My Order Is In, How will my experience be?

[Part-Time]

Well, After years of looking at the Warmoth site I finally was called upon by the great desire in my loins to buy a replacement neck for my Mary Kaye Strat. I ordered it on line. Then I found a Soloist body that I had to have. So my Mary Kaye Fender will have to wait.

I have been playing for 18 years and also do alot of set up, wiring and minor repair work for all my friends and family that play guitar or bass. I am super picky and very difficult to please. My primary guitars are a Carvin DC, Carvin Bolt, Vintage Customer shop Fender Mary Kaye, Variety of Les Pauls. I found Warmoth through a Contact at Carvin because I wanted a "special looking neck" I have no problem dumping money into a guitar if I get what I want out of it. So far John at Warmoth has been great, I think I also talked to Spike. I had John cornered for about 40 min with questions, he answered all of them accurately and gave me hope that this project will turn out great. So my question is..............

Is the quality, fit and finish, and customer service going live up to my expectations?

Just some info about what I ordered from the Showcase
High Grade Birdseye neck, Pro, compound radius, ss frets, corian nut, clear finish abalone inlays
I will add Sperzel tuners
Soloist body, blue dye, swamp ash, natural binding, HXH, tone tone, Wilkinson trem
I will add Wilkinson 100 Tremolo, Bare Knuckles Rebel Yell Pickups, 5way mega switch, tone styler tone pot, fully shielded wiring and cavities
undecided about strings

I love guitars that sing, that can go from bluesy to nasty, something that riffs with power and solos blaze out of. I think I might end up with a bit of a harsh sound due to the body specs, but I think the pick ups with counter that.

 

[Mor Paul]

Yes.

 

[tfarny]

In general the quality is about as high as I've ever seen, most people on here would agree. But, who knows what your expectations are? The question is only answerable by you. Since you're comfortable fine tuning stuff, you should probably be really satisfied. The people who are not happy are usually those who expect to not have to make any adjustments to anything, just bolt it on. For instance the pre-cut nuts are great, it's a great service, but of course they are higher and tighter than most people want, ready to be fine-tuned by a picky person. I just put the nut and tuners on my new baritone neck, I was checking it out and I really can't find a single minor flaw anywhere on it, not a sliver of wood out of place, and it's one of the cheaper products (maple / pau ferro, no fancy stuff).
Hopefully it'll satisfy you, and you'll come back to this board and show us pictures of your build. Welcome.

Alternatively, +1 to Max.

 

[blue313]

Welcome to the boards!   ccasion14:

I don't think you'll be disappointed in the quality, fit, finish and customer service departments.  I can honestly say those aren't the complaints I hear about Warmoth.  Most issues are in assembly, setup and "parts vs specs ordered".

 

[dwayneed]

Well, if I were to critique the 2 Warmoth builds I have done;

Neck pocket precision 10/10 This is a big deal to me and both of mine were as good as it gets.
Nut precision 8/10 My first one was Floyd nut and the shelf was cut too low. Not a big deal but had to find shims. Graphite nut on second build was a little 'pingy' on the GBE strings.
Finish 9/10 my vintage tint neck was actually just unpolished nitro. It has kinda glossed up from playing. Not anywhere near that fantastic Fender satin feel. Body finishes are awesome, not too thick and not too plastic feeling.
Frets 9/10 I am going to have to get fret level done on both if I want low action with no fret buzz. They are FINE as shipped but can't be set up to 'potential' out of the box.
I did not go flashy on wood selection but my guitars still look beautiful, tone wise the wood selection is 10/10.

Definitely a star above Carvin.

Other assorted notes;
Planet Waves tuners, not thrilled at all with them. They are finicky, hard to lock down, and break strings on occasion.
Schaller Floyd Rose, garbage... plain and simple garbage. Ruined my whole build. The bar wobble is so bad and in turn the action of the trem is so bad I don't even want to play the guitar. I need to find a solution for the guitar since I dropped almost $1000 on it.
Wilkinson 10/10 love it, no wobble, great action, stays in tune with locking tuners, set up really nice and easy. Had to pull the strings out of the string tree to keep it in tune, that's my fault though. I poorly chose. Guitar is fine without trees.
Schaller locking tuners, very nice I will use them on my upcoming build.

Congrats and good luck on your build!

 

[rahimiiii]

You will find that the quality of Warmoth parts will be much higher than even Custom Shop Fenders. However remember that Warmoth sells parts only, and not complete guitars. Now they will sell all the parts required to make a complete guitar but they cannot and will not pre-assemble a guitar for you as that would violate their licenses with Fender if they used Fender-like parts to make a complete guitar. It rests on the end user to assemble it, or should they not be comfortable doing that, have a guitar tech do that. So if you're a picky musician and can't set up a guitar to play like you want it to be, then you can just bolt everything together and spend the money to get a tech to fine tune everything to your liking.

 

[Part-Time]

Wow, Fast Replies!
Slight adjustments are cool. I ordered out of the Showcase so I know what it will look like. I can wait the 6-8 weeks for the gear. They just need to install frets, nut and paint, the body just needs the jack hole and Wilky hole/posts cut.
I hope I don't have to route out the neck pocket, some cleaning or removing paint is OK. Cleaning the frets is also fine.

Definitely a star above Carvin.

Cool, then that is better than expected.

 

[DocNrock]

I've done 9 of them.  I've very happy with each one.  Off the rack guitars I also have:  Jackson SL2H, Ibanez JS1000, Gibson Les Paul Studio, amongst others.  Expect to need the frets leveled, though, when you get a Warmoth neck.  The say it in their disclaimer, and it is true.  But once its done, they play very nicely.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

+1 to what Doc said.  The stainless frets are hard, as to be expected.  I had to bevel them and round the rough edges from that, and then sand on them a bit to get it to my liking.  But, Warmoth states explicitly that the necks need work to be finished.  The nut is unfinished because it is impossible to have it set up correctly without building the guitar.  The tuners are another manufacturer, I have had great luck with Planet Waves.  The neck pocket can be too tight from the wood or the finish that was put on, but a little sanding will fix that.  After that it is assembly, which is up to you, and then largely the pick ups for sound.  All of the wood parts that they have supplied me with have been great sounding, with in reason.  If you do not like the sound of ebony, then an ebony neck is not for you.  I happen to really like it...  For the effort of putting a guitar together the way you want it, I think that you get a much better instrument tailored to your preferences.
Patrick

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Seeing as how they're showcase items, there shouldn't be any grain pattern or finish surprises.  One thing you may or may not be prepared for is a setup.  Even with fretwork installed and the nut prepared, the frets aren't leveled (wasn't a bigger deal for me, and I didn't notice other than learning that on this board).  Expect the nut slots to be a little high.  Other than that, expect a tight neck joint, a professional finish, and an attention to detail that is far superior than any mass produced, production line instrument at your local big-box chain music store.  With that compound radius, expect great things.

 

[Part-Time]

I had to bevel them and round the rough edges from that, and then sand on them a bit to get it to my liking.  But, Warmoth states explicitly that the necks need work to be finished.

Not a problem, I end up finessing the frets on everything I own. I like that Old School Dean edge fretting and end up doing that to everything. I have the sanders for leveling, as long as it is close.

With that compound radius, expect great things.

Ooh! I hope so.

 

[blue313]

Considering your level of proficiency in tech skills, I think you're going to very happy.  The showcase pictures are very nice...but pale in comparison to what it looks like in person.

 

[Phrygian]

Well, if I were to critique the 2 Warmoth builds I have done;

Neck pocket precision 10/10 This is a big deal to me and both of mine were as good as it gets.
Nut precision 8/10 My first one was Floyd nut and the shelf was cut too low. Not a big deal but had to find shims. Graphite nut on second build was a little 'pingy' on the GBE strings.
Finish 9/10 my vintage tint neck was actually just unpolished nitro. It has kinda glossed up from playing. Not anywhere near that fantastic Fender satin feel. Body finishes are awesome, not too thick and not too plastic feeling.
Frets 9/10 I am going to have to get fret level done on both if I want low action with no fret buzz. They are FINE as shipped but can't be set up to 'potential' out of the box.
I did not go flashy on wood selection but my guitars still look beautiful, tone wise the wood selection is 10/10.

Definitely a star above Carvin.

Other assorted notes;
Planet Waves tuners, not thrilled at all with them. They are finicky, hard to lock down, and break strings on occasion.
Schaller Floyd Rose, garbage... plain and simple garbage. Ruined my whole build. The bar wobble is so bad and in turn the action of the trem is so bad I don't even want to play the guitar. I need to find a solution for the guitar since I dropped almost $1000 on it.
Wilkinson 10/10 love it, no wobble, great action, stays in tune with locking tuners, set up really nice and easy. Had to pull the strings out of the string tree to keep it in tune, that's my fault though. I poorly chose. Guitar is fine without trees.
Schaller locking tuners, very nice I will use them on my upcoming build.

Congrats and good luck on your build!

Nitro?  Warmoth's finishes are poly brother... as far as I know.

 

[Jon]

Nitro?  Warmoth's finishes are poly brother... as far as I know.

I believe their satin neck finishes are nitro.

Anyway, yeah, Warmoth is great, and you should be very happy with yours, I sure am....what everybody else said.

 

[jerryjg]

  :icon_thumright: Stay Positive. No reason this can't be fun, rewarding, and a learning experience. The more you know about your instrument after you have it assembled and working well, the better off youll be. May just improve your tone and enthusiasm- it did mine.. A LOT! When my toone is better, practicing can be fun, and could makke you a btter player as well.
heres the thing.. I built my forst guitar , and like you I was nervous , but I didnt rea;ise that this actually ISnt a hobby where you can simply learn how to snap the pieces together by reading some istructions. I mean, you COULD, and it could pproabbly even work, but it will still take some homework..well, a LOT of homework to get it right.
Basically now I have the bug. Its a lot of work, and youve genrally got to follow established guidleings as to waht works in synergy as far as woods /pickups/ etc.. and not  to mention it isnt always so easy to choose what looks best. or sounds best, but idf you remeber this should bbe something to try and also have fun with-- i k now I atay busy, sometimes have fun, always jkepp my eyes on the prize, and just learn alot more all the time. After three years Ive got so much better. Its verysatysfying, a callenge..Its rewarding no matter what, even if you ruin something you lkearn; best case, and Ive built five so far that as I ahve gained experience and also found recourses for parts and supplies, have been able to have at ;least 4 killer guiatsr. basically, for me its been a very time consumeing struggle, but well worth it and satysfying and the guiatsr wrere built on a relatively tight busdget but I will put them agaimst any 3000.00 cusom shop guitar for a third of the price.
Id say if your striclty lin this to be entirely concerened about the result of buying some parts and assembling them , thhen tahst also cool, but its the most dorect point between to ends and youll miss alot of the scenery.
have fun, thats IMHO>  PS   Be prepared tp change out pickups-this can make a differnece to any build. Onceyou get further along in the hobby, chnging out encks  and stuff is an option. I wouldnt say its easy..itsa chore, but done right will transform an instrumnet.
(Sorry spelling. I'm lit.)

 

[dwayneed]

Well, if I were to critique the 2 Warmoth builds I have done;

Neck pocket precision 10/10 This is a big deal to me and both of mine were as good as it gets.
Nut precision 8/10 My first one was Floyd nut and the shelf was cut too low. Not a big deal but had to find shims. Graphite nut on second build was a little 'pingy' on the GBE strings.
Finish 9/10 my vintage tint neck was actually just unpolished nitro. It has kinda glossed up from playing. Not anywhere near that fantastic Fender satin feel. Body finishes are awesome, not too thick and not too plastic feeling.
Frets 9/10 I am going to have to get fret level done on both if I want low action with no fret buzz. They are FINE as shipped but can't be set up to 'potential' out of the box.
I did not go flashy on wood selection but my guitars still look beautiful, tone wise the wood selection is 10/10.

Definitely a star above Carvin.

Other assorted notes;
Planet Waves tuners, not thrilled at all with them. They are finicky, hard to lock down, and break strings on occasion.
Schaller Floyd Rose, garbage... plain and simple garbage. Ruined my whole build. The bar wobble is so bad and in turn the action of the trem is so bad I don't even want to play the guitar. I need to find a solution for the guitar since I dropped almost $1000 on it.
Wilkinson 10/10 love it, no wobble, great action, stays in tune with locking tuners, set up really nice and easy. Had to pull the strings out of the string tree to keep it in tune, that's my fault though. I poorly chose. Guitar is fine without trees.
Schaller locking tuners, very nice I will use them on my upcoming build.

Congrats and good luck on your build!

Nitro?  Warmoth's finishes are poly brother... as far as I know.

Satin finishes on necks are nitro. this was just discussed recently in a different thread.

 

[stubhead]

If you know setup work, it'll be fine. When you say corian nut, I guess you mean theirs? It'll need work, but not much, they make the slots slightly high to accommodate preferences. I always have to round the fret ends, but the frets are level enough to play on for a while unless you like really low action. However, it's never really perfect till after I do my first level, crown 'n' polish somewhere down the road.

I think I might end up with a bit of a harsh sound due to the body specs, but I think the pick ups with counter that.

It sounds like you know this stuff - rewiring, changing pots & caps is just part of the process. It's quite possible to make a great one first time out if you're paying attention to the "classic" combinations, but if it needs a different cap or something it's no big deal. I rarely change anything out too quick, to avoid the dread "Shoebox-full-of-pickups Syndrome."

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

 (Sorry spelling. I'm lit.)

LOL.  I was going to suggest proof reading before posting, but maybe a breathilizer on your keyboard is in order.

 

[Part-Time]

Thanks for the responses. Anyone else?

 

[NeilStryker]

Pretty sure Gregg said satin finishes are Nitro on Maple necks only.