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Help Identifying this Warmoth neck

arealken

Senior Member
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I acquired this Warmoth neck ,oh, I guess a couple years ago.
The seller stated that this neck was made by Warmoth in the early days of the company before they started using the brand in the wood , as it is a stamp  identifying it as Warmoth.

Also, It looks as though the neck is Indian Rosewood, and not certain about the  fretboard, although I am thinking it may be Brazillian, but the fretbaord has no grain like the Indian Rosewood, and it is super smooth-slick, so possibly it was treated or something?

The frets look like low and wide frets, and it looks like it has a medium flat radius, not 7.25 but not real flat either. It's a heavy neck. I put it on my old 80's Dimarzio Strat body and it sounds excellent.

Any help with opinions or identification appreciated.




 
The fretboard looks like macassar ebony, and the shaft looks like padauk that's gone brown from exposure to light.
 
It also looks like somebody's done some serious filing on those frets. There's no crown to them at all, and doesn't look like there's room to create one. As long as they're level, it'll probably play ok, but you're probably looking at a refret in the not-too-distant future.
 
Cagey said:
It also looks like somebody's done some serious filing on those frets. There's no crown to them at all, and doesn't look like there's room to create one. As long as they're level, it'll probably play ok, but you're probably looking at a refret in the not-too-distant future.

That was me did did the amateur fret level. The frets were unplayable. If i knew of a competent Luhier, then I would have taken n the neck in to one, but I've had such terrible experiences , even with so called 1st rate pro luthiers, that I just try and attempt a half assed job mylelf-as good as anything I ever payed a lot of money for.

The frets do have a passable  crown, however it is not a pro job. The level I did  is adequate, and much better than when I got it.

 
Bagman67 said:
The fretboard looks like macassar ebony, and the shaft looks like padauk that's gone brown from exposure to light.

I believe this is correct. You can see the color difference on the back of the heel. The part that was against the body is still a bit red. The part that has been exposed is brown.

Also, it may go without saying, but this neck is an older one...definitely produced before the Fender license agreement. Every Fender-licensed neck made after the agreement has received the "Lic by Fender" brand. Also, the decal on the headstock is of course not original. My guess is someone did that because they wanted to imitate the look of all the Padouk necks that Fender has made.  ??? :icon_scratch:
 
I wonder what year they ( Warmoth) went to the Fender Licensed necks? That might could  help me put a  date on the neck.
Yes, I see now that it is Padouk and Ebony.  Thanks. Also, I have removed the decal.
 
I'm pretty sure they started the business in 1980 building Fender replacement necks - not sure if they were licensed at first or not. They never have serialized their parts, though, so dating them hasn't ever really been possible.
 
The neck is Padauk. That's 100% certain. Padauk has a distinctive grain pattern, and is one of only two red colored woods that Warmoth uses for necks. The other is Bloodwood, which is not an open-grained wood like what you have.

As for the fretboard, there are some markings that are typical of Macassar Ebony, but it could also be a cut of their regular grade Ebony, with some streaking.
 
arealken said:
I wonder what year they ( Warmoth) went to the Fender Licensed necks? That might could  help me put a  date on the neck.
Yes, I see now that it is Padouk and Ebony.  Thanks. Also, I have removed the decal.

The license agreement with Fender took place in 1996. All Fender licensed necks produced since then have the "Lic By Fender" brand on the heel. Your neck was made sometime between 1980 and 1996. I would guess it was in the earlier end of that range, based on the turtle's shell being "filled in", rather than just lines.
 
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