heard imo, was a Warmoth LP with a white korina body and neck with an ebony fretboard. I disagree that Korina is less bright, Korina (the white variety at least) tends to accentuate the high mids and treble better and you get a little brighter sounding guitar. I tend to agree though that it is better in note separation, dynamics and clarity. I have a friend try to experiment with P-90 sized humbuckers and his Korina Warmoth Les Paul gave out better harmonics, clarity and a huge, deep and yet resonant jazz sound. If money is not a problem, go with a White Korina body and neck.
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

Warmoth will make you any neck in a 24 3/4 inch scale, not just maple necks. I would look into the SG body shape with the contoured heel. Warmoth's SG body is thicker than Gibson's, so you'd probably get a somewhat thicker tone. Part of the LP tone comes from the factors you've mentioned, but some of it also comes from the set neck design. From my experience, there is no difference in sustain between a typical set neck design and a typical bolt-on design (not taking into account special designs, like deep set neck tenon's or longer bolt-in designs.) However, there is a slight difference in tone. I think set neck guitars have a warmer, looser feel to the tone, while bolt-ons are brighter and snappier. Whatever body you get, go with the contoured heel option, as it'll make upper fret access much easier.

You didn't mention whether this was going to be a tremolo or hardtail guitar, but I think the Blues Trembucker would be the best choice for you. The Rio Grande BBQ would also work well, but it's a bit darker than the Blues and I wouldn't recommend it for dropped tunings or excessively dark guitars. It's hard to get Metallica, Dimebag, and Satriani from the same pickup, especially if cleans are important as well. Assuming you have the right amp, I would go with a low-medium output pickup, which is why I recommend the Blues or the BBQ. In the neck, I'd go with a Pearly Gates. That'll give you enough versatility to cover the styles you mention. I always like to get the distortion from the amp, not the pickup.

Ryan
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

Yeah..... I agree with Lew. Why reinvent the weel when the wheel is rolling pretty damn good!
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

Thanks for the quick responses, guys. Many points that have been made I agree upon.

Lew - thanks for the advice, admittedly I was getting a little too caught up in the tonal properties of exotic woods (forget Bubinga...). I'm still interested in Korina though mainly because it seems to be a proven tonewood and it fits the description of what I'm looking for.

Heretic - I agree with your point about Mahogany/Maple Les Pauls being somewhat "hard" sounding.

Ryan - I wasn't aware of Warmoth doing that. Only Maple 24 3/4" necks are listed on their site. To answer your questions and hopefully shed some more light on things, the guitar is likely going to be a hardtail. Preferably a Gibson style stop tailpiece/tunomatic bridge. I considered going with a Floyd Rose so I could do some Vai-ish legato though. I have pickups laying around (Duncan Distortion, 59B, Air Norton) that I'm sure I'll be trying in it but the BBQ wasn't something I had thought of. I almost bought one for my LP awhile back. I'm pretty sure at some point I'll end up trying EMG's with this guitar, likely an 85/89 set.

Heh, I know it's nearly impossible to get such a wide range of tones out of a single instrument, I guess I should have phrased it better than I did. Versatility is a better way of describing it. I'm not some random metalhead looking for the most distortion possible... I have a clear idea of the sound I'm after, it's just really hard to describe. :smack:

This all being said, would a thicker/larger body style be a smart decision?
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

Warmoth will do any neck with any type of wood. It wouldn't make sense for them to offer Les Paul style bodies, and then not offer a corresponding mahogany neck with an ebony or rosewood board. As far as exotic woods, there are several that are very nice. I have a goncalo Warmoth neck with an ebony board, and it's probably the best feeling neck I've ever played. It requires no finish, and it's very smooth and fast. It sounds great as well, goncalo is a warmer sounding wood, but with a bit more brightness than mahogany or rosewood. Wenge is another good choice if you want a darker-sounding wood that requires no finish. Canary sounds and plays nicely as well. If you want it to sound as close as possible to a real Gibson, go with traditional woods. But don't necessarily write-off the exotics, some of them sound and play great.

Ryan
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

I emailed Warmoth and apparently you can only get 24 3/4" conversion necks in maple. That doesn't make sense but apparently it's how they do things. Oh well.... looks like if I want a Korina neck it'll have to be at a 25.5" scale.
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

The Don said:
I emailed Warmoth and apparently you can only get 24 3/4" conversion necks in maple. That doesn't make sense but apparently it's how they do things. Oh well.... looks like if I want a Korina neck it'll have to be at a 25.5" scale.
Click to expand...

You're getting confused on the terminology...the conversion necks are meant for people who want to use a short scale neck on their Strat without any modifications. Take a look at the LP necks in the Warmoth showcase, they do indeed make 24 3/4 scale necks with other woods.

Ryan
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

I stand corrected. Is it just me or do they not seem readily available on their website? I'd settle for a showcase neck if it wasn't for my left-handedness...
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

Yeah, there are certain parts of their web site that are somewhat unclear. Since the majority of people who build Warmoth guitars choose Fender-style bodies, they tend to make a lot more 25.5 inch scale necks than 24.75 inch.

I've always been told that short scale necks require a body designed for the shorter scale, but apparently, Warmoth's conversion necks are designed in a different way, which makes them compatible with standard Warmoth bodies. I don't quite understand it, but as long as you make sure you have everything squared away when you call to order, you should be fine.

Ryan
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

Hey, good catch guys. We launched a new neck section and the woods options/price chart for the new conversion necks didn't get expanded as it was supposed to. We will fix that in the next few days.

The conversion necks go on 25 1/2" scale bodies like our standard LP bodies and instantly convert them to 24 3/4" scale. 99% of the necks on the showcase labeled 24 3/4" scale are these conversion necks.

If you see a 24 3/4" scale neck with 24 frets, that is a different bird all together. It will only fit a body that do a "short scale" service on. It's a $50 service that moves the bridge and pickup placement on almost any guitar body to mate with that 24 fret 24 3/4" scale neck.

I bet you're even more confused now!

Gregg-
Warmoth
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

Stirt said:
Hey, good catch guys. We launched a new neck section and the woods options/price chart for the new conversion necks didn't get expanded as it was supposed to. We will fix that in the next few days.

The conversion necks go on 25 1/2" scale bodies like our standard LP bodies and instantly convert them to 24 3/4" scale. 99% of the necks on the showcase labeled 24 3/4" scale are these conversion necks.

If you see a 24 3/4" scale neck with 24 frets, that is a different bird all together. It will only fit a body that do a "short scale" service on. It's a $50 service that moves the bridge and pickup placement on almost any guitar body to mate with that 24 fret 24 3/4" scale neck.

I bet you're even more confused now!

Gregg-
Warmoth
Click to expand...

Actually, that clears things up, thanks Greg.
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

This might be a gamble, but one of my future projects is a VIP with a mahogany body and swamp ash top. The swamp ash shouldn't be as bright as a maple cap, and should return some of the midrange (mahogany with maple can sound a little scooped at times, or as someone else said, a little hard).

Oh, and a mahogany VIP body will not sound thin. Mine has tremendous bottom.
Warmoth also offers mahogany 24 3/4 scale necks. If it's not listed as an option on their web site, you can always call them up an ask nicely.
[edit: I see that this topic is handled above]

24 1/4 Gibson necks are on this page:
http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks.cfm


This Warmoth VIP has a 24 3/4 scale neck:

standing-sm.jpg
 
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Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

JohnJohn said:
What about ordering a guitar from Blueline?
Click to expand...

I'll second that.. I've had excellent experiences getting a guitar built by Blueline (Aaron), or ordering through Warmoth.

I personally love the Warmoth doublecut LPS shape.. I own one in Koa and one in Korina with a Walnut cap. Tonally, it's somewhat difficult to compare them, as they have different pickups, bridge styles, and neck woods, but they both sound great.

Unless you really like the look of Koa (which I happen to), I would recommend a Korina body over a Koa body simply because the Korina weighs significantly less.
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

Thanks john and alex

feel free to PM me, whether we work together or not, i'd be happy to help point you in the right wood direction

cheers
 
Re: "Exotic" tonewoods, custom guitars, all that jazz....

ill third a blueline guitar....not because i have one, but from the looks of them they are sick and the craftsmanship is amazing.
 
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