Warmoth LP - Tell me all about them

[T ROCKER]

Re: Warmoth LP - Tell me all about them

1650 bucks is a big chunk of change. I built my Precision Guitar Kits Les Paul for slightly less than a grand. I had to finish it myself, but now Phil at Precision offers finished parts with your choice of colors. I had a couple of Gibsons over the years and I have to say the wood from my kit was way better quality than any Gibson I've ever seen , let alone owned, but once again without that Gibson name there is the resale value issue. If I had your budget for a build I wouldn't hesitate for even one second to buy a kit from Precision and opt for the upgraded top, with binding etc..... I have a thread on this forum chronicling every stage of my build, if you are curious about that option. Gluing the neck on was really very easy, since the parts fit together so well . . . Also there is the Musikraft site, who now sell LP kits as well, which look very nice, and the neck is already glued on for you. And if money was no object I'd run straight to Corsa guitars, who essentially build a Les Paul to your specs for about $2500, although their headstock is pretty damn ugly.

 

[rjudo]

Re: Warmoth LP - Tell me all about them

Warmoth rubs me the wrong way. They are terribly overpriced, and they are not even a true "custom" shop, in that they cannot (or do not, more accurately) really stray from the capabilities of their CNC machines. How hard is it to do something that involves a tiny bit of manual, out-of-the-oridinary labor for a customer that is actually ready, willing, and able to pay their exorbitant prices? They call themselves a custom shop. Yet they will deny your ass every time on simple special requests IME. ****.

Standard-issue Warmoth rant out of the way, $1650 for a bolt-neck, no-name Les Paul just seems a bit crazy to me. You will get a better guitar at a better price that will actually appreciate in value if you just spend that money on a late '80's to late '90's Gibson Les Paul. IMO, they were making Les Pauls as good then as they ever did. Get them now before they get sucked into the "vintage" vortex that will magically double their prices in the next ten years.

That said, I fully understand the appeal of a build project. But, if you're thinking about spending big bux on a custom LP build, I'd really think about going this route instead: http://www.musikraft.com/product-info.php?pid224.html. Musikraft are tops in my book.

Not sure about the terribly overpriced compared to Musikraft comment. The neck I want for my next tele project quotes out about the same between Warmoth and Musikraft, they are both a bit over 400 for what I want. Musikraft doesn't finish bodies so if you compare the bare wood body prices between them , they are comparable. That said, I am playing my Musikraft neck as I write this and it is just awesome and I would buy from them again, but I would like to try a Warmoth neck in the future.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Warmoth LP - Tell me all about them

If it's something truly custom you want then maybe it's worth it, but there's some reality to consider here:
- even with the right woods, you don't have any guarantee it'll come together the way you expect it to and sound right
- "if" that happens, you're going to have to look at selling it and you'll be out a fair amount of money considering resale value is nil
- you have to "really" be confident in your vision because you can get some seriously good guitars completely fitted, setup and finished with hardware/electronics/the whole nine yards for those prices
- with these pieces truly being a sight unseen sorta thing... you really don't know what you're getting until it arrives on your doorstep and by then, it's too late

Personally, if I were to invest in a Les Paul, I'd run the racks for a good one, spend my money and be done with it. Part of me likes the thought of tweaking with a design, but the other part likes to just play something made well and be done with it. Maybe it'd be different and I was rich and worked with a builder that was really good at determining what the end tonal result is going to be, but then we'd be talking about much more money.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Warmoth LP - Tell me all about them

Get a Korean custom Agile in set or thru neck, 24.75-27in, etc etc etc for like $600.

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[ItsaBass]

Re: Warmoth LP - Tell me all about them

Not sure about the terribly overpriced compared to Musikraft comment.

Maybe it's because that comment was not made.