My First Warmoth - Blue Burst Strat

[samgoody]

Hey folks,

I got the following pieces a few days ago, but only got around to taking pictures today.  Both were picked up from the Showcase, and I think I got pretty much what I wanted and at the same time was able to stay within my budget for the build.  I'm happy, and quite excited!  Here's what I have so far:

Body: -
* Strat shape
* Quilted Maple top on Alder
* Blue Burst top, Transparent Blue back, natural masked binding
* Contoured heel
* Rear routed, H-S-S pickup routing (H pickup is body-mounted), 1/2" output jack routing, Strat controls (1 vol, 2 tone, 5-way switch) routing

Neck: -
* Warmoth Pro construction
* Maple with Pau Ferro fretboard, clear satin nitro finish
* 1 11/16" nut width
* White GraphTech TUSQ nut, pre-slotted
* 22 frets, SS6150 (stainless steel)
* Compound radius fretboard (10" to 16")

Still waiting for some other bits and bobs needed to complete the build (pots, caps, switch, strap buttons, Sperzel locking tuners, pickups, etc.).  This build is getting a Suhr SSH bridge humbucker, and two DiMarzio Area 67s for the neck and middle positions.  The DiMarzios will have black colored bobbins, and the Suhr will have Zebra colored bobbins.  Initially I wanted all the pickups to have white bobbins, but I couldn't find anybody who had an SSH with white bobbins in stock.

But enough talking, here are the pics (apologies for the sub-par quality due to the crappy digital camera + the wrong date on the photos + for attaching only two or three per post, it's just taking way too long to upload all the pics to Photobucket):

 

[samgoody]

Apologies again, the pics I've uploaded so far will just have to do for now.  My Internet connection is just infuriatingly slow at the moment, and uploading pics is a royal pain.  I'll try uploading the rest of the pics tomorrow  :sad:

 

[Cagey]

Very nice! That's going to be a beautiful guitar.

 

[crash]

White pickups would look nice, especially with a chrome bridge and chrome dome-style knobs.

 

[Jusatele]

Nice Axe, that is going to be a nice project, keep posting pics of the build, we like pics :hello2: :hello2: :hello2:

 

[samgoody]

Nice Axe, that is going to be a nice project, keep posting pics of the build, we like pics :hello2: :hello2: :hello2:

Don't we all!  I'll try again, but my previous attempt was greeted with an "internal error" message from my browser.  I'm not sure whether it's my Internet connection (the most likely culprit) or the website, but I'll give it another try.

White pickups would look nice, especially with a chrome bridge and chrome dome-style knobs.

I would have purchased all white pickups if I could find a Suhr SSH with white bobbins.  The problem is that none of the retailers had it in stock, and I didn't want to wait 3 to 8 weeks for retailers just to order one from Suhr.  That's why I bought a Zebra colored pickup for the bridge - should add just a touch of edginess along with the understated yet (in my opinion) elegant look of the two other black pickups.  Now that I think about it, white pickups would have sort of screamed for attention, and I already have a beautiful Candy Apple Red guitar to do just that.  This one seems to have a mellower disposition, and I think black and Zebra pickups suit it just fine.

As for knobs, I purchased some black Gibson-style top-hat knobs with a silver reflector face (like these ones http://www.hartnollguitars.co.uk/products/Spares-and-Parts/4920/4920-152049.jpg).  I had initially thought of the chrome dome-type knurled knobs, but just about everybody uses them in Strat builds, so I thought I'd take a slightly different approach.

 

[samgoody]

More Warmoth pr0n, err, I mean pics are on the way ...

 

[samgoody]

Some shots of the back of the guitar ...

 

[Cagey]

Nice. Gotta love a blue guitar. I see you did the side jack instead of the top. Good idea, with a top like that.

 

[samgoody]

Nice. Gotta love a blue guitar. I see you did the side jack instead of the top. Good idea, with a top like that.

Thanks Cagey.  In my opinion, with a top like this it's the only way to go.  I went with the 1/2" route rather than the 3/4" route as I didn't want to have to put a plate there to hold the jack in place - I think this will give it an even sleeker appearance.

Some pictures of the neck are attached below ...

 

[Jusatele]

I love the black knobs, I have them on my AM Strat, with a brushed aluminum pick guard

 

[greywolf]

Very Beautiful ...  Enjoy playing it!

 

[jrybicki]

wow, thats really nice from the showcase.. i do remember seeing it there and i chose the blue dyed, washed showcase body. just recieved my products today! 

 

[jrybicki]

im going to attempt my first showcase show off now, sam goody have you looked into the tone shaper ( solid state ) for pots and wiring? theres nearly no wireing and zero solder!

 

[reluctant-builder]

I thought you couldn't get binding with the forearm contour ... looks nice!

 

[DangerousR6]

I thought you couldn't get binding with the forearm contour ... looks nice!

It's natural masked binding...In other words...it's faux binding...

 

[reluctant-builder]

It's natural masked binding...In other words...it's faux binding...

I thought I'd even been barred from the masked binding option when I chose a forearm contour in the body builder, but maybe I was wrong. Unless it's typically denied, but they make concessions if you ask them directly?

 

[DangerousR6]

It's natural masked binding...In other words...it's faux binding...

I thought I'd even been barred from the masked binding option when I chose a forearm contour in the body builder, but maybe I was wrong. Unless it's typically denied, but they make concessions if you ask them directly?

It should be an option on any body that the forearm contour is offered on as far as I'm aware of, but sometimes there are glitches... :dontknow:

 

[Cagey]

I've got two of them here, and I didn't have to jump through any hoops for either one.

 

[Corey P.]

I've only seen it as a finish option when you have a top that's separate from the body (even if it's the same type of wood).