Help identify a Warmoth body

[tomssy]

Bought this Strat with a Warmoth body from a friend a while back. Was wondering if it's possible to tell what sort of wood it is? What is the number stamped on the neck heel? What other details could I find out about this body?

 

[bagman67]

The open grain with that streaky tan color looks to me like black korina, or black limba, to use the name of the species everyone outside guitar circles use.

The number in the pocket is just a shop-floor tracking number, and gets reused from time to time.  Just allows you to track the part as it makes its way down the line from CNC to sanding to finishing to shipping.  Without it, it is harder to track the state of custom orders.

 

[tomssy]

Thanks!

There's some handwriting there, I can't make out whether it says 1pc or 2pc. The body is very light, I think it is chambered.

 

[Cagey]

I think Bagman's right - it's black Limba (Black Korina). The writing looks like "1 pc - H" to me. Their bodies are normally 2 piece, so that wouldn't merit a mark, while 1 piece would. Can't imagine what the "H" stands for, unless it's "Hollow"? You say it seems unusually light, which would be unusual for a BK body, but I can't imagine them hollowing out a piece that was nice enough to be a one-piece body. But, customers order strange things. I have a carved top Tele here that's Maple topped over Black Korina, then it was bound and painted Blue Ice. WTF? But, then I have a old-style VIP body that's curly Maple over Mahogany that's also painted, but I'm the one who painted it. While those woods sound special, they really weren't aesthetically pleasing examples of the species.

 

[tomssy]

Yep, very very light, way lighter than any Strats I'd handled. Here's another shot showing what seems to me like a top cap? I am guessing that's how hollow body is constructed?

 

[Cagey]

Yup. Route out a solid piece, then cap it.

 

[musicispeace]

More experienced eyes have correctly identified the black Korina. Attached is a shot of the chambered black korina body I recently sold. In the neck pocket for that it appears the weight was written in. Any chance at all what looks like H could be a number?

 

[Cagey]

I suppose it's possible. Does look like an "H", though, and it does look like a hollow construct, and it is unusually lightweight. Circumstantial, but it all tracks pretty good.

 

[stratamania]

Perhaps the H is for Humbucker, as it is routed for one.

 

[TBurst Std]

I would tend to believe it means hollow.  Wouldn’t need to mark it as Humbucker as that is visually evident.  Marks like that tend to be used during production for non visual attributes. 

 

[Fat Pete]

Occam's razor people.

Warmoth don't make hollow Strat bodies*.
They usually hand write the body weight in that location.
The body is not brand new (it has a scratchplate fitted already).
The neck pocket would not be routed after a decision to chamber the body (*or even some weird, way off menu, hollowing).

Conclusion: the 'H' is what remains of the weight, after the neck pocket was sanded slightly to remove excess paint etc.

It does appear to be one piece as it's clearly not centre-jointed, so '1pc' makes sense. It does look like BK.

 

[dmraco]

Looks like some nice wood.  I would be stripping that puppy down.

 

[stratamania]

I would tend to believe it means hollow.  Wouldn’t need to mark it as Humbucker as that is visually evident.  Marks like that tend to be used during production for non visual attributes.

It would be evident after being routed, but not prior. In which case it would be a non-visual attribute.

 

[tomssy]

Thanks all for the great insight and information!