Should it cost this much to get my Warmoth assembled??!

aus9

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So I just called Atlanta Guitar Repair asking about how much it would run to have my shiny new VIP put together...their reply was 300-450. Is that a bit high or is it just me? What would you guys estimate a reasonable price for this?
 
If the wooden parts are finished.... you have mount the neck, mount the hardware, mount the pickups, wire it, string it, set it up.

Chances are no fret leveling, or very minimal.  If its a non-maple neck, no fret cleaning.

Lets look at the numbers -

Two hours to put the hardware together = $150
An hour to wire it = $75
String and set up = $50

So... I'd say the price is damned high.  I'm not about to do it, but if you came to me and offered $250-$300 to assemble a WARMOTH guitar, I'd take the work. 
 
thats what i thought...yeah its all finished...just needs to be assembled i dont think it needs fret leveling. im having trouble finding any other places to do it around here (auburn alabama) so im in a predicament now. any suggestions on somewhere i could mail it maybe?
 
looks like it's time to learn how to do some of this stuff yourself...save money, feel good about assembling it yourself, and have have more knowledge for the next build.

Brian
 
Absolutely no need to fret level a new Warmoth neck. If you follow a lot of the threads here most assembly issues are covered, the only thing that might be problematic if you've never done this before is final setup/bridge and nut adjustment; there's no music stores/repair shops near there?

On second thought, your best bet is to move away from there....
 
What is so hard about assembling a Warmoth guitar? all you need is a screw driver and allen wrench and some instructions from the internet. Ok nuts might be hard but most techs should be able to cut one for around 50 or so...
 
yeah don't pay that. thats crazy talk!! would you consider putting it together yourself? because thats the cheapest, and most educational way you can go about it. Then once its all put together, get the overpriced assholes to set it up for you. im sure they wont charge you $450 for that!! 
 
Jeez, I'd put it together for you for a 6-pack of Shiner!

I think your local shop thinks they have a live one on the hook.

:tard:
 
I don't know anything about where you live, but a quick google search turned up these guys,  Have you tried them?   It looks like they have repair facilities...could be an option, although a six pack and some shipping, or free with shipping sound pretty enticing!


http://www.auburnguitar.com/default.asp


Whatever you do, don't pay those highway robbery prices!
 
jackthehack said:
Absolutely no need to fret level a new Warmoth neck.

Well.... this last neck, the Goncalo one... I did need a touch of frretwork.  The last fret #22 was very high and as it turns out, not seated well.  I had to superglue it, tap it down and then clamp it and hope for the best.  That fixed that one.  There were several other "high frets" in the fret 15-19 range... I tapped em down with some success, but ended up going over them very lightly and a very slight recrown.  Ya cant really tell by looking at them, but you'd get a dead note on one string or another in that fret range.  To be fair this is my sixth or seventh Warmoth neck, and the first that needed anything more than a finish scrape, and to be more fair, I am fairly anal and precise about my setup work, nothing by eye, always keenly measured... another player might not have had a problem, just raised the bridge a teeny bit.
 
i mean im not really opposed to doing it myself i just dont have a lot of spare time or many tools up here (im in college). really the only part that scares me about it is the neck attachment. yeah that auburn guitar shop is like 1/2 a mile from my house but im not sure i would trust them with it. i guess ill go over there tomorrow and see if i think they can handle it.
 
Neck attachment is easy.  Holes predrilled.  Put screws in, and screw em down!  Rub em on a birthday candle if they're tight.

Use some fishing line from tuner.... to bridge on High E, then same string over to low E bridge and back up to low E tuner.  Assuming the nut is in place... now you can line up the neck (just tune the fishing string till its tight).  Good trial / fit stuff that is!

Shift the neck a bit to center the strings on the neck.  Tighten it all up,

While your at it, use the string to alight the pickups (depending on how they're mounted).  Then get rid of the string... mount all the rest, and finally string it up.

Voila!~
 
For the price of the assembly you could buy a book on the subject and purchase a few tools and still have plenty of pizza and beer money.

It's all about having the right tools and a little patience. If your in college, then you could post an add and I'm sure someone from the school would be glad to help, maybe even a prof.

This site is full of mistakes to learn from and it's all free for you to learn from. :doh: So don't be afraid to ask.

Good luck!!

-TT-
 
If I recall correctly, I paid $200 to have mine assembled and setup at a local luthier / gtr shop.  When I picked mine up, there was another guy there picking up a Warmoth Les Paul.  His was pretty sweet too.
 
You gotta be shitting me?  I can make $200.00 for each Warmoth I assemble? Sign me up.  Send your parts to me....

Troubled Treble is correct, arm yourself with knowlege and do it yourself
 
It's not rocket surgery. The hardest thing to me is soldering. It's something I've never been good at but with patience you can do it.
 
Alfang said:
You gotta be shiteting me?  I can make $200.00 for each Warmoth I assemble? Sign me up.  Send your parts to me....

Troubled Treble is correct, arm yourself with knowlege and do it yourself

Yeh, well, the big selling factor for me was time.  I never have it.  The way my schedule is, it would have taken me months to try and assemble and set it up myself.  I have a hard enough time just making time to play the damned thing.
 
I had a pre wired pickup assembly, now that saved time. From boxes to set-up and play was about 3 hrs. (Part of that time was oogling over it)

About those guys charging so much, "pitchforks and torches!"
 
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