So, why Warmoth?

[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:

I think there might be a couple of problems installing a FR onto a Mustang.

1) Mustangs are short scale guitars and the string tension is less, which might affect the tunability of a FR system

2) If a Mustang body is thinner than a Strat, the depth of the body might pose a problem.....

 

[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:

I think there might be a couple of problems installing a FR onto a Mustang.

1) Mustangs are short scale guitars and the string tension is less, which might affect the tunability of a FR system

2) If a Mustang body is thinner than a Strat, the depth of the body might pose a problem.....

I didn't know that.  What is a "short scale" guitar?  I figured all guitars were fairly close to the same size as far as length of the neck.  What type of hotrod tremolo could I actually use on one of these guitars?  A floating trem on one of these guitars would be pretty awesome.

 

[OzziePete]

Mustangs were classed by Fender as student's guitars and had them in two short scales: 22.5 and 24 inches. The Fender Duo Sonic ran parallel with the Mustang but was the cheaper model because it did not have the trem....

Warmoth's Mustang is 24", so is the Jaguar....

Full 'Fender' scale is 25.5". And yes, you can feel the difference in the size.

Gibson Les Paul Guitars are 24.75", Martin acoustic guiatrs are generally around 25.4" and PRS guitars are generally 25". Rickys are usually 24.75" though the John Lennon 325 was 22.5"

Tunability of short scale guitars is sometimes an issue. Some causes of this are the lack of string tension and also, the lack of quality in the hardware. Most companies have put out shorter scale guitars in the past to take up the student/learner's market. In step with that, is usually cheaper parts used

So if you do build a Warmoth Mustang, the parts YOU would use,  are better than what Fender would offer on their stock standard model.

Why do I know this? Well, read my OP in this Thread and you will read that I have beend rawn to Warmoth because I was wanting a shorter scaled neck........ My ideal guitar would probably be a Jaguar loaded with more Stratish options but that is hard to get if you wanna go through Warmoth, as they will usually only do a Jaguar witht he standard routing.....and I hate those trems. Lookout in the future when I hope to unveil my Jazzmonster project, that is a 24.75" conversion neck with a Wilki VS100, but even that has had challenges thanx to the change of trem on that shaped body.....

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Mustangs were classed by Fender as student's guitars and had them in two short scales: 22.5 and 24 inches. The Fender Duo Sonic ran parallel with the Mustang but was the cheaper model because it did not have the trem....

Warmoth's Mustang is 24", so is the Jaguar....

Full 'Fender' scale is 25.5". And yes, you can feel the difference in the size.

Gibson Les Paul Guitars are 24.75", Martin acoustic guiatrs are generally around 25.4" and PRS guitars are generally 25". Rickys are usually 24.75" though the John Lennon 325 was 22.5"

Tunability of short scale guitars is sometimes an issue. Some causes of this are the lack of string tension and also, the lack of quality in the hardware. Most companies have put out shorter scale guitars in the past to take up the student/learner's market. In step with that, is usually cheaper parts used

So if you do build a Warmoth Mustang, the parts YOU would use,  are better than what Fender would offer on their stock standard model.

Why do I know this? Well, read my OP in this Thread and you will read that I have beend rawn to Warmoth because I was wanting a shorter scaled neck........ My ideal guitar would probably be a Jaguar loaded with more Stratish options but that is hard to get if you wanna go through Warmoth, as they will usually only do a Jaguar witht he standard routing.....and I hate those trems. Lookout in the future when I hope to unveil my Jazzmonster project, that is a 24.75" conversion neck with a Wilki VS100, but even that has had challenges thanx to the change of trem on that shaped body.....

Wow, didn't know that.  I guess I'd like to build one that was a 24.75 scale, or something like that.  Kinda disappointed that nobody's pursued something like that.

 

[OzziePete]

Mustangs were classed by Fender as student's guitars and had them in two short scales: 22.5 and 24 inches. The Fender Duo Sonic ran parallel with the Mustang but was the cheaper model because it did not have the trem....

Warmoth's Mustang is 24", so is the Jaguar....

Full 'Fender' scale is 25.5". And yes, you can feel the difference in the size.

Gibson Les Paul Guitars are 24.75", Martin acoustic guiatrs are generally around 25.4" and PRS guitars are generally 25". Rickys are usually 24.75" though the John Lennon 325 was 22.5"

Tunability of short scale guitars is sometimes an issue. Some causes of this are the lack of string tension and also, the lack of quality in the hardware. Most companies have put out shorter scale guitars in the past to take up the student/learner's market. In step with that, is usually cheaper parts used

So if you do build a Warmoth Mustang, the parts YOU would use,  are better than what Fender would offer on their stock standard model.

Why do I know this? Well, read my OP in this Thread and you will read that I have beend rawn to Warmoth because I was wanting a shorter scaled neck........ My ideal guitar would probably be a Jaguar loaded with more Stratish options but that is hard to get if you wanna go through Warmoth, as they will usually only do a Jaguar witht he standard routing.....and I hate those trems. Lookout in the future when I hope to unveil my Jazzmonster project, that is a 24.75" conversion neck with a Wilki VS100, but even that has had challenges thanx to the change of trem on that shaped body.....

Wow, didn't know that.  I guess I'd like to build one that was a 24.75 scale, or something like that.  Kinda disappointed that nobody's pursued something like that.

I'm sure people have engineered changes in Mustangs, Jaguars and Jazzmasters before. One of the more popular mods with a Mustang is to go hardtail and install a T-O-M bridge with a stop tailpiece. I think you can request Warmoth to leave the bridge area blank.....but that is from a scratch build. For what you want the guitar for, you'd be scouring the Showcase looking to get some discount.

 

[Jusatele]

Mustang Haters

My first electric was a competition mustang, I wish I had never sold it as it would be a killer axe to say I had owned all my life

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Mustangs were classed by Fender as student's guitars and had them in two short scales: 22.5 and 24 inches. The Fender Duo Sonic ran parallel with the Mustang but was the cheaper model because it did not have the trem....

Warmoth's Mustang is 24", so is the Jaguar....

Full 'Fender' scale is 25.5". And yes, you can feel the difference in the size.

Gibson Les Paul Guitars are 24.75", Martin acoustic guiatrs are generally around 25.4" and PRS guitars are generally 25". Rickys are usually 24.75" though the John Lennon 325 was 22.5"

Tunability of short scale guitars is sometimes an issue. Some causes of this are the lack of string tension and also, the lack of quality in the hardware. Most companies have put out shorter scale guitars in the past to take up the student/learner's market. In step with that, is usually cheaper parts used

So if you do build a Warmoth Mustang, the parts YOU would use,  are better than what Fender would offer on their stock standard model.

Why do I know this? Well, read my OP in this Thread and you will read that I have beend rawn to Warmoth because I was wanting a shorter scaled neck........ My ideal guitar would probably be a Jaguar loaded with more Stratish options but that is hard to get if you wanna go through Warmoth, as they will usually only do a Jaguar witht he standard routing.....and I hate those trems. Lookout in the future when I hope to unveil my Jazzmonster project, that is a 24.75" conversion neck with a Wilki VS100, but even that has had challenges thanx to the change of trem on that shaped body.....

Wow, didn't know that.  I guess I'd like to build one that was a 24.75 scale, or something like that.  Kinda disappointed that nobody's pursued something like that.

I'm sure people have engineered changes in Mustangs, Jaguars and Jazzmasters before. One of the more popular mods with a Mustang is to go hardtail and install a T-O-M bridge with a stop tailpiece. I think you can request Warmoth to leave the bridge area blank.....but that is from a scratch build. For what you want the guitar for, you'd be scouring the Showcase looking to get some discount.

I'm really not familiar with what any of those things are, or how they work.  I'm not big on the "guitar parts," per se.

I guess I figured that since a Schaller-Floyd is a double-locking system that the length/scale wouldn't be such an issue, or at least in theory...  :icon_scratch:

 

[AutoBat]

It's not a big deal.  That's why you can get it on the 7/8th series.

 

[hannaugh]

The Warmoth Mustang is 24".  That's only 3/4" shorter than the Gibson scale.  I don't think it would be that much of a problem.  If it was the 22.5", you might have a problem, but I don't think the 24" would be that bad.  But then again, I'm don't have any guitars with fancy trems.

 

[DocNrock]

I'm 45 now, and started playing at 18.  I always remembered those ads for Warmoth in Guitar for the Practicing Musician, and would think about how cool it would be to build a custom.  But alas, I was a college student and it never happened.  I've owned a number of sub $500 guitars and even managed to land a couple of band spots while in Med School.  During residency, I didn't think I'd ever have time to play, so I sold everything.  A couple of years later, I bought a small Marshall tube combo amp and a lower end Jackson Soloist.  I wanted to replace the crappy Jackson Floyd-copy to a real Schaller, and a Google search led me to Warmoth.  I've always been one to customize whatever I bought off-the-rack, especialy pickups.  The genuine Schaller transformed that guitar so much that I wanted to replace the neck with a Warmoth, but the pocket was incompatable.

Sooooo, I decded to build my first Warmoth.  I was a bit intimidated about having to drill so many holes, etc., but I figured if I can operate on a human body, I can build a guitar.  After assembling this one and having it setup professionally, it played better than any guitar I've ever owned!  Then, with all the wood and finish combinations available, my imagination ran wild with builds.  Some came from showcase bodies and/or necks,and others I had made custom.  What started as a search for a true Schaller trem for a $500 Jackson Soloist finished with 14 Warmoth builds.  One of which was just a "Parts-o-Caster" built out of leftover parts, which actually is one of my favorite guitars.  They have all been professionally setup and play every bit as well as the newest Jackson USA Soloist I had bought right before I built my first Warmoth. 

On top of that, there are no other guitars in the World that are even close to these guitars in appearance or build.  Add to that the cornerstone to all the builds, the custom engraved neckplates by Dangerous R6 documenting the month and year of each build.  They are all unique and play incredibly well. They also have increddible tone and balance.  As the OP mentioned about the $5k+ price tag to a custom-shop build from a big maker, plus the sometimes 2 year wait time (Jackson) and you just can't go wrong with a truly custom, well-built, and great sounding for the price of an off-the-shelf upper tier guitar.

JMHO, YMMV. 

 

[DocNrock]

One more thing, going to your thread about what would you change.  I have trem covers on all of my trem guitars (11 of them have Floyds).  Once I discovered the brass blocks, each and every one of those got a brass block.  The sustain difference is incredible.  One thing to consider, you'll have to dremel a bit of wood from the trem cavity to accomodate the brass blocks.  This is easy to do.

Although I love all the Warmoth's I've built, here are a couple that I love the most:

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=7954.0

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=8399.0

And then there is the "Abominable Iceman," an Iceman baritone:

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=8545.0

 

[Mor Paul]

If I can operate on a human body, I can build a guitar.

Quote of the month.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

One more thing, going to your thread about what would you change.  I have trem covers on all of my trem guitars (11 of them have Floyds).  Once I discovered the brass blocks, each and every one of those got a brass block.  The sustain difference is incredible.  One thing to consider, you'll have to dremel a bit of wood from the trem cavity to accomodate the brass blocks.  This is easy to do.

Although I love all the Warmoth's I've built, here are a couple that I love the most:

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=7954.0

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=8399.0

And then there is the "Abominable Iceman," an Iceman baritone:

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=8545.0

Nice guitars!

 

[llmtelecaster]

What sold me were the many different neck options. The way a guitar feels is way more important to me than how it looks, although looks are important too. I'm not really one for the flame maple dye jobs, although they are beautiful. What caught me were the neck radius and fretting options. And since most of the tone that comes from your guitar comes from how you play it, it's important for the guitar to feel as comfortable as possible. And for me, it's all about the neck.

 

[ORCRiST]

One more thing, going to your thread about what would you change.  I have trem covers on all of my trem guitars (11 of them have Floyds).  Once I discovered the brass blocks, each and every one of those got a brass block.  The sustain difference is incredible.  One thing to consider, you'll have to dremel a bit of wood from the trem cavity to accomodate the brass blocks.

Really? I didn't have to touch my strat body to fit the block and everything is perfect.

Do you use the over-sized blocks with the overhang or something?

P.S. You should throw some Raw Vintage trem springs on them, they're like discovering brass blocks all over again - except,
you know, you already have the brace block.  :laughing11: Seriously though, they're a beautifully synergistic pairing.

Just my $.02

ORC

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

One more thing, going to your thread about what would you change.  I have trem covers on all of my trem guitars (11 of them have Floyds).  Once I discovered the brass blocks, each and every one of those got a brass block.  The sustain difference is incredible.  One thing to consider, you'll have to dremel a bit of wood from the trem cavity to accomodate the brass blocks.

Really? I didn't have to touch my strat body to fit the block and everything is perfect.

Do you use the over-sized blocks with the overhang or something?

P.S. You should throw some Raw Vintage trem springs on them, they're like discovering brass blocks all over again - except,
you know, you already have the brace block.  :laughing11: Seriously though, they're a beautifully synergistic pairing.

Just my $.02

ORC

While speaking of the brass blocks, what size would I want to go with?  Right now, I'm using a stock one that came on my Schaller Floyd (p/n 1270-G).  I have no clue what size it is, but it's large enough that I can't put a cover over the rear of the guitar.

Also, I'm wanting to buy a Tremol-No.  Anyone know if I could still use a Tremol-No with a smaller block than standard?

 

[10maxpower01]

If I can operate on a human body, I can build a guitar.

Quote of the month.

+1

 

[MikeW]

My Dad has restored old cars for years and as a teenager I often helped. He has a huge shop to this day with any tool you can imagine. Cars are his thing but as a teenager I found that guitars were mine.

My first guitar was a Fender Bullet. Not the best but for starting out it was passable. When I got to the point of joining a band I needed a guitar that was a step up. I'd been seeing Warmoth ads in the back of Guitar for the Practicing Musician for a couple years so got my first job and saved all the money I could to build one since there was nothing off the shelf that I could afford that had what I wanted. So, my first Warmoth was a Strat with a single humbucker, Floyd Rose and an explorer headstock. I wrecked that one after a couple years and went through several off-the-shelf brands (Kramer (x2), Fender, Charvel and Gibson) trying to find something that worked as well and sounded as good.

I'm on my third Warmoth now and have plans for one more. I can't imagine owning another OTS guitar anymore since none of them have necks as nice or the body options that I look for.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

My Dad has restored old cars for years and as a teenager I often helped. He has a huge shop to this day with any tool you can imagine. Cars are his thing but as a teenager I found that guitars were mine.

My first guitar was a Fender Bullet. Not the best but for starting out it was passable. When I got to the point of joining a band I needed a guitar that was a step up. I'd been seeing Warmoth ads in the back of Guitar for the Practicing Musician for a couple years so got my first job and saved all the money I could to build one since there was nothing off the shelf that I could afford that had what I wanted. So, my first Warmoth was a Strat with a single humbucker, Floyd Rose and an explorer headstock. I wrecked that one after a couple years and went through several off-the-shelf brands (Kramer (x2), Fender, Charvel and Gibson) trying to find something that worked as well and sounded as good.

I'm on my third Warmoth now and have plans for one more. I can't imagine owning another OTS guitar anymore since none of them have necks as nice or the body options that I look for.

Compared to a "Bullet," you found yourself wielding a S.C.U.D. Missle.  arty07:

I'd love to build another Warmoth, but I don't think the wife is gonna have any of that.  I told her that this one was the "dream guitar."  I'm extremely happy with it, but for some reason, I just want more guitars, never mind the fact that I already have 6 guitars and a bass!  :cool01:

 

[MikeW]

Compared to a "Bullet," you found yourself wielding a S.C.U.D. Missle.  arty07:

More like a cruise missle really. Dead on tagret from a hundred miles away...

I know what you mean about wanting more guitars. It's a common affliction here on the board and is scientifically known as Warmothitis wantmoreicus. Not to be confused with it's more inert cousin GASitis wantmoreicus.

You should check out the Kisekae and other related modelers. Those are an easy way to run through ideas without hurting the wallet. There's a great thread with lots of creations here: http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=6918.0