Final Build Gallery & Review of First Warmoth Build

[UberMetalDood]

Well I didn't finish it without a few scratches and scrapes, but I'm 100% satisfied with this build. Not just because of the aesthetics, but because it's as good as or better than any strat I have ever played. The resonance and sustain of the body and thick SRV neck style is amazing. The intonation is as perfect as it gets. The Wilkinson trem is super stable and stays in tune better than any Fender I have ever owned.

This guitar is not without it's flaws. First, the neck and body finish are very thin. It doesn't take much to scratch and scrape them. The G&L's, Fenders, and Gibsons that I own have a thicker, more durable finish. The body finish is as flawless and fine as it gets, and the perfect color, but it scratches easily. However, these things matter not because I bought this guitar to keep and play for a very long time.

The tuners are very straight, probably 99.9% straight, so I'm happy with how that turned out considering that I drilled the tuner screw holes .I used some Smith's Classic Wax Polish on the neck. It didn't make much difference, but gave it a real nice patina and a smooth feel.

This guitar is among THE best I have ever owned, and indeed is the beginning of a sick, twisted obsession with building Warmoth guitars. Well enough talk. Here is my picture gallery.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Final Build Gallery & Review of First Warmoth Build

Awesome. I love the finish!

 

[Aasinsilta]

Re: Final Build Gallery & Review of First Warmoth Build

That's a really nice build, good to hear it sounds as good as it looks!

I like the pickup setup btw, been thinking about a HS setup myself. I have a question though, how is it wired? Master Vol/Tone/Tone? Or is the second tone knob just for appearances? Personally I'd have done just a Master Vol/Master Tone, maybe forgone the blade.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Final Build Gallery & Review of First Warmoth Build

That's a really nice build, good to hear it sounds as good as it looks!

I like the pickup setup btw, been thinking about a HS setup myself. I have a question though, how is it wired? Master Vol/Tone/Tone? Or is the second tone knob just for appearances? Personally I'd have done just a Master Vol/Master Tone, maybe forgone the blade.

I have it wired so that tone 1 works with the neck pickup and tone 2 works with the bridge pickup. It's a 3-way switch so middle position splits the two pickups, and these two pickups sound really cool together.

HOWEVER, I regret not designing a simpler configuration. My next build WILL have only 1 vol, 1 tone, and a 2-way toggle. There will be no split position. I prefer minimalistic wiring because I don't care for a lot of pickup options or features that are nice to have but never used. I basically switch bridge to neck and that's it, nothing else required. In fact, I'm thinking of even having just a volume control without the capacitor and NO tone control. This way, I can taper the treble just a bit and equalize the gain between the full bridge humbucker and neck single humbucker. I never use the tone control for the neck pickup anyway.

 

[Aasinsilta]

Re: Final Build Gallery & Review of First Warmoth Build

Hehe, I'm actually not opposed to complicated wiring schemes, quite guilty of it actually. I only asked because this seemed like a much simpler build style, also probably because you see super strats like these usually just a volume and a pickup switch. The switching option actually sounds like it'd be quite nice.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Final Build Gallery & Review of First Warmoth Build

Hehe, I'm actually not opposed to complicated wiring schemes, quite guilty of it actually. I only asked because this seemed like a much simpler build style, also probably because you see super strats like these usually just a volume and a pickup switch. The switching option actually sounds like it'd be quite nice.

It's all just a luxury to me. Even if I played professionally, I wouldn't use any of it. All I need is a bridge pickup and a neck pickup. If I want a single coil sound, I'll grab a strat with single coils. My Les Pauls have the push/pull pots for coil-splitting and all, and even though it's a cool feature, it just doesn't do it for me.

 

[rjudo]

Re: Final Build Gallery & Review of First Warmoth Build

Very nicely done, I dig everything on this one. Great work!

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Final Build Gallery & Review of First Warmoth Build

Very nicely done, I dig everything on this one. Great work!

Thanks a lot man. Now that I know how to do it, wait until you see my next one

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Final Build Gallery & Review of First Warmoth Build

I dig it.

 

[VHTJay]

Re: Final Build Gallery & Review of First Warmoth Build

Pretty slick man! Great color choice and that is how I would have done the pickup layout!

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Final Build Gallery & Review of First Warmoth Build

Good job. Love the color. BTW a thin finish is a good thing for tone.