Non-Figured carved tops

[Jumble Jumble]

Oh hey, I'm not criticising Warmoth at all here. It's not their job to do web development or know the difference between good and bad code. It's their job to make guitar parts, and they're good at it.

It's irrelevant to compare it with USACG's web site, as that site doesn't try to have a custom builder. YOu can have good code that does little, and bad code that does a lot.

In my opinion, trying to put a builder on the front of USACG would be going against how that company works. Ordering from Warmoth is like ordering a new car - you decide on your model and then decide what options you want. That's not what it's like with USACG. Everything I've had from there has come from a long email conversation with Tommy. It's "true custom" if you like - you don't choose from a menu (though they do provide one if you really need it), you use your imagination. Decide on your own compound radius and neck profile, that sort of thing. Trying to get all that into a builder would firstly be very hard, and secondly would still necessarily limit it to a finite number of options.

The Warmoth builder is great, it really is, and I have of course used it to get pieces that I'm very happy with. But it doesn't suit all business models.

 

[aarontunes]

Hey guys. I'm the web content manager here at Warmoth. I don't usually get involved in these kinds of discussions, but I just wanted to give you a peek behind the curtain.

Our web team consists of three people. We are responsible not only for the website, but for all print and online marketing, database management, internal program development, graphic design projects unrelated to the website, and a about a million other things. We hit the ground running every morning and work hard all day with one goal in mind: to sell the best replacement guitar and bass parts on the planet.

It's easy to trivialize what we do, but I can assure you our job is much more complex than copying and pasting some code here and adding a little graphic there. The issues that inform our website go much deeper than simple web development. We walk arm-in-arm with product development, and a single product change, like say.... our process for doing carve-tops, can spark a whole slew of changes that must be implemented in myriad components across our site: catalog pages, builders, option pages, etc. There is also a TON of work that goes into the commerce side of our website, integrating it with our accounting software, etc. All this takes a lot of time and happens with no fanfare. Most people don't even notice.

Other times the website lags behind not because of laziness on our parts, but because of the dizzying amount of work that goes into creating a new product. We have to wait for all the wrinkles to be ironed out, all the available options to be analyzed, and every question to be answered before we can proceed with web development for it.

I'm not sure everyone appreciates the amount of work that goes into the things the Warmoth site does that no other web site offers. We photograph every single neck and body in our stock from multiple angles and display them individually on our site. We photograph every figured laminate-top body wood in our stock and display it on our site. We photograph every single figured fingerboard in our stock and display it on our site. In the visual builder you can even view these pieces as they will appear on your body or neck. This is a cosmic amount of work, but it makes it possible for customers to see the actual piece of wood they are buying.

Believe me...we know people want more stuff available in the builders. How? Because just about anytime we post anything, the first response is usually something like "Gee that's neat, but when will bodyX be available in the visual builder?" Trust me: we love the builder too. It's the best part of the site, and we do have plans to create a Warmoth builder app, but it's going to be a while.

Another thing worth mentioning is that when your web team is 3 people, one person leaving makes a big difference. You have to scramble to fill the spot with a qualified person, and spend months getting them up to speed on not only how the site and all the various components are built, but how our product is built. Neither is simple.

In February 2 people left. For a time the web team was, essentially, me. We have since hired two new guys who are both very talented, but it will take some time to get this machine fired up again. Still, work progresses. We have just launched a much-needed face-lift to the site, and hopefully more awesome changes are in the works as we rev up this engine to full speed.

I guess my point is, there are no idle hands or minds in the Warmoth web department. There is much more going on here than most people realize, and given our limited manpower I think we have done a pretty darn good job of creating a website that offers some things no other guitar companies offer.

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

I know what its like to work in a department that is tasked with the impossible, then not really thanked when the impossible is delivered.

That was a nice insight into your business that you just gave us.  Thank you for taking the time to do that and trusting us with the information.  And thank you for making all this possible online for us.  Instead of television, I look forward to coming home from work and seeing what's new with Warmoth.  You are responsible for hours of enjoyment for me.  Thank you!

 

[bagman67]

I know what its like to work in a department that is tasked with the impossible, then not really thanked when the impossible is delivered.

That was a nice insight into your business that you just gave us.  Thank you for taking the time to do that and trusting us with the information.  And thank you for making all this possible online for us.  Instead of television, I look forward to coming home from work and seeing what's new with Warmoth.  You are responsible for hours of enjoyment for me.  Thank you!

I couldn't have said it better myself.  Well put, Dwight.  I join wholeheartedly in this sentiment.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

That actually all makes a lot more sense than if you were subcontracting it and the contractor wasn't delivering. All totally understandable.

 

[Great Ape]

That all just makes the actual GUITAR product available from Warmoth all the more gratifying and impressive...no doubt about you folks being the best out there. And THANKS, always!