How easy is it to put a Warmouth Strat together?

[Elliot]

Assuming you buy a finished body, a finished neck with a slotted nut and pre-wired pickguard is it just a case of adding the hardware and wiring it up then setting it up (I have done this with a Mex Fender from Mex Fender parts) or do you have to do more work like adjusting the truss rod, filing the neck join to fit the neck and the tuner key holes?

Basically is it a Saturday afternoon job with a few bottles of beer or does it involve some skill?

[Kiichi]

I am very interrested in the different difficulty levels of Warmmoths too, would be great to hear more about this.

[Ian Price]

I would imagine it involves some skill to get it right and have a guitar that sounds good. Guitars are precision instruments - small measurement errors can have quite an impact on how a guitar feels and sounds.

[MrBump]

I put together a Warmoth-a-like.

It was very easy.

My Tele is a bitsa.  Nothing was difficult - I sheared off a screw when installing the tuners, but got some advice from a certain Mr Venables and all was sorted.

Definitely worth getting a professional setup post build though - Bob at Legra set mine up and turned it from a nice guitar to a really great guitar.

Mark.

[Andrew W]

The builds I've done, which have all been a mix of parts from here and there, have required some sanding, adding shims into the neck pocket and so on, but nothing that couldn't be achieved with a Leatherman and some sandpaper. The good thing about Fender style guitars is that they come to bits really quickly so making adjustments can be done pretty easily. You may need to get a good fret dress done by a real luthier once you're done putting it all together. It'll play much better if you do.

[Twinfan]

I built a Thinline Tele from Warmoth parts - if I can do it, anyone can  :lol:

I would suggest buying both a neck and a body from the same manufacturer (e.g. Warmoth, like I did) as they're built to slot together perfectly.

[nfe]

I really fancy building a tele if I get ever get round to it. I'm somewhat wary but I figure I'd struggle to bugger anything up beyond the point that a tech could sort.

[Ian Price]

Well, maybe I'm wrong - sort of. Never tried it myself but reckon I could do a half decent job by the sounds of it. To get it perfect though would require some experienced hands, the kind of hands that I don't have!

[Chris]

My first 'guitar from parts' was from warmoth.  I bought all the bits already finished and drilled/routed for the hardware I was buying and it all just fit together.  Took me a few hours to put it all together and do the wiring, then I got it set up by a tech.  It didn't require any fretwork, shims or anything like that.
A couple of other guitars I have put together from bits from various sources have been more trouble though - I'd say definitely get all your bits from one source if you want it easy.  Also, the warmoth parts all seem very good quality to me.

[Philly Q]

Warmoth parts are very well made.  You could put a neck and body together - they'll fit perfectly - and have a very playable guitar within a few hours.

However, I do think the necks benefit from a bit of "tweaking" - the fretboard edges are quite sharp and I prefer them rounded off a bit.  Also the fretting is perfectly fine but would feel much better after a little extra work from someone who knows what they're doing.

To put it another way, slap it together yourself and it'll sound great but play like a Cort.  A bit more work and a proper setup, it'll still sound great but play like a Suhr.

[WezV]

If you are planning a partsocaster warmoth is certainly the easiest and best quality

I think warmoth's aim is playable out of the box - and 90% of them even manage this after a trip across to the UK which i think is impressive

Sometimes with amateur parts builds the neck alignment ends up a little off, i know because of the number i have had to correct.  all holes are predrilled on a warmoth which makes it much easier to get right

I think Philly's cort/suhr metaphor is spot on.   although most warmoth necks dont need fretwork to make them playable i have not come across many that didnt play much better after a little fretwork. if you need a lowish action then a fret level and polish becomes very important... but even on the ones that do have perfectly level frets out the box  the ends and edges are still very defined and hard

my other gripe is with the neck woods they say 'do not require a finish'. they generally mean it doesnt need a lacquer finish to validate the warranty... but the way they state it makes people think they need nothing (at least i have known a few warmoth parts builds where the owner made this assumption).  i think they do this to make it seem easier to people in your situation.      again, they may not require a finish but they certainly play much better with a little time spent oiling and rubbing back - and its so easy to do

[Tellboy]

If you are planning a partsocaster warmoth is certainly the easiest and best quality

I think warmoth's aim is playable out of the box - and 90% of them even manage this after a trip across to the UK which i think is impressive

Sometimes with amateur parts builds the neck alignment ends up a little off, i know because of the number i have had to correct.  all holes are predrilled on a warmoth which makes it much easier to get right

I bought a Blackpoole Relic Tele kit about  3 years ago (no longer available as a kit). The body was drilled but not the neck - although the neck was a very good fit it was scary drilling the holes in the neck - a fraction of a mm out and the top or bottom E string could be off the edge of the fret board at the 21st fret. Great sounding/playing guitar (BKP Flat 50 set) - only problem I had was the grub screws in the volume/tone knobs had been welded tight by the 'aging' process, but they replaced these.

[Philly Q]

my other gripe is with the neck woods they say 'do not require a finish'. they generally mean it doesnt need a lacquer finish to validate the warranty... but the way they state it makes people think they need nothing (at least i have known a few warmoth parts builds where the owner made this assumption).  i think they do this to make it seem easier to people in your situation.      again, they may not require a finish but they certainly play much better with a little time spent oiling and rubbing back - and its so easy to do

That's something I've been pondering.  I've got a couple of "no finish required" necks - a Canary one and a Goncalo Alves one - and I've been wondering whether it would be a good idea to finish them after all.

Would Tru-Oil do the job, or in this case would it be better to use Danish Oil or something?  (I say that like I know what I'm talking about, but as usual I have no idea which types/brands of oil or wax to use or how best to apply them)

Of course, I'll probably end up selling them without ever using them.... 

[WezV]

That's something I've been pondering.  I've got a couple of "no finish required" necks - a Canary one and a Goncalo Alves one - and I've been wondering whether it would be a good idea to finish them after all.

 

cant speak for the canary, but i have dealt with two gonalo alves necks  from them and both benefitted significantly from a light  oil.  doesnt take much work but lifts the neck to another level.

i know warmoth dip the necks in an oil sealer,  but this is similar to wiping oil on, fine for protecting it in transit, not the best feeling once assembled

anyway, on the Goncalo i think i used tru-oil.  2 coats wiped on, left overnight, then spend a good amount of time rubbing back with the 0000 liberon wire wool, you actually end up removing a lot of the tru oil thats been left on the surface but the rubbing process takes it to a whole other level

the alternative would be  just a good rubbing with danish oil till really sleek - but this may need redoing a bit more often than the tru-oil.

[Philly Q]

Thanks, I'll give it a go with the Tru-Oil.

Might be good to try it on something that doesn't "need" a finish before I progress on to maple, in fact.