So, why Warmoth?

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I am like most people here making their one of a kind custom guitar.  Playing guitar for 16 years I have spent about 10 of those changing pickups, tweaking things here and there.  I have made the long drawn out story before on this forum, so I wont duplicate it here.  Basically my first guitar stopped being worth all of the trouble and work I was putting into it.  I was looking to find a donor Fender Strat body to transfer my idea to, but when I searched online I found Warmoth among many others.  I liked how I could choose a licensed "tried and true" Fender Strat, and choose every aspect of the wood, grain patterns, color, binding, and inlays.  I personally don't own a guitar with dot inlays because, even though I still need them to play, I prefer to have other markings to be a more artistic style than plain old dots.  Its hard to find a manufactured guitar that has everything you want already in it, and these days I just wind of modifiying the guitar anyway to my liking.  Warmoth's website allowed my imagination to run wild and start putting the ideas together that would otherwise be limited to whats commonly available.  Only a custom made guitar can be one of a kind.  I'm glad I found Warmoth.

You say your Strat is "licensed."  Does Fender acknowledge Warmoth guitars as Fenders?  ???

What's funny is that while my "dream guitar" was a Custom Shop B.C. Rich Warlock (with a "Widow" headstock), I think I'm much happier with my Warmoth than I would be with the Warlock, even though the Warlock would have been a neck-through.  I actually got to see my guitar "in the making."  Even though I didn't personally assemble it or set it up, I still got to hold all the pieces in unfinished fashion.  

I dunno, I feel like this guitar is truly my "dream guitar."  Just to add my own finishing touches, I even autographed the headstock, and had the neckplate engraved with my signature!  arty07:

 

[erogenousjones17]

I think the term Warmoth uses is "licensed Fender replacement parts." Make of that what you will.  :laughing7:

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I think the term Warmoth uses is "licensed Fender replacement parts." Make of that what you will.  :laughing7:

So a Warmoth Strat is a Fender Strat without serial numbers?  :icon_scratch:

 

[Firebird211]

Of course not an actual Fender, just better.  They are licenced replacement parts, so from that I gathered it would be as good as or better than a Fender, while maintaining basic Strat characteristics.  No serial number on my baby. :laughing7:

 

[erogenousjones17]

Yeah, it just means that they're licensed to produce Fender-compatible parts, i.e, parts made to Fender specs. Of course, I could be oversimplifying or just plain wrong. There are others on here who would be in a better position to answer  :dontknow:

 

[Firebird211]

Yeah, it just means that they're licensed to produce Fender-compatible parts, i.e, parts made to Fender specs. Of course, I could be oversimplifying or just plain wrong. There are others on here who would be in a better position to answer  :dontknow:

That was the wording I was looking for: "compatible to Fender specs".  How could you go wrong with that if you wanted a super-strat?

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Yeah, it just means that they're licensed to produce Fender-compatible parts, i.e, parts made to Fender specs. Of course, I could be oversimplifying or just plain wrong. There are others on here who would be in a better position to answer  :dontknow:

That was the wording I was looking for: "compatible to Fender specs".  How could you go wrong with that if you wanted a super-strat?

Very good point!

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Yeah, it just means that they're licensed to produce Fender-compatible parts, i.e, parts made to Fender specs. Of course, I could be oversimplifying or just plain wrong. There are others on here who would be in a better position to answer  :dontknow:

That was the wording I was looking for: "compatible to Fender specs".  How could you go wrong with that if you wanted a super-strat?

Very good point!

Read all about it:

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/FenderLicense.aspx
:sign13:

 

[hannaugh]

I built my Warmoth after my grandfather died. He never played guitar, but he lived with us during the last 7-8 years of his life and would often listen to me play, even though what I was playing was definitely not his genre. He often said he missed hearing the guitar when I moved out of my parents' house to go to university. He left each of us grandkids a small inheritance, on the condition that we "do something with it," rather than squander it on booze, videos games or school (that part cracked me up). I had heard about Warmoth from magazines and a few friends that tinkered with guitars, so I started looking into building a guitar as a way of "doing something" with the money he had left me. I've always loved TV yellow double-cutaway LPs, so that's what I got. My dad and I assembled it together, and while the finish isn't perfect, it still looks, sounds and plays great. It also gave us both the itch to build more, hopefully from scratch one day.

I'm sure Granddad would've loved to hear me play "War Pigs" on it.  :headbang1:

Funny story about that guitar: I've never been one to name my possessions--even the dog was named "Dog"--but my crazy girlfriend at the time insisted I name the guitar after her, even though it had nothing to do with her. Her name was Caroline, but I used to call her "Chuck" just to piss her off, so that's what the guitar was christened. It's written in gold on the back of the control cavity cover.  :icon_biggrin:

Nice story behind your build.  My grandfather died in December 2009, and left a small inheritance.  All his life, he saved money, and I know he worked hard for it, so I didn't want to spend it on something trivial.

I really got into biking, and decided to spend the inheritance on a road bike.  Basically, it was the last thing he'd ever buy me, so I didn't want to spend it on something trivial.  I know he worked very hard for that money, so damned if I was going to waste it.  He worked in a steel mill for all his life, so I KNOW he broke his arse for that money.  To just throw it away would have been a dishonor to him.

I question my purchase with that inheritance money, but when I think about it, I'd question anything I did with that money, whether it was to build a guitar, buy a bike, pay off bills, give to charity, etc.  Whatever the case, I decided that what he'd probably want the most is for me to just enjoy the fruits of his labor.  ccasion14:

I think if you're going to inherit some cash, the best thing is to do something memorable with it that will always remind you of the person you got it from.

My grandfather passed away just last week.  I was raised in his house.  I lived there with my mom and my grandparents for 22 years.  My grandma died 3 years ago, so this last week has been a little odd because it's almost like I have no parents now.  My mom is still there at the house, but it's not the same.  We're going to sell the house and divide up the assets, so basically everything I knew as a child as "home" is not going to exist anymore.  My mom gets to decide how much to give me as an inheritance, and she said it will be a pretty decent chunk.  My husband and I are going to put it in the bank a part of our house down payment fund, but I will use a little of it to get another guitar.  My grandfather had a hand in helping me finance both of my Warmoths (mostly the Strat), and my grandma actually chipped in with all my friends when I was in high school to get me my very first electric.  

I think one last guitar should come out of what they left behind.  It just makes sense.  This time though, I think it's going to have to be an acoustic, maybe even a classical.  Something made for playing music they might actually like on.   :laughing7:

 

[Firebird211]

I'm sorry about that Hannaugh, I have gone through the same thing, just not all at the same time.  Ever since my childhood home was sold and some stranger moved in the word "home" has been a fluid concept for me, and I just make my home wherever I land.  I still feel bad when I drive by it.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I built my Warmoth after my grandfather died. He never played guitar, but he lived with us during the last 7-8 years of his life and would often listen to me play, even though what I was playing was definitely not his genre. He often said he missed hearing the guitar when I moved out of my parents' house to go to university. He left each of us grandkids a small inheritance, on the condition that we "do something with it," rather than squander it on booze, videos games or school (that part cracked me up). I had heard about Warmoth from magazines and a few friends that tinkered with guitars, so I started looking into building a guitar as a way of "doing something" with the money he had left me. I've always loved TV yellow double-cutaway LPs, so that's what I got. My dad and I assembled it together, and while the finish isn't perfect, it still looks, sounds and plays great. It also gave us both the itch to build more, hopefully from scratch one day.

I'm sure Granddad would've loved to hear me play "War Pigs" on it.  :headbang1:

Funny story about that guitar: I've never been one to name my possessions--even the dog was named "Dog"--but my crazy girlfriend at the time insisted I name the guitar after her, even though it had nothing to do with her. Her name was Caroline, but I used to call her "Chuck" just to piss her off, so that's what the guitar was christened. It's written in gold on the back of the control cavity cover.  :icon_biggrin:

Nice story behind your build.  My grandfather died in December 2009, and left a small inheritance.  All his life, he saved money, and I know he worked hard for it, so I didn't want to spend it on something trivial.

I really got into biking, and decided to spend the inheritance on a road bike.  Basically, it was the last thing he'd ever buy me, so I didn't want to spend it on something trivial.  I know he worked very hard for that money, so damned if I was going to waste it.  He worked in a steel mill for all his life, so I KNOW he broke his arse for that money.  To just throw it away would have been a dishonor to him.

I question my purchase with that inheritance money, but when I think about it, I'd question anything I did with that money, whether it was to build a guitar, buy a bike, pay off bills, give to charity, etc.  Whatever the case, I decided that what he'd probably want the most is for me to just enjoy the fruits of his labor.  ccasion14:

I think if you're going to inherit some cash, the best thing is to do something memorable with it that will always remind you of the person you got it from.

My grandfather passed away just last week.  I was raised in his house.  I lived there with my mom and my grandparents for 22 years.  My grandma died 3 years ago, so this last week has been a little odd because it's almost like I have no parents now.  My mom is still there at the house, but it's not the same.  We're going to sell the house and divide up the assets, so basically everything I knew as a child as "home" is not going to exist anymore.  My mom gets to decide how much to give me as an inheritance, and she said it will be a pretty decent chunk.  My husband and I are going to put it in the bank a part of our house down payment fund, but I will use a little of it to get another guitar.  My grandfather had a hand in helping me finance both of my Warmoths (mostly the Strat), and my grandma actually chipped in with all my friends when I was in high school to get me my very first electric.  

I think one last guitar should come out of what they left behind.  It just makes sense.  This time though, I think it's going to have to be an acoustic, maybe even a classical.  Something made for playing music they might actually like on.   :laughing7:

My condolences, Hannaugh. 

 

[hannaugh]

I'm sorry about that Hannaugh, I have gone through the same thing, just not all at the same time.  Ever since my childhood home was sold and some stranger moved in the word "home" has been a fluid concept for me, and I just make my home wherever I land.  I still feel bad when I drive by it.

I have a clear idea in my head of the house that my husband and I want.  That's my new idea of home.  I just have to get used to home being in the future instead of the past. 

The neighborhood that my grandparents' house is in is one of those neighborhoods where older, smaller homes get bulldozed the minute they sell so the new owners can put up some hideous 3-story mansion.  The house is on a decent sized lot, so I think that's probably what will happen to old Valley Ridge. 

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I'm sorry about that Hannaugh, I have gone through the same thing, just not all at the same time.  Ever since my childhood home was sold and some stranger moved in the word "home" has been a fluid concept for me, and I just make my home wherever I land.  I still feel bad when I drive by it.

I have a clear idea in my head of the house that my husband and I want.  That's my new idea of home.  I just have to get used to home being in the future instead of the past. 

The neighborhood that my grandparents' house is in is one of those neighborhoods where older, smaller homes get bulldozed the minute they sell so the new owners can put up some hideous 3-story mansion.  The house is on a decent sized lot, so I think that's probably what will happen to old Valley Ridge. 

That's really disappointing. 

I guess since living in my parents' house, owning my own home is just different.  Sure, it's my home, and I live here, but it just doesn't have the same "feeling" as being in my parents' home where I grew up.

 

[OzziePete]

What got me into Warmoth was my never ending frustration of being a guy who has small hands and likes the sound of Fenders!!!!! ( and I steadfastly refused to lower myself to playing a Mustang)

I have found the 25.5" scale a bit of  a stretch, though, nowadays as my hands get older, the length isn't so much an issue. I was also drawn to the compound radius, having played an Ibanez briefly that had a compound radius neck and felt so much better than the old Fenders or Gibsons.

I have known about Warmoth in the days they were on mail order catalogs & advertised in Guitar Player magazine.

People have long told me I was a Tele player through and through, though I never bought one as I felt the 25.5" scale was abit too much. I have a Strat and while I play OK with that, I feel the scale does cause me some missed notes at times.

I had intended taking a 24.75" conversion neck and installing that onto the Strat, but now I have been told by Marko (and this is confirmed too) that my Strat is a collectible item these days.......So taking the original neck off it has a greater importance to it other than just the playability. What I will probably do is get the shorter neck and retain the original, thanks to Leo being a genius witha modular design!

But being typical me, I didn;t just geta  shorter neck and modify my Strat and be done with the whole Warmoth experience..... NO! I HAD to build a whole Tele to match two old pickups I had, then I got the bravery up to try some Jazzmonster and then I had two extra pickups that wouldn't fit into the Jazzmonster project so well, I HAD to house them somewhere, right? Now I have THREE Warmoth projects and the Strat's issues are still not fixed!!!  :doh:

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

What got me into Warmoth was my never ending frustration of being a guy who has small hands and likes the sound of Fenders!!!!! ( and I steadfastly refused to lower myself to playing a Mustang)

I have found the 25.5" scale a bit of  a stretch, though, nowadays as my hands get older, the length isn't so much an issue. I was also drawn to the compound radius, having played an Ibanez briefly that had a compound radius neck and felt so much better than the old Fenders or Gibsons.

I have known about Warmoth in the days they were on mail order catalogs & advertised in Guitar Player magazine.

People have long told me I was a Tele player through and through, though I never bought one as I felt the 25.5" scale was abit too much. I have a Strat and while I play OK with that, I feel the scale does cause me some missed notes at times.

I had intended taking a 24.75" conversion neck and installing that onto the Strat, but now I have been told by Marko (and this is confirmed too) that my Strat is a collectible item these days.......So taking the original neck off it has a greater importance to it other than just the playability. What I will probably do is get the shorter neck and retain the original, thanks to Leo being a genius witha modular design!

But being typical me, I didn;t just geta  shorter neck and modify my Strat and be done with the whole Warmoth experience..... NO! I HAD to build a whole Tele to match two old pickups I had, then I got the bravery up to try some Jazzmonster and then I had two extra pickups that wouldn't fit into the Jazzmonster project so well, I HAD to house them somewhere, right? Now I have THREE Warmoth projects and the Strat's issues are still not fixed!!!  :doh:

What's wrong with the Mustang?  ???

That actually gives me an idea.  I like the shape of the Mustang, so maybe I might just build a Metal version of a Mustang... :headbang:

 

[Firebird211]

What got me into Warmoth was my never ending frustration of being a guy who has small hands and likes the sound of Fenders!!!!! ( and I steadfastly refused to lower myself to playing a Mustang)

I have found the 25.5" scale a bit of  a stretch, though, nowadays as my hands get older, the length isn't so much an issue. I was also drawn to the compound radius, having played an Ibanez briefly that had a compound radius neck and felt so much better than the old Fenders or Gibsons.

I have known about Warmoth in the days they were on mail order catalogs & advertised in Guitar Player magazine.

People have long told me I was a Tele player through and through, though I never bought one as I felt the 25.5" scale was abit too much. I have a Strat and while I play OK with that, I feel the scale does cause me some missed notes at times.

I had intended taking a 24.75" conversion neck and installing that onto the Strat, but now I have been told by Marko (and this is confirmed too) that my Strat is a collectible item these days.......So taking the original neck off it has a greater importance to it other than just the playability. What I will probably do is get the shorter neck and retain the original, thanks to Leo being a genius witha modular design!

But being typical me, I didn;t just geta  shorter neck and modify my Strat and be done with the whole Warmoth experience..... NO! I HAD to build a whole Tele to match two old pickups I had, then I got the bravery up to try some Jazzmonster and then I had two extra pickups that wouldn't fit into the Jazzmonster project so well, I HAD to house them somewhere, right? Now I have THREE Warmoth projects and the Strat's issues are still not fixed!!!  :doh:

What's wrong with the Mustang?  ???

That actually gives me an idea.  I like the shape of the Mustang, so maybe I might just build a Metal version of a Mustang... :headbang:

Now your talkin. :icon_thumright:  Someday I would like to do something like that with a Jaguar, Jagstang, or a Mustang.  I can't decide. :guitaristgif:

 

[OzziePete]

What's wrong with the Mustang?  ???

I grew up in the 1970s and there was a band around that was called the Bay City Rollers. Lads from Scotland, wore tartan, very poppish and one of them played a Competition striped Strat a few times. My mate's younger sister was in love with this band, drove us nuts.....Tartan was all over his family home, she even conned Dave into driving her to the show when they came to town. Dave, of course, dragged me along. Seeing 14-16 year old girls streaming out of a concert, all hysterical, is enough to put you off pop acts forever (and we had to drive 3 or 4 of them home)!

Everytime I see a Compettition striped Mustang guitar I immediately think of "Bye Bye Baby" and wanna throw up....

Not overly fond of the features on the Mustangs either, the pickups to my ear are quite tinny and that tremelo is annoying. As a joke, one day, if I ever have free money to splash around, I'll build one from Warmoth parts, but the few I have played from Fender were all beat up pieces of rubbish.

I'll play a metallic pink Telecaster any day, but if you asked me to play a Competition Striped Mustang, there'd be some hard thought before I'd agree! :toothy12:

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

What got me into Warmoth was my never ending frustration of being a guy who has small hands and likes the sound of Fenders!!!!! ( and I steadfastly refused to lower myself to playing a Mustang)

I have found the 25.5" scale a bit of  a stretch, though, nowadays as my hands get older, the length isn't so much an issue. I was also drawn to the compound radius, having played an Ibanez briefly that had a compound radius neck and felt so much better than the old Fenders or Gibsons.

I have known about Warmoth in the days they were on mail order catalogs & advertised in Guitar Player magazine.

People have long told me I was a Tele player through and through, though I never bought one as I felt the 25.5" scale was abit too much. I have a Strat and while I play OK with that, I feel the scale does cause me some missed notes at times.

I had intended taking a 24.75" conversion neck and installing that onto the Strat, but now I have been told by Marko (and this is confirmed too) that my Strat is a collectible item these days.......So taking the original neck off it has a greater importance to it other than just the playability. What I will probably do is get the shorter neck and retain the original, thanks to Leo being a genius witha modular design!

But being typical me, I didn;t just geta  shorter neck and modify my Strat and be done with the whole Warmoth experience..... NO! I HAD to build a whole Tele to match two old pickups I had, then I got the bravery up to try some Jazzmonster and then I had two extra pickups that wouldn't fit into the Jazzmonster project so well, I HAD to house them somewhere, right? Now I have THREE Warmoth projects and the Strat's issues are still not fixed!!!  :doh:

What's wrong with the Mustang?  ???

That actually gives me an idea.  I like the shape of the Mustang, so maybe I might just build a Metal version of a Mustang... :headbang:

Now your talkin. :icon_thumright:  Someday I would like to do something like that with a Jaguar, Jagstang, or a Mustang.  I can't decide. :guitaristgif:

I actually just browsed Warmoth's site, and it looked as if a Floyd Rose routing wasn't an available option on the Mustang/Jazzmaster.  :icon_scratch:

Personally, I think a hotrod Mustang would be AWESOME; Floyd Rose, humbuckers, scalloped neck, cool paint job, etc.  arty07:

 

[OzziePete]

What got me into Warmoth was my never ending frustration of being a guy who has small hands and likes the sound of Fenders!!!!! ( and I steadfastly refused to lower myself to playing a Mustang)

I have found the 25.5" scale a bit of  a stretch, though, nowadays as my hands get older, the length isn't so much an issue. I was also drawn to the compound radius, having played an Ibanez briefly that had a compound radius neck and felt so much better than the old Fenders or Gibsons.

I have known about Warmoth in the days they were on mail order catalogs & advertised in Guitar Player magazine.

People have long told me I was a Tele player through and through, though I never bought one as I felt the 25.5" scale was abit too much. I have a Strat and while I play OK with that, I feel the scale does cause me some missed notes at times.

I had intended taking a 24.75" conversion neck and installing that onto the Strat, but now I have been told by Marko (and this is confirmed too) that my Strat is a collectible item these days.......So taking the original neck off it has a greater importance to it other than just the playability. What I will probably do is get the shorter neck and retain the original, thanks to Leo being a genius witha modular design!

But being typical me, I didn;t just geta  shorter neck and modify my Strat and be done with the whole Warmoth experience..... NO! I HAD to build a whole Tele to match two old pickups I had, then I got the bravery up to try some Jazzmonster and then I had two extra pickups that wouldn't fit into the Jazzmonster project so well, I HAD to house them somewhere, right? Now I have THREE Warmoth projects and the Strat's issues are still not fixed!!!  :doh:

What's wrong with the Mustang?  ???

That actually gives me an idea.  I like the shape of the Mustang, so maybe I might just build a Metal version of a Mustang... :headbang:

Now your talkin. :icon_thumright:  Someday I would like to do something like that with a Jaguar, Jagstang, or a Mustang.  I can't decide. :guitaristgif:

I actually just browsed Warmoth's site, and it looked as if a Floyd Rose routing wasn't an available option on the Mustang/Jazzmaster.  :icon_scratch:

Personally, I think a hotrod Mustang would be AWESOME; Floyd Rose, humbuckers, scalloped neck, cool paint job, etc.  arty07:

Are you guys tryin to inflict mental torment upon me or somethin'?  :icon_tongue:

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

What's wrong with the Mustang?  ???

I grew up in the 1970s and there was a band around that was called the Bay City Rollers. Lads from Scotland, wore tartan, very poppish and one of them played a Competition striped Strat a few times. My mate's younger sister was in love with this band, drove us nuts.....Tartan was all over his family home, she even conned Dave into driving her to the show when they came to town. Dave, of course, dragged me along. Seeing 14-16 year old girls streaming out of a concert, all hysterical, is enough to put you off pop acts forever (and we had to drive 3 or 4 of them home)!

Everytime I see a Compettition striped Mustang guitar I immediately think of "Bye Bye Baby" and wanna throw up....

Not overly fond of the features on the Mustangs either, the pickups to my ear are quite tinny and that tremelo is annoying. As a joke, one day, if I ever have free money to splash around, I'll build one from Warmoth parts, but the few I have played from Fender were all beat up pieces of rubbish.

I'll play a metallic pink Telecaster any day, but if you asked me to play a Competition Striped Mustang, there'd be some hard thought before I'd agree! :toothy12:

Great story! 

I really like the shapes of the Mustang, Jazzmaster, and Jaguar, and it's a shame they're not more popular than what they are.  One of the main reasons that I would do a hotrod build of one of these three are because nobody else has done it...well, they probably have, but I just haven't heard of them.  :headbang1: