My suggestions & questions

[Kostas]

Hollow: I don't own a hollow yet but I believe it's a great option that should be spread to more bodies. Maybe the bigger bodies (Explorer, Iceman) are hard to do but the Jag/Jazz/Soloist should be the next in line to have the hollow option.

Vintage Modern Construction Necks: I have ordered a neck of this construction and I 've dealt with limited wood availiability, especially for the neck. I would like to have the option of all neck/fretboard woods. The same goes to headstocks, only the Fender headstocks are an option to this kind of neck.

Contoured Heel: "The following bodies come standard with the Contoured Heel at no extra charge: LP Carvedtop, LPS Carvedtop, VIP Carvedtop, 7 String Flat Top, 7 String Baritone & 7 String Carvedtop." Why not strats and teles (the most popular shapes)? It is standard on many companies these days. I think it would be the other way around, anyone do not want this to mention it in his/her order.

Set Neck Construction: Two pieces joined by glue instead of screws. How different and difficult is this to be made as an option and for an inexperienced person to assemble a guitar?

Custom Fingerboard Radius: Extra +$35 for straight radius. Why?

Omit Predrilled Neck Mounting Holes +$15.00: Why?

Regarding the last two questions, I had a talk with a local builder who makes guitars from scratch and explained me that every option needs to be programmed for CNC to operate and the CNC programmer gets paid a lot. My question is: Why a guy with a straight radius pays extra and a guy with a compound radius does not pay extra? I don't work in the company so I don't know how it works, just curious to learn.

 

[CD]

I didn't realize the contoured heel came free with any of the bodies.

 

[simple]

Contoured Heel: "The following bodies come standard with the Contoured Heel at no extra charge: LP Carvedtop, LPS Carvedtop, VIP Carvedtop, 7 String Flat Top, 7 String Baritone & 7 String Carvedtop." Why not strats and teles (the most popular shapes)? It is standard on many companies these days. I think it would be the other way around, anyone do not want this to mention it in his/her order.

Carved tops look weird without a contoured heel. We made it standard and simply added the cost of that option into the carved top price. The seven strings just needed it for playability so again, we made it standard and priced it with that in mind. Most Strats and Tele buyers don't go with the contoured heel by choice. Making it a standard would serve much fewer people.

Set Neck Construction: Two pieces joined by glue instead of screws. How different and difficult is this to be made as an option and for an inexperienced person to assemble a guitar?

Everyone has a differenent level of ability and there are a few ways to accomplish the task. However, using Warmoth parts for this is no adviseable since you don't receive them in the correct condition or dimensions for such a build.

Custom Fingerboard Radius: Extra +$35 for straight radius. Why?

CNC runs using defaults. You have to change that program from the compound radius then change all the tools that you use on down the line in every department as that neck rolls through. Even the fret department uses different tools to put the frets in. The extra charge is for the extra effort.

Omit Predrilled Neck Mounting Holes +$15.00: Why?

Again, the CNC get changed from its defaults and then special attention is given to that neck over and over again as each department's Quality Control guy keeps trying to put neck mounting holes in it.

Regarding the last two questions, I had a talk with a local builder who makes guitars from scratch and explained me that every option needs to be programmed for CNC to operate and the CNC programmer gets paid a lot. My question is: Why a guy with a straight radius pays extra and a guy with a compound radius does not pay extra? I don't work in the company so I don't know how it works, just curious to learn.

In the music industry, not even the CNC programmer gets paid a lot.  :laughing7: Programs get pulled up in a CNC machine with standard defaults. You don't reprogram the thing for every dimention every time. That would certainly kill a lot of the convenience for such a machine. All of our standard tools are set up for the compound radius and are continualy in operation. A different radius comes through and new machines are used and new tools are pulled out. It slows down production and simply eats more time. Buying a neck with all the standard features keeps production moving along smoothly and efficiently and enables us to provide an incredible quality neck for $157. If you want to deviate from that standard, that's cool, but if costs more to produce, we have to charge that difference because this is a low margin business to begin with.

 

[DanDeTora]

Thanks Gregg for clearing that up. I've too often wondered why there are so many up-charges for what seem like simple things (straight FB radius for example). But what you've said makes perfect sense.

-Dan

 

[Kostas]

Thanks Gregg for replying and explaining some things. Can you comment on my first two suggestions?

Any plans of Warmoth to expand the Hollow option to other shapes?

The most important for me is the limited wood availiability with Vintage Modern Construction Necks. My next Warmoth will be Hollow or Thinline and I have read a couple times that a Warmoth "Pro" neck because of the double expanding truss rod does not balance well with a light body. Any chance for Vintage Modern Construction Necks with exotic woods?

 

[simple]

Any plans of Warmoth to expand the Hollow option to other shapes?

Not at this time. Very seldom requested.

The most important for me is the limited wood availiability with Vintage Modern Construction Necks. My next Warmoth will be Hollow or Thinline and I have read a couple times that a Warmoth "Pro" neck because of the double expanding truss rod does not balance well with a light body. Any chance for Vintage Modern Construction Necks with exotic woods?

I think it's important to note that the the weight difference between the Warmoth Pro and Vintage Modern is a very small. I say this because over time this has become more exaggerated. It serves our competitors well to embellish this statistic.

The reason you don't see much in the way of exotic woods for Vintage Modern is because it takes a thicker blank to start out with and they are simply not readily available. Thicker wood is also much more expensive. Also, Vintage Modern folks tend to buy traditional wood species as opposed to experimenting so demand is low. That said, I have a one piece Wenge Vintage Modern Neck that just ROCKS!  :laughing7:  It was rare to get in Wenge in that thick so I struck when the iron was hot.

Your best bet if you are after something special is simply call us and see if we have a piece suitable to build out of. A great thing about Warmoth is that we are doing enough manufacturing that our wood stock is always evolving and we get odd sizes and odd woods coming through constantly. It's to little of an amount to spend any time marketing it, but a call in every 2 months to check for what's not normally available may snag you your dream piece!

 

[Kostas]

... That said, I have a one piece Wenge Vintage Modern Neck that just ROCKS!  :laughing7:  It was rare to get in Wenge in that thick so I struck when the iron was hot.

That's exactly what I was thinking about... Wenge neck with Pau Ferro or Ziricote fretboard and probably with FAT contour. I'm waiting my rosewood neck with FAT back contour to make sure I'm comfortable with the fat shape.

 

[givememytoys]

i have two warmoth necks with the fatback contour .it is truly a hand full. they are the same size at the nut all the way up the neck. they feel super meaty a little hard to go from playing  say a standard thin  then picking up the fatback .but after a couple mins it feels great. kinda slow but great for power cords and general grinding. one of mine has 6230 frets and it feels even more like a serious chunk of wood .this contour is not for every one but i love it. after you get yours let some friends play on it { like ibanezs players} and watch their expression they almost choke on it but after a little playing time on it most like the feel of it. let me know what you think after you play on it awhile thanks kayle

 

[Superbeast520]

Man I just Love this Fatback neck, I never had a neck like this before, I remember playing on my last guitar a Carvin bolt neck, and thinking to my self how much I hated that the neck was so flat and thin (its made more for shredding, and I absolutely hated the graphite rod sound) I would even get cramps in my palm at the base of the thumb, I play on the very tips of my fingers mainly, when Im soloing as the calouses are very heavy, so its not a problem because a groove forms that the strings rest in, only problem is after a while of doing heavy bending with heavy strings is you need some leverage behind you, and I just didn't find that with the thinner neck profiles, so when I ordered I thought it through, and realized, I don't like the 1 11/16 for me as I like to use my thumb over the top of the neck at times and I wasn't able to do that comfortably, but I also realized I wanted more neck in my palm, and until I came across Warmoth had no Idea these things were even thought about, well low and behold, I have the perfect neck for my hand,1 5/8th's Quarter sawn, Vintage Modern Fatback for Maximum Tone and a Great feel,  I will always buy a Fatback from this point on, I don't think I would feel happy with any other neck.

 

[simple]

I will always buy a Fatback from this point on

I envy you. If that size was comfortable for me to play on, I would for the big tone that thick necks produce.

 

[Superbeast520]

  Nothing to be envious of Greg, your out gigging and whooping it up with the Big Dogs, trust me, the envy is all mine......... :icon_thumright:

I can't wait for the day when I can play this guitar in a setting that will allow me to really hear its character, and for other guys to play on it and give me some feedback, Im sure I won't be disapointed.
Its probably a good thing that this is my only guitar right now, It may not be as easy to stick with if I had all the guitars you do.
hahahhaahahahhah............

Do you prefer the Vintage Modern over the other choices, or is it a horse apiece for you???????
I hate to ask you those questions because I know you don't want to show too much bias one way or another, being in your position and all.............any preferences?????

 

[simple]

  Nothing to be envious of Greg, your out gigging and whooping it up with the Big Dogs, trust me, the envy is all mine......... :icon_thumright:

I can't wait for the day when I can play this guitar in a setting that will allow me to really hear its character, and for other guys to play on it and give me some feedback, Im sure I won't be disapointed.
Its probably a good thing that this is my only guitar right now, It may not be as easy to stick with if I had all the guitars you do.
hahahhaahahahhah............

Do you prefer the Vintage Modern over the other choices, or is it a horse apiece for you???????
I hate to ask you those questions because I know you don't want to show too much bias one way or another, being in your position and all.............any preferences?????

I bounce back and forth between the Pro and the Vintage Modern. If I'm building a superstrat, I'll vear towards a Pro. If I'm going for a more of a traditional, woody type tone, I'll use a Vintage Modern. If I use a Wenge neck, well now I'm just going for something off the chart. I kind of like "off the chart".    :icon_smile:

 

[OKBill]

Any plans of Warmoth to expand the Hollow option to other shapes?

Not at this time. Very seldom requested.

The most important for me is the limited wood availiability with Vintage Modern Construction Necks. My next Warmoth will be Hollow or Thinline and I have read a couple times that a Warmoth "Pro" neck because of the double expanding truss rod does not balance well with a light body. Any chance for Vintage Modern Construction Necks with exotic woods?

I think it's important to note that the the weight difference between the Warmoth Pro and Vintage Modern is a very small. I say this because over time this has become more exaggerated. It serves our competitors well to embellish this statistic.

Can you tell us exactly what that truss rod weight difference is?  I'm on the verge of buying a Pro, and if I could, say, tape some weights on a Vintage Modern necked Strat I already have, I could simulate the difference in feel.  I just saw 2 or 3 Pro necks in the gallery I could go with right now if I could get over the weight fear hangup.  Thanks.

 

[simple]

The Warmoth Pro rod is 4.0 oz.
The Vintage rod is 2.4 oz.

Just remember that those weights are distributed along the entire shaft of the neck.