Warmoth construction necks and tone.

[Steve R.]

For those of you with first-hand experience.....

I've heard some people claim that a Warmoth construction (as opposed to their "total vintage" or "vintage modern") neck will kill the tone of the neck.

(I have not heard any complaints about the total vintage or vintage modern necks.)

My question is:

Do you feel it is true the truss rod in the Warmoth Pro neck kills the tone?

If it does, what is the result? An overly-bright neck? OR a neck with no highs?

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Warmoth construction necks and tone.

Hello Steve.

I played a warmoth strat a week ago, which had a alder body, and a maple\rosewood neck, with the warmoth construction trussrod, and compared it to a 1970's strat with the same wood combination.

When played acoustically, i found the guitar to sustain much longer and have a lively tone, with tons of harmonic complexity, but lacking the "woodiness" and yeah, vintage tone that a really old, single truss strat have. It just sounded more hi-fi and modern.

Plugged into a Fender Twin, the guitar had alot of harmonic complexity and chime in its tone. It didn't particulary sound "smokey" or "brown" like the old strat did, but you could hear each string much more clearly. Keep in mind that i'm not sure what pickups the warmoth had (there was no logo on them), but anyway, here is my conclusion:

The warmoth construction gives the guitar a snappier, richer, more chimey and brilliant tone, but takes away some of the wood tone. Think of the difference as between an old fender P-bass and a modern, active slap bass, just not as great.

I hope this helps you, if there is anyting you want to ask me about, feel free to PM me!

-Erlend

 

[krankguitarist]

Re: Warmoth construction necks and tone.

agreed. The bigger truss rods definately make the guitar sound a tad bit brighter, but its not nessicarily a bad sound. Same deal with stainless steel frets, only to a lesser extent.

The added stability of the bigger truss rod is a definate plus though.

People may say that a dual-action truss rod kills the tone, but in reality it just kills the tone that that peticular person is going for. I just think of it as different. I've got guitars with both, and I like em all.

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Warmoth construction necks and tone.

Well said krankguitarist .

 

[Fresh_Start]

Re: Warmoth construction necks and tone.

Please forgive me Erlend, but the only valid comparison is putting different necks on the same body without changing pickups, electronics, string manufacturer, etc.

I did exactly that with an MIM Strat, expecting my "Warmoth Construction" neck to sound better than the Fender neck in addition to playing better. (I like the bigger 6150 frets and 10-16" compound radius on the Warmoth neck.) Both necks are maple with rosewood fingerboards. Much to my surprise, the Warmoth neck killed the tone of that body. The highs were dampened and the chime was lost. It sounded bad enough that I put the Fender neck back on within 24 hours, despite the smaller frets, etc.

My issues with the "Warmoth construction" (now "Warmoth Pro") include more than just the double expanding truss rod. The larger cavity needed for the big truss rod doesn't appeal to me either. The fingerboard is also noticeably thicker than normal. No problem for a maple fingerboard, but a potential problem with rosewood.

Warmoth sells lots of these necks, so they can't be all bad. I just prefer the tone from a traditional single action truss rod with a skunk strip on the back of the neck and headstock adjustment after my accidental A/B comparison.

Chip

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Warmoth construction necks and tone.

My Warmoth neck is from about 1995 and it is killer for tone! It has the larger double expanding rod in it.... I even use their truss rods in my home made necks. Love them and they seem very solid in the necks! Warmoth necks just feel of such high quality and that truss rod works great. The main difference i notice between necks with the Vintage rods and the Warmoth rods are the strengh.... I'm an extremely large and tall guy, built like a line backer... and i can feel the necks with vintage rods bend in my hands more so then the Warmoth rod.... I know that sounds strange but it is true. The necks with a vintage rod i can bend the neck extremely easy.. it just feels weaker and less stable...

That's my 2cents.
WhoFan