Howdy all. Long time player, first time Warmoth Project guitar builder.
I've owned several "nice" guitars (multiple Jems, a JS, a Yamaha RGZ, American Strat, Floyd Rose Classic Strat (US), ESP Les Paul, muliple fujigen RG's, Soloists, an N4, Charvel Pro Mods, an Ibanez 7620, and a Washburn 24 fret tele), played in a few regional bands, and have a hobby recording rig. I've also done all of my own repairs (plugging and re-drilling/mounting ripped out bidge posts for example and basic fret work) and setups since 1992.
After years of having these guitars and feeling like something "just wasn't right", in 2009 I attempted my first custom project - which was a nightmare process. I dealt with a guy named Patrick Sims, and it was by far the worst consumer experience I ever had. The project was a swirled Ash Universe style guitar, that I never received. I ultimately got an neck and alder Jem body out of the deal, assembled them with no major issues, and sold the guitar.
Well, flash forward to 2013 and I'm ready to give it a go again and try to build the "perfect for me" guitar that I think takes all of the elements from the guitars I liked best and combines them.
I'd been considering a "build to order" body, but had been eyeing this maple body soloist (pic attached hopefully). I ended up pulling the trigger on the body first wave of components yesterday, and the final build will go as follows:
- 1 piece quilted maple Soloist with quilted laminate top, routed for Strat neck pickup and wood mounted bridge humbucker, full neck heel, 3/4" side jack, Strat Tone hole #1 (where I'll place my volume pot), routed for a Floyd with angled neck pocket. I will make the appropriate body/neck pocket adjustments to allow the bridge to rest flat on the body with action of about 3/64" from 12-22ish.
- Next wave in 2 weeks (when the wife releases funds :icon_tongue
, Strat Warmoth Pro Q-sawn maple 22 fret neck, with ss6100 frets and pau ferro board, 1 11/16" R4 nut, Black Floyd Rose, and black d-tuna.
Hardware will be all black, and I will be doing an orange/amber dye job, finishing it off with multiple coats of tru oil as the top coat. Pickup considerations are Suhr Aldrich w/SSV or Duncan Custom Custom/Screamin' Demon wSTK-10, manged via 3 way toggle. I'm sure I'll tweak pickups after I hear how bright it turns out. I'm on the fence about adding a second volume (I will not be using a tone control), and coil tap.
Sorry for the long post - just trying to set this up for future updates and "in process" pics! :rock-on:
I've owned several "nice" guitars (multiple Jems, a JS, a Yamaha RGZ, American Strat, Floyd Rose Classic Strat (US), ESP Les Paul, muliple fujigen RG's, Soloists, an N4, Charvel Pro Mods, an Ibanez 7620, and a Washburn 24 fret tele), played in a few regional bands, and have a hobby recording rig. I've also done all of my own repairs (plugging and re-drilling/mounting ripped out bidge posts for example and basic fret work) and setups since 1992.
After years of having these guitars and feeling like something "just wasn't right", in 2009 I attempted my first custom project - which was a nightmare process. I dealt with a guy named Patrick Sims, and it was by far the worst consumer experience I ever had. The project was a swirled Ash Universe style guitar, that I never received. I ultimately got an neck and alder Jem body out of the deal, assembled them with no major issues, and sold the guitar.
Well, flash forward to 2013 and I'm ready to give it a go again and try to build the "perfect for me" guitar that I think takes all of the elements from the guitars I liked best and combines them.
I'd been considering a "build to order" body, but had been eyeing this maple body soloist (pic attached hopefully). I ended up pulling the trigger on the body first wave of components yesterday, and the final build will go as follows:
- 1 piece quilted maple Soloist with quilted laminate top, routed for Strat neck pickup and wood mounted bridge humbucker, full neck heel, 3/4" side jack, Strat Tone hole #1 (where I'll place my volume pot), routed for a Floyd with angled neck pocket. I will make the appropriate body/neck pocket adjustments to allow the bridge to rest flat on the body with action of about 3/64" from 12-22ish.
- Next wave in 2 weeks (when the wife releases funds :icon_tongue
, Strat Warmoth Pro Q-sawn maple 22 fret neck, with ss6100 frets and pau ferro board, 1 11/16" R4 nut, Black Floyd Rose, and black d-tuna.Hardware will be all black, and I will be doing an orange/amber dye job, finishing it off with multiple coats of tru oil as the top coat. Pickup considerations are Suhr Aldrich w/SSV or Duncan Custom Custom/Screamin' Demon wSTK-10, manged via 3 way toggle. I'm sure I'll tweak pickups after I hear how bright it turns out. I'm on the fence about adding a second volume (I will not be using a tone control), and coil tap.
Sorry for the long post - just trying to set this up for future updates and "in process" pics! :rock-on:
