Strat type guitar arrived today.

[Gilmore]

Hi

I ordered this parts in the middle of May, and received it today, precisely 12 weeks later, give or take an hour or so.

This is no Stratocaster, though it has the same body shape.

Body: Chambered Mahogany, Birdseye maple top, Ivory bindings and contoured heel.
Finish: Cherry Burst with transparent red back.
Neck: Birdseye maple, rosewood fingerboard, 59 profile, SS 6105 frets, Mother of Pearl inlays, Vintage tint Satin finish.
Hardware and pickups: Seymour Duncan 59´s pickups, Wilkinson VS100 tremolo bridge, Gotho Vintage style tuners.

I will wire it with 2 volume and 1 tone control, using 3 way blade switch. I have both black and cream mounting rings, but have not decided what I will use....probably creme though. I ordered few types of  knobs to see what fits best.

The body and neck look stunning. I´m amazed how close the body looks to the builder graphic image, the vintage tint maple neck looks darker and more orange than I expected, but it´s even better. The only thing I´m concerned about is the chamber in the body, but it´s very light, neck and body almost weigh the same, but I´m sure when everything is together it will turn out great. My Gibson SG 16 reissue is very neck heavy and the body weighs almost nothing, but it´s one of my favourite guitars, so mabye this one will be even better.

I find the Birdseye top very special (not seen one here in the galleries), it is a "Unique Choice" option in the builder and the only one available, and the Birdseye looks like raindrops or something, like the guitar is wet.

 

[Tipperman]

Holy shart! That top is incredibly awesome under that finish. Very cool choices, there. Can't wait to see the finished results! I vote for either Cream or Pink knobs. Or Lime Green.... probably Cream.  :headbang1:

 

[erogenousjones17]

Holy shart! That top is incredibly awesome under that finish. Very cool choices, there. Can't wait to see the finished results! I vote for either Cream or Pink knobs. Or Lime Green.... probably Cream.  :headbang1:

Yeah...maybe go with cream.  :laughing7:

But seriously, holy hell that's sweet! That's the perfect body for an LP-flavoured Strat. Tasty!

 

[Cagey]

That's some beautiful woodwork and finishing! Good choices!

Don't worry about the chambering - it doesn't really affect anything other than the weight.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

OMG! That is gonna turn heads  :icon_thumright:

 

[Steve_Karl]

That's some beautiful woodwork and finishing! Good choices!

Don't worry about the chambering - it doesn't really affect anything other than the weight.

Then what is all of this about ... just snake oil ?
http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Body/Stratocaster/Chambered/

"These bodies are very resonant; they feel "alive" when plucked. Sustain is improved over their solid body counterparts and feedback is not an issue since the chambers are small. Tone wise, Alder, Ash, and Mahogany each maintain their traditional wood/tone coloration but notes are more open, full, fat, and chunky sounding. Choose the body core material for your "wood tone" preference then choose the face or top wood for the look you prefer. Whether you're simply looking for less weight or exciting tone, you won't be disappointed."

 

[bagman67]

Given the context, there's probably some snake-oil smeared on it, yes.  Given that W's wares are of uniformly high quality -- but they ARE in the business of SELLING it, and will use the magic words that make the marks drop their dollars in the hopper.  And given the completely non-quantifiable nature of "exciting tone," it's hard to call them on it.

Caveat emptor, dudes.  Just sayin'.

Plus, that's a swankity-swank looking guitar body, Gilmore!

Bagman

 

[tfarny]

More sustain by removing mass = marketing, not physics.

 

[Cagey]

No snake oil. The things are definitely lighter - I have several here and can attest to that. But, "more exciting tone"? I don't know. Show me how to measure excitement, and I'll give you a number even if I have to buy the tools, because once I'm done with that I'll make a fortune using those tools on other things <grin>

To me, all new Warmoth bodies have an exciting tone or I wouldn't bother with them. But, that's just a subjective opinion. It's neither right or wrong.

I will say this, though: they seem a little louder, acoustically. But, that could just be my imagination fueled by expectation. I can't tell for certain because I never heard these bodies when they were solid. Maybe they sounded the same way then. Wood characteristics change dramatically, even within the same tree. Real Swamp Ash (from a swamp) is a good example. The wood sawn from the bottom 6'-8' of the tree is dramatically lighter than the wood from anywhere else in the tree. I mean by 20%-25% or so. Other woods can vary quite a bit, too. Mahogany, for instance, can be all over the map weight-wise.

 

[Corey P.]

I can see where a tap test of the body would yield more of a result with a chambered body versus a solid one in terms of greater resonance, but unless the pickups are in some way microphonic I'm not sure how that'd affect actual measurable plugged-in results...

That aside, great looking choices!  I'm tempted by both the Duncan 59s and Classic 57s.  Tax return time needs to get here faster. *Audible sigh*

 

[TBurst Std]

Given the context, there's probably some snake-oil smeared on it, yes. 

I agree. Then again I have a chambered body to be completed.

 

[pabloman]

All pickups are microphones. Maybe not all. But definitely all of the ones we use.

 

[Stew]

Nice combo  :icon_thumright:

 

[Gilmore]

Thank you for the comments.

I just wanted to try one guitar with chambered body, but I know some guys who say their best sounding guitar is chambered. But I didn´t expect it to be so light, its featherweight...hehe, but when the hardware is on, it will probably be a little heavier. The neck is very heavy, Warmoth Pro 59 profile, the Vintage modern would be better suited for the light body, but I didn´t think of that before I ordered, I didn´t know the Pro necks would be so heavy, but I bought it because I liked the look without the skunk stribe at the back.

But come on....it will be one hell of a guitar.

AEYYYYYYY......... :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

...I didn´t expect it to be so light, its featherweight...hehe, but when the hardware is on, it will probably be a little heavier.

No doubt. You're going to add 4 coils of copper mounted on steel plates and a vibrato bridge with a big metal sustain block. There's probably a pound and half right there.

I remember when I got my Alder body, it was so light you could probably whip it around like a Frisbee. But, once it's loaded, it gains some heft. Of course, all bodies get loaded up with pickups, bridges, and whatnot, so on balance it's still lighter than usual.

 

[Gilmore]

I just hope it will gain balance with the neck.

I noticed one thing. I ordered Compound radius neck, but it does not have "Warmoth Radius" logo on the back of the neck like on my Tele. I measured with my radius gauges, and I think it is compound, but I´m not sure, when I eyeball it, the radius looks the same. I wonder if they have forgot about the compund radius, since they did not write it on the back. i really like it on my Tele.

 

[Updown]

Nice build this one  :icon_thumright: SD 59's good stuff. Great match up !!

All my 10''-16'' compound radius Necks have a stamp saying 'Warmoth Radius'

Use some radius gauges to work it out, 10 at the 1st fret & 16 at the last. Should see a difference with your  :glasses9: anyway.
:icon_scratch:  If not, it might be a straight 9 1/2'' or a like.

 

[Cagey]

It is curious that they didn't stamp it on the neck - every one I've seen has been. But, I'd believe the gauges long before I'd believe my eyes. Unless it's a really bad problem - heading toward the need to resurface/refret - I rarely can see it by sighting down the neck and I know what to look for. Your eye's depth of field isn't very deep at that range, so you can't focus on the entire length. Even if you could, there are parallax problems. Plus, surprisingly small problems can cause substantial playability issues. Usually if it's bad enough that you can see it by sighting down the neck, you don't need to. You can see it head on.

Of course, the ultimate test is just to string it up, set it up, and play it. That'll bring the bugs out like cookies on an anthill.

 

[Gilmore]

They have either forgotten about the compound radius or just forgotten the stamp. I use 9.5 gauge and it fits at the first frets but when I get higher the there begins to show a gap under the gauge and with a 16 gauge at 22 fret it fits, so I guess it´s Compound radius. Either way I will not return it, I can live with 9.5, it´s not that much of a differense.

I also got black neckplate but I ordered chrome....damn!!!!  Mabye I find one at local shop!  :-\

Edit: Then again there is no gauge stamped on the neck at all, I see that every neck is stamped with what gauge is used. They have just forgot it on mine......

 

[Blackouts]

Just so potential customers know - I got the wrong jack plate & 4 wrong knobs....

Not a big deal as they're cheap items I'll keep for potential future projects.

But check your order carefully/

- blackouts