Hello there! Lots of Q's about my first project
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DiMitriR33
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those ernie ball tops are flat, so when the wood is cut there is little diference from the mating faces of the two pieces, then it's "book matched" where they fold them out like a book. on a carved top the patterns can change in the carving and sanding as it will reveal wood from directions opposite each other giving a slightly non symetrical look. also some manufacturers are careful to cut the wood so the patterns meet perpendicular to the edge. i don't know if you can request that from warmoth, they have an option to make special requests on the piece of wood but since it will change while cutting it they may or may not be able to fulfill the request.
for maple tops i feel the same way, i'm pretty picky on how the pieces meet in the center. you can ask a sales rep if they can accomadate you on getting a top like you're looking for, or just watch the showcase untill a sutible one comes up. it might not have a 1 piece back but at least you'd get to see it first. ofcoarse the u-pick option is there but will be quite expensive.
i dought warmoth will do the recess around the knobs.
as for the neck i believe pauduk sounds quite like maple, and king wood like rosewood. i think i read some where that king wood is a type of rosewood but don't know for sure.
for maple tops i feel the same way, i'm pretty picky on how the pieces meet in the center. you can ask a sales rep if they can accomadate you on getting a top like you're looking for, or just watch the showcase untill a sutible one comes up. it might not have a 1 piece back but at least you'd get to see it first. ofcoarse the u-pick option is there but will be quite expensive.
i dought warmoth will do the recess around the knobs.
as for the neck i believe pauduk sounds quite like maple, and king wood like rosewood. i think i read some where that king wood is a type of rosewood but don't know for sure.
juliancs said:
braz. rosewood isnt a very 'warm' tonewood, as I said before. its not as warm as pallisander rosewood or indian rosewood. its a bit more punchy and tight. if you wanna have a 'warm' neck, use wenge,bubinga or indian rosewood with kingwood, wenge, rosewood or perhaps even ebony (for the feel) fingerboard.
But there are no flat top VIP bodies!! Ho hum. To be honest, all I'm hearing from Warmoth sales reps is "no". They won't do the recessed knobs - fair enough, if PRS bollocked them, I can understand. They won't make sure the green dye job is a little darker than usual...they can't just rub some black in or something? And the response I'm getting about the bodies is wait until something I want shows up on the showcase. Who knows how long that can take!!
I understand I'm being very difficult here, but I'm starting to feel like I'm choosing a premade guitar....
I understand I'm being very difficult here, but I'm starting to feel like I'm choosing a premade guitar....
juliancs said:
the thing is: warmoth is not a customshop. they're in the 'custom PARTS' business. if there is not something you want in the catalogue, it might be a good idea to
a: change your plans to what warmoth has to offer
or:
b: change plans at all, and move to a different builder.
some things just can't be done, like a flat top vip, or a singlepiece quilt maple top, or very special dyes or colors. if you wanna have a VIP with a carved top, where the grain is as symmetrical as can be, and green too, you just have to take the dive, and do it, and order it. 100% custom can never be done here, unless you want the very 'standard' things here. I wanted a ziricote neckback, of all things the most, but they didnt do the angled headstock, so I settled for a normal, straight headstock, which I could cut out myself (paddle). tough decision, but for what I wanted, i just HAD to do it. you have to make compromises, or look elsewhere.
I was reading about how they do the bodys, about "bookmatching". Is this done automatically, or do I need to request it? Seems this will get my a symmetrical finish?
More on the VIP body - I'm worried it will be too 'wide' - no thickness of the body, but side to side....hardly any pics of people playing them so it's hard to judge. Does anyone have measurements?
Looking at the soloists now....
About wood. My thinking is that I get a warm (mahogany) body, with a bright (maple) top. Maple seems to be giving my trouble, so are there alternatives? I'm going to be playing a lot of metal music, so need a chunky (my worry with the soloists thinner body) sound, with a good punch to i but VERY tight (Iced Earth...). I will, however, be playing a decent amount of jazz and funk as well, so need to think about that...
More on the VIP body - I'm worried it will be too 'wide' - no thickness of the body, but side to side....hardly any pics of people playing them so it's hard to judge. Does anyone have measurements?
Looking at the soloists now....
About wood. My thinking is that I get a warm (mahogany) body, with a bright (maple) top. Maple seems to be giving my trouble, so are there alternatives? I'm going to be playing a lot of metal music, so need a chunky (my worry with the soloists thinner body) sound, with a good punch to i but VERY tight (Iced Earth...). I will, however, be playing a decent amount of jazz and funk as well, so need to think about that...
I know I'm talking to my self here but hoping somone will come along and answer it all in one go :O. I really do appreciate the help. Why does warmoth have so many nice tops for strat bodies, and next to none for VIP? Can't they use the same piece of wood, or is it precut?
What about getting a top on a soloist?
What about getting a top on a soloist?
I'll take my turn here...
1. Don't worry all that much about the body shape or wood, as far as the sound goes. Just get the right pickups for the job, and the right trem or hardtail setup for your needs, and you'll be well on your way as far as the sound goes. Think about the influence of wood like this: neck wood > body wood > fretboard wood > body lam wood. If you're willing to give up on flame maple, you can get most common woods in one-piece tops for very reasonable charges. I've got a one-piece swamp ash telecaster and only paid USD 75 extra for the one-piece aspect.
2. I'll reiterate that they are not a custom shop. You can definitely get exactly what you want though. Just call up PRS or Gibson and have them make it for you to your exact specifications. Once you get the price quote, you'll stop being mad at Warmoth. Don't get mad at the company because they won't make you a USD 10,000 guitar for USD 1500. The reason they won't do all that special stuff is because they only charge, for instance, USD 220 for a paint job. That's the cheapest paint job you can get in the US and so they need to streamline production, make it efficient, to turn a profit. Basically, be reasonable and don't go to Macdonalds demanding filet mignon.
3. As already explained, bookmatching will get you a pretty symmetrical finish on a flat top, but on a carved top it's impossible because the act of 'carving' exposes new wood grain, so you can't know in advance how it's gonna look. Notice that in the showcase, most of the strat bodies have nearly invisible lines, and they're almost all two-piece, that's because on a flat top its relatively easy to match the grain.
4. They have more strats and teles because that's the market. Most of the aftermarket and build-it-yourself is all built around strats and to a lesser extent teles. Warmoth has more body choices than any other similar company that I've seen, and as far as I know they are the only one to offer a body similar to PRS.
5. If you're that worried about the width of a VIP, etc., maybe you shouldn't order a guitar you're never seen - maybe that isn't the right road for you. I'm just saying, there's gonna be a lot of unknowns and you've just got to make the leap or not. Do call up PRS custom shop though and find out how much it would cost to get just what you want. Another thought - make a careful purchase of a nice used PRS on ebay, get the all-rosewood neck, every one I've played has been awesome. I mean, if that's what you really want, that's what you should get, and they are pretty reasonable used (USD 1500 for a McCarty).
1. Don't worry all that much about the body shape or wood, as far as the sound goes. Just get the right pickups for the job, and the right trem or hardtail setup for your needs, and you'll be well on your way as far as the sound goes. Think about the influence of wood like this: neck wood > body wood > fretboard wood > body lam wood. If you're willing to give up on flame maple, you can get most common woods in one-piece tops for very reasonable charges. I've got a one-piece swamp ash telecaster and only paid USD 75 extra for the one-piece aspect.
2. I'll reiterate that they are not a custom shop. You can definitely get exactly what you want though. Just call up PRS or Gibson and have them make it for you to your exact specifications. Once you get the price quote, you'll stop being mad at Warmoth. Don't get mad at the company because they won't make you a USD 10,000 guitar for USD 1500. The reason they won't do all that special stuff is because they only charge, for instance, USD 220 for a paint job. That's the cheapest paint job you can get in the US and so they need to streamline production, make it efficient, to turn a profit. Basically, be reasonable and don't go to Macdonalds demanding filet mignon.
3. As already explained, bookmatching will get you a pretty symmetrical finish on a flat top, but on a carved top it's impossible because the act of 'carving' exposes new wood grain, so you can't know in advance how it's gonna look. Notice that in the showcase, most of the strat bodies have nearly invisible lines, and they're almost all two-piece, that's because on a flat top its relatively easy to match the grain.
4. They have more strats and teles because that's the market. Most of the aftermarket and build-it-yourself is all built around strats and to a lesser extent teles. Warmoth has more body choices than any other similar company that I've seen, and as far as I know they are the only one to offer a body similar to PRS.
5. If you're that worried about the width of a VIP, etc., maybe you shouldn't order a guitar you're never seen - maybe that isn't the right road for you. I'm just saying, there's gonna be a lot of unknowns and you've just got to make the leap or not. Do call up PRS custom shop though and find out how much it would cost to get just what you want. Another thought - make a careful purchase of a nice used PRS on ebay, get the all-rosewood neck, every one I've played has been awesome. I mean, if that's what you really want, that's what you should get, and they are pretty reasonable used (USD 1500 for a McCarty).
R
RLW
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Tfarny's answer is about as good as it gets. Excellent post.
tfarny said:
Put a lot into perspective for me, thanks. Again, I know Im sounding like a whiny bitch, and I really don't want to come across as that, it's just if I'm going to be spending 1800 US dollars on this guitar, I want it to be close to perfect. I'm a small guy so am worried about the width of the guitar. I'm more going for a john petrucci shape over a PRS shape. About the whole symmetry line thing, again I'm being picky, but I just think flat top guitars look very odd - I like my curves :toothy10:. I understand now how the "carving" will show new wood, cool. Again though, all the "one of a kind" bodies on the strat page, are they already cut? Cause there are some awesome looking quilted maple at a good price, but nothing on the soloist side of things...
I'm getting there, slowly!!
If you're referring to the 'special' lam tops on the strat page, I'm sure they'd be able to put one of those onto a flat-top soloist. They are NOT already cut, in fact when you click on the picture you get a larger picture of the actual slab of wood. They just show a cute 'strat' shape for whatever reason.
I don't know the width of a VIP, sorry. Never seen one.
I don't know the width of a VIP, sorry. Never seen one.
Kostas
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juliancs said:
Any shape you will get would be fine for you, not much difference to give you trouble.
Watch these clips to see the actual guitars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdyeolPjMGc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lp3STlUW38
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx94ZbSJE8E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwWf2SjzT-4
