Just about ready to place an order

[runner]

OK...  I'm about ready to take the plunge and place an order with Warmoth.  This will be my first Warmoth guitar.  I want to build a "somewhat of a replica" of the Slash Signature Gold Top Les Paul.  I want to put the SD Alnico Pro II in the neck and a Pearly Gates in the bridge so I can get a little more distortion for some metal.  I really like the bluesy hard rock sound of the traditional Guns N Roses stuff from the late 80's early 90s so that's my main goal here.  The Pearly Gates just gives me a little more diversity to do some harder stuff.  I've seen several for sale on eBay with good pictures so I'm basing my specs on that.

Body:
Carved top LP in mahogany with maple top.  Since about 20% of my music will include metal I've decided against the chambered option.  (Unless someone can talk me out of it)

Color will be the "gold top gold" for the top and a dark cherry color for the sides and back.  I think the cream color binding looks the closest to the original so for now I'm going with cream. 

All pot holes, switches and jacks will be in the standard LP positions.  I'm going with the TonePros locking bridge and tailpiece (tune-o-matic).  Hmmmm... what else?

Neck:
Conversion neck 24 3/4 in mahogany with rosewood fingerboard.  Trapezoid inlays.  Mahogany finished the same to match the back of the body.  Black headstock like original Gibson.  Same cream binding on the neck as the body.  Standard thin profile.

Not sure about the tuners.  I don't know squat about tuners except that the standard tuners that came on my Gibson SG really suck.  I wish someone could give me some advice on which tuners to use.  I need to know so I can specify the tuner holes on my order.  I'm not so concerned about price as I am about good quality.  None of the tuners Warmoth sells have the vintage looking knobs like the original Gibsons have so I might have to get them somewhere else.  It's not that important though.

As far as the frets go, stainless steel baby!  Either in jumbo or the next size up for that scalloped feel.  I need to research this some more first. 

I also want to have a custom neck plate made but right now I'm not sure what I want on it.  Maybe a small version of the artwork Slash did for the headstock.

That's what I have so far.  I'm about ready to place my order.  I'll have at least ten weeks to gather up all the electronics, tuners and hardware before the body and neck ships.

Again, I have 11 months of guitar under my belt.  My current guitar is a stock Gibson SG Special.  If anybody has any advice for me then give it to me now, before I finalize my order.  Thanks!

--
Andy

 

[Ang3lus]

sounds perfect

 

[Wana_make_a_guitar]

Be sure to spot a bother to DangerousR6 about a custom made neckplate. He'll hook you up with something awesome.

 

[Kublai]

Consider a neck that does not require a finish. Raw necks are really nice.

 

[ZGOZZ]

cool

 

[runner]

I forgot to mention that I was thinking about one of those compensating nuts.  The Warmoth website says they are ready to  use right out of the box and don't need to be filed.  The nut that came on my current Gibson SG binds even after taking it to a luthier.  I end up spending too much time fiddling with the tuning.

I also forgot to ask about leveling and dressing the frets.  When the neck comes in the mail is it ready to go or will I have to take it in the be dressed?  There's another couple hundred dollars I may need to account for.

 

[Ang3lus]

the earvana nuts ?
they do need to be filed
my luthier did a horrible job, i ended up buying the tools to fix it, should be here on sunday.

 

[tfarny]

1. Compensated nut, or pre-installed nut? Either one will need to be worked on (filed, etc.) by a luthier or by you. That's part of the deal with making your own.
2. The Pearly Gates isn't a metal pickup, it's thoroughly a classic rock pickup. Supposed to be the Billy Gibbons pickup. A duncan Custom 5 in the bridge for instance would give you more power and you could get to metal easier. You probably want DC resistance of over 10k at least to qualify as a 'metal' pickup.
3. I've never used it, but the consensus on the board is that tonepros locking hardware is all hype and a waste of money.
4. Some always get their new guitars' frets levelled and dressed, others are content right out of the box. A complete, great setup including this and nut work should be less than $200 even from a great shop. My new fave repair shop is Rudy's Music Stop in NYC (i.e., Rudy Pensa's shop). That's what they charge, just for comparison.
5. Consider an unfinished neck in Rosewood or other. Cost is actually less because you don't pay for a finish and the feel and playability are very addictive. High-end stuff and the kind of thing that makes people Warmoth addicts. Standard thin? You sure you don't want a thicker neck for a Goldtop Les Paul?
6. Look at all the tuner options on stewmac, and check the specs for the required hole sizes. The Planet Waves that Warmoth sells are good quality. People are down on Grovers, I haven't had any problems.
7. Frets are very personal-choice. Play lots of guitars, get info, and pick carefully. Some people think Stainless are fantastic, others meh. People who do fretwork hate them and will charge you more.

Hope this helps - come back and post pics when you're all done.

 

[Nando Vallart]

Think you should ask the body to have a Maple top... To brake all that bottom end a little and to have a more LP standard tone...

Raw neck: Get Rosewood for traditional tone or Wenge if you want something different, but I'm on Rosewood for THE LP tone... Think about a neck with  fatter profile, I'm one of those who believe you only get that big tone with a fat neck, Warmoth has nothing between the 21,8mm at 1st fret on '59 and 25,4mm on fatback... Think that if they had something alike 23,5mm and 24,5mm all thru the neck would be great! Smaller compromise and still big tone... ( hey Gregg, hint hint )

Tuners: Gotoh Locking vintage style (2nd or 1st from right):
http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/tuners_lockinggotoh.htm

Personal taste: I much preffer Gibsons with Dark Brown back, but not everyone is like that...

Frets, I like them big, asked 6105 and think it's not big enough, will ask from now the 6100 ( I use high action on strings, but I think I saw some guys "jackson style" using the too)

Pickup wise I would go for other manufactories: Rio Grande, Bare Knuckle, and etc... Pickups the biggest deal on guitars, makes sense to me go to the top notch on them...

 

[runner]

I'm a little worried about getting an unfinished neck.  The Warmoth website says:

"We understand the attraction of raw or lightly oiled necks. They feel fast and are not sticky. Unfortunately, they are much more susceptible to moisture related warping and twisting. Our experience is that hard finished necks seldom warp. Less than 1 out of 200 (0.5%) are returned for warpage. Raw or oiled necks don't fare as well. About 10% are rendered useless from the torture. The more acidic your perspiration, the higher the odds are against you.

If you must play a raw neck, that's cool; it's ok. A neck is just a tool. Just be aware of the risk. If yours does the pretzel act, we don't want to hear about it."

I think that just about convinces me.  I have noticed that under certain conditions my SG neck gets sticky (no wise cracks) usually when the humidity is fairly high.  But I live in a desert so that doesn't happen very often.  Actually, I think I'll ask Warmoth about rosewood and how well it performs compared to mahogany.  I should get the facts before deciding.

I've also decided to use my SG for metal and not make the LP a multi-purpose guitar.

 

[blue313]

Certain woods really need a hard finish to stave off warping in the long run.  Some have had decent luck with them unfinished, but the numbers seem to say that they are in the minority.  It could just be a combination of their body chemistry and where they live that is preventing it from warping.

If you really want to play an unfinished neck that'll be similar to mahogany...have you considered wenge, rosewood, or pau ferro? 

 

[runner]

Blue313, I'm going to check with Warmoth to see how rosewood performs before I make a final decision.

 

[thumb55]

I've been going crazy with options and trying to finalize my ideas for a project.  I've played with quite a few guitars lately and I'll let you in on my opinion.

the Jackson Mark Morton guitar is a chambered Mahogany Maple topped guitar with Duncan 59's in it and that is amazing guitar.  Metal or Not!

Not exactly metal pickups but if your amp has enough gain (or EQ) you don't really need over the top pu's.  I've been looking at the Pealy Gates option myself being a slightly hotter than vintage pu with great harmonics.

I'm all about a raw neck, I'm either going with a Wenge/Ebony or a Bubinga/Ebony on my next build.

 

[tfarny]

The quote above about neck warranties is for maple, mahogany and a few others. Rosewood and exotic necks don't need a finish and a finish is not recommended by the company. In the "neck woods" part you can see for each wood whether a finish is required.

 

[runner]

Thanks for pointing that out tfarny, there is so much info on there that I can't keep it all straight.

 

[DangerousR6]

Sounds like a cool build in mind there runner...Go for the Gold flake sparkle....It's mezmorizing... :tard:   I'm gonna throw down for a soloist one day with the Gold flake , I love that ....


And Wanna, thanks for the props... :icon_thumright: