I'm saving to go custom

[Stevepage]

After seeing many guys recently getting custom guitars made I've decided I'm going to as well. The two guitars I have are fantastic but I really want something that I can call my own with everything I like in one guitar.

First of all I'm going to be using Warmoth bodies and necks because I had very good experiences with Warmoth plus it's a little cheaper and I still get the specs I want (a good Strat with Les Paulisms that's very solid). Here's the specs

Strat shape (with contoured heel)
Mahogany chambered body with quilted maple top
2 humbuckers (Bareknuckles of somekind)
Hardtail (possibly hipshot or hannes bridge)
Warmoth's Black Cherry burst
59 rounded neck
Ebony fretboard/flame maple neck
22 6100 stainless steel frets
Earvana tusq nut
Reverse Strat headstock
Sperzel locking tuners
Finished in clear satin Nitro
Black or Gold/Brushed nickel hardware

Here's an example of Black Cherry finish (Warmoth's finish is a bit more black on the out edges)



Here's how it'll look


 
It'll look nicer than this but you get a general idea. In all it's going to cost roughly £1200 with a bit extra for fret dressing and set up, which I'll get Jonathan and his Feline team to work their magic on. Still not sure whether to go with black hardware or a mix of gold and brushed nickel like on Emil Werstlers (of Daath) PRS which influenced my colour choice. Won't be getting it for a while but I'm already in the process of saving up.

[Antag]

Nice - good luck with the saving.  There's something deeply satisfying about getting a guitar that was made specifically for you & nobody else has :)

I agree that a professional fret dress/setup is a must to get the most out of a Warmoth - my korina strat was a totally different guitar (i.e. even better! :)) after Jonathan worked on it.  If it's any help, my Warmoth VIP has the 59 Roundback profile, so if you want to try it to be sure it's for you, I'm sure we can arrange something... (I also have the Wolfgang & Std Thin profiles on my other Warmoths)

[Lew]

No offense but that's going to be a partscaster put together by a Pro not a 'custom build' for you imo. Just save pay the extra and get it all done by Feline or whoever!  8)

[Stevepage]

No offense but that's going to be a partscaster put together by a Pro not a 'custom build' for you imo. Just save pay the extra and get it all done by Feline or whoever!  8)

That's true, I should of put customish. If I was to go completely custom I'd have to spend close to £2000 where as I could get the same thing from Warmoth for £1200 which will include all parts and I'm quite happy with that.

I'm not very picky about my guitars just as long as they're comfy and solid. I would of already gone for Fender American Deluxe QMT Strat already if it had 2 humbuckers and was a hardtail.

[Stevepage]

Nice - good luck with the saving.  There's something deeply satisfying about getting a guitar that was made specifically for you & nobody else has :)

I agree that a professional fret dress/setup is a must to get the most out of a Warmoth - my korina strat was a totally different guitar (i.e. even better! :)) after Jonathan worked on it.  If it's any help, my Warmoth VIP has the 59 Roundback profile, so if you want to try it to be sure it's for you, I'm sure we can arrange something... (I also have the Wolfgang & Std Thin profiles on my other Warmoths)

That would be cool of you George. I saw the VIP in seconds out and it looks gorgeous. Over the past few years my hands seem to like bigger necks better (I get cramp with Wizard type necks) and the 59 profile felt awesome when I tried out some Les Paul Standards and Studios.

[Matt77]

I can recommend this route having done something similar recently.
I bought a second hand Fender body and had a big fat neck made for it from a local luthier.

1:21 ratio Gotoh 510s, LSR nut, massive Jedcar stainless steel frets, hipshot trem and a HSS BK set in it.
It's not really any cheaper than buying off the shelf and it takes time, but it's fun and I have ended up with a guitar that holds its ground with my top end purchases.

[FernandoDuarte]

Cool!

[Lucifuge]

If you've bought parts from Warmoth before, maybe you can answer my question: how much did you have to pay in taxes and duties when importing them to the UK? I assume you took that into account when calculating the cost.

I know about VAT, but the HMRC website isn't very clear about other taxes, other than that you probably have to pay them, and there are about 400000 different categories of items that determine how much.

Anyway, this should be a great guitar, and though I don't have any experience of Warmoth myself, they always look good in photos.  8)

[Twinfan]

You should budget for around 21% for VAT and duty on top of the cost of parts AND shipping.  I believe the duty itself is 2.6%.

[Matt77]

I'm not condoning this but, I know of people in the guitar hardware trade that can be persuaded to send some goods as a product sample to avoid import duty.

http://www.dutycalculator.com/calculation/

This will give you a fairly accurate picture

[Antag]

You should budget for around 21% for VAT and duty on top of the cost of parts AND shipping.  I believe the duty itself is 2.6%.

I thought duty was 2.8 or perhaps even 3.8?  Won't make a massive difference to the total price either way though:

((($1800x0.65)x1.026)x1.175)=£1410.49
((($1800x0.65)x1.038)x1.175)=£1426.99

NB: VAT rises to 20% in January, so next year the calculation will look like this:
((($1800x0.65)x1.038)x1.2)=£1457.35

I'm not condoning this but, I know of people in the guitar hardware trade that can be persuaded to send some goods as a product sample to avoid import duty.

I don't generally dish out advice on how people should live their lives, but if there is one piece of advice I would give to any young adult it would be this: Do NOT F*** with HMRC!  They have powers that not even the NKVD had (OK, they can't shoot you in the back of the head or beat you with rubber hoses, but pretty much everything else they can do :roll:)

Yeah, yeah, they have bigger fish to fry/the chances of getting caught are slim etc, but trust me when I say that you do not want them on your case... ;)

[bucketshred]

While I'm at it, the only person who can get away with a guitar is this high is Angus Young. Surely people don't play this high?

Paddy

[Stevepage]

 :lol:  I do

[MrBump]

= high.

[Mr. Air]

While I'm at it, the only person who can get away with a guitar is this high is Angus Young. Surely people don't play this high?

Paddy

Angus can get away with it and so can Tom Morello.