Crazy Blue Flame Maple Strat! - FINISHED!!!

[Jumble Jumble]

Yeah, the Tremsetter just seems like a nothing-to-lose type of thing, only-imporvement, you know?

WRONG.

It makes the trem feel like ass. The detent in the middle is quite firm, so you can forget getting a slight wobble on your notes any more. Even trying a gentle flutter sets up a nasty knocking feeling. You've got to move out of the detent, and then use the bar. It's fine if you only use it for pitch shifts, or if you only do vibrato in one direction. But if, like me, you like to give the bar a gentle wobble up and down, you're screwed - it takes that option away.

I used to think I needed one because my 2-point trem would put the guitar out of tune every time I used it. Then I took the guitar for a setup instead, and wow. Suddenly I could do anything with the trem and the instrument returned perfectly to tune every time. What did the guy do? Cut the nut properly, lubed it, and got rid of the string trees. I expect you'll do that from new, so wait until you've had the guitar for a while before you decide to introduce an unnecessary device that reduces the instrument's ability to accurately express what you're trying to say!

 

[Cagey]

Exactly so. Unless you have an old 6 point Fender trem or a very poorly set up guitar, I can't see any use for the things.

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Alright, guess I'll just save the money and not get the Tremsetter!

Now this might be the most important question. Or at least it is something that I can't change later on:
Which specific flame maple top should I choose?

Here are my desired criteria:
1. I really don't want something that will look too much like graph paper, if you know what I mean. Basically, I want the lines going perpendicular to the neck to be much more prominent then those that run parallel to the neck.

2. I want it to have enough contrast with the dark and blue parts of the dye, so it's kind of vibrant.

3. I want it to look pretty uniform, without tons of small lines in some spots, and big lines in others. It's better if the lines are relative in size, evenly spaced.

4. IF possible, I would not want to choose a $150 top. $75 or $100 is okay, but if possible, I don't want to go higher.

So I have attached the candidates, and they are named by their Warmoth name. If you like any piece of flame that I don't show here, just tell me the name of it.


Two smaller questions:

If I don't choose unique choice, do they automatically select the first top in the line, as displayed in UC? For instance, LT1418 is the first one, so would they use it?

And why, why are they charging $75 for choosing flame maple, and then ANOTHER $75-$150 for the unique choice? Shouldn't they just charge the $75-$100?

NOTE: I did include a $150 top, LT1439... there aren't too many good options up there right now...
And anyone with experience: How would LT1418 look in person?

 

[Cagey]

First, I can't imagine any of those tops looking bad in real life. Second, figured and finished Maple is tough to photograph. Good pieces have a chatoyancy that you really need to see live to appreciate.

If you don't pay for a UC top, they don't just grab one from the stack of UC tops. Those are all set aside for their unique qualities. However, what they choose on their own is usually pretty nice.

As for why they charge twice... figured Maple is just more expensive no matter what because it's somewhat rare, relatively speaking. Then, not all pieces are of the same grade, so a really pretty piece can command a higher price. Kinda like yellow vs. white diamonds or ones that have more or less inclusions. All are diamond and all the same size/weight, but some of them are premium because they don't occur as frequently.

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Yes, I do imagine it would look better in person no matter what.

I'm just too worried that if I don't pick unique choice, I'll get a piece that doesn't look good or something  :sad1:

Kevin, that red flame maple strat you posted, was that unique choice?

 

[Cagey]

No, that was off the Showcase. Saw it and had to have it.

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Well I'd still like to know, should I do unique choice, or not??

If so, which piece of flame maple that I posted is best?

 

[Cagey]

If you really want to know what something is going to look like before you get it, then Unique Choice is the way to do it. Otherwise, you're subject to Warmoth's judgement. But, that's not anything worry about - they have good judgement. They make some of the finest guitar bodies you'll see anywhere. Look through the Showcase. Lotta nice pieces in there. Most of those are fabbed on Warmoth's judgement.

For as particular as it sounds like you are, UC is probably the way to go. It may cost you an extra 5%-10% on the total build, but you get a known quantity.

As for which of the choices you posted is "best", there's no way to answer that. It's a subjective matter of taste that you have to decide. If somebody dropped a pile of money in my lap and said "buy one of these", I'd probably do the 1439 part. But, I'd probably also complain about having to buy any those anyway, as I don't care for F-holes on electric guitars other than ES-styles. But, that's just me.

 

[JoshHPMusic]

It's such a hard decision! I looked around on the forums for some opinions on unique choice or not, and started to believe that if I don't pick UC, Warmoth will probably give me something I like. But then, I looked at the flame tops in Showcase, and realized just how many of them are not really what I want. I hate when they look like an open book, sort of curving out from the center, instead of going straight out from the center. There seem to be a lot of very strange pieces of flame maple right now.
All I want is a book matched top, without too many irregularities. Good, uniform flame maple. Flamey. Not curvy. How difficult can it be to find that?!

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, I know. Figured woods are pretty widely varied. Some speak to you and others don't. Kinda like faces. One guy's Angelina Jolie is another guy's Janet Reno.

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Alright, well it seems that most of the good tops (LT1439) are no longer available... so I will wait until another good one shows up, and then I will order. Anyone have last words?

Objections?

 

[Cagey]

You snooze, you lose. Hate when that happens. But, sometimes it's a blessing in disguise. Some other opportunity might arise that you wouldn't have been able to take advantage of if you'd shot your wad on a custom guitar. Or, a better top will come along that you might have hated yourself for losing had you bought the one you thought you wanted.

 

[Fat Pete]

You could always hold on for something in the showcase, save yourself some time and money compared to a custom order. If you have any flexibility on your spec at all, you could have something like...
This one:

No F-hole but you get masked binding instead. Seems like the kind of flame you're after(?)

 

[Cagey]

That's a nice piece! Lightweight, too!

 

[JoshHPMusic]

You make a good point. I would save a whole lot of money, and witness a true picture of the guitar before I invest... But - this is not meant to be "just another guitar", or even, "a cool new guitar". This is going to be "MY guitar". "THE guitar".
So it needs to be exactly what I'm dreaming of, and I have already designed that. Now I just need a nice piece of flame!
I must admit, that is one nice piece of flame.

 

[Fat Pete]

I respect your desire to get exactly what you want (I can hardly argue with it given the money I've spent on custom orders) so it may well be a case of waiting for that perfect UC top to appear. But I'd still suggest subscribing to the RSS feed because you never know what might turn up.

Also, a warning - once you finally have THE guitar, the one that meets all your twangly dreams, you may find that, rather than being sated for life, you actually need another one, and then another, and then...

 

[JoshHPMusic]

I didn't even know there was a feed, I'll go subscribe to it, why not!

I'm pretty darn young, so I'm sure I'll end up being one of those guys with major GAS, and lots of custom works. Even my shoes are custom converse.  :dontknow:

 

[Cagey]

Pete's right. Once you know you can get exactly what you want, you want a lot. I suspect most of the people on this forum will tell you it's almost like an addiction - you do one, and even in midstream you're thinking about the next one.

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Luckily for me, I don't have enough money for another!  :toothy12:

Only time will tell what comes next... but I'm not thinking about that right now! No matter what, this is going to be a very special guitar, and it will always be a special guitar to me. I'm making a vow to that statement, right... now. Mark my words!

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, well, like any addict, you'll find the money somehow  :laughing7:

But, keep to the matter at hand. Gotta get the first one started, or the whole thing is dead in the water.