Ready for my 2nd build, need some guidance!

[exaN]

Hey guys! I put together my first Warmoth many years ago (http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=12780.0). I'm now ready to take the plunge once more but I'm a bit out of touch and in need of guidance from you guys. I'm including my shopping list so you guys can take a look, but it's missing some of the electronics. If the guitar will be HSH with DiMarzio Air Classics (bridge and neck) with 1 volume 1 tone, what potentiometers and capacitor would you recommend? Also, if any of you want to spend the time reviewing the list and make sure I didn't mess up anywhere, that would be greatly appreciated too ccasion14:. Thanks in advance!

-BODY:
MODEL: Soloist
WOOD: Alder on Alder
SCALE: 25-1/2"
RIGHT/LEFT: Right handed
ROUT: Rear Rout
PICKUP ROUT: Humbucker (Wood Mount) (N), Strat® (Middle), Humbucker (Wood Mount) (B)
CONTROLS: X-T-T-5 (Strat®)
BRIDGE: Recessed Schaller Floyd Tremolo
JACK ROUT: 3/4" (19mm) Side Jack Hole
F-HOLES: None
NECK POCKET: Strat® Shape
MOUNTING HOLES: Standard 4 Bolt
COUNTOURS: Contoured Heel / Tummy Cut / Forearm Countour
STUD INSTALL: No Stud Install
BATTERY BOX: No Battery Box Rout
BINDING: Ivoroid Binding
TOP FINISH: Black to Clear Burst
BACK FINISH: Black
FINISH TYPE: Satin Finish

-NECK:
MODEL: Modern Construction Warhead
WOOD: Wenge/Indian Rosewood (Dark)
RIGHT/LEFT: Right Handed Reverse
NUT WIDTH: 1-11/16"
NECK PROFILE: Standard thin
FRET SIZE: SS6150 (Stainless)
TUNER REAM: Gotoh/Grover (13/32" 11/32")
INLAYS: Cream Face Dots
SIDE DOTS: White Side Dots
RADIUS: 10-16" Compound
SCALE: 25-1/2"
FRET #: 22
MOUNTING HOLES: Standard 4 Bolt
PRE-CUT INSTALLED STRING NUT: R4 Floyd Prep w/ Mounting Holes

-SCHALLER FLOYD ROSE® TREMOLO, CHROME (+ R4 locking nut)
-GOTOH SG38 TUNER, RIGHT SIDE, CHROME x6
-FLAT TOP KNOB, CHROME x2
-SCHALLER STRAP LOCKS, PAIR, CHROME
-FOOTBALL SIDE JACK PLATE, CHROME
-5-WAY BLADE SWITCH
-STRAT® SWITCH KNOB, BLACK
-MONO JACK, BY SWITCHCRAFT
-HUMBUCKER HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT SCREW
-NECK SCREW, SET OF 2+2 FOR CONTOURED HEEL, CHROME
-WIRING KIT
-COPPER SHIELDING TAPE

And what it would roughly look like:

 

[Cagey]

That's gonna be a nice fiddle!

I'd put long shaft 500K audio taper pots in it, and use a .022μF ceramic cap on the tone control. I would skip the copper foil business - it's a waste of time and money in this application. Use shielded cable instead. It's more effective and easier to deal with. Also, I didn't see a neck plate in the list, but I'm assuming you're gonna get that from Doug?

 

[Axkoa]

Saw that body on the showcase yesterday, loved how it looked. It's a shame I'm poor  :toothy10:. Go build an amazing guitar out of it dude! Also love the reversed headstock, should look awesome with the Warhead headstock.

 

[kgk9000]

I haven't seen the glow-in-the-dark ("Moon Glow") fret markers and side dots in person, but if it was my guitar, I'd want them.

 

[exaN]

That's gonna be a nice fiddle!

I'd put long shaft 500K audio taper pots in it, and use a .022μF ceramic cap on the tone control. I would skip the copper foil business - it's a waste of time and money in this application. Use shielded cable instead. It's more effective and easier to deal with. Also, I didn't see a neck plate in the list, but I'm assuming you're gonna get that from Doug?

Thanks for the advice, I'll go with those. Yes I was thinking of getting a custom neckplate .

I haven't seen the glow-in-the-dark ("Moon Glow") fret markers and side dots in person, but if it was my guitar, I'd want them.

You just convinced me to go back and change it to moon glow!

I was also wondering if anyone had an opinion on R3 vs R4 locking nuts? What do most guitars with trems use?

Here's another quick Photoshop preview!

 

[Cagey]

All the dimensions of the R3 and R4 nuts are the same except the string spacing - the R4 spacing is slightly wider. I don't know which is more widely used - I'm sure it's a matter of personal preference. Note the radius is listed as being different, but that depends on the manufacturer. The Schaller versions are both for 10" radius, which is correct for a Warmoth neck.

My own personal preference is to not use locking nuts at all. The only reason Mr. Rose used them when he came up with his vibrato bridge design is that there were no such things as locking tuners. That also forced him to put locking saddles and micro-tuners on the bridge, making it an unnecessarily complex and expensive piece of hardware that forces you to carry tools just to change a string . Modern vibratos continue to use the dual knife-edge fulcrum design he came up with, which works well, but have foregone the locking saddles, micro tuners, locking nuts and string changing tools.

 

[exaN]

Interesting! The locking nut is the part I hate the most about having a trem by far, I would love to get rid of it and just use locking tuners. This might sound stupid, but wouldn't using the tremolo cause friction if it's a regular nut thus causing wear? Is there a nut that works better for this?

 

[Cagey]

The fact that you don't have multiple wraps of string around the tuner post mitigates the vast majority of headstock-related tuning issues. Grabby nuts still exist, but you can always get the nut cut properly so that isn't an issue (which also eliminates the need for string trees) and there isn't a great deal of movement through the nut when there are properly strung locking tuners installed. So, regular Graphtech nuts work fine, but the ultimate would be an LSR. I use Graphtechs on just about all my guitars, with LSRs on a couple, and I don't have any tuning issues even though all my vibratos float.

 

[Logrinn]

About the pots ...
There have been countless discussions on the value of the pots with the consensus being a 500k for humbuckers and a 250k for single coil pickups.
So how do you solve the HSH with just one volume? Well, hence all the discussions.

But recently I stumbled upon this product from Madhatter via Twitter. They have gotten people's attention since it became apparent that Steve Vai chose them.
They have combined a 500k and a 250k value pots on one shaft. And also some smart connection soultions to go with that. Pretty smart if you ask me:

You can see some more about it here in this video:

[youtube]LETPKHwA7AY[/youtube]

 

[exaN]

Thanks Logrinn, that's actually really cool. Might not be worth the $80 investment for now, but it's good to know they exist.

 

[exaN]

My first Warmoth didn't have a decal, but this one will . Looks quite nice I think!

 

[Cagey]

I like that decal design, but Wenge is a pretty open-grained wood. In order for a decal to work, it's gonna need several applications of grain fill to give you a good, smooth surface. Otherwise, the backing is gonna stand out like cellophane tape on carpet and look pretty tacky.

 

[exaN]

I like that decal design, but Wenge is a pretty open-grained wood. In order for a decal to work, it's gonna need several applications of grain fill to give you a good, smooth surface. Otherwise, the backing is gonna stand out like cellophane tape on carpet and look pretty tacky.

Yeah I was a bit worried, but I'm not completely sold on wenge anyways. Do you know of any neck wood that doesn't require a finish but could work with a decal ?

 

[Cagey]

Roasted Maple is pretty smooth even unfinished and is slightly darker than regular Maple so it would match that body nicely. It's brighter than the Wenge, tone-wise, but I've always considered that a Good Thing. You can always EQ existing frequencies out if they're undesireable, but you can't add or augment them if they're not there to begin with. Plus, it costs less.

 

[exaN]

Roasted Maple is pretty smooth even unfinished and is slightly darker than regular Maple so it would match that body nicely. It's brighter than the Wenge, tone-wise, but I've always considered that a Good Thing. You can always EQ existing frequencies out if they're undesireable, but you can't add or augment them if they're not there to begin with. Plus, it costs less.

Thanks, looks like I have some Photoshop mix and match to do!

 

[Cagey]

While you're at it, if you want something a little darker and can afford a few more bucks, you might look at Pau Ferro. Very attractive, and burnishes up pretty smooth.

 

[exaN]

The roasted maple was a great idea! I think I'll go with a lighter headstock .

 

[Cagey]

That does look good. Matches the center of the body nicely.

 

[rgand]

The roasted maple was a good suggestion, Kevin. Nice mock up, exaN. :icon_thumright:

 

[Axkoa]

Did you by any chance steal that W from Washburn??? Awesome looking mockups though.