I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

[Naps]

Ok, don't know how long it will take to get this thing together, but I'm just so much happier with my warmoth strat (rather than my MIA strat) that I'm thinking of building another. A 'Premium' bolt-on guitar.

Specs:
Body -
Tele thinline style body with F-hole
Swamp ash with a flame maple top
Two humbuckers - Thinking JB bridge and 59 neck
Rear routed
Two dual concentric pots - each having a tone and volume for it's pickup
Hard tail - 50% chance of graph tech saddles

Neck -
Indian Rosewood neck (this would not need to be finished, correct?)
Ebony Fret board
Abalone dots
Warmoth compound radius
Stainless steel frets
Graph tech nut
As far a tuning machines, I'm not sure

I'd like to know what any of the builders in the forum think. And if they can offer any suggestions as to what kind of sound I would get or other insight I would apperciate it.



:scratchch :thanks:

 

[big_black]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

Ash body/maple top? That may be a bit bright, unless that is what you are going for. I love an all-rosewood neck.

 

[mnbaseball91]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

Looks cool to me. I've also got a rosewood neck/ebony fretboard from Warmoth and I love it. One thing though - I got a precut, pre installed graphite nut from Warmoth and it isn't that good. I'm going to have to pay to have someone touch it up. You might as well save yourself the trouble and get it done locally after the guitar is assembled.

 

[dani]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

as stated by big black, your guitar may be a tad too bright. especially with an ebony board and stainless steel frets, however, the rosewood neck will attenuate the highs a bit and cancel out the brightness. but ymmv. also, swamp ash tend to have a somewhat scoop tone. the 59 may not be a good idea in the neck. i reckon the lows will be really boomy. again ymmv.

 

[Naps]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

Yeah, I figured the swamp ash/maple could be bright, but I'm thinking the maple shouldn't have that much affect as it is a small laminate and not a cap. Also, the Thinline will be a semi-hollow. So, I was thinking that it would possibly benefit from the extra definition the swamp ash has. And the rosewood neck would take out some of the brightness.

 

[Xeromus]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

I recommend against a compound radius fretboard unless you've tried them before. You might be better off with a straight radius. Warmoth pushes them like hell but they aren't all that great. I hate them personally.

 

[JacksonMIA]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

I'm not a luthier, but I think this is a guitar that I would REALLY like.

 

[tone4days]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

i wonder if the dark neck would compensate for the bright body .... interesting experiment ... the f-hole might knock down some of the top end too ... same with the graphite saddles ... i'd recommend going for the machine screw inserts in the body and machine screwing the neck to the body instead of wood screws ...


good luck
t4d

 

[mnbaseball91]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

I don't find the rosewood neck to be all that dark. It has an emphasis on the lower mids, but what I notice most about it is how much punchier it is than something like mahagony.

 

[Naps]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

I recommend against a compound radius fretboard unless you've tried them before.

I got one on my first warmoth neck and I like it more than my Strat's neck.


And, thanks for all the replies.

 

[Xeromus]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

I got one on my first warmoth neck and I like it more than my Strat's neck.


And, thanks for all the replies.

Cool, no surprises then. Some people like em, some people don't.

 

[Naps]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

:smack: OMG! I missed the body I wanted from Warmoth's showcase by a matter of, at most, 30 minutes! I checked some stuff online, warmoth still had it. Then I had to go run an errand. So, I think to myself, "I'm going to go ahead and buy that body when I get back home." Sure enough - SOLD - :smack: :laugh2: Darn

Here is the link to a picture of it.
http://www.warmoth.com/showcase/bodies/ttp96A.jpg

Well, someone's getting a sweet guitar. :grumble: :rant:

Oh well. :burnout:

 

[mnbaseball91]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

Damn! Email them and I bet they can work with you on it though.

 

[hacker]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

I think humbuckers sound much better in mahogany than ash. I have heard HBs in ash strats and they never did seem quite right. I think you will like the semi-hollow warmoth body, I have one without the F-hole in all mahogany. I would also recommend the warmoth conversion neck for a more traditional humbucker vibe. The ebony and stainless frets will add some brightness, but not nearly as much as some people think. Trust me, I have that combination as well.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: I think I have designed my perfect guitar... luthers of the forum please rate.

Unless you're a hardcore Fender cat, I'd go with a 24.75" scale neck. it might not seem like much, but it will add some warmth and richness to the tele's sound, especially it you're going with 'buckers. If Warmoth offers it, I would also go with a headstock that's tilted back (like on a Gibby).

A sculpted neck joint would make it more comfortable to play up the neck, which is cool if you can get it.

Also, I would go with seperate volume and tone controls (like on a LP, SG, or 335). COncentric pots look clean and uncluttered, but they're a pain in the @ss when tying to make adjustments on the fly. If you're a player who sets all the controls on the guitar on 10 and forgets about it, then this is a non-issue.

Good luck, and keep us informed. :burnout: