Hi guys,
My name's Dan and i've been learning from this forum for a while now, but i feel that given my experience in this matter, now is the time to compose my first post. Please bear with me because it's turned into a bit of a monster.
I'm into project guitars in a big way. I've ordered parts for no fewer than 4 guitars from warmoth, and although the first two projects came out great, their quality of service has gone to ground within the last few years. Whereas i used to recieve full, comprehensive answers from their sales staff, my last two orders left a bitter taste in my mouth. My inquiries were answered with short (sometimes insultingly so) responses, and when everything arrived at my door, it became apparent that many mistakes had been made. At risk of sounding like a moaner, these were the specific problem areas:
The neck pocket on a jazz bass body was too small (or the heel of the neck too big), and after sufficient sanding to ensure a tight fit, the paint around the neck pocket was left brittle and unprotected, and inevitably chipped away. I think either the body or neck (or both) were finished far too thickly. Both the neck and the body were supplied and finished by warmoth.
On the other guitar, in this case an expensive "VIP" model (PRS style carvetop) they hadn't routed the neccessary angle in the neck pocket, despite the fact that i'd specified and paid for the work to be done. As a result, the TOM bridge was unuseable until I shimmed the neck to fit (which took me ages).
On the same guitar, warmoth had incorrectly routed the tuner ream, and I had to bore it out myself with a pillar drill, scratching the headstock - again, this was particularly specified in my order form, and the tuners were supplied by warmoth. Neither of the necks were fretted tidily and both required a professional fret level after construction.
Aside from the mistakes that were made, there are some aspects of the standard "warmoth pro" neck's design which are less than favourable from a tonal standpoint (although, obviously, tonal considerations are relative). I've found the double action trussrod to have a detrimental effect on the instruments tonality and balance, given its weight, and i've found that my projects with the double truss rod have fared worse as a result of environmental factors than a standard single action rod. With a single rod, you remove excess weight and end up with a lighter, more resonant neck as a result. Also, you should be aware that all warmoth necks have an unusually thick fretboard.
Another word of caution - if you appreciate tone, do not buy pre finished solid colour bodies from warmoth's showcase, since many are made from unacceptably many pieces of wood and they will DRAIN YOUR TONE!!
My reccomendation is that you check out
www.usacustomguitars.com for your body and neck. They route their pieces precisely and use select tonewoods - you can even specify the weight of the body, how many pieces it's constructed of, where the joins are... and their customer support is second to none. Send Tommy of USACG an email and you can expect a full response the next working day, written with enthusiasm for your needs and your project. Some of their prices are slightly above what warmoth charges, but with these necks you get your choice of any straight fretboard radius (or a choice of either a 7" - 9" or 10" - 16" compound), any nut width, routed for any bridge and, best of all, complete choice of backshapes and no upcharge! In addition, if anybody has any questions related to project guitars, please drop in to USA custom gate at
http://pub123.ezboard.com/fguitarsbyfenderfrm20I want to make it clear that I am not in any way affiliated with USACG... Just a fan and a contributing member to their forum. I actually had some great warmoth projects, and the quality is good if they get it all right. I'm also a BKP fan: my Brown Sugar tele set blew me away and i have high expectations for a set of apaches i have, soon to be in a new USA custom guitar. I'll be sure to post pics when it's all done.
Sorry for the length of this post, and thanks for reading if you've got thus far! Cheers,
Dan
