LOST AND OVERWHELMED!!!! please help :)

Mahler

Newbie
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5
Hi
I've wanted a fender strat for a while now, but only recently discovered warmoth.
And HOLY **** it is the best site ever created in the history of the earth/universe/any other parallel universes.
But theres so many OPTIONS!!!! :sad: :sad: :sad: I'm so unsure of what each wood sounds like, which woods will go well together (sound wise), and look good together at the same time.
Is there somewhere you can go to try out all of these options, or do you just discover through experience?
If you guys could post some feedback on some of your past projects and how they turned out, I would appreciate it very much.
Thanks.  :rock-on:

:glasses9:?
 
Check the woods pages on the site. Neck and body woods. They will give an idea. Also, just spend some time reading through the old posts here in the forums for some good info. What sounds or styles of music do you want to play?
 
Thanks.
Gilmour :hello2:, Beck, Clapton, Hendrix, SRV, Malmsteen, Trower, Knopfler, thats pretty much it.

What i do know for sure though is that ill put some 'custom shop 1954's' in it.
 
Cool..... And Welcome.

You'll probably want to keep to a fairly classic combination for that type of thing.  Alder or Ash body, maple/maple or maple/rosewood neck.  The custom 54's will serve you pretty well.

But then....I guess it also kinda depends on what you want it to look like.  Are you going to go for standard looks, (solid colour or burst), or do you want fancy looks (flame, quilt, etc tops)  Fancy neck?

Be careful to choose you neckback shape, this could be one factor which can make or break a 'custom' guitar.  If you choose the wrong neckback you could eng up with a guitar that looks and sounds great, but that you cant play.

I agree with Kublai, do lots of reading up on here, and see whats what.
For the record, I got a swamp ash body (black with 8-ball graphic) with a birdseye maple neck, and Kinman Woodstock+ single coils for a 'Hot Vintage' Hendrixy kinda sound. 

Most important..... Keep and open mind, and enjoy..... and ask questions.

:icon_thumright:
 
Mahler said:
Thanks.
Gilmour :hello2:, Beck, Clapton, Hendrix, SRV, Malmsteen, Trower, Knopfler, thats pretty much it.

What i do know for sure though is that ill put some 'custom shop 1954's' in it.

Well...I'd use a canary neck, ebony fingerboard, for that great raw-wood feel, and maple/maple tone. for the body, I'd think it over once or twice. do I want a sound with a lot of warmth, or a lot of brightness and clearity? for the first, I'd use black korina, for the latter, I'd use walnut. I know, fender doesnt use those woods, but I found, and many with me, that those woods give a better, more allround, rounder, more mature, tone than just maple and ash or alder.

and about the neck: look up which neck profile you love most on your own axes. if you feel, this is ok, but too 'skinny', order a fatter version of that neck. for me, personally, the fatback is the best. its a nice hand full, and the 'fat' neck translates in a raw, punchy, sound with a LOT of balls.
 
What you can do is to incorporate all that you like about the guys you mentioned and put it all in one guitar.  That's the beauty of a custom Warmoth.

For example :-

Gilmour - Visually looking like his Black Strat.

Beck - Am Standard 2 post trem and LSR nut.

Clapton - Vintage Noiseless pickups and Mid-Boost.

Hendrix - Large Strat headstock.

SRV - SRV back profile for neck.

Malmsteen - Scalloped fretboard.

Trower - Plug the guitar through a Univibe.

Knopfler - Don't use a pick, use your finger nails instead.

There you have it.  All bases covered.
 
You, my friend, need a sweet strat.  I think Orpheo is on the right track... canary neck, I would throw a rosewood fretboard on there since you're a blues man, and a nice vintage-tint swamp ash body.

Jim is right that the contour is really important.  You can't really go wrong with standard thin but you might be into the Clapton or SRV shapes... try out their signature models at Guitar Center.
 
Definitely go raw wood neck. Make sure you know what frets you like too. I ordered frets that were just too tall for me on one of my builds.
 
I choose a Pau Ferro fingerboard for my fretless Jazz bass, and i really love the wood.
I know that SRV liked Pau Ferro boards, and his signature model Fender has the Pau Ferro fretboard.
I just thought i would throw this out there as a suggestion. Check out the Fender SRV Strat and see if you like it.
 
dbw said:
You, my friend, need a sweet strat.  I think Orpheo is on the right track... canary neck, I would throw a rosewood fretboard on there since you're a blues man, and a nice vintage-tint swamp ash body.

Jim is right that the contour is really important.  You can't really go wrong with standard thin but you might be into the Clapton or SRV shapes... try out their signature models at Guitar Center.
no, no, not rosewood!! that will 'mush' it too much up, like a cheap ass strat build by some underpayed asian youngsters. no my friend, then we'll use ziricote or pau ferro, if it has to be a rosewood-like wood. but ebony... man, thats luxery!
 
Orpheo said:
dbw said:
You, my friend, need a sweet strat.  I think Orpheo is on the right track... canary neck, I would throw a rosewood fretboard on there since you're a blues man, and a nice vintage-tint swamp ash body.

Jim is right that the contour is really important.  You can't really go wrong with standard thin but you might be into the Clapton or SRV shapes... try out their signature models at Guitar Center.
no, no, not rosewood!! that will 'mush' it too much up, like a cheap ass strat build by some underpayed asian youngsters. no my friend, then we'll use ziricote or pau ferro, if it has to be a rosewood-like wood. but ebony... man, thats luxery!

Pay no attention to the European with a gazillion Les Pauls!  ;)  Strats sound great with rosewood, just ask SRV.
 
dbw said:
Pay no attention to the European with a gazillion Les Pauls!  ;)  Strats sound great with rosewood, just ask SRV.

Oi.  No Euro-bashing!!!!  :icon_tongue:
........And Didnt Stevie play Pau Ferro  :icon_scratch:
 
I do like Pao Ferro for the board, and yes that's what SRV had and is on his sig strat. Go play the SRV and Clapton sigs at some guitar center to get a sense of those neck profiles. Find some high-end basses, you might get to try a wenge (awesome!) or bubinga neck. Honestly asking this board about which woods are best is opening up a huge can of worms and is not where you want to start - I'd start by figuring out the bridge, nut, scale length, fret size, and all that stuff. Classic woods are cheaper and obviously have great tones, and those exotic woods feel great and can also have great tone. You can search this whole site, hundreds of custom guitars, and maybe not find one instance of people 'regretting' their wood choice - they ALWAYS say it sounds great. When I got to woods, I would ask mainly, what do I want it to look like, and how much do I want it to weigh. Best of luck and congrats on finding the shangri-la of gearhead guitar sites.
 
Mahler said:
Thanks.
Gilmour :hello2:, Beck, Clapton, Hendrix, SRV, Malmsteen, Trower, Knopfler, thats pretty much it.

If those guys' tone is what you like, and what you want (or in the ballpark) for your own - consider the guitars they used (primarily stock Fender Strats) and go from there.  Research their guitars online (plenty of info).

Ash or alder body, maple/maple or maple/rosewood or maple/pau ferro neck.

My own tone tips:

- get a 6-hole trem with stamped saddles - a Callaham if you can.
- get Lindy Fralin or Callaham (Fralin) pickups if you can.

My own style tip:

- get the 70's CBS pornstar headstock   :icon_thumright:
 
Ash body, fralin/callaham pups, I say go exotic for the neck. Pau Ferro, perhaps. Go smaller headstock, though :p
 
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