Tretgeraet
Junior Member
- Messages
- 102
Dearest Warmothians,
The main reason for me for building guitars from or with Warmoth parts was, that I wanted something that wasn't readily available on the market.
Now, building the Teilecaster was so much fun that I wanted to build another guitar, more for the purpose of building a guitar, than needing one, but I also didn't wanna spend too much money.
So, I was already fanboying about my favorite german parts supplier Rockinger in this dear forum, and since I was recently infected with the Telecaster virus, I chose to order one of their Tele® Style kits.
Is it cheating? Is it betrayal? I don't know.
But I thought it might be interesting to offer some comparison.
The kit contains:
- Body made of american red alder, "vintage shaping", unfinished
- One-Piece-Maple Neck, 7.25" radius, unfinished
- Preslotted TUSQ Nut (not installed)
- Heel-adjustable truss rod
- 21 frets (2,1mm x 1,1mm)
- Nickel plated KLUSON Deluxe Vintage Tuners (Double Line Stamp)
- Vintage Bridge with Brass saddles
- Complete hardware incl. mounting screws
- Black pickguard
- Rockinger Telly Rhythm and Telly Lead Pickups
- All electronic components incl. US 3-Way-Switch and Orange Drop Capacitor
- 1 set of Rockinger Strings
For an upcharge I ordered the neck with rosewood fingerboard. Also I changed the black pickguard to a mint green one at no extra charge.
This is where we get to the biggest difference between Warmoth and these Rockinger kits: While Warmoth is all about options, Rockinger doesn't have a lot of options to choose from.
For example: You can choose between one-piece maple neck or maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and you can also order them finished for a relatively small upcharge, but either way you are stuck with vintage "spaghetti" frets and 7.25" radius.
And regarding prices:
Warmoths prices for bodys and necks alone are lower, even if you don't stick to the cheapest options.
However, Rockinger offers free shipping within Germany for purchases over 100€ and also, when I order from the USA I have to pay taxes (VAT) and customs when it arrives here.
As for the quality, so far I am pleased with the kit, although there is a bit more to be done, than I am used to:
The neck comes without mounting holes and the nut needs to be installed, but both worked well. One appreciates thought, that Warmoth offers mounting holes as standard option.
The only thing that bothered me so far is the routing of the bridge pickup: I don't know if it is because of the bridge, or if it is true to vintage correctness or just a mistake, but the bridge pickup routing could have been a millimeter closer the the bridge mounting holes. Now it's a bit of a press fit which I'm sure it shouldn't be. Also something I appreciated with Warmoth.
I ordered a dairy blonde finish and an aged vintage yellow neck finish from Wudtone and they are currently in transit. Can't wait to put some finish on this thing.
The main reason for me for building guitars from or with Warmoth parts was, that I wanted something that wasn't readily available on the market.
Now, building the Teilecaster was so much fun that I wanted to build another guitar, more for the purpose of building a guitar, than needing one, but I also didn't wanna spend too much money.
So, I was already fanboying about my favorite german parts supplier Rockinger in this dear forum, and since I was recently infected with the Telecaster virus, I chose to order one of their Tele® Style kits.
Is it cheating? Is it betrayal? I don't know.
But I thought it might be interesting to offer some comparison.
The kit contains:
- Body made of american red alder, "vintage shaping", unfinished
- One-Piece-Maple Neck, 7.25" radius, unfinished
- Preslotted TUSQ Nut (not installed)
- Heel-adjustable truss rod
- 21 frets (2,1mm x 1,1mm)
- Nickel plated KLUSON Deluxe Vintage Tuners (Double Line Stamp)
- Vintage Bridge with Brass saddles
- Complete hardware incl. mounting screws
- Black pickguard
- Rockinger Telly Rhythm and Telly Lead Pickups
- All electronic components incl. US 3-Way-Switch and Orange Drop Capacitor
- 1 set of Rockinger Strings
For an upcharge I ordered the neck with rosewood fingerboard. Also I changed the black pickguard to a mint green one at no extra charge.
This is where we get to the biggest difference between Warmoth and these Rockinger kits: While Warmoth is all about options, Rockinger doesn't have a lot of options to choose from.
For example: You can choose between one-piece maple neck or maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and you can also order them finished for a relatively small upcharge, but either way you are stuck with vintage "spaghetti" frets and 7.25" radius.
And regarding prices:
Warmoths prices for bodys and necks alone are lower, even if you don't stick to the cheapest options.
However, Rockinger offers free shipping within Germany for purchases over 100€ and also, when I order from the USA I have to pay taxes (VAT) and customs when it arrives here.
As for the quality, so far I am pleased with the kit, although there is a bit more to be done, than I am used to:
The neck comes without mounting holes and the nut needs to be installed, but both worked well. One appreciates thought, that Warmoth offers mounting holes as standard option.
The only thing that bothered me so far is the routing of the bridge pickup: I don't know if it is because of the bridge, or if it is true to vintage correctness or just a mistake, but the bridge pickup routing could have been a millimeter closer the the bridge mounting holes. Now it's a bit of a press fit which I'm sure it shouldn't be. Also something I appreciated with Warmoth.
I ordered a dairy blonde finish and an aged vintage yellow neck finish from Wudtone and they are currently in transit. Can't wait to put some finish on this thing.
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