Hello, everyone.

[JCizzle]

I have been lurking on here for a few days now and I am impressed by the amount of info on here. Long story short: I've been playing for 18 years and I'm ashamed to say I had no idea about building my own guitar. However, I'm ready to take the plunge! I discovered this site a few days ago and I've been browsing the Warmoth site and have added a few bodies to my watch-list, so I plan on getting started soon.

Right off the bat, I'd like to build a soloist geared towards jazz/fusion, and down the road I'd like to build a super-strat of sorts, a LP, and a star. Living in Qatar, I'm very limited on finish options, so I will most likely have Warmoth do all of the finishing. My biggest challenge will be soldering and learning how to do it, it's been years.

Nice to meet you all and I apologize in advance for all my noob questions. Of course, I welcome any and all suggestions and feedback.

Cheers,
J.C.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Welcome to the boards.  A few notes about the group.  We tend to be opinionated, go off topic at a moments notice, and usually will try to help if the questions being asked don't venture too far in to the absurd range.  A note about the guitar parts Warmoth makes, there is a lot of love for the exotic necks that do not require finish.  If you have an idea and want to see if it is possible ask around here and lot of people will add suggestions.  It is a fun place.
Patrick

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Welcome, I think you'll find the people here to be valued resources, in addition to friends.

 

[Tipperman]

I'd say go with a Walnut body, clear finish from warmoth. Neck wood and fretboard wood are your choice, 14 inch fretboard radius, stainless steel frets in your preferred size. Locking Schaller tuners since it's a soloist. Two bare knuckle humbooglers (The Mule) or some humbooglers from Ken "TroubledTreble". You can find Ken's pickups at Roadhousepickups.com

Of course, I'm just 100% sold on the Mules sounds, and not really into Seymour Duncans/Dimarzio's, so go with what works for you. But that's how I'd do the build.... except I'd use single coils. But again, I'm assuming you want them humbuggies, so there's my two cents on the build.

Definitely go with the Walnut body, regardless of cost. You'll thank me as soon as you hear it  :icon_thumright:

And of course, welcome to the forum! Once you build the first one you won't be able to stop. I'd encourage experimenting with the body builder to see what you like visually. Can't go wrong with a walnut body, though.

 

[JCizzle]

I'd say go with a Walnut body, clear finish from warmoth. Neck wood and fretboard wood are your choice, 14 inch fretboard radius, stainless steel frets in your preferred size. Locking Schaller tuners since it's a soloist. Two bare knuckle humbooglers (The Mule) or some humbooglers from Ken "TroubledTreble". You can find Ken's pickups at Roadhousepickups.com

Of course, I'm just 100% sold on the Mules sounds, and not really into Seymour Duncans/Dimarzio's, so go with what works for you. But that's how I'd do the build.... except I'd use single coils. But again, I'm assuming you want them humbuggies, so there's my two cents on the build.

Definitely go with the Walnut body, regardless of cost. You'll thank me as soon as you hear it  :icon_thumright:

And of course, welcome to the forum! Once you build the first one you won't be able to stop. I'd encourage experimenting with the body builder to see what you like visually. Can't go wrong with a walnut body, though.

Thank you, I am taking notes as we speak (type?)! I was thinking a H-S-H configuration, and I will definitely check out those Mules. I guess this guitar is going to have a bit of a Steve Morse influence in the sense that I want it to be very smooth and balanced, if that makes sense.

The bodybuilder is crazy to say the least. I began with a thought of building a guitar and easily became overwhelmed on the site.  :doh: However, I am narrowing it down quickly for the first build. 

 

[JCizzle]

Welcome to the boards.  A few notes about the group.  We tend to be opinionated, go off topic at a moments notice, and usually will try to help if the questions being asked don't venture too far in to the absurd range.  A note about the guitar parts Warmoth makes, there is a lot of love for the exotic necks that do not require finish.  If you have an idea and want to see if it is possible ask around here and lot of people will add suggestions.  It is a fun place.
Patrick

Sounds great. Opinionated is fine by me, I try to take a little something from everyone. The great thing about guitar playing is it's all subjective, so I'm looking forward to trying new things and building some great axes. I can't believe I didn't find this site years ago. I used to see an axe and think, "wow, that's a nice guitar, too bad it's 10 grand." Now I can think, "wow, nice guitar, I think I'll build one like it but better for 1/10 of the price."

 

[JCizzle]

Welcome, I think you'll find the people here to be valued resources, in addition to friends.

I've already found everyone to be a valuable resource! Nice sig, btw, I just might build me a 7 stringer eventually!

 

[Tipperman]

I'd say go with a Walnut body, clear finish from warmoth. Neck wood and fretboard wood are your choice, 14 inch fretboard radius, stainless steel frets in your preferred size. Locking Schaller tuners since it's a soloist. Two bare knuckle humbooglers (The Mule) or some humbooglers from Ken "TroubledTreble". You can find Ken's pickups at Roadhousepickups.com

Of course, I'm just 100% sold on the Mules sounds, and not really into Seymour Duncans/Dimarzio's, so go with what works for you. But that's how I'd do the build.... except I'd use single coils. But again, I'm assuming you want them humbuggies, so there's my two cents on the build.

Definitely go with the Walnut body, regardless of cost. You'll thank me as soon as you hear it  :icon_thumright:

And of course, welcome to the forum! Once you build the first one you won't be able to stop. I'd encourage experimenting with the body builder to see what you like visually. Can't go wrong with a walnut body, though.

Thank you, I am taking notes as we speak (type?)! I was thinking a H-S-H configuration, and I will definitely check out those Mules. I guess this guitar is going to have a bit of a Steve Morse influence in the sense that I want it to be very smooth and balanced, if that makes sense.

The bodybuilder is crazy to say the least. I began with a thought of building a guitar and easily became overwhelmed on the site.  :doh: However, I am narrowing it down quickly for the first build.

If you're going HSH, email Tim @ BKP. He'll help you get the perfect set up. The Mules are basically a vintage PAF, and they sound great. Very articulate and clear, very clean. They can do just about anything you want them to, but another good choice is the Abraxas. Definitely talk to Tim about pickups. ...and don't forget the Walnut.  :laughing7:

 

[JCizzle]

I'd say go with a Walnut body, clear finish from warmoth. Neck wood and fretboard wood are your choice, 14 inch fretboard radius, stainless steel frets in your preferred size. Locking Schaller tuners since it's a soloist. Two bare knuckle humbooglers (The Mule) or some humbooglers from Ken "TroubledTreble". You can find Ken's pickups at Roadhousepickups.com

Of course, I'm just 100% sold on the Mules sounds, and not really into Seymour Duncans/Dimarzio's, so go with what works for you. But that's how I'd do the build.... except I'd use single coils. But again, I'm assuming you want them humbuggies, so there's my two cents on the build.

Definitely go with the Walnut body, regardless of cost. You'll thank me as soon as you hear it  :icon_thumright:

And of course, welcome to the forum! Once you build the first one you won't be able to stop. I'd encourage experimenting with the body builder to see what you like visually. Can't go wrong with a walnut body, though.

Thank you, I am taking notes as we speak (type?)! I was thinking a H-S-H configuration, and I will definitely check out those Mules. I guess this guitar is going to have a bit of a Steve Morse influence in the sense that I want it to be very smooth and balanced, if that makes sense.

The bodybuilder is crazy to say the least. I began with a thought of building a guitar and easily became overwhelmed on the site.  :doh: However, I am narrowing it down quickly for the first build.

If you're going HSH, email Tim @ BKP. He'll help you get the perfect set up. The Mules are basically a vintage PAF, and they sound great. Very articulate and clear, very clean. They can do just about anything you want them to, but another good choice is the Abraxas. Definitely talk to Tim about pickups. ...and don't forget the Walnut.  :laughing7:

Already looking at walnut in the bodybuilder.  :toothy11:

I will look at those BKPs. So basically, you're saying the 3 pickups will cost as much as the body and neck combined?  :laughing7:

 

[Tipperman]

Well.... Pretty expensive, yeah. A lot of people think BKPs aren't worth the cost, but the Mules are the only humbuggles that have really impressed me. Street Avenger will probably pop up in here at some point, and he's like me but about Dimarzio's, so he should have some good input as well.

BKPs are definitely worth the cost, provided you can shell out that much cash. Great tone, great build quality.

 

[JCizzle]

Well.... Pretty expensive, yeah. A lot of people think BKPs aren't worth the cost, but the Mules are the only humbuggles that have really impressed me. Street Avenger will probably pop up in here at some point, and he's like me but about Dimarzio's, so he should have some good input as well.

BKPs are definitely worth the cost, provided you can shell out that much cash. Great tone, great build quality.

Price isn't an issue, I was just messin'.  ccasion14: I will definitely take your suggestion into consideration, looks like I have quite a bit of homework to do...off to the BKP site!

P.S. What are these exotic necks that don't need a finish?

 

[bagman67]

P.S. What are these exotic necks that don't need a finish?

Maple and mahogany require a hard finish to meet the terms of the Warmoth warranty.  Many of the other species, such as rosewood, padauk, goncalo alves, etc., do not require a finish. 


But leaving aside the technicalities of the Warmoth warranty - they are really very, very pleasurable to play.  Fast, dry surfaces, no stickiness like you sometimes can experience on a hard glossy finish.


Also, I didn't notice whether you already indicated a preference - but if you don't drop the extra 20 bucks on stainless frets, you're a damn fool.  The difference is substantial and worth every penny.

 

[JCizzle]

P.S. What are these exotic necks that don't need a finish?

Maple and mahogany require a hard finish to meet the terms of the Warmoth warranty.  Many of the other species, such as rosewood, padauk, goncalo alves, etc., do not require a finish. 


But leaving aside the technicalities of the Warmoth warranty - they are really very, very pleasurable to play.  Fast, dry surfaces, no stickiness like you sometimes can experience on a hard glossy finish.


Also, I didn't notice whether you already indicated a preference - but if you don't drop the extra 20 bucks on stainless frets, you're a damn fool.  The difference is substantial and worth every penny.

Stainless frets it is. I am a fan of the quality that is offered by Warmoth. Even with name-brand guitars out there, you never know where they are cutting corners, it seems...

 

[DangerousR6]

Welcome, I think you'll find the people here to be valued resources, in addition to friends.

Don't forget the occasional hazing... :icon_biggrin:

But welcome to our nightmare... :icon_thumright:

 

[JCizzle]

Welcome, I think you'll find the people here to be valued resources, in addition to friends.

Don't forget the occasional hazing... :icon_biggrin:

But welcome to our nightmare... :icon_thumright:

I have thick skin, bring on the hazing! 

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Bare Knuckle Pickups are nice, but I don't find them worth the cost.  That being said, these things are cheaper near where you live, in general.  If you know what sound you are going for, that makes it a lot easier for the you to narrow down the magnet, model, style and so on of the pickup.  I would suggest Ken at Roadhouse as well.  You can get comparable sounding pickups for a lot cheaper if you are in the states.  And he will make them to what you describe as the sound you are going for.  I send him all kinds of terms that have nothing to do with music, and he nails it.  Next time I might just tell him to make perfection, and see what happens there...

Anyhow, keep an open mind with pickups, unless you already know what you want.  If that is the case, just buy them.
Patrick

 

[Jusatele]

Funny, I get the same results from Lollar when I call for pickups.
I just tell him over the phone what I am looking for and he nails it.
Some of the sounds I have asked for were "swampy with a touch of vibe" and "Fat as a pickled pigs ass". those are the best two humbuckers I have ever heard and I am not a humbucker fan. But my 335 sings.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I have been lurking on here for a few days now and I am impressed by the amount of info on here. Long story short: I've been playing for 18 years and I'm ashamed to say I had no idea about building my own guitar. However, I'm ready to take the plunge! I discovered this site a few days ago and I've been browsing the Warmoth site and have added a few bodies to my watch-list, so I plan on getting started soon.

Right off the bat, I'd like to build a soloist geared towards jazz/fusion, and down the road I'd like to build a super-strat of sorts, a LP, and a star. Living in Qatar, I'm very limited on finish options, so I will most likely have Warmoth do all of the finishing. My biggest challenge will be soldering and learning how to do it, it's been years.

Nice to meet you all and I apologize in advance for all my noob questions. Of course, I welcome any and all suggestions and feedback.

Cheers,
J.C.

Nice to meet ya!  You say you wanna build a Star?  I guess I'll use this as yet another excuse to post a pic of mine!  :toothy12:

 

[JCizzle]

Bare Knuckle Pickups are nice, but I don't find them worth the cost.  That being said, these things are cheaper near where you live, in general.  If you know what sound you are going for, that makes it a lot easier for the you to narrow down the magnet, model, style and so on of the pickup.  I would suggest Ken at Roadhouse as well.  You can get comparable sounding pickups for a lot cheaper if you are in the states.  And he will make them to what you describe as the sound you are going for.  I send him all kinds of terms that have nothing to do with music, and he nails it.  Next time I might just tell him to make perfection, and see what happens there...

Anyhow, keep an open mind with pickups, unless you already know what you want.  If that is the case, just buy them.
Patrick

Roadhouse, thank you for the suggestion, I will definitely give them a look. I am already accepting the fact that I'm going to have more than one build, so why not try more than one pickup?  :laughing3:

Some things are cheaper here, others, not so much. I suppose I can save shipping on the BKPs if I pick them up in person.  :toothy10: I'm in that 'hood every now and then.

 

[JCizzle]

Funny, I get the same results from Lollar when I call for pickups.
I just tell him over the phone what I am looking for and he nails it.
Some of the sounds I have asked for were "swampy with a touch of vibe" and "Fat as a pickled pigs ass". those are the best two humbuckers I have ever heard and I am not a humbucker fan. But my 335 sings.

I saw the Lollar site, too, very impressive. So many pickups, so little time! BKP, Lollar, Roadhouse...maybe I'll just do 3 builds to try them all...