Thinking about a Warmoth build...

[Boogie Bill]

Okay, so I've been looking for an upper-end 12-string guitar and I'm not finding anything that will fit my needs, and I'm thinking about doing a parts guitar build from Warmoth. It would be based on a Strat.

So my question would be...how much sanding, fitting, woodworking would I have to do? I'm actually thinking about buying a finished neck and finished body, and I'm hoping it would just be a simple matter of bolting it all together and soldering the electronics...but if I have to "fuss with it" I may be over-stretching my skill set.

Any thoughts or advice?

TIA,

Bill

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

I'd imagine some fretwork and nut filing might be necessary.

 

[LLL]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

I don't know about finishing, but I gotta say "DO EET".

Their parts are excellent. Their necks are awesome.

You'll probably have to do a little nut slot work (slight lowering), but that goes for any guitar you buy off the shelf as well.

Built my own SSS strat in '07 with all Callaham hardware (H/SRV singles too) and it's been an excellent player
year in year out.

Also slapped one of their necks on my beater strat and it's there to stay.

Get what you want. "Have it your way at Burger King". DO EET.

Everyone should have at least one.

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

The biggest difference between a Warmoth and a Fender/Gibson is you will have to drill the holes for the strap buttons, tuner screws (not the pegs though), pickguard and the trem cover/cavity control cover. Other than that you can expect the same or better nut and fretwork you would get from any other guitar you have ever bought. I currently own 3 Warmoth guitars with a 4th on the way and 1 current Warmoth bass (with another one I sold to a buddy a few years back). I do not even consider other brands anymore, the only guitar I would probably ever buy that is not a Warmoth in the future is a hand built instrument from a forum brother here at SDUGF.

Seriously, Warmoth makes great, great parts. All of their necks fit their bodies like a glove and they play great with a good setup like all of those G&L, Fender and Gibson guitars you already own and love!

 

[Diminished Triad]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

I've designed and bought many Warmoth guitars/necks.
If you order a finished guitar body and neck, you will probably not have to do anything more than assemble your new guitar.
By now I've probably ordered near 10 necks and only in one instance did my guitar tech need to perform work on the nut.
A small percentage of the time some minor fret work is needed (probably due to my preferring low action).
You have so many options on Warmoth....pretty amazing. The one suggestion I would make is carefully review your order and ensure you have every single part you could possibly need included in your kit. Of course, you don't have to buy your pickups from Warmoth but they do have a large selection of SD pickups available. I recommend you go Warmoth....... (I have a 12 string Fender Strat made in Japan and it's a very nice guitar)

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

Their parts are excellent. Their necks are awesome.

I am not one to heap mountains praise on Warmoth like I have seen. I am a veteran of lots of Warmoth assemblies. I don't think their parts are any better than a MIM guitar , unless custom ordered. You always must do extensive fretwork to a Warmoth io their necks no matter what the cost ( Fenders higher end guitars come with outstanding fretwork and 2 to 3 piece outstanding wood quality bodies.out of the box in most instances.)

Warmoth does make amazing quality necks form lots of different tonewoods but you gotat go custom order or pay a premium in the showcase.

Most MIM guitars are 7 piece jobs, and with laminate , and certainly mediocre tone wood ... Same with Warmoth IMO.
if thats a concern,you really have to upgrade a lot in cost for a custom build.Even then, it won't have the 200 dollars worth of set up work a Fender has, IMO.

I will say that for a neck, Warmoth is IMO, the about the only choice fo the big guy makers, and yes, I know about USACG...pass. I've had several twisted USACG necks with bad truss rods, and probably every single Warmoth neck I ever had was stable with a working truss rod..coincidence?, maybe, maybe not.

Stuff like Mighty Mite, an other cheap stuff I don't even mess with anymore..they are bottom of the barrel tone wood stuff.
You have to really pay a lot more with Warmoth, NOT just grab a body off the showcase with an opaque finish- you arejust asking for it. .

 

[AlexR]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

I have had a lot of Warmoth stuff too, and my experience is the opposite to above. Be aware that I come from the perspective of making my own guitars from scratch too, so I have had a bit of experience with lutherie as well as owning guitars of all levels.

I have almost never needed fretwork on any neck I've had from either Warmoth, or any of those kit style builders (B. Hefner and USACG too). I can buy a Warmoth neck and know that I can pretty much bolt it straight to the body and it will work well.
I have found Warmoth's wood blanks to be high quality, and tonally they far exceed MIM and are even better than (or at the least equal to) MIA fender. The bodies are either 1 or 2 piece for the most, and make for some medium to light weight guitars. I have had plenty of pickup swaps between the MIJ, MIM, MIA Fenders and then onto the Warmoth and home-made stuff. I now don't bother with buying Fender anymore, as I can make guitars myself that sound better. These are using wood blanks from places like Warmoth and Stewmac.

And just to refute something else incorrect, Showcase (already made) prices are cheaper than if you spec the neck individually. And those are the only two options you have.

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

I am not one to heap mountains praise on Warmoth like I have seen. I am a veteran of lots of Warmoth assemblies. I don't think their parts are any better than a MIM guitar , unless custom ordered. You always must do extensive fretwork to a Warmoth io their necks no matter what the cost ( Fenders higher end guitars come with outstanding fretwork and 2 to 3 piece outstanding wood quality bodies.out of the box in most instances.)

Most MIM guitars are 7 piece jobs, and with laminate , and certainly mediocre tone wood ... Same with Warmoth IMO.
if thats a concern,you really have to upgrade a lot in cost for a custom build.Even then, it won't have the 200 dollars worth of set up work a Fender has, IMO.

Stuff like Mighty Mite, an other cheap stuff I don't even mess with anymore..they are bottom of the barrel tone wood stuff.
You have to really pay a lot more with Warmoth, NOT just grab a body off the showcase with an opaque finish- you arejust asking for it. .

I cannot say I agree with any of these statements. At all. Warmoth products, at least in my experience, not only look and sound great but are some of the highest quality craftmanship available outside of custom shop guitars. I used to be a Gibson guy myself. A MIM Fender is no comparison to a Warmoth in my experience.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

yeah, I didnt think my stance would be popular..Warmoth is somewhat of a Sacred Cow amongst those who do assemblies ..been there... IMO with what I know now its wrong>Again, you get what you pay for with Warmoth, just like Fender...People tend to think you automatically get premium stuff at discount prices with the Warmoth , but that's wrong.Plus Warmoth ALWAYS requires a fret level/ set up out of the box , and I don't think you may know it cause you do not require very low action.

OTOH- feast on this babie I just nabbed last night off the bay for a couple C-notes..so I'm not at all anti-Warmoth;

Rosewoodneck/Rosewood ( looks possibly Bococte) board w/ Grover lockers 213.50 total;








...so point being, Boogie, proceed, but build it with careful consideration, and be prepared to assemble with premium parts and teh commensurate cost entailed. YA just could end up with a guitar that could hang with the Shures and Andersons of the world.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

Its not a case of popular, just making sure that perhaps a one-off isn't taken for being usual. As I've said, I've had many necks and needed no fretwork at all.

And you can't really compare a finished guitar to a standalone neck in terms of finished level fretwork anyhow. Once in a guitar you can definitively know how to set something up. If its is sold as a separate you would be foolhardy in the extreme as a maker to do any fretwork before you knew what you had to do.

 

[Kostas]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

...Most MIM guitars are 7 piece jobs, and with laminate , and certainly mediocre tone wood ... Same with Warmoth IMO...

I'd like to see a pic of a Warmoth seven piece body. I'm saying that from curiosity cause I'm a customer but I'm not a fan boy.

My experience with them is very good, their parts are of excellent quality and the quality is the same either you custom order one or purchase from the showcase.
Reading all these comments about the fretwork gets boring. People should understand you have to put the neck on the body and then according to the players needs to do some work. If and when it's perfect it's only by luck. This stands for every part from every company. This is what guitar companies do after they have assembled their guitars, Warmoth is a parts company not a guitar company.

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

yeah, I didnt think my stance would be popular..Warmoth is somewhat of a Sacred Cow amongst those who do assemblies ..been there... IMO with what I know now its wrong>Again, you get what you pay for with Warmoth, just like Fender...People tend to think you automatically get premium stuff at discount prices with the Warmoth , but that's wrong.Plus Warmoth ALWAYS requires a fret level/ set up out of the box , and I don't think you may know it cause you do not require very low action.

OTOH- feast on this babie I just nabbed last night off the bay for a couple C-notes..so I'm not at all anti-Warmoth;

Rosewoodneck/Rosewood ( looks possibly Bococte) board w/ Grover lockers 213.50 total;


View attachment 62726


View attachment 62727


...so point being, Boogie, proceed, but build it with careful consideration, and be prepared to assemble with premium parts and teh commensurate cost entailed. YA just could end up with a guitar that could hang with the Shures and Andersons of the world.

That doesn't look like bocote, this is bocote from Warmoth:

Every single guitar you buy "out of the box" always needs a fret level and set-up. Why is that so hard to understand? You do not go buy a Fender or Gibson of any kind outside of the custom shop models ($4k range) that might not need a fret level and a setup. In my personal experience I do my own setups and I have never needed any kind of fretwork on my Warmoth necks. Considering I currently own more than one Warmoth neck that I can say this for I would say I have a good sample size. I do play with low action too. I just do not understand why fret level fears are used to try to scare people away from Warmoth but I never see people telling people they may need a fret level and set-up when they ask if they should buy a Fender, Gibson, Jackson, Charvel or any other kind of guitar. Same story, different name.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

If the assembly part makes you cringe.
Think about Carvin
They will give you most of the same custom options and send you an instrument that just needs tuning

*(Sent from my durned phone!)*

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

There are LOTS of guitars on the market, and a lot of places where you can get D-I-Y parts...for a six-string, but this is going to be a twelve. There's just nothing on the market that combines the features and quality that I'm looking for in a 12-string. So it's going to be Warmoth, or I'll have to have a luthier build one for me. Pretty sure the Warmoth build would be cheaper.

I won't mind if I have to pay for nut filing...I usually have to do that on a factory guitar. But little leery if it is going to need fret levelling, or routing, etc., to make it work.

I'm thinking a cherry SB on ash, maple neck, 1.75" ebony board with a 12" radius; and with white pearl guard, white pickups and controls. I would like to use mini-Grover tuners, and the Gotoh 12-string bridge. For pickups, I'm planning on using the G&L Z-Coil pickup from their Comanche model. Won't be cheap, but it won't be in a Rickenbacker 360's price range either.

I really appreciate all your comments.

Bill

 

[AlexR]

Re: Thinking about a Warmoth build...

Well, any parts that are made separately may well need some finessing as they get put together. Thats just one of the inescapable joys of making/assembling guitars.