Showcase - waiting for the body and/or neck that never comes

[SustainerPlayer]

This is not a rant.

Just an observation.

For some time I have waited for a certain ... ehhm ... item ... (I won't disclose afraid it will jinx it further) to show up in the showcase again. It is not like it is a very unlikely item with any really special features. And I could really accept several different versions of that item.

I know like items have been in the showcase lotsa times before. But the day I actually _needed_ it the showcase suddenly dried out and it hasn't appeared again. Murphys law?

And I'm certain that if I go BTO the showcase will be flooded with said items on the next day after ordering.  :icon_biggrin:

So now I choose to handle this as an interesting experiment. Will it ever appear again? And if it does will I be able to buy iy before someone else does?

Anyone else here want to join the club?  :icon_jokercolor:

And posting things like "that's what BTO is for" or "use the Builder" will not earn you any karma points.  :laughing7:

Maybe in the mean time I'll look into a project where there is no chance of seeing appropriate items in the showcase. Hey ... so the two projects shares something anyway?!  :toothy11:

In the other news: It's very hot and humid here today. Enjoy the Pentecost everyone!

 

[CrazyGrain]

I'm with you man.

Hey Warmoth, would it be too much trouble to have a few more strat necks in the showcase with the black gloss finish? (I know, gloss is blasphemy around here)

Hundreds and hundreds of the typical clear or tint maple and like 4 in black gloss. Come on W, think of the metal heads. We like strats too.  :icon_biggrin:

I'm dying to the pull the trigger on Warmoth #2 but I know it will be forever before the right neck shows up for it. Oh well, guess Cagey will have to finish it for me.  ccasion14: No worries there (he does walk on water after all), just adds the agony of a longer build time.

 

[Updown]

OH silly me  :doh:

:dontknow:  I thought this thread was about the LONG AWAITED NEW Warmoth body shapes.

Hello Warmoth .... 'is there anybody in there' ?

 

[bagman67]

Here's how I suspect it works: sometimes a custom order suggests to the Warmoth folks that there's an appetite for some fancy thing or another. 


Case in point:  I ordered Quty Pie as a one-off, never having seen a purple-to-clear burst on a Warmoth body.  I sent in a photo of the EBMM Steve Morse model as an example of what I thought the finish ought to approximate.  Quty Pie ships, I post photos - and now there are a dozen or more purple-to-clear bursts in the Showcase.  I wouldn't be surprised to learn that my custom order demonstrated that the purple-to-clear was both logistically feasible and marketable. 


If true, that would explain why the one thing you need so bad you have to get it built to order shows up in quantity right after your order ships - someone figured "if this guy wants it, maybe someone else will, too - might as well mix up a quadruple batch."

 

[Kostas]

...I know like items have been in the showcase lotsa times before

...And I'm certain that if I go BTO the showcase will be flooded with said items on the next day after ordering.  :icon_biggrin:

I'm in the opposite situation, I want features in bodies/necks Warmoth will never put in the showcase... That's why it's been five years since I've made a Warmoth even though I have two bodies in the closet waiting. I have some nice guitars now and I refuse to spend a lot of money in custom orders like I did in the past. Not a rant either, I know they work in a certain way and I don't think they'll change anytime soon.

 

[Day-mun]

And posting things like "that's what BTO is for" or "use the Builder" will not earn you any karma points.  :laughing7:

In the other news: It's very hot and humid here today. Enjoy the Pentecost everyone!

The context in which the term karma was used leads me to believe you don't know what it means. I don't get the Pentecost reference either, but some born-agains may take offense...

Maybe we'd be best off sticking to the topic of guitar parts shopping, and leave the religious rhetoric to the theologians.

 

[Day-mun]

-More to the point: (and this may be a rant) what is up with "your choice trem"?  It is cool so long as you plan to put a wang-bar on the thing, but it really limits what is on there for those who wish not to dip and dive. -How about throw 'em on there with no bridge route at all and give the hard-tailers a wider variety?

 

[SustainerPlayer]

The context in which the term karma was used leads me to believe you don't know what it means.

I'm sorry - but you are on the wrong path here.
On many forums they use karma points acknowledging good or helpful posts.

I don't get the Pentecost reference either, but some born-agains may take offense...

I think it will be good for you not to take offence of anything you admit to not getting ...  :sign13:
But here it is just a sincere greeting. Similar to say "Merry Christmas", "Have a nice day" or the like.

 

[Day-mun]

No offense taken. -Pardon the snide comments, please... I was called into work over the weekend and guess it soured my mood more than I originally suspected (-and earned myself some karma in the original definition in the process lol).

-back to topic, I got to thinking about the 'your choice trem" thing, and from a manufacturing standpoint, it is most likely more cost effective to do runs of back routes, rather than one-off the spring ditch every time someone places their showcase order; machine set-up, man-hours, etc. all add up. -And drives up the cost for end-consumers (us), so...

I take back the gibberish I spewed earlier about all that, too.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

ccasion14:  :icon_thumright:

 

[Day-mun]

I don't know how I took the  before-mentioned quotes so literally (-probably that ignorant+crabby thing in effect), there are elements of different faiths used figuratively and flippantly seemingly everywhere. For example:

Oh well, guess Cagey will have to finish it for me.  ccasion14: No worries there (he does walk on water after all), just adds the agony of a longer build time.

Hell (there's another one), -in another thread, I referred to hanging the chording hand's thumb over the top of the fretboard as a possible sin.

-New to world of forums and internet-speak; I'm an old-school guy who was too busy playing guitar and working on them and missed the information age... 'til just lately, so a lot of what I read comes across as speaking in tongues
:confused4:

 

[Cagey]

Not to worry. I'm old enough to know that "politically correct" speech is about the silliest attempt at groupspeak since... forever. Modern times are fraught with highly vocal minorities who attempt to control the majorities by overwhelming them on issues almost nobody cares about, but are made large by volume. Don't say this, don't do that, don't advocate the other thing... you might offend what, 1% of the population? Used to be you could either ignore them or slap them down if they got too uppity. Now, they're the ones who write laws.

It seems counter-intuitive... if the majority feel one way, why is the minority in control? Because the majority doesn't see it as an issue and so ignores it. The minority sees it as an existential threat somehow, and screams bloody murder. Raise enough money to make a significant contribution to an election, and the winner has no choice to but follow what appears to be a constituency, when in fact it was just a small group of bitches yapping and snapping at the heels of a giant who couldn't be bothered to pay attention otherwise.

It's how you get environmental laws that make zero sense, regulations of things that don't need regulating, restrictions on the behavior of the many to control the behavior of a few, supposed leaders who make fence posts look intelligent, on and on.

I suppose I'll be banned now, so... thanks for all the fish!

 

[Day-mun]

I was only quoting him as an example for the side-bar ramblings I've been hijacking this thread with, but I think CrazyGrain was calling ya (Cagey) in to back him on his pleas for gloss black necks in the showcase... but thanks for that last one.

As for the other, It seems I disturbed the peace I was trying to preserve. Funny thing is, I don't really know why I made issue of it in the first place, any of you can say whatever about whatever and I wouldn't much care.  Maybe I better had left defense of the views of the few to the 1%

I got the "Thanks for all the fish" reference... and I'm not offended.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

The phrase 'political correctness' is an unfortunate one - it's a pejorative term used to denigrate anyone's attempts to minimise offence. Polly Toynbee said:

"The phrase “political correctness” was born as a coded cover for all who still want to say Paki, spastic, or queer, all those who still want to pick on anyone not like them, playground bullies who never grew up. The politically correct society is the civilised society, however much some may squirm at the more inelegant official circumlocutions designed to avoid offence."

And the very people who claim to hate political correctness so much quite often come up with stuff like "freedom fries". What's that if its not toxic PC of the same kind? More recently Paul Krugman said:

"Thus, even talking about “the wealthy” brings angry denunciations; we’re supposed to call them “job creators”. Even talking about inequality is “class warfare”.

And then there’s the teaching of history. Eric Rauchway has a great post about attacks on the history curriculum, in which even talking about “immigration and ethnicity” or “environmental history” becomes part of a left-wing conspiracy. As he says, he’ll name his new course “US History: The Awesomeness of Awesome Americans.” That, after all, seems to be the only safe kind of thing to say"

Aaaaaanyway.....  :rock-on:  ccasion14:

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

If you want it, order it.

 

[mullyman]

Well, SustainerPlayer, I'm right there with ya, man, on waiting for that one item to show up. I'm well over 2 years now waiting on mine and wondering if it will ever show up again. What I'm waiting for is a spalt maple Strat or Tele, not just any spalt though, it's gotta be highly figured. I'm sure I've missed some by not visiting often enough though. That one piece will eventually show up and I'll be all over it like white on rice.
MULLY

 

[Cagey]

I've been watching the Showcase for some years now, and there seem to be trends. I think when they find something good to play with, they're willing to share. I don't know if Ken uses wood acquisition as an excuse to go travelling and have a blast on the government's dime or what, but I know I've seen periods where nice spalt (among other woods) is the order of the day - you could probably go through the GAS thread and plot their supplies. For a while, Goncalo Alves necks are all over the place, then Tiger Maple bodies, etc. Wood being what it is, and considering the unreliability of the sources, it's tough to say what's going to show up. Kinda like the "Chef's Special", where he finds a limited source of supply of something of high quality at a good price, so he buys up a stash and makes parts out of it.

Considering that, I also think I've seen where you have to get while the gettin's good. When the supply is flush, things are easy, but I think they hold back some supply in order to maintain some consistency of offering. Of course, that affects the price, so...

I say all that to say this: you could wait forever. They can't manufacture wood. It's a found resource. Somebody talented in selection has to go out there and look for it. It's not like ordering socks or screwdrivers from Sears, where you know what you're getting and what it'll cost.

If you accept all that, then you have to get into a frame of mind that says "do I need another body or neck?" If you do, then there are plenty of offerings of high-quality pieces, so you just do it. But, if not, you just lay back. These guys are dedicated to being a unique supplier. Someday, something will show up that will force you to lose your mind and buy it against your better judgement. I mean, you can buy very nice complete guitars from Korea that will kick Gibson's ass for a fraction of the price they ask, and less than what Warmoth wants for a single part.

But, reality says you may never get your specific piece, so you have to resolve your needs and anxieties or simply go without. That's no fun.