Could someone please enlighten me regarding Warmoth guitars?

[Ephemeria]

I'm thinking of getting one and wondered how they are, etc. Also how's the upper fret access?

[Philly Q]

When you say you're getting a Warmoth guitar, do you mean you're putting one together from parts or is it one someone else has already assembled?

The quality is top-notch, but you can't just screw the parts together and you're done - they do need a bit of setup.  Fret ends and fingerboard edges tend to be a little sharp, for example.

As for upper fret access, it's the same as a Fender, with a four-screw neck plate.  But most bodies are available with a "contoured heel" option, which improves access a bit.

[Ephemeria]

Putting it together myself. But I will be putting it in for a full set-up. I've never actually played a Fender; I'm a Les Paul player. How would you say a Fender is for upper-fret access? And is the contoured heel really worth it?

[Philly Q]

If you're used to Les Pauls, with that thick body and chunky heel, I don't think you'll find the heel on a Strat or Tele particularly intrusive - go out and try a couple!  :)

Personally, I don't think the contoured heel makes a massive difference - and because it's angled, you can't use standard-length screws to attach the neck, which is a bit of a pain.

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Body/Stratocaster/Standard/BodyContours.aspx

[tomjackson]

The Strat neck I have is very good quality and it bolted on and played well but it really needs a fret dress to get the most out of it.  It loses sustain a bit on the higher frets but only becuase I never bothered with the final setup....

[The Sorbz]

Hi mate,

I have 2 Warmoth guitars at the mo. The first is a Green soloist body with Floyd Rose, BK (HD/ CS) and reverse rosewood Strat neck. The second is a SRV replica but with maple neck. Both awesome players and very good sounding.

Like any guitar projects, Warmoths are as good as the amount of care put into building them. I have recently stripped the SRV Stratalike down and spent ages getting the neck how I like it - now it s my go to guitar!  Go for it, Warmoth sell quality products to your own spec.

I am now after building a LPS, when I scrounge the reqd dosh ...... Oh, and get back fom Afghanistan!

Cheers,
Jimbo

[Denim n Leather]

I have had a total of 5-6 Warmoth guitars, and currently have two; both are super strat style guitars.

I've always been impressed with Warmoth's quality. The necks are very comfy and there is no problem with upper fret access at all. I prefer a 1.75" nut and 6100 fret wire, standard Warmoth shape and compound radius, and have never been disappointed. I have one guitar that has a Jackson reverse headstock with a Tele heel for my Criss Oliva clone and it plays like a dream, if on the heavy side, weight wise.

This is one of my current Warmoth builds:




My ESP Kami 4 which I put a Warmoth neck on b/c I wasn't overly fond of ESP's:




A Fender body with Warmoth neck build that I sold in a colossal fit of stupidity:

[Denim n Leather]

Oh, by the way --

I DON'T BUILD MY GUITARS!!! I merely procure the parts and have a qualified tech, like PhilKing on this forum, do all the hard work!

[AndyR]

Is PhilKing a tech? Didn't know that...

He's one of many whose opinions I highly respect on here, but I'd always had him down as a very experienced connoisseur - more of a consumer of tech-ery than a dispenser of it...

You learn something everyday on here :lol: (Sorry Phil!)

btw, I still love that pic of you and that ESP :D

[Denim n Leather]

Phil is not a professional tech, but he could be.

[PhilKing]

Phil is not a professional tech, but he could be.

I studied with Stephen Delft in the early 70's and have been working on my own guitars since then.  I was the guitar tech at JSG in Bingley until 1976.  I've never built a guitar from the wood, like Wez, Jonathan and others here, however I have assembled at least 30 guitars from parts (including neck shaping and spraying).  I also can do fret jobs and have cut many nuts.  I have a full set of tools for this, because it makes life so much easier.

Wiring is probably one of the things I do most.  Ben always has different ideas to the way the guitar was originally wired, and I like to have interesting wiring too.  I managed to get a ton of NOS paper in oil Ukranian .022 & .047 mf capacitors a while back for chump change, so keep using them if I'm left to my own devices.  BK have some good stuff, and I've been using their pots over the last year along with some of their pio caps too.

I have a real full time job, which more recently has been taking up a lot of my time, but this week have worked on one of Ben's guitars, given my Bravewood 56 Strat a neck tweak and trimmed off a little bit of one tang that was starting to be a bit proud.  I'm also going to set up my 74 Les Paul 55 Special, though it is probably getting a set of Nantuckets on it soon.  

Through the years I've modded or built Ben about 5 or 6 guitars, made his bass player's bass and made myself lots from Warmoth and other parts.

With Warmoth necks you will need to finish the fret edges, they come cut square.  I use a Stew Mac diamond file, but you can do it with a small file, it just takes longer.  Everything else on them is easy.  

[gwEm]

i've used a few warmoth bits in my time. they are all high quality. regarding the necks, budget for a full fret dress.

[Philly Q]

i've used a few warmoth bits in my time. they are all high quality. regarding the necks, budget for a full fret dress.

Yeah, I was digging out a few of my (unused  :roll: ) Warmoth parts over the weekend.  They're beautifully made, the timbers are fantastic, but they feel extremely new and "precise", like they just came straight off the CNC machine. 

The bodies are absolutely fine as they are, but the necks definitely benefit from a bit of tweaking to make them more user-friendly - fret dress as you say, and a general bit of rounding-off around the edges (especially the fretboard).  I think it's better to buy the necks unfinished and sort them out to your preference before putting a finish on.

[WezV]

I think it's better to buy the necks unfinished and sort them out to your preference before putting a finish on.

i agree with that... not such a problem with unfinished fretboards, but getting a finished maple neckfrom warmoth will usually mean very square edges

warmoth do claim playble out the box, which they often are. but the chances of that are reduced when it needs to aclimatise to a new country and has been shipped halfway round the world.  even so, there is a difference between playable and ideal.  something that is good out the box can be made awesome with a little fretwork

[Andrew W]

i've used a few warmoth bits in my time. they are all high quality. regarding the necks, budget for a full fret dress.

Yeah, I was digging out a few of my (unused  :roll: ) Warmoth parts over the weekend.  They're beautifully made, the timbers are fantastic, but they feel extremely new and "precise", like they just came straight off the CNC machine. 

The bodies are absolutely fine as they are, but the necks definitely benefit from a bit of tweaking to make them more user-friendly - fret dress as you say, and a general bit of rounding-off around the edges (especially the fretboard).  I think it's better to buy the necks unfinished and sort them out to your preference before putting a finish on.

I certainly found that a fret-dress (thanks Jonathan) was required on the one Warmoth neck I bought.  I was able to get a finished neck because the board was rosewood and I could shave the edges until it felt right to me. I guess you could try and roll the edges on a finished maple board but that sounds risky to me.