Custom parts

[Basek]

Hi all,

Just recently got the idea to start making my own custom guitar, and since I am not that good of a craftsman the Warmoth approach would be really good for me.

But to make it a bit more personal, I have some ideas for custom parts that I can not define in the online builder, nor do I see any info about the possibility of Warmoth making custom parts on request.

What I am looking for:

- custom inlays in the fretboard based on my own design
- custom headstock (shape & paint job)
- neck glued to the body instead of bolted on
- If possible.. slight modifications to the body shape.

The first two are the most important for me, and I would even consider going to a luthier and have a neck custom made to fit the Warmoth body, but to have it the way I would like.

 

[Re-Pete]

Just to set the scene right for you, Warmoth are a parts maker. To a high level. But a custom shop they are not, in the full sense of what you may imagine a custom shop to be.

And a word of warning about 'custom shops' too. Go to Gibson, Martin, Fender or whoever mass produces guitars and there's a limit to what they will do outside of their Custom Shop set option list. Unless, of course, you are Joe Walsh or Joe Bonnamassa, in which case they will do what you want to a large degree - but a totally custom build could cost you thousands and be several months (or years?) before you see it.

Warmoth make the wooden parts (neck & body) within a defined set of parameters to make their workflow as easy & efficient as possible for them. They also provide these parts as OEM to manufacturers under agreement and to stop everything while one unique design goes through the making process is inefficient.

They do offer pretty good variations to the parts they make, and there are options available.

You can specify what options you want - some cost, some are just the type of build underway.

Last time I looked at their website in more detail, they do offer body blanks and they do offer a set of options for fretboard inlays.

I am not sure if they offer inlays to your design.

I can't remember if Warmoth will do a headstock to your design, but I can recall seeing a webpage ages ago that mentioned submitting a full scale drawing on a certain sized paper so they could do a  design. But that may have been one off body shapes?

Warmoth started life making modular parts. The necks are all bolt ons. A bolt on neck cannot simply be glued on instead. The neck pocket & heel is a different design and it's not something Warmoth do. Nor do they do neck-though designs.

I have made 3 guitars from Warmoth parts and wood selection and 'shooting' for the type of guitar sound you want out of it, requires some prior knowledge of the woods used. I made a wood selection mistake on one guitar and spent years electronically trying to get a decent pickup combination to overcome the sterility and edgy treble response from the all maple body & maple neck ebony fretboard combination.

Now, this may not be what you want to read. I'm not going to get into a debate over whether Warmoth should do this or that, some things they simply do not do. Sometimes they will disappoint you with their steadfast stubbornness in options, but they have their reasons.

I have had great customer service from Warmoth prior to and during the builds of those 3 I put together. So, by all means, shoot them an email or call them if that's a better way to get in contact and ask them.

 

[mayfly]

Hmmm.  Let's tackle these points one by one

1 - custom inlays.  Warmoth will not do custom inlays beyond what's on the site.  You'll have to either do these yourself, or get a talented person to do it.  Important Note - If you do want to do the inlays yourself, get the neck installed without the frets.  Do the inlays first, level the board, then install the frets.  Note that inlays are quite difficult to do.  If you say that you're not so good at wood working, don't attempt this.  Also, because it's so difficult expect to pay $$$ for it.

2 - custom headstock.  Warmoth sells the paddle headstock for a reason - so that you can do whatever you desire.  Note that if you do this, you'll have to touch up the finish yourself afterwards, or get the neck unfinished then finish it yourself.  If you say you're not that good at wood working, I would not recommend trying to finish it.  Finishing is very difficult to get right, requires equipment, technique, and patience.  An alternative is to get the neck made out of a wood that you don't need to finish, then just cut the shape you want and finish sand.  Warmoth has several options for you to choose from that would fit the bill here.  Note that on a scale of 1-10 in terms of "difficult stuff to do", I'd put inlays at 10, finishing at 8 or so depending on the finish, and cutting a headstock at something like a 5+. 

3 - glued in neck.  Warmoth necks and bodies are not suited to being glued in.  Don't try this with warmoth necks and bodies.  If you really want a glued in neck, try these guys:  https://buy.precisionguitarkits.com

4 - slight modifications to the body shape.  If it's not within the shapes and options on the website, warmoth will not do it.  If the modification that you have in mind involves removing material, then your best option is to do it yourself.  Previous comments about finishing apply here.

Have fun!

Trevor

P.S. just out of curiosity, what exactly did you have in mind for all of the above?  Also - usually people are more worried about neck geometry, fret size, the pickups, the bridge etc and less so on aesthetics.  To get an enjoyable instrument of of the deal, you should put a lot more emphasis on these items over how the thing looks.  IMHO of course.

 

[Basek]

Thanks for the replies guys. Like I said, the idea popped into my head a week or so ago and I haven't researched this entire adventure to the details yet. My questions mostly came from the
fact that I recognized certain wishes (i.e. custom inlays & headstock) I could not configure on the Warmoth site (which, by the way is pretty damn cool considering all options out there).

Of course tone is the main concern. I have spent already quite some hours reading about the different wood types, bridges & tail pieces, pups etc. which all impact the sound. Definitely not an easy task, but
I reckon the final result will be worth it.

I am currently still evaluating the "hard way" and doing it from scratch, but letting technology helping me out. Its not that hard to find a good CAD model which could be imported into a CNC machine, and have a
custom body made. A friend of mine is a CAD modeler /designer so from that perspective it looks like a realistic option. Of course the finish and all other stuff would need to be done by a pro. A regular Joe like myself
is hardly good enough to apply the finish of "my dream guitar".

All that is fine, but you need to be able to recognize your strengths and weaknesses - outsourcing what you can and if its actually worth it / pays off.

Thanks for the link btw, I will give that a look.

 

[stratamania]

Just one thing to add Warmoth also does a body blank, that you can have them rout the pickups and neck pocket for you per standard options and then you can cut out the external shape yourself or have someone do it to your design.

Still will be bolt on.