Reviewing My First Build Specs! Washed Blue Dye Soloist

[rorycosgrove]

Hey guys! I've done a lot of research and think I'm finally ready to order for my first full build. I've listed my specs below along with a few important notes, please let me know if I've made any foolish beginner errors!

BODY
MODEL:Soloist
WOOD:Flame Maple on Basswood
SCALE:25-1/2"
RIGHT/LEFT:Right handed
ROUT:Rear Rout
PICKUP ROUT:Humbucker (Wood Mount) (N), None (Middle), Humbucker (Wood Mount) (B)
CONTROLS:V-X-T-5 (Strat®)
BRIDGE:Recessed Original 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:Use inserts from bridge on order
24 FRET REPOSITION:Yes
BINDINGearloid Binding
TOP FINISH:Washed Blue Dye
BACK FINISH:Transparent Blue
FINISH TYPE:Satin Finish

HARDWARE/PICKUPS
Original Floyd Rose in Gold
Duncan JB (B) and 59 (N)
Sperzel Locking Tuners in Gold
Gonna split both pups with a push/pull
Football Jack Plate

NECK
MODEL:Modern Construction Warhead
WOOD:Roasted Flame Maple/Roasted Flame Maple
RIGHT/LEFT:Right Handed
NUT WIDTH:1-11/16"
NECK PROFILE:Wizard
FRET SIZE:SS6100 (Stainless)
TUNER REAM:Sperzel (25/64")
INLAYS:Abalone Face Dots
SIDE DOTS:Abalone Side Dots
RADIUS:Straight 16"
SCALE:25-1/2"
FRET #:24
MOUNTING HOLES:Standard 4 Bolt
PRE-CUT INSTALLED STRING NUT:GraphTech White TUSQ XL - Standard Nut
FINISH:No Finish

You'll notice I'm opting for a Floyd Rose without a locking nut. This was not my original plan, but when I noticed that Warmoth doesn't offer Floyd Nut Prep on a 16in radius I decided to try something different. I feel like locking nuts suck away some tone from open strings anyway, and I've seen plenty of footage of players going wild on a Floyd with locking tuners and no locking nut. (Or I could just play the Guthrie card)

Really excited for this build! Let me know if I'm being an idiot here somewhere haha

Rory

 

[NedRyerson]

My own personal preference would be to keep the knobs a little closer together (so either V-T-X or X-T-T).  Because ultimately, they're just pot hole routs.  They're not defining which pot you must install in which position.  You can have the volume on the bottom if you're really feeling crazy!

I just prefer to have the knobs closer together and within easy reach.  But maybe you don't.  So it's all personal preference, and I would think it'd be rather difficult to make any egregious mistakes going through WM's builder.  The scripting automatically removes incompatible options, so they can save customers from themselves in many cases!

 

[rorycosgrove]

My own personal preference would be to keep the knobs a little closer together (so either V-T-X or X-T-T).  Because ultimately, they're just pot hole routs.  They're not defining which pot you must install in which position.  You can have the volume on the bottom if you're really feeling crazy!

I just prefer to have the knobs closer together and within easy reach.  But maybe you don't.  So it's all personal preference, and I would think it'd be rather difficult to make any egregious mistakes going through WM's builder.  The scripting automatically removes incompatible options, so they can save customers from themselves in many cases!

Thanks! I just wanted to make sure. And yea personally I just don't like the look of the knobs so close together, I like the volume knob right next to the pickup but I hardly use the tone so it's no problem having it far away

 

[stratamania]

As you will be using a football jack plate, go for a 7/8" jack rout. It is a lot more flexible and is covered by the football jack.

With your current choice of Floyd rout you could always get another neck with a 10-16" radius and lock nut and swap it out later. If you have no plans in that direction why not just get a Floyd NFT rout - okay there is a $45 upcharge but that is more than offset by the fact that the NFT Floyd itself is less expensive than an OFR.

(This is not a tips and tricks thread, and should be in general discussion)

 

[rorycosgrove]

As you will be using a football jack plate, go for a 7/8" jack rout. It is a lot more flexible and is covered by the football jack.

With your current choice of Floyd rout you could always get another neck with a 10-16" radius and lock nut and swap it out later. If you have no plans in that direction why not just get a Floyd NFT rout - okay there is a $45 upcharge but that is more than offset by the fact that the NFT Floyd itself is less expensive than an OFR.

(This is not a tips and tricks thread, and should be in general discussion)

Thanks again man! I didn't see any prospective build threads in General either so I wasn't sure where to put something like this, if an admin could move it somehow that would be great. I was confused because the builder removed the choice for the football plate when I selected 7/8", but if they're perfectly compatible I'll just choose them separately. I have thought about the possibility of swapping necks in the future, and I'm just confident that the Original Floyd is something I love so it's worth the price for me to be sure I'm in my comfort zone there, I totally see your point though.

Update: One more question, I've decided to go with these tuners: https://reverb.com/item/16019100-sperzel-6-in-line-ez-mount-no-drilling-trimlok-locking-tuners-gold-plated which specify a 13/32" peghead hole, but the Sperzel option for tuner holes on Warmoth is 25/64". Which hole rout is right for these pegs?

 

[NedRyerson]

Sperzel themselves say 10mm or 25/64", so I think you'd be good to go there.

http://www.sperzel.com/faq.php

 

[rorycosgrove]

Sperzel themselves say 10mm or 25/64", so I think you'd be good to go there.

http://www.sperzel.com/faq.php

Thank you! So I had found that page first which led me to the original decision of 25/64" but then the product description differed so I was confused. I'm guessing that product description "peghead hole" isn't referring to the entire hole but just the top part or something?

 

[TheOtherEric]

I’ve been considering a very similar build (just places my order!) and here are some thoughts:

1) Someone here wiser than me posted “Fancy bodies call for conservative necks, and vice-versa. Otherwise, it's liable to look too busy.”  I’ve re-read this 30x lately, and realized my favorite builder (Suhr) seems to take that approach. So I declined the flamed neck and abalone since like you I’m doing a flashy body. Food for thought.

2) your controls decision suggests you aren’t satisfied with the standard layout. Nor was I. I eventually realized the best solution is to drill the holes myself (Forstner bit + drill guide). YMMV.

 

[rorycosgrove]

I’ve been considering a very similar build (just places my order!) and here are some thoughts:

1) Someone here wiser than me posted “Fancy bodies call for conservative necks, and vice-versa. Otherwise, it's liable to look too busy.”  I’ve re-read this 30x lately, and realized my favorite builder (Suhr) seems to take that approach. So I declined the flamed neck and abalone since like you I’m doing a flashy body. Food for thought.

2) your controls decision suggests you aren’t satisfied with the standard layout. Nor was I. I eventually realized the best solution is to drill the holes myself (Forstner bit + drill guide). YMMV.

That's a good point, although I still think it's subjective. I like guitars that look gorgeous everywhere, even if it comes across as busy (like the guitar in my avatar lol). And judging by the graphic representation, VXT seems just like the layout on most super-strats so I don't really know what you mean. I just placed my order yesterday too! Hope to see how yours comes out as well

 

[TheOtherEric]

... And judging by the graphic representation, VXT seems just like the layout on most super-strats so I don't really know what you mean. I just placed my order yesterday too! Hope to see how yours comes out as well

Not sure it’s fair to say the VXT is like other super strays. Warmoth’s guitar builder pics show the Volume knob hole right up next to the pickup like on strats (although I’m not certain that’s exactly what they’re doing). But super strats (Charvel, Jackson, Suhr) typically move the Vol down about an inch toward the 5-way switch. And so a VXT will also have a much greater distance between V and T versus most super strats.

Anyway, I guess that’s moot now. Congrats on placing your order!

 

[rorycosgrove]

... And judging by the graphic representation, VXT seems just like the layout on most super-strats so I don't really know what you mean. I just placed my order yesterday too! Hope to see how yours comes out as well

Not sure it’s fair to say the VXT is like other super strays. Warmoth’s guitar builder pics show the Volume knob hole right up next to the pickup like on strats (although I’m not certain that’s exactly what they’re doing). But super strats (Charvel, Jackson, Suhr) typically move the Vol down about an inch toward the 5-way switch. And so a VXT will also have a much greater distance between V and T versus most super strats.

Anyway, I guess that’s moot now. Congrats on placing your order!

Thanks! And yea I feel like I've seen it that way on others but either way that's the arrangement I like since I use the volume all the time but almost never touch the tone