First ever Warmoth Strat! Natural binding trans red with black burst

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I just use a wall plug, as a depth gauge  :icon_thumright:
Measure depth needed on the drill bit.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

Another good idea!

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

Guys, I need logo advice. Fat Pete kindly did me an excellent mockup, but I can't decide on the wording, and because the headstock is so highly figured I'm concerned not to detract from that, or choose something too busy.

On the other hand, I tried the 70's Jazzmaster logo, and I kind of think it works:






There's something about the black pickguard and block markers that feel 70's to me, not to mention the large headstock.

Of course I don't want to put a Fender logo on an non-Fender guitar. I'm struggling to think of a decent name though. One idea I had was Warmoth Blockcaster, to acknowledge both Warmoth and the block markers. Another was Fendep Stratocastep, which is sort of an in-joke between some friends and I. But that might be a bit "wacky" and I don't want that.

Or I could go for a completely different approach and go for a logo created completely from scratch, perhaps very small.

Or I could go nude!

I honestly don't know what to do. All suggestions gratefully received!

 

[Fat Pete]

How about just 'Ounsworth'? Or that + a guitar name. Could be Fender-ish or anything/nothing-else-ish.

I gather 'Warmoth' is quite popular around these parts too - either their standard logo or a script version.

A headstock - especially a Fender-style one that's designed for a big 'visible on TV' logo - looks a bit bare without one to me but many like the nude look.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

Ounsworth isn't a great surname though, I've never liked it! Nobody knows how to pronounce it for one thing.

I'm not keen on the standard Warmoth logo. It might look ok in that 70's Fender "font" but that giant F is so much part of the look.

 

[stubhead]

Well I dumped in here late - the slowdown? But a couple of points.
1) Even though you never use tone controls, a 500K tone pot at "10" in a guitar is going to have some effect on the tone - like most everything "extra" it rolls some of the highs. You'll have to try it and see, but you may find you'll want to install a "fake" pot is she goes all icepicky on you. I think it's a resistor & a capacitor wired in parallel, but not for sure - there's info all over the place. I know it's really cheap, anyway. A whole lot of the famous Strat guys carry an old, cheap beater cord to record sessions, because if they do want less bite, the cord acts as a real long capacitor. I've played a few Telecasters with a "blower switch" - i.e. a switch that bypasses all the controls. Good God, throw a blanket over that amp!

2) It's really easy to make your own drill stops. If you start saving up dead ballpoint pens, pretty soon you'll have some nice rigid tubing, some caps, even the little inside tube that had the ink in it. Cut them up to various lengths, a couple of inches on down to half an inch. You can put these over a drill bit, and get pretty much goof-proof depth control. I have a little tin of maybe 20 of them, and you can fine-tune the depth by pulling the drill bit out a little bit.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

That's a great tip, thanks for that.

As for the Jackpot volume, I think I'll have to just suck it and see. It's pretty easy to roll treble off on the amp, but I'll be aware of it and change it if I don't like it.

Here's the link to the actual product:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Potentiometers/JackPot_Potentiometer.html

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

Ok, a friend of mine has just suggested 'Fender Toneblaster'. I like this for several reasons:

- My name is often abbreviated to Tone
- Tone has meaning in a guitar context
- It sounds good when spoken out loud
- It keeps the overall look of the logo

Also, in keeping the Fender bit but changing the name I can't be accused of making a fake Fender, and it could never be passed off as such (which I'd never try to do anyway) - especially if I also put Warmoth Custom Body at the end.

What do you guys think? I reckon I might have it!

 

[Fat Pete]

'Ferden' is a traditional option for partscasters - just swapping the r and n in Fender - looks very similar until you get up close.

But if you want the original logo that's cool, it's your guitar. The only stick you're likely to get round here is for trying to pass your high-end Warmoth instrument off as a mass produced clunker!

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

Oh yes, like this?

That could work, although if I'm inventing a guitar name and crediting Warmoth on there as well then I can't see an issue with using Fender. But I'd have no issues with Ferden either.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I think putting "Fender" on a squier or a cheap copy is fine (as long as it's not to sell it of course). It makes the guitar look like a nicer guitar and removes any stigma the original brand might have. And Fender wouldn't want you to do this lest you tarnish the brand.

However, on an expensive guitar, one that's actually better than anything Fender do make, it's the other way around. I don't think Fender deserve the credit for something that was built specifically because Fender don't make it. Conversely, I think Fender probably would be less upset about it. A lovely guitar like that will only enhance their reputation in the mind of anyone who mistakes it for a Fender.

I really like "Toneblaster", it just sounds cool. But I would spend a bit of time thinking about something else you could have instead of "Fender". It's a shame "Freestyle" is such a long word as you could do the backwards F and it's kind of appropriate. But it's too long.

Freedom
Forward
Fabled
Felony
Fervent
Fiendish
Flawless
Freudian
Furious

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

I think that's a good point, but I want the aesthetics to be right. There's something just cool about the Fender logo.

Furious Toneblaster sounds quite aggro!

 

[Fat Pete]

How about... Fecken (What's that guitar? - it's a Fecken Toneblaster!)

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

Bordering on 'wacky' but I like the shape of the word if you know what I mean. I'll mull that one over, I think it's got a place on the shortlist.

Looking at the previous guitar of the month entries, I notice that hardly any of them have decals. A couple have the Warmoth logo, but there was one with a simple Fender Telecaster on it.

I do understand Jumble's point about not wanting Fender to get the credit for the guitar, but I'm not sure it's an issue for me. After all, they'll never see it! Also I quite like the idea of this being a guitar that could have been, a bit like Fender's own Pawnshop range.

Current shortlist then:

- Fender Toneblaster/With Hardtail Bridge/Warmoth Custom Body
- Fecken Toneblaster/With Hardtail Bridge/Warmoth Custom Body
- Ferden Toneblaster/With Hardtail Bridge/Warmoth Custom Body
- Furious Toneblaster/With Hardtail Bridge/Warmoth Custom Body
- Nude

I imagine this will change. I like to "workshop" my ideas as you may have gathered. In other word, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing!  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I do understand Jumble's point about not wanting Fender to get the credit for the guitar, but I'm not sure it's an issue for me. After all, they'll never see it!

Eh? They don't have to see it to get the credit. If you show it to me, and it says Fender, and I think "cor, Fender make lovely guitars", that's them getting the credit. They never have to find out.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

I'm still not sure that bothers me though. I care more about the guitar looking nice.

Also, you know - Fender do make lovely guitars!

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

I know what you mean though, it doesn't seem right somehow.

At least I know what I want the actual guitar to be called. Progress!

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

I ordered a decal from here in the end:

http://shop.rothkoandfrost.co.uk/custom-metallic-guitar-headstock-waterslide-decal-p/sf145.htm

I went with Fender Toneblaster - With Hardtail Bridge - Warmoth Custom Body for the purposes of simply getting something ordered. However I might order some of the alternatives we've discussed if the quality is good. Then I can simply decide what looks best.

Fat Pete, I hope you don't think your time was wasted mocking up that superb logo - you've been a great help in getting me closer to what I want.

 

[Fat Pete]

Not a problem Tony. I would have suggested ordering direct from those guys anyway if you were sticking with a 'standard format' decal. They printed one for me and i'm very pleased with it.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

That's good to know. They do seem to know their stuff on the website.