VIP vs. Mooncaster Comparison

[Mark Anderson]

Does anybody have experience playing both guitars and can give a knowledgeable comparison of tone and playability?

I own an Epi Dot Deluxe that I have completely re-outfitted with new wiring, P90s, TonePros bridge, Grover locking tuners, and a bone nut. It plays and looks great.

I also own a Carvin SH275 thinking Telephone style with mahogany body and spalted maple top, and Carvin Holdsworth humbucker. Also sounds and looks great.

But I have large hands and find both necks to be too narrow, and the Carvin neck is also very thin. So I want to build a Warmoth guitar with a Superwide neck, and I'm between the VIP (hollow option) and the Mooncaster.

I'm also looking for body and top wood suggestions - I am planning on a metallic  goldtop.

 

[Cagey]

I have experience with both. The Mooncaster body is substantially bigger than the VIP, but smaller than guitars with a similar form factor, such as the "ES" varieties from They. Sound-wise, it depends more on the neck/pickups/bridge than anything else. The Mooncaster is still effectively a solid-body, so don't expect some kind of sonic miracle.

 

[Mark Anderson]

Thanks for responding. Pickups will be P90s, or possibly P-Rails for more sonic options. I love P90s.

The bridge will be a Graphtech Ghost-equipped Gotoh 510 (piezo).

Regarding the neck, I'm open to suggestions regarding woods. Definitely a Superwide fatback with the Warmoth headstock. And a tung oil finish: my Carvin has a tung oil neck and I love how it feels.  I realize that limits me to woods that allow an oil finish.

All of my guitars with mahogany shafts, 2 with ebony fingerboards and one with rosewood. I like how they sound and sustain, and I prefer the brightness and strongly prefer the playing feel of the ebony boards.

Thats where I am leaning, but I am open to trying something different. I like a warm, woody tone that still has some spank. The P90s definitely help with the spank...

 

[Steve_Karl]

Mark,

Have you ever played a raw neck as in a wood that doesn't require a finish?
If not, I'd hope maybe there's a place near you where you can try a few.

I've got a Pau Ferro with Pau Ferro board, a Bloodwood with Ebony, and a Padouk with Bloodwood board and I don't think I could ever order an other neck that required a finish.

I also have older finished necks ... a Maple / Ebony (Cagey has it in his shop now)
and a Maple / Maple (hoping to send it off to Cagey when I get the first one back.)

The finished necks, for me are both nice, but my newer raw ones are really the way to go, for me.

 

[Mark Anderson]

Steve, by 'raw' do you mean no finish whatsoever, including no tung oil? If so, I have never tried one, but I love the feel of my tung oiled mahogany neck.

Of the raw neck you mentioned, which do you feel would be best for a Mooncaster? I'm leaning toward the Mooncaster vs VIP, as I would expect it to be more resonant.

 

[TBurst Std]

You will find the Mooncaster less
acoustically resonant than your 335.  It is more aligned with the Midtown type of build.  Having played a Midtown, it was less resonant than any true semi hollow (335, etc) or any true hollow (330, Casino, Falcon) I have played or owned (currently have 3 true semi hollows in my gear. My Falcon is an oddball as it is a center block)

By all means try a raw neck.  If you don’t like it, you can always Oil it later.

 

[Steve_Karl]

Steve, by 'raw' do you mean no finish whatsoever, including no tung oil? If so, I have never tried one, but I love the feel of my tung oiled mahogany neck.

Of the raw neck you mentioned, which do you feel would be best for a Mooncaster? I'm leaning toward the Mooncaster vs VIP, as I would expect it to be more resonant.

Yes. Raw as in no finish, no oil, nothing at all and none required. Just raw wood.
Quite a few woods can be played unfinished.

You can see all neck wood options here: http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/neckwoods.aspx

NOTE: the "Finish Required" line below each description.
The ton"Tone-O-Meter" description is also quite helpful.

I, personally, wouldn't be thinking what is best for what body.
After the pickups and the bridge the neck woods are going to have the most effect on tone.

I'd be looking at the "Tone-O-Meter" and thinking about what I want to get out of the guitar.

A wide range example would be mahogany/rosewood vs bloodwood/ebony.

There are quite a few old threads on this forum where members discuss neck wood and tone.

Here's a google search that will show you pages in this forum that might be relevant and educational.

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&source=hp&ei=C9QWW4rFKuWG5wLXgK2wBg&q=neck+wood+tone+site%3Aunofficialwarmoth.com&oq=neck+wood+tone+site%3Aunofficialwarmoth.com&gs_l=psy-ab.3...1273.20297.0.20592.46.42.3.0.0.0.164.3400.38j4.42.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.20.1813.0..0j0i131k1j0i22i30k1j0i22i10i30k1j0i13i30k1j33i22i29i30k1j33i21k1j33i160k1.0.xI-mr5cMDpY

FYI
My search was done by connecting neck wood tone with a forced requirement to only find pages at site:unofficialwarmoth.com
neck wood tone site:unofficialwarmoth.com

Also, consider that more wood = more density and probably more sustain.
So, unless you've got tiny hands don't be afraid to go for a boatneck or even a fatback ... BUT ... it might be a good idea to go to
a music store and play some guitars with nice meaty necks to see if you like them.

I've got one standard thin, one '59 Round back, two boatnecks and I'm sure my next one will be an other '59 round back.

Other things to consider are nut width and frets. (Stainless Steel frets are awesome in my opinion)
and I'm leaning more and more towards the ss6100 because they're very tall.

 

[bassetman]

The raw unfinished needs to be tried. Especially roast maple is absolutely heavenly.