Warmoth vs. Fender

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petursig

New member
Hi guys

Can you halp me a little here.

I'm torn between a Fender American Deluxe Fat Strat and building a quality Warmoth Strat (copying the Fender one).

If any of you have owned both types I would really like to hear how they compare to each other.

Price-wise they are about the same.....$1000 so the price is not an issue here.

Thank you very much.

Petur
 
Are you gonna be building the guitar yourself or have Warmoth do it? To be honest, I'd go with a GMW Guitarworks made guitar over both Fender or Warmoth.
 
If you are not worried about re-sale (and that it says Fender on the headstock) go with GMW or Warmoth, they are quality parts and better than Fender for the price range that you are thinking about.
 
I own Fedners and lilke them a lot. But when it comes to customizing a piece you can't beat Warmoth. If you want a regular strat, get a Fender. If you want custom woods and layout, go Warmoth. Here's my newly arrived Warmoth woods, when I'm completely finished, I will have around $1100 into it.

Soloist flat top
mahogany string-thru body
Hand selected spalted maple top
Black binding
Neck pocket contour
24.75 Gibson scale Birdseye maple neck/fretboard
Getting EMG 85/60, black hardware, Sperzel tuners, Hipshot bridge

site1036.jpg
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This one ran me about $800. alder string-thru, custom painted by warmoth, has a Fender neck and Invader/59 in the pick, but I just picked up a set of chrome Phat cats and a new maple/ebony warmoth neck with sperzels.

site1007.jpg
 
TC,

Those guitars and that new arrival are realy superb. Let us know what you're doing with that new one.
 
Personally i'd go the warmoth route if you don't care about what's writen on the headstock. You can build yourself a killer sounding guitar, basically the equivalent of custom shop quality for roughly the cost of a standard production USA Fender.
 
For me, there wasn't a big choice, since I felt I HAD to answer the question, "what if I could design my own guitar?"

Since I don't have the resources to cut the wood myself, my custom projects got me as close as I could get.

(see my site for pics :))
 
Warmoth makes really good quality products - like the guitar in my avatar. It's great if you can find what you want in the Showcase. Sometimes there are deals there, but be careful about potential seconds with very minor flaws. I suggest that you stay away from the "Warmoth construction" necks. (yes, I'm like a broken record on this subject... ) Between the double truss rod and the extra thick finger board, they eat tone. The "Vintage modern" or "Vintage" construction necks should be fine.

If Warmoth doesn't make what you want or you find the "upcharges" accumulating, you really should take a look a USA Custom Guitars. They don't do finishing themselves, but have a business partner (Roxy) who apparently does a great job. I've only bought parts from USACG, but they've been super to work with and the appearance & quality of the wood, fretwork, etc. can't be beat IMHO.

Hope this helps,

Chip
 
Fresh_Start said:
If Warmoth doesn't make what you want or you find the "upcharges" accumulating, you really should take a look a USA Custom Guitars. They don't do finishing themselves, but have a business partner (Roxy) who apparently does a great job. I've only bought parts from USACG, but they've been super to work with and the appearance & quality of the wood, fretwork, etc. can't be beat IMHO.
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I agree!
Warmoth's attitude sometimes makes me feel like they are TRYING to lose customers.
OTOH, Tommy at USA is very responsive, and I've yet to read a negative comment from anyone who has worked with them. Maybe that's why they're pretty backed up with orders right now.

And, yeah, Roxy's finishes look top notch.
 
I'll echo Norman's response about resale. A lot of companies make superior guitars to fender for less or equal money, but when it comes time to sell it the Fender is gonna do better. I definitely felt this when I went the Carvin route awhile back.

Mike
 
Thank you so much for your input guys......

I'll have to take a minute to deceide but your input has been priceless.

Petur
 
I bought a Warmoth Soloist about 6mo ago, ash, single hum, maple/maple, Wilk, and painted - white, 24frt, jackson style. Havent finished it yet.
 
TattooedCarrot said:
This one ran me about $800. alder string-thru, custom painted by warmoth, has a Fender neck and Invader/59 in the pick, but I just picked up a set of chrome Phat cats and a new maple/ebony warmoth neck with sperzels.

site1007.jpg
Click to expand...

Everytime I see this guitar, I think of a Shelby Mustang. :D

BTW - Am I reading the USA Customs site correctly - they don't offer an LP style guitar?
 
ArtieToo said:
BTW - Am I reading the USA Customs site correctly - they don't offer an LP style guitar?
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Artie,
you are correct, sir
All those body styles are licensed. USA Custom is a smaller newer company, so maybe they'll offer LP shapes sometime in the future. (Tommy in sales used to work at Warmoth, btw.)
My first Warmoth was a carved top LPS, koa over mahogany with P90's - it's still hanging on my wall, 'cause I decided to finish it myself. :(

On the other hand, USA does offer carved top T's and S's, like this one:
c6.jpg


here's a lamtop Jazzmaster that I like:
jazzymastercustom.jpg


although they don't offer a carved top jazzmaster, I like the idea of a guitar that's kind of a cross between those two - a carved top jazzmaster with 2 P90's .. how's that sound? :D :cool:

In Dan Erlewine's Repair Guide, he gives credit to Warmoth for developing the compound radius neck, BTW.

Personally, I usually prefer to help the "small guy" when they're competitive. The challenge for USA may be to maintain their level of quality parts and service as they grow.

For someone considering a custom project like this, I'd say do your research, plan well, cover all your bases by listing everything you need, and when it comes time, be a little patient, 'cause it's liable to take a little longer than you'd like.
Warmoth's owner gallery is full of ideas, and USA has it's own forum with plenty of tips. If you take a look at their "Links", you'll see a lot of really creative custom guitars - it's just amazing what some folks are doing these days - as far as custom guitars and amps, we're living in very good times!

I think one area where the custom route excels is in the choice of exotic woods, like Tattooed Carrot's example, for instance. You just don't walk into your local store and see a spalted maple top every day!.

Good luck with your decision!
 
Curly said:


In Dan Erlewine's Repair Guide, he gives credit to Warmoth for developing the compound radius neck, BTW.
Click to expand...

I love Warmoths' 10-16 compound radius necks! When I go back to my old 80's Kramer Pacer, the neck feels so awkward and flat up by the nut. It really is easier to play barre chords with the rounder radius.

BTW: the strat in my avatar is a Warmoth, including the finish work.

P.S. I highly suggest having Warmoth or someone do the finish work for you. Doing a good finish takes a lot of time and patience. I botched my first body after several weeks of work, got fed up and decided not to start over, and ordered the finished body that you see on the left.
 
I agree it's nice to have someone finish it, although I'd like to find someone (like butnut) who'll use nitro, and that's not always easy to find!
 
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