Finding more information about a Warmoth body

[tomssy]

I bought a frankenstein Strat from a  friend a while back with a Warmoth body. I was wondering if it is possible to find out more information about the body? Things such as what kind of wood it is, when it was built, etc.

Here's a picture of the Warmoth stamp on the body:

 

[line6man]

Who would order a one-piece body if it were just getting a solid finish? What a waste.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

It says "1pc" and the "H" is indicitave of "hollow".  Beyond that, it appears to be a pourus species of body wood such as white korina, or mahogany.  Hard to tell just from the pic though.

 

[Jusatele]

Appears to be a really nice piece of wood. I piece you know it was expensive, and the wood appears to be an exotic.

nice buy.

 

[tomssy]

Here's a couple more shots of the body wood after taking the pick guard off.

Comparing to the samples on Warmoth's website I think it is Korina though the black streaking seems to suggest it's black Korina?

 

[Cagey]

Looks like Black Korina to me. Not sure why anyone would put an opaque finish on that, but perhaps the previous owner didn't care for the grain or some color shift it did. BK generally doesn't present an even face, although with bookmatching you can make what might be an unbalanced pattern into something a little less jarring. But, with a one-piece you wouldn't have that, so maybe that's why it got covered up.

Plus, not everybody appreciates a wood grain appearance. I have a friend who's that way. Whole house is decorated in glass/chrome/black/white. It's about as inviting as a dentist's office.

With this part, you'd get the physical qualities of Korina without anyone knowing what it is.

 

[tomssy]

How does it work with hollow/chambered body? I noticed what looks like a few mm cap. Would that be a deterrent to using a more transparent finish?

 

[Cagey]

Nothing to worry about. The tops aren't a veneer, it's an actual hunk of wood. You won't sand through it. For all intents and purposes, you can treat the body as if it were a solid piece of wood. The only caveat is that sometimes with clear/transparent finishes you can see the transition point around the perimeter of the body, which gives away the fact that it's either not solid or is a laminated part. But, that's can be looked at a different way - a chambered/hollow body is a Good Thing, desirable. It doesn't affect the tone much, if at all, but you lose about 25% of the body weight.

You can diminish or eliminate the appearance of that transition by doing a masked or actual binding, or you can do a "burst" finish that has dark edges. Or, you can ignore it - it's not like it's a defect or unattractive.

 

[AutoBat]

If you'd rather have a gloss black MIM Fender body, I'd be happy to trade you. (SSH, 6 point trem)