My first Warmoth showed up today

[itookacanuk]

I began looking for a guitar about 8 months ago. I started by scouring the Sweetwiter, Guitar Center, and Musician's Friend catalogs, then anything that looked promising got played everything at Guitar Center or the local vintage shop. Nothing was blowing me away, not even the $5000. guitars. So I decided on trying Warmoth after researching and reading up on a score of satisfied Warmoth owners. After a few laborious weeks of learning about scale length, pickup mounts, body woods and whether or not they really make a difference by the time sound hits the amp the amp, etc., this is what showed up in the mail today.

 

[Tipperman]

Love it! What kind of pups are going into it? Can't wait to see finished results. You're gonna be one satisfied customer, I bet. What are the specs on the neck?

 

[itookacanuk]

The body is a mahogany VIP with a flame maple top, green dye, and an extra burstover. Neck is maple with jet black ebony fretboard. It's a 24.75 conversion neck. I wanted to preserve the deep look the body colors set so I chose to have no inlays. After trying out many variations on a photo program, I went with black pickup rings and Sperzel tuners. The silver pickups and bridge match and should look sharp with the silver strings and stainless steel frets. All in all, I'm stoked.

I have a Lil' 59 in the birdge position in my Strat, and it's probably about the best sounding pickup I've ever heard. That convinced me to stick with Duncan, so this axe will feature a Duncan Distortion in the bridge slot and a Pearly Gates in the neck. I listened to them on the Duncan site but am still on the edge of my seat to hear how they sound in this guitar.

My only concern is on the headstock. Check out the "c" shaped streak that runs from between the bottom left and middle tuner holes to up by the truss rod hole. Is it a blemish in the staining? Not sure, but it's definitely not uniform like the body is.

 

[Tipperman]

Pearly Gates in the neck with Mahogany/Maple Top is a great choice. I've had it in a PRS before, excellent sound. I think you will be very, very pleased. I, unfortunately, like blemishes. They add character for me. Can't wait to see this finished, man!

 

[Jusatele]

First,great lookking wood
second, that neck looks natural, stain can be a bitch some times, and after a set of tuners and a truss rod cover, who will ever notice it.
Good luck with the build,pay for a professional neck job/set up and that will be an axe to die for

 

[bagman67]

That flame maple top is pure sex.  I salute your taste.  Looking forward to the final product.

Peace

Bagman

 

[itookacanuk]

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. This is very new territory or me. I have never really had nice things before.

Pearly Gates in the neck with Mahogany/Maple Top is a great choice. I've had it in a PRS before, excellent sound.

That's great to hear, no pun intended. I have been playing about 22 years but oddly enough have never owned a serious guitar with a humbucker in the neck. I don't quite know what to expect.

Good luck with the build,pay for a professional neck job/set up and that will be an axe to die for

Are you saying that instead of attaching the neck myself that I should have a pro do it? If that's the concensus, that's probably what I'll do. Either way I'll definitely have  a pro do a setup after it's all together.

 

[Jusatele]

go attach it, but have a pro set up the neck, you know do a fret job and set the action, it will be all the difference in the world.

 

[itookacanuk]

go attach it, but have a pro set up the neck, you know do a fret job and set the action, it will be all the difference in the world.

Okay, got it. Good advice. I will do that.

 

[Gilmore]

Congratulations, really a nice specimen.

 

[Jusatele]

Remember Warmoth is selling you parts, they are a parts manufacturer, not a guitar manufacturer, so once assembled you need to have that thing adjusted, the frets need dressing, and the action set, etc. That is what makes the guitar become all it can be. they have specialty files and tools to do such, and the good guys have years of experience doing it. you could take a Squire and if it was set up by a professional out play an American Standard with factory settings

 

[DeepSouth]

Wow sw-eet looking guitar. I bet it looks as good up close as it does in the pics. ccasion14:

 

[Stew]

Yeah, that's gonna be a sweet build.
... and I wouldn't worry about the 'blemish' either. Like 'Tubby said, once you get a truss rod cover and tuners on there only you will know it's there.

 

[itookacanuk]

Good advice, guys. There's a luthier named Kurt Wright who is legendary around here. I'll have him do the setup.

 

[Mor Paul]

Sexy. That's all I need to say.

 

[Kublai]

I love that finish.

 

[Cagey]

Very nice! The whole is going to be very satisfying.

Go buy some 2 part epoxy right now for those inlaid knobs, though. Those inlays pop out surprisingly easy. They use cyanoacrylate to put them together, which is the Wrong Thing. They're mismatched materials that don't mate perfectly. You need something that will fill and grab, as well as ignore material composition. Epoxy is the Right Thing.

 

[Warfan68]

WOW that is sweet looking!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

[Blackouts]

Wow !

That's gonna look spectacular !

Can't wait to see it finished.

- Blackouts.

 

[reluctant-builder]

That's seriously cool.

How did you get them to match the neck finish to the body finish? I've never noticed that as an option. Did you have to request it when you placed your order?

Looking forward to seeing this beast come together.