Meanwhile, at Warmoth...Neck Construction Shootout video

[aarontunes]

[youtube]i6XXcDiPcKc[/youtube]


Gentlemen...start your engines!!!

 

[stratamania]

Ok brrrm. Now I will watch the video  ccasion14:

 

[Logrinn]

Very cool.  :icon_thumright:
I really appreciate all your hard efforts doing this. Kudos!
My thoughts after seeing this and listening to it using headphones was that the different sound examples were pretty similar.
So people considering a certain model should be able to sleep better at night now since they seem to sound pretty much the same.
IMO

 

[amigarobbo]

:icon_scratch:

After much thought, I like the green t-shirt best.

 

[rgand]

Great video! One of the best.

I agree with the sound differences you mentioned, Aaron. The vintage did seem cleaner to me than the other two. The vintage modern and modern did handle distortion better, for sure. I like the modern side adjust feature. They were all fine necks. I do have a new respect for the vintage design, though. Maybe I'll have to try one of those some time.

 

[ragamuffin]

Huh, nothing extreme, but there was more difference than I expected. I like the modern the best, which is a good thing since I own a modern neck.

 

[amigarobbo]

I thought the Modern was more 'Full frequency' more very top, more body, objectively better...

but in many ways I actually prefer the classic neck, a 'simpler' sound,  more tightly focused in one 'frequency band', but then I like my skinny string guitars thin sounding, so they can leave more space for the proper guitars*  :bananaguitar:

Surprised how much difference there was, but could I tell them apart blind?, Part of a group sound? Could I heck as like.

*  :evil4:

(I uploaded a couple of obscure tracks off old vinyl records up to youtube when I was bored the other day, listening back to the MP3s I'd made the MP3 sound significantly better, compared to the Youtube Video on high res, even when the Youtube video was no smaller than the MP3, The deep bass was really lacking.)

 

[DangerousR6]

you should have worn a "neck" tie in that video... :laughing7:

 

[Cagey]

I thought they all sounded pretty much the same, except when he wore the red t-shirt. And you'll notice that while not universally true, most of your professional players try to avoid t-shirts altogether when recording. Due to color variation and various graphic embellishments, their effect is just too unpredictable. Plus, they often don't have pockets, which is another good reason to avoid them. A shirt without a pocket is just a shop rag, and nobody wants to be known for erratic tone or wearing rags.

 

[Wolfie351]

My ears prefered the exact opposite.  I liked the Modern for low gain and Vintage/Modern for high gain.  Just goes to show that guitar wood and construction is not a one-size-fits-all and different ears can hear different things.  Big thanks to W for having such a wide offering of choices.  Just because one person can't hear a difference doesn't mean everyone can't.

 

[BigSteve22]

...most of your professional players try to avoid t-shirts altogether when recording. Due to color variation and various graphic embellishments, their effect is just too unpredictable....

I think that's especially true of Nike shirts, way too much "swoosh"!

 

[aarontunes]

...most of your professional players try to avoid t-shirts altogether when recording. Due to color variation and various graphic embellishments, their effect is just too unpredictable....

I think that's especially true of Nike shirts, way too much "swoosh"!

Umm....doy. Why do you think I had Fila shirts on?  :icon_thumright:

 

[arealken]

Thank you so much Warmoth. Double A is spot on in his brilliant assessment, and I believe the necks sound  really do correspond to their names. The Vintage is for me, in general sounding more, well, vintage. That said, i wanted a modern sounding neck for my modern Strat build with EMG's , and the Modern neck is perfect for that.
The Vintage Modern neck to me is right in the middle,aptly named, and the best general purpose neck for me on my Strats with hot pickups and Mahogany or other warmer exotic bodies.

 

[aarontunes]

Thank you so much Warmoth. Double A is spot on in his brilliant assessment...

Mom....is that you?

 

[DarkPenguin]

Umm....doy. Why do you think I had Fila shirts on?  :icon_thumright:

Kohls sale?

 

[aarontunes]

Umm....doy. Why do you think I had Fila shirts on?  :icon_thumright:

Kohls sale?

Nailed it.


Those Kohl's Bucks are just so hard to resist!

 

[musicispeace]

Oh boy, this is a great video and also good at prompting opinion. To me they came across as very similar with some glimmers of very subtle difference here and there. I have a couple of Modern necks and a couple of the Vintage Modern. The former because they were the only option for my wood choice and the latter because its heaven to not have to take the neck off for any significant adjustment. I have no complaints about either.  If someone was say a long time studio player with 30 years or something on the clock and claimed they heard this or that difference I would respect that but for me I have to conclude a strat sounds like a strat by the time you plug into an amp and play it in a room.

We all have our process for arriving at component decisions but, sincerely, please don't embark on gut wrenching quests agonizing over which "has better tone" or which is "better." Fortunately my journey through that phase was brief and not worth laying awake at night. Go with what resonates for you personally. (pardon any pun there)

 

[arealken]

Oh boy, this is a great video and also good at prompting opinion. To me they came across as very similar with some glimmers of very subtle difference here and there. I have a couple of Modern necks and a couple of the Vintage Modern. The former because they were the only option for my wood choice and the latter because its heaven to not have to take the neck off for any significant adjustment. I have no complaints about either.  If someone was say a long time studio player with 30 years or something on the clock and claimed they heard this or that difference I would respect that but for me I have to conclude a strat sounds like a strat by the time you plug into an amp and play it in a room.

We all have our process for arriving at component decisions but, sincerely, please don't embark on gut wrenching quests agonizing over which "has better tone" or which is "better." Fortunately my journey through that phase was brief and not worth laying awake at night. Go with what resonates for you personally. (pardon any pun there)

I don't think it was so subtle. I own 20 Stats, and I gotta beg to differ, a Strat does not sound like a Start, there are a lot of different tone variables especially with different pickups. In do admit to the "gut wrenching" experience though, it is an unpleasant thing ...even laying awake at night till dawn running over different schemes in your head, but sometimes it pays off , like-  EUEREKA! I've found it!~.

These  days I have enough experience to not let it get too intense or emotional anymore-meaning I've paid my dues with so many builds now I know what will and will not work for me. The road to a great Warmoth Strat isn't an easy one , for me anyway...IMHO, there are pitfalls and pratfalls, but at the end of the road, your years of experience with  assemblies tells you something about what works best for YOU!

 

[SixStringer]

Interesting video!  Obviously which one is "better" is purely subjective.  I personally thought each neck had its strengths and weaknesses.  My preferences were:

Vintage for a pristine clean
Vintage/Modern for bluesy leads or low-mid gain crunch
Modern for a fatter/smoother distorted tone

I got the Vintage/Modern which fits the sound I was going for.  I would probably never get a Vintage neck just based on the location for a truss rod adjustment.  But that's just me, it's nice to have options!

 

[Cagey]

That's some pretty distinct, descriptive language attributing a wide range of behavior to an effect that barely qualifies as discernible even to a trained ear. I mean, from "pristine clean" to "low-mid gain crunch" to "fat, smooth distortion" because of the truss rod? I'm wondering if we listened to the same test.