MightyMite vs. Warmoth necks

CTN

CTN

The Drama Dude
I'm looking at two necks for an upcoming build. It's for a guitar that will be primarily for metal.

The Mighty Mite neck would be a bit of a compromise because of the cheaper plastic nut, and the 9.5" radius (I'd prefer something flatter for metal, but it's not a deal breaker, cuz I'm quite comfortable with 9.5 as well), and the fretboard markers (I want no inlay, but it's not that big a deal).

The Warmoth on the other hand, I get a graphtech nut, 10-16" compound radius, no inlays, but it's also almost $100 more.

For either one, I have a custom headstock shape which I would shape myself, and I would be stripping off the sealer coat and finishing it with danish oil.

So my question is....is the Warmoth really worth the almost 100% price difference compared to the Mighty Mite?
 
Re: MightyMite vs. Warmoth necks

In the context of a complete guitar build, one hundred Dollars is not that much - especially if the special features offered by Warmoth are important to you.
 
Re: MightyMite vs. Warmoth necks

Well I've got a mighty mite neck for my 335 build and I am beyond impressed with it! The quality is superb. The only thing I do want to change is the nut. A bone nut would suit my tastes.
The frets and ends are perfectly done. It may take some fine tuning once I fit it to get it to play perfectly but it's minimal effort and expense.

Also for value for money I've tried the GFS unfinished necks. They're fatter and have the unfinished headstock. You have to rasp and shave down the neck to your own preferences (or leave it fat if that floats your boat) and apply sealer or nitro or whatever miracle finishing product you swear by.
But again your probably have to finely adjust the frets and switch out the nut (I'm planning on a brass nut cut for a strat/Tele)
Both of these are much cheaper alternatives to warmoth but you are missing out on a Graphtech nut and from what I've heard, perfect playability out of the box
 
Re: MightyMite vs. Warmoth necks

The thing with Mighty Mite is they're hit and miss. I've never gotten one that was bad per say, but some will need more work out of the box than just about anything I've gotten from the turtle crew in the last few years. The $100 you're saving is going to turn around and go right into a fret level and new nut, so you're not really saving anything in that aspect. I'm not saying you won't need a level out of the box from Warmoth, but the last 2 I've gotten from them didn't need to be leveled. Anything that has a factory nut is going to need to be tweaked regardless if it's pre slotted or not. The slots are just a starting point.

If you do your own leveling and crowning, it's not a big deal. I'd still go with a Warmoth over a Mighty Mite though.
 
Re: MightyMite vs. Warmoth necks

Mr 9finger said:
The thing with Mighty Mite is they're hit and miss. I've never gotten one that was bad per say, but some will need more work out of the box than just about anything I've gotten from the turtle crew in the last few years. The $100 you're saving is going to turn around and go right into a fret level and new nut, so you're not really saving anything in that aspect. I'm not saying you won't need a level out of the box from Warmoth, but the last 2 I've gotten from them didn't need to be leveled. Anything that has a factory nut is going to need to be tweaked regardless if it's pre slotted or not. The slots are just a starting point.

If you do your own leveling and crowning, it's not a big deal. I'd still go with a Warmoth over a Mighty Mite though.
Click to expand...

Warmoth can be hit and miss also. I got one that needed a ton of fret work to make playable more than just a simple level. The bottom line though I think is mighty mite is the wrong spec so for that the extra coin is worth it
 
Re: MightyMite vs. Warmoth necks

CTN said:
So my question is....is the Warmoth really worth the almost 100% price difference compared to the Mighty Mite?
Click to expand...

Yes. Without question, yes. Having owned both, Warmoth is worlds better. Plus, even if you go Musikraft or USACG, you shouldn't have to settle for any options on a custom build. You'll finish it, take a step back, and say, "It's perfect! Except that inlay... And the nut... And..." Just spend the extra to be 100% happy.
 
Re: MightyMite vs. Warmoth necks

Oh yes! Forgot to mention but if you want the 10-16" radius you're gonna have to go with warmoth... Most other aftermarket guys make their necks in either 12, 10 or 9.5" radii...
 
Re: MightyMite vs. Warmoth necks

well it's pretty unanimous then isn't it? lol


Thanks guys! Guess I'll place my order. Build thread to come in a few weeks :)
 
Re: MightyMite vs. Warmoth necks

I think primarily you have to set the parameters of what the build is about ... i.e. 'Absolutely the best i can create, all parts must be the best available, regardless of cost', or 'I have a limited budget, all parts will have to be medium quality', or 'must be low cost, so compromises on all parts must be made'. etc. (and very important to have all parts at the same level .... kinda silly to have an awesome body, cheap neck, best pickups, lousy pots and switches, average bridge etc.)

I like Warmoth, although it gets expensive to avoid the dreaded compound radius and paying extra to NOT have mounting holes drilled, but at least almost all options are available. The neck is probably the single primary aspect that determines how a guitar feels to play, so it's worth spending whatever it takes if you want to build a guitar that you will want to play a lot in the future.

Personally, if i'm going to make something, I don't see the point unless i'm going to use the best parts available. When i make things, I don't want to just make them, i want to make them to the highest level i can achieve, because i want to use them a lot when they're built, and i want them to compare favourably with expensive store-bought items (or even expensive boutique items). But that is the core of my own design parameters, the parameters i refer to in my opening paragraph. Of course there is a risk that i'll fail and end up with a bunch of expensive parts, although that concept simply drives me harder to achieve good results.

So i think it's really about having a complete vision and budget before you start, and that tends to dictate what parts will be in consideration. And, as has already been mentioned, try to project ahead so there's no looking back and wishing you'd just spent a few more dollars to have bigger frets or MOP inlays or whatever.

To me, successful and useable projects are all about the planning and forward-thinking, cohesive vision and concept.

I order from Warmoth without being able to see or touch the neck until it arrives. With cheaper necks, i would want to see the actual item before considered handing over my money.
 
Re: MightyMite vs. Warmoth necks

Mr 9finger said:
That's cause you're an extraordinarily picky bastage. I'm more of a fan of USACG but their wait time usually kills it for me.
Click to expand...

I am picky but for the same or less money I think there are better necks out there than Warmoth.

I also hate that anything besides a 10-16 compound radius is an up charge and I have never gotten a Warmoth 10-16 radius to play up and down the neck w/o buzzing unless I had the action too high and for me that's high!

However, some folks do like them so they can't be that bad...
 
MightyMite vs. Warmoth necks

^ Guitar Mill do good stuff then? I was checking out their website just recently, but reviews on the net seem to be pretty scarce.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Rex_Rocker
What are your favorite neck profiles?
2 3 4
Replies
63
Views
2K
uOpt
uOpt
Chris Pile
Eight Warmoth necks (some new, some used)
Replies
16
Views
1K
Chris Pile
Chris Pile
BlackhawkRise
Warmoth Questions
Replies
17
Views
762
GuitarDoc
G
Gstring
MY LATEST .AMAZING QUAKITY BUDGET CHINESE STRAT TYPE.
Replies
8
Views
764
ehdwuld
ehdwuld
ErikH
NGD: Fender Telecaster
Replies
8
Views
487
Securb
Securb
Back
Top