new guitar...

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Orpheo

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I've been thinking about a new guitar for some time, and I have many specs in my head that can be done in 1 guitar, but that would make it very expensive.

I have these 2 options:

I can have a warmoth LP with a new, custom made, BOLT ON neck, with all the hardware etc etc I want, for almost 3000$

I can have a custombuild les paul with neckthru (same woods and hardware as the warmoth LP), but with led-sidedots and real MoP celtic cross inlay for almost 6000$

thank god the dollar is low compared with the euro here, so that would mean a 3000$ guitar would be 2100 euro's, and a 6000$ would be 3800 euro's which is doable too. the upside of the more expensive guitar is that I dont have to build the guitar, and that it would be complete and ready-to-go when it arrives.


what would you guys to? 1 guitar which has to be build 'at home' but with good parts, but still 'a bolt on' (of which I already have 5!) or 1 super-expensive, over the top, but dream-les paul?

this is cursing in church, talking about something else than warmoth, but ey! I can! i already have emptied my wallet at warmoth's for 5 times!
 
If you abandoned the LED side dots, the prices might be comparable.  In that case, I'd go for the neck thru.
 
It would be perfectly reasonable to buy this instead of a Warmoth:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-ES-345-TDC-Stereo-Guitar-B-B-King-Vintage_W0QQitemZ260250004238QQihZ016QQcategoryZ118985QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
I've a neck thru Les Paul... I swear it sustain the note for 45 seconds WITHOUT enter the harmonic...
 
being nitpicky but according to Google's currency calculator, it is actually 1,955 vs. 3,910

In my experience (which is more limited than some of the guys on here) having a neckthru guitar (Ive had two: a Gibson and a Schecter) doesn't make some miraculous difference. Additionally, it seems to me that you can get a beautifully outfitted warmoth body and neck for just over a thousand dollars. What are you planning on adding that would cost up to $2000?

My vote is on Warmoth. I am halfway through my project so I can't personally speak for the quality but it seems like there isn't a downside.
 
at some point the LED's would stop working and not all at the same time, and you'd have a POS. Installing digital electronics where they arent readilly repairable and arent normaly found is a bad idea. You might as well install LED's in the side of a Luis XIV table.

Brian
 
I would have to agree that the LED's seem a tad gimmicky.  I played a Warrior guitar the other day at a local shop and was severely underwhelmed, but it had LED's in the fretboard.  The sales guy just kept showing me the LED's.  It kinda reminded me of the whole "they go to eleven" scene in Spinal Tap.  What I would do, if it were me (keep in mind that it is not) is I would spend the extra cash to get the most out-freaking-rageous Warmoth known to man.  And no I don't work for them.   
 
Yeah I gotta say I'm not down with the light-up side dots either.

What options are you picking that are going to cost $3000?  I mean, a top-end body is like $1000, and about the same for the neck... is the hardware gonna cost $1000 as well??
 
I understand as I have been considering various custom guitars (Alembic, Scott Walker, etc.) vs. a Warmoth build. If price really isn't an issue than a custom build may be the way to go. That being said you could have two warmoth guitars for the same amount of money (or another amp, more effects, a luxury weekend vacation, etc.) If assembly concerns you than you could always get a local repairman or luthier to assemble it for you. It should only take them a few hours (3-5) so just multiply they're hourly fee and ad that to your calculations for comparison. Best of luck.

Also, some people use cubic zirconia dots on their necks instead of LEDs. They are supposed to catch and reflect even the tiniest amount of light in the room but I haven't tried it yet. A lot of people here don't seem to like the LED's and they are a bit much but depending on your situation ( I play in a band with a lightshow where it can be very dark onstage at times ) they can be a lifesaver.
 
the sidedots are actually quite cheap. its a fiber optic that runs through the fingerboard, with the LED itself in the body so you can change it whenever its needed. even when I ditch the LED, its somewhere around this price.

well, I've got 5 warmoths, and I like the idea of having a neckthru guitar with all the specs in my head that I want. neckthru, rosewood back, zebrano top (or similar), multilam neck, no glued on headstock but solid etc etc. indeed, the great difference is the neckthru vs. bolt-on. but for a strange reason, I want this one to be over the top, to be my main-axe for many, many years to come.

but the danger is that this thing might, indeed, be not my mainaxe, and that I keep on playing my other guitars more...


oh damn. still undecided!
 
Again, In my own experience neck-thru does not make a huge difference but if you are willing to spend the dough then the more power to you.

Also, this is the more beautiful than any Gibson I think I have ever seen and the seller says he spend 2500 dollars on. It seems like he bought it a while ago as some of the option he was seeking from Warmoth are now available (binding on the neck) so the price may be even lower.

But seriously check it out. http://cgi.ebay.com/59-LES-PAUL-BURST-WARMOTH-GUITAR-BRAZILIAN-NITRO_W0QQitemZ260251414953QQihZ016QQcategoryZ33038QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (Thanks Lucky #7 for the heads up on this one)
 
Johnhamdun said:
Again, In my own experience neck-thru does not make a huge difference but if you are willing to spend the dough then the more power to you.

Also, this is the more beautiful than any Gibson I think I have ever seen and the seller says he spend 2500 dollars on. It seems like he bought it a while ago as some of the option he was seeking from Warmoth are now available (binding on the neck) so the price may be even lower.

But seriously check it out. http://cgi.ebay.com/59-LES-PAUL-BURST-WARMOTH-GUITAR-BRAZILIAN-NITRO_W0QQitemZ260251414953QQihZ016QQcategoryZ33038QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (Thanks Lucky #7 for the heads up on this one)

sidenote: why 2500$?

body: 340$
neck: 340$
pickups: 300$
tuners, pots, switch: 200$
total: 1180$

are you gonna tell me that finishing is 1320 dollars? a friend of mine, who's done 3/5 guitars of mine, does it for 50 bucks, and does a very decent job! better than almost anything out there.... strange.

ok. about my project...

the reason its so expensive is my love for exotic woods. that makes it so darn expensive. But, I have to say, I've done a mockup of what I wanted with kisekae, and this is what came out:

version 1:
Afbeelding1.png


version2:

Afbeelding2.png


and I dont like it. I dont like it ONE bit.

So, afterall, I'm gonna settle on maple. its just the prettiest!

done%205%20outside.jpg


done%202.jpg


tiger%20close%20front.jpg


this is what I like more than zebrano... so long, my dream of a les paul with exotic woods...
 
Johnhamdun said:
Again, In my own experience neck-thru does not make a huge difference but if you are willing to spend the dough then the more power to you.

In my experience my neck-thru les paul has difference from set neck... and in the experience of everybody I know that have one neck-thru, does...


Like the idea Orpheo, but hate this Yamaha SG inlay  :icon_biggrin:
This quilted that you showed is more than 5A, would be quite expensive it alone... but again, I understand you... like the top notch too
 
NonsenseTele said:
Johnhamdun said:
Again, In my own experience neck-thru does not make a huge difference but if you are willing to spend the dough then the more power to you.

In my experience my neck-thru les paul has difference from set neck... and in the experience of everybody I know that have one neck-thru, does...


Like the idea Orpheo, but hate this Yamaha SG inlay  :icon_biggrin:
This quilted that you showed is more than 5A, would be quite expensive it alone... but again, I understand you... like the top notch too

the yamaha inlay was only to give it something else than the block-thingy :D

that quilt is something like I have on my fireburst, and I like my fireburst more, and I have a policy: no finish more than once!!


so, that leaves me with

wenge top (?)
bubinga top(?)
zebrano top (ONLY last resort!)
padouk top (my fav. right now)
maple top (last resort, way after zebrano!)

and thats it!

the neckthru is 'cool', but

a: expensive!
b: the shop that makes these axes has gotten a bad rep, these last few years. I know warmoth, and the quality here is second to none (I hope that expression is correct? I wanna say: top notcchh!!! but in different words, haha). and the other company... not so consistent.


I'll stick to warmoth :)
 
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