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looking for some honest advice from people who have actually built or owned partscasters

Folks rather than arguing about what tremolo is or is not please provide references.

As with many words they can and do have different meanings.

Electronic tremolo is one thing and classical tremolo techniques are another.
 
Vibrato is not tremolo.
Chorus is not tremolo.
Rotating speaker is not tremolo.
Just because Leo Fender (who was not even a guitar player) mistakenly called his vibrato bridge a "tremolo" does not in fact make it tremolo.

'Sorry if that offends some people but reality is reality.

A good example of tremolo can be heard in the original version of the song "Crimson and Clover".
 
stratamania said:
Electronic tremolo is one thing and classical tremolo techniques are another.
Click to expand...
Right, there is more than one kind of tremolo.

I never asserted that vibrato is tremolo, that chorus is tremolo, or rotating speaker is tremolo.

I agree that Crimson & Clover has amplitude tremolo.

Tremolo also refers to a set of musical techniques which predate electric guitar. In terms of classical guitar tremolo, one of the pieces used by Ana Vidovic in the video I posted is Recuerdos de la Alhambra, written by Francisco Tarrega at the end of the 19th century. That piece uses extensive tremolo, among other pieces like Una Limosna/Limosnita por el Amor de Dios (El Ultimo Tremolo) by Augustin Barrios.

Recuerdos de la Alhambra (link)

recuerdos.png

Una Limosna por el Amor De Dios (link)​

una.png

So, if that definition of tremolo isn't acceptable, fine. But it's been defined on classical guitar, not to mention other musical instruments, for much longer than the age of electric guitar.
 
Last edited:
Spud said:
I don't have any advice really, only some experience building "partscasters" which to me is a dirty label. Depending on who built and set it up, chose the combo of parts, they can run the gamut from bleh, meh, hmmm!, to great, and beyond. They reflect you and your creativity. It is a rewarding experience for those who persevere. It is a pretty straightforward process, but as in many quality things, the devil is in the details. It's not what can the "partscaster" do for you, but what can you do for the "partscastser".

Edited for spelling.

SPUD
Click to expand...
Do something dammit!
 
kimwr11 said:
Hi everyone,

I am looking for some honest advice from people who have actually built or owned partscasters.

I have been going back and forth on a Warmoth/Musikraft-style project for quite a while. At first, I was really excited about building my own guitar, but the more I priced everything out, the more I started wondering whether I should just buy a good factory guitar instead.

Here is where I am at:

I found a very light swamp ash body, about 3.13 lbs, with a grain pattern I really like.

View attachment 68627View attachment 68628



I originally wanted a more Richie Sambora-inspired build.

View attachment 68629


But once I started l looking at the total cost, the project started feeling less like a fun build and more like a very expensive custom exercise.
The neck cost in particular is a big concern for me.
I am also wondering whether I should just stop trying to “force” a partscaster and buy something like a Fender Ultra Luxe Floyd Rose, or even a Kramer Jersey Star, or Charvel So-cal since those already have a lot of the vibe I want.

View attachment 68630View attachment 68631View attachment 68632



The main reason I am posting is that I keep hearing the usual anti-partscaster arguments from regular guitar communities:

“money pit”
“bad resale”
“can’t guarantee quality”
“poor value compared to a production guitar”

And honestly, I understand why people say those things.

To be honest, this is not even the first time I have gone through this cycle.

I have started planning partscaster projects several times before, and almost every time I eventually stopped once the total cost started approaching high-end production guitar territory. At that point, factory guitars start looking like the more rational option.

But somehow I keep coming back to the idea again.

At this point, it honestly feels almost like a syndrome or a mental illness — not in a serious way, of course, but more like something that keeps pulling me back in no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise.

Part of me feels like I may never fully get over it unless I actually build and own one myself.

I understand that partscasters are usually not the “smart” financial decision. But I also know that many people here build them for reasons beyond pure logic or resale value.

So I would really like to hear from people here who actually like building these guitars:

What made the project worth it for you?
At what point does a partscaster become a bad idea financially?
Do you think a light, good-looking body like this is enough reason to keep going?
Would you personally keep building, or would you pivot to a production guitar in this situation?
If you have ever felt “why am I doing this instead of just buying a good guitar?”, what did you end up doing?

I would appreciate any honest experiences, especially from people who have built Warmoth-based guitars or have gone through the same kind of hesitation.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Start with the neck profile, how it fits in your hand, how comfortable it is. Then consider the body shape you prefer, then the body material has specific sonic characteristics. Then choose the accessories. In the end, it will turn out that the guitar is great, but you need a special sound and are looking for a new guitar. A different guitar is needed even if it doesn't have to be retuned to a different key. Building a guitar is easy only with you tube .Body style is for yr fun but neck profile ,pickups , bridge style , body wood for play.
 
Bruce Campbell said:
Right, there is more than one kind of tremolo.

I never asserted that vibrato is tremolo, that chorus is tremolo, or rotating speaker is tremolo.

I agree that Crimson & Clover has amplitude tremolo.

Tremolo also refers to a set of musical techniques which predate electric guitar. In terms of classical guitar tremolo, one of the pieces used by Ana Vidovic in the video I posted is Recuerdos de la Alhambra, written by Francisco Tarrega at the end of the 19th century. That piece uses extensive tremolo, among other pieces like Una Limosna/Limosnita por el Amor de Dios (El Ultimo Tremolo) by Augustin Barrios.

Recuerdos de la Alhambra (link)

View attachment 68676

Una Limosna por el Amor De Dios (link)​

View attachment 68677

So, if that definition of tremolo isn't acceptable, fine. But it's been defined on classical guitar, not to mention other musical instruments, for much longer than the age of electric guitar.
Click to expand...
You asserted that pitch variation, which is what all of those things are, is tremolo. It is not.
There is not more than one kind of tremolo. There is TREMOLO, which is ONE thing.
 
Scab Pickens said:
I just like to blow money on things I don't need and can't afford 😁. After building (and keeping) six Warmoth guitars and working on number seven, I have already purchased another neck for number eight.

There is just something special, to me, about owning a "one of one".

I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. Unless you possess the skills to plan it out, put it together, and set it up, you just might end up very disappointed with the fact that you spent a lot of money on something that doesn't live up to your expectations.

If there is something off the shelf that checks most of the boxes for you, it's probably the safer route.

I have owned enough "off the shelf" guitars (and still own a few), to realize that a Warmoth build can't replicate everything. For example, there is no Warmoth guitar I can build that will replace my ESP E-II full thickness Eclipse with a set neck 😉. One could try to approximate it with a bolt-on neck Regal, but it wouldn't be the same.
Click to expand...
I hear you, loud and clear!

There is something about eclipses that make my socks go up and down. Lol.

Those and RGs are my non warmoths. I have others but those are where the doubles and triples lie.
 
Last edited:
peskypesky said:
This. Exactly this.

The reason I build partscasters is because there are no production models with the specs I want.
Click to expand...

100% true story: I just joined a band for which I needed a new guitar asap. (First gig in three weeks.) With no time to wait, I decided to buy something off the shelf. I bought not just one, but two such guitars (one via Reverb and one via Sweetwater).

I returned them both.

I was willing to make some concessions on features in favor of getting something quickly, but after playing them the quality and playability was just not enough to justify what I was giving up. I'm biting the bullet and finding another solution for the first gig while I wait for my Warmoth parts to arrive.

When it comes to buying guitars, I'll be going with Warmoth forever. I've become too spoiled by getting exactly what I want every time. I don't give a rip about resale value. I don't give a rip about wearing the "official guitar uniform" for a particular genre. I don't care what is most popular. I know what I like, and I want to get exactly that.....even if it's something as small as paint color or a Luminlay side dots.

IMO Warmoth is not about getting something cheaper than off-the-shelf. It's about getting every part of your guitar exactly as you want it. I know that sounds like marketing, especially coming from me, but I mean every word.
 
As someone that has built and modified alot of guitars and amps, this is what a Warmoth customer would get over a traditional pre built guitar.

1. If you know pretty much what you want in neck profile, sounds, body contour and hw options.
2. If you understand quality of the parts you are after.
3. If you are tinkering and want a platform you can tweak.

With that said, I own 3 Warmth guitars, but I will not be buying another because I find I reach for my aanj guitars more, even though the Warmth guitars I have sounds and feels better. Its just something I like which Warmoth dont offer.
 
aarontunes said:
100% true story: I just joined a band for which I needed a new guitar asap. (First gig in three weeks.) With no time to wait, I decided to buy something off the shelf. I bought not just one, but two such guitars (one via Reverb and one via Sweetwater).

I returned them both.

I was willing to make some concessions on features in favor of getting something quickly, but after playing them the quality and playability was just not enough to justify what I was giving up. I'm biting the bullet and finding another solution for the first gig while I wait for my Warmoth parts to arrive.

When it comes to buying guitars, I'll be going with Warmoth forever. I've become too spoiled by getting exactly what I want every time. I don't give a rip about resale value. I don't give a rip about wearing the "official guitar uniform" for a particular genre. I don't care what is most popular. I know what I like, and I want to get exactly that.....even if it's something as small as paint color or a Luminlay side dots.

IMO Warmoth is not about getting something cheaper than off-the-shelf. It's about getting every part of your guitar exactly as you want it. I know that sounds like marketing, especially coming from me, but I mean every word.
Click to expand...
"Waiting for parts to arrive" or waiting for your CO-workers to get to making them? Lol 😇
 
kimwr11 said:
Hi everyone,

I am looking for some honest advice from people who have actually built or owned partscasters.

I have been going back and forth on a Warmoth/Musikraft-style project for quite a while. At first, I was really excited about building my own guitar, but the more I priced everything out, the more I started wondering whether I should just buy a good factory guitar instead.

Here is where I am at:

I found a very light swamp ash body, about 3.13 lbs, with a grain pattern I really like.

View attachment 68627View attachment 68628



I originally wanted a more Richie Sambora-inspired build.

View attachment 68629


But once I started l looking at the total cost, the project started feeling less like a fun build and more like a very expensive custom exercise.
The neck cost in particular is a big concern for me.
I am also wondering whether I should just stop trying to “force” a partscaster and buy something like a Fender Ultra Luxe Floyd Rose, or even a Kramer Jersey Star, or Charvel So-cal since those already have a lot of the vibe I want.

View attachment 68630View attachment 68631View attachment 68632



The main reason I am posting is that I keep hearing the usual anti-partscaster arguments from regular guitar communities:

“money pit”
“bad resale”
“can’t guarantee quality”
“poor value compared to a production guitar”

And honestly, I understand why people say those things.

To be honest, this is not even the first time I have gone through this cycle.

I have started planning partscaster projects several times before, and almost every time I eventually stopped once the total cost started approaching high-end production guitar territory. At that point, factory guitars start looking like the more rational option.

But somehow I keep coming back to the idea again.

At this point, it honestly feels almost like a syndrome or a mental illness — not in a serious way, of course, but more like something that keeps pulling me back in no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise.

Part of me feels like I may never fully get over it unless I actually build and own one myself.

I understand that partscasters are usually not the “smart” financial decision. But I also know that many people here build them for reasons beyond pure logic or resale value.

So I would really like to hear from people here who actually like building these guitars:

What made the project worth it for you?
At what point does a partscaster become a bad idea financially?
Do you think a light, good-looking body like this is enough reason to keep going?
Would you personally keep building, or would you pivot to a production guitar in this situation?
If you have ever felt “why am I doing this instead of just buying a good guitar?”, what did you end up doing?

I would appreciate any honest experiences, especially from people who have built Warmoth-based guitars or have gone through the same kind of hesitation.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
I think it’s only worth it if you must have something that doesn’t really exist but you can create it with parts. For example I love schaller fixed bridges for baritones and 28 5/8 scale. Warmoth parts can do that. Doesn’t exist as far as I know on a factory
guitar. I love Gibson scale, 24 frets, and a Vega trem. Again I can do that with warmoth parts. Doesn’t exist as a factory guitar. The old valley arts guitars are probably great which is what a 7/8 is but I’d much rather have a Vega trem over a Floyd rose original, best trem ever. I don’t use a neck pickup or a middle pickup so I can just have my bridge humbucker. I built an extreme short scale bass out of a baritone neck and the z body. That really doesn’t exist in the real world. Absolute perfect bass for me.
 
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