My first Warmoth - Another black Strat

[Cagey]

As for necks, my initial thought was a maple neck with a dark fingerboard, but then I started thining to myself "Self, if you still plan on buying a Fender Strat, it will have a maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. Why repeat?" So then I started going a different route. I'm kinda thinking this one actually...

There are a couple other choices too but I thikn this with the silver hardware could look bitchin... Wenge with an Ebony fingerboard...

It's true - rosewood over maple is common as dirt. But...

Mmm... Ebony over wenge on a black burst strat...​

With silver hardware? Yum. You'd have to name it "Midnight Rider" or "Zorro" or "The Iron Horse"

 

[DangerousR6]

Beautiful strat there Desmo, and I believe I still have a nickel neck plate if you decide you'd like a custom plate made...

Absolutely, I'll PM you.


As for necks, my initial thought was a maple neck with a dark fingerboard, but then I started thining to myself "Self, if you still plan on buying a Fender Strat, it will have a maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. Why repeat?"

So then I started going a different route.

I'm kinda thinking this one actually...

I tried photochopping it together but it's not working well... I can do it so _I_ can see it , but I can't save it...

There are a couple other choices too but I thikn this with the silver hardware could look bitchin... Wenge with an Ebony fingerboard...

Cool...

Wenge is awesome, but that's a lot of black. How bout something to break up the black.... :dontknow:

Or this bubinga would be saaaweeeeeeeeeet...

 

[DesmoDog]

I'm not sure when this thread should be stopped and a build thread begun, but oh well.. here are more ideas.  Some pickguard choices. My top two would be white followed by black pearl.

And then there are these. I dunno, I've always had a thing for animal print on stuff.. I traced it back to my parents taking me to see "The Graduate" when I was at a very impressionable age. (Probably not a great reference for the younger crowd... I'll explain it to ya sometime)

Yeah.. probably not...

Or this

Again, probably not... but they're fun to try.

I've been putting necks on them but can't save the pics. I really like maple w/ a dark fingerboard on the white pearl.. the maple ties in with the binding and all.  But I'm still thinking I should go out of my comfort zone on this one and go dark. I'm also thinking that a dramatic fingerboard detracts from the body. The patterns go opposite directions and it doesn't really work for me so I'm back to something not too wild.

I'm gogin to run a few more combinations and try to narrow it down. The wenge is still high on the list but there are some rosewood necks I need to try too... and maybe canary with the leopard pickguard.  :evil4:

 

[DangerousR6]

 

[DesmoDog]

Ahh, ya beat me to the punch! And did a much nicer job too!

Call this one "Mrs. Robinson"

 

[DangerousR6]

:icon_biggrin:

 

[Cagey]

I'm loving the first one, with the white pearloid guard and the ebony on wenge neck. Some chrome/nickel hardware and black pickups, and that thing will be truly wicked. The colored guards and necks just aren't doing it.

 

[DangerousR6]

I'm loving the first one, with the white pearloid guard and the ebony on wenge neck. Some chrome/nickel hardware and black pickups, and that thing will be truly wicked. The colored guards and necks just aren't doing it.

pfffff.... :doh:

 

[DesmoDog]

Damn. lost my internet connection just when this was getting fun.

I've slept on some of the ideas and I have to say, even though the maple/rosewoood thing is pretty common, there's a reason for it. It looks nice with a white pick guard...

Maple with ebony has to be on the list I think.

Canary

And I had to try a maple neck just to do it...

And just screwing around

EDIT: These look a lot different on my monitor at home!  Hmmm....  but no, the colored guards don't look too good on either monitor...

 

[m4rk0]

yeah, go for either Cream Pearloid, or just Cream!!
also, the darker necks (Wenge) look much better on this!

 

[rockskate4x]

It's a pity that you have to use a pickguard at all, but the white pearloid doesn't look as bad as the other ones. Don't throw strange colors and patterns on top of that.

I would choose one of these necks out of the ones you picked.

1. Bubinga, I think, throws in enough color to add beauty and interest but the color isn't so intense that it is distracting or alarming to the eye when next to that body. In a word... perfect.
2. Wenge/ebony is a very SAFE choice because it keeps the color scheme simple. The MOP dots are also a very nice touch.
3. Any of the maple necks but especially the maple/rosewood looks AWESOME. I only put the maples in last place because they aren't exotics. If I was rating based on looks alone I would put maple rosewood in 2nd place, all maple in third, wenge/ebony in fourth, and maple/ebony in 5th. The maple/ebony is in 5th because i don't like the streaks in the fretboard but that is less important as it does not destroy the color scheme.

 

[DesmoDog]

I agree, the colored guards just aren't going to work. A simple white is still in the running too, I just haven't got a pic of one.

You're 4th and 5th choices are my 1st and 2nd actually.    The maple/rosewood is nice but I just see it so much. I'll have to look more at the Bubunga, it's just not gelling for me at first glance.

I did a few very rough mock-ups of what the back would look like, and the wenge still looks good. I'm going to throw together a few more options but wenge and maple/ebony are still at the top of the list. Maybe not THAT maple/ebony since i'm not wild about the streaks either, but it's priced right and I think the strings would soften the look of the streaks a bit? Maybe?

 

[Cagey]

If you can get a deal on a neck that you like other than the streaks in the fingerboard wood, there's a stain you can get from Stewart MacDonald that'll take care of that for $6 or so.

The listing for the stuff is at http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Fingerboard_cleaner,_stain_and_oil/Black_Fingerboard_Stain.html?tab=Pictures#details along with more details. I haven't used it, so I can't say much about it, but perhaps someone else here has and can chime in.

 

[AutoBat]

i like the white pearl, but i'm biased.

here's my baby:

 

[DangerousR6]

......... :icon_thumright:

 

[bagman67]

......... :icon_thumright:

+1.  That's purty.

 

[chrisg]

......... :icon_thumright:

+1.  That's purty.

+1 for me too.  I like the Canary neck - great contrast

 

[DesmoDog]

I swore I wasn't going to post again until I had made a choice. Tonight I spent WAY to much time wading through all the choices and I think I decided, but I was going to sleep on it before I ordered anything. I should have gone to bed a couple hours ago so I'm not going to recap my entire decision process (don't all clap at once), but suffice it to say I decided traditional isn't bad. The wenge neck was just too damn dark. Yeah, it'd look cool but long term I think I'd be happier with a lighter neck. 

These were my top three choices from the main "looks" I considered. I'm not telling which one I thnk I'll go with because there was a last minute wild card.

Flamed maple one piece. Very traditional. The maple ties in with the natural binding on the body - I like that.

Maple with ebony. You can't see it very well but this ebony has streaks too, I like them better than my earlier example.

Maple with rosewood. The body has much more browns in it than show up in these pics. Rosewood would work.

Ok, so those are my top three choices (and yes, I DO have a favorite). BUT... as I was moving things around I took another look at some of the rosewood I have sitting here from my dad's shop, and, well.... I just sent en e-mail to Warmoth asking for the details on them building a neck using one of my fingerboard blanks. Here's a shot of the inspiration behind that, I think this shows more of the light colors and browns in the body so you can see where I'm coming from.

Depending on the answer I get from Warmoth, I'm going to have one built using one of my dad's old rosewood fingerboard blanks. Hopefully the one in the picture in fact. It'll be on maple, probably flamed, though my dad had a thing for birdseye maple so I dunno.

Oh yeah, one other thing... I want a Pro neck, but I'd REALLY like to have a skunk stripe on the back! I forgot to ask Warmoth if I can have one put on a pro neck, maybe if I get one of the thicker contours? Hmm... I guess a Vintage Modern would work too...

And with that I'm done with posting "what if" pics... for now.  :toothy11:

 

[DesmoDog]

I got a reply from Warmoth. They will work with my fingerboard blanks but it would be a minimum charge of $45, possibly more depending on the prep work involved. They'd also have to let the pieces acclimate for a week or three before they'd use them and wouldn't be responsible for warping, cracking, accidents, etc... basically they'll work with me but they don't recommend people do this. I can understand where they're coming from with all of this and have no problem with it.

I guess it's time to put my money where my mouth is... Custom, or showcase? Hmm....

 

[AutoBat]

all your top 3 choices look nice.