Stock guitars. If you had to.

[Strat Avenger]

Every electric guitar I own has Strap Locks.  Before I started using them, I had the normal strap slip off numerous times (and I don't get athletic with my guitars -- I just stand there and play).

 

[Jusatele]

"Straplocks are like condoms, you may be able to get by without using them, but sooner or later something bad IS going to happen"

x 2

 

[Jusatele]

if I were to buy a PRS, I'd get only the private stock, and ask for a rosewood neck, ofcourse, with a bigger neck, bigger frets, and other pickups.

if it were to be a guitar really just off the rack, I wouldn't buy it at all

you do nor need to go privatestock, get a 10 top artist edition, it is all the difference in the world from a wall item

 

[Jusatele]

I have a question, you can get a set of Dunlop strap locks for 15 dollars, why would you not use them at that price?
I guess if I played on the couch, but I play out and a set of strap locks is insurance against banging up a axe.
All it takes is to not fully hitch up the strap one time and you will be sold. I consider 15 bucks added to each strap I own a set cost to put a set on. I have straps from 10 bucks to over a Franklin and they all have the lock on them and all my guitars have the other end on them.

 

[Cagey]

I have a question, you can get a set of Dunlop strap locks for 15 dollars, why would you not use them at that price?
I guess if I played on the couch, but I play out and a set of strap locks is insurance against banging up a axe.
All it takes is to not fully hitch up the strap one time and you will be sold. I consider 15 bucks added to each strap I own a set cost to put a set on. I have straps from 10 bucks to over a Franklin and they all have the lock on them and all my guitars have the other end on them.

My point exactly. It's like homeowner's insurance. You may never need it, but you never know, and the $250/yr is cheap compared to losing a $200K house w/ $100K worth of contents.

Incidentally, did you know StewMac sells the posts separately now? I don't know how many times I've sold/traded away guitars and forgot to swap the strap buttons back to the originals. Ended up with all kinds of locks without posts to mate to because I'd have to buy another whole set just to get buttons for the next guitar. Also, if you have a single favorite strap, now you can put the appropriate mating button on all your guitars and just move the strap around, rather than putting a separate strap on everything.

 

[whitebison66]

Most all of what I'd say has been said.

For me, the Warmoth Superwides and 1 3/4 Fatback/Boatneck have become so normal I just can't play regular necks. SS6115s too. 11-52 in standard tuning.  So unless a production guitar has those specs, I don't even touch it.

Tuners, straplocks, pickups, often entire electronics get swapped out. So the closest I'd ever come to production would probably be the ESP custom shop. But I'm going to have to win the lottery first.

Keeps me from accumulating a lot of guitars I'd only play occasionally, I guess.

Warmoth allows me to continue accumulating a lot of guitars, though. And for that I am grateful!

RE: condoms and straplocks, no one mentioned that the discovery of the failure results in the same face for both situations...

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzXgL9V8Qm0[/youtube]

I'd suggest leaving the sound down, but that's just personal taste.

 

[Jusatele]

that is a classic, I love it, thanks white

Cagey, I think I am opposite of you, I have multiple straps for guitars.  I walk into a store and look through the straps and say, wow that would look good on (insert name you call a guitar). And there it goes, she just got a new strap. What can I say each case has about 3 or 4 straps in them. Then sometimes I see something that would look good on the strap. like some beads of patch or such and I find myself sewing them on. I even owed a strap once that cost more than the guitar I had it on, but it looked great till my friend asked me to pay for the strap, so I gave it back. (Hand worked leather with bullets and conchos I had on a 125 dollar home made flattop) Oh, he does leather work and sells them to guitar stores. Anyway, I once saw a strap I wanted on a particular guitar which I already had a strap for and it kinda took off from there. My wife says it is like buying dresses for my girls the way I do it. Of course when I spend 85 dollars for a new strap she does not complain, she just goes out and gets a new dress.

 

[Cagey]

Interesting. I've never even considered having more than one strap per guitar, and have recently started thinking even one per guitar is too many. You get one that's nicely broken in and adjusted just right, and it's like a nice pair of slippers. Although, it is good to have a strap in every case, just like it's a good idea to have spare picks and strings.

 

[AutoBat]

i never take my strap off.  the fitting on it is tighter than <insert lewd analogy>

 

[Volitions Advocate]

if i ever buy a production guitar it would have to be something warmoth doesn't offer.  The only thing off the top of my head that i like at all are Dean EVO and Soltero. Maybe the Hardtail as well.

As for swapping out parts... it depends if it works or not.  I used to think the pups on my black EVO were great. until i slapped a JB in my W LP.  Now the dean pups just sound .. farty.

 

[elfro89]

After having built a couple complete Warmoth guitars I can't look at stock guitars the same anymore. Long before I ever even knew I could build my own custom I would be excited to walk into a music store, look up at the nice, expensive guitars and think, "Wow". After having built my own guitars I now walk into music stores and see the expensive guitars on the shelf and think, "It's frets are too small" or "If I got this guitar I'd have to change the pickups to get it to sound closer to what I want" or "Pssh, I could build 3 custom Warmoths for the price of this single guitar."  However, sometimes I'll see a stock guitar that's only a few modifications away from being what I would want. So, my question for y'all is, if you had to buy a stock guitar what changes would you know you'd have to make for it to be something closer to what you would want?

To be honest I would wan't all my guitars to feel different. Each of them with their own feel and character. Different frets and neck contours and bridges and pickups and things. It's what makes each of them interresting to play IMO.  :icon_thumright:

 

[anorakDan]

Thanks again for the replies everyone. One item I forgot to mention is strap locks. After putting strap locks on all my Warmoths & modified stock guitars I get so turned off at the idea of using a strap lock-less guitar. The first time the strap unbuttons I'd rather just stop playing. Is anyone with me on that small detail or am I just being picky?

Oh yeah, strap locks. I am 100% with you on that. I always feel like a guitar without them is going to slip right off the strap. First change along with strings. I can work around anything else for awhile.

 

[jackthehack]

My only "stock" guitar is a Fender Aerodyne "Black Beauty" Tele with Dimarzios. I put different pickups/new bridge on the 1964 Gibson Melody Maker.

 

[grabby]

I don't think I have a completely stock guitar except my Ovation VXT, but I do have one that is closer than the others...

- Fender MIM Strat with Warmoth neck, WD pink paisley pickguard, and Fralin Split Blades, Planet Waves tuners
- Squier 20th Anniv Strat w/ Gibson Burstbuckers and Warmoth neck, Planet Waves tuners
- Squier 51 with upgraded bridge (Wilkinson), my old MIM Strat neck, a Kent Armstrong HB90, locking Fender tuners
- Squier 51 with Planet Waves tuners, GFS Dream 90 in bridge, American Standard Tele pickup in neck

Closest to stock:
- Fender Classic Player 50s Strat - only real change was a new pickguard (tortoise shell)

Absolute stock (though I might get some locking tuners for this too - I do love them):
- Ovation VXT

 

[noname]

For me, it is all about the neck. Neck profile does not make such a difference but "modern" radius does, like 16 and on some Ibby's slightly more. W's 10 -16 is also nice.
If neck is ok then mostly pickups are to be changed.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Warmoth is my source for Fender stuff.  Now one of these though, Ric just may get my money.

 

[Cagey]

We all lusted after those back in the '70s. Hell, I wouldn't mind having one now. Very distinctive tone and feel that's tough to get any other way.