WARMOTH BAD?

Status
Not open for further replies.

boynigel

Newbie
Messages
3
i'm in the process of having a neck made for me.  strat replacement w/clapton profile, 6105 SS frets, satin finish with an earvana nut.  initially i was psyched, but then drifted into some online forums where it was easier to find negative, than positive about warmoth.  now i'm worried/concerned.  seemed everyone was saying warmoth was sh%t, and that one would be better off with USA Custom Guitar for necks.  guess i'm just looking to have my mind put at ease.  figured if i was going to hear some positives about warmoth, that this would be the place.  anyone?  anyone?
 
well of course Warmoth stuff is good.

it would be more interesting to hear what the specific things were that sucked - then we could counter those claims - perhaps.

but uh yeah - Warmoth is awesome
 
And if Gary (GoDrex) is happy with it, anybody can be!
Same with Ortheo :p

I've enjoyed my Warmoth experience. Only things I'd have different were choices I made in specs, such as neck shape. Maybe exotic neck, too. Those will be changed on the build I'm working on now  :icon_thumright:
 
Max said:
And if Gary (GoDrex) is happy with it, anybody can be!
Same with Ortheo :p

this is very true - though I'm not nearly as demanding as he is. But Warmoth just hates me and always has. But anyone else will certainly have better luck. I have a 26 year old curse on me - the moloch! :headbang1:
 
GoDrex said:
well of course Warmoth stuff is good.

it would be more interesting to hear what the specific things were that sucked - then we could counter those claims - perhaps.

but uh yeah - Warmoth is awesome

the common complaints i read were that warmoth isn't what it used to be quality-wise.  other slams were that their wood screening is non-existent and that their necks are dead and lifeless.  lots of dead spots, rough fret ends...  things like that.  my two main (obvious) wishes are that the wood is resonant from the headstock to the last fret, and that warmoth seated the frets correctly.  i'd like to avoid having to hunt down a tech who'll work with stainless steel frets should i need to have them dressed.  not to mention the additional cost.  i don't mind having to remove the finish from the frets.  that'll be easy for me. 
 
boynigel said:
the common complaints i read were that warmoth isn't what it used to be quality-wise.  other slams were that their wood screening is non-existent and that their necks are dead and lifeless.  lots of dead spots, rough fret ends...  things like that.  my two main (obvious) wishes are that the wood is resonant from the headstock to the last fret, and that warmoth seated the frets correctly.  i'd like to avoid having to hunt down a tech who'll work with stainless steel frets should i need to have them dressed.  not to mention the additional cost.  i don't mind having to remove the finish from the frets.  that'll be easy for me. 
Warmoth has great quality! The wood is great, I don't think I've seen a bad piece. Many people here even get extra wood quality points (free figuring and all). Um... Lifeless necks? I FEEL my maple tele neck living. I even tune by feel of the neck when there's too much extra noise and I don't have an amp (school, for example). Dead spots and rough frets... Warmoth necks are not completely finished products. They are ready for a setup, then they're done. This is because of how people like their guitars differently. The fret ends need to be touched up, even though most members here at least find the necks perfectly playable. The nut needs adjusting for optimum playability, etc... A setup is needed.
 
You should always count on having your frets dressed if you're picky about it - warmoth does an excellent job of seating the frets but they do not do a fret dress as part of the purchase price, as they clearly state on their website. And, ah, neither does anybody else. That's the difference between construction (they are great) and setup (they don't do setup). If you cannot setup a guitar you should include setup costs (such as fret dressing, beveling the ends) in the purchase price. The best, second best, and third best guitars I've ever owned are all Warmoths. I wouldn't buy anything else if I were in the market for a bolt on electric.

I think it's funny when guys come here to the Warmoth forum and ask the regulars there if Warmoth sucks. It would be like showing up at a Trekky convention and asking if they thought Law and Order was a better show.
 
Alot of people on other forums don't like warmoth because they are too expensive (which is people being a tad pedantic about their money, I was strapped for cash but I still could afford it) compared to others (mighty might etc) but they don't realize that there is usually much better quality in Warmoth products than others.

I'm not saying that warmoth doesn't stuff up sometimes, there may be wrong orders taken or inferior wood usage (though that would be rare), but most of the time, Warmoth is spot on.  :icon_thumright:
 
Remember that USA Customs does not have accurate fender shapes. I always wonder if there is a reason why they are not licensed. I mean, if Mighty Mite, and Hefner (with their reputation) can get licensed, why can't they?

Also, no other replacement part maker and especially USACG come close to the quality and diversity of Warmoth's wood offering
 
Hi boynigel,

I've owned and/or played many many guitars, including 50's Gretches and Gibsons, 70's Gibsons, Lots of Ricks, and lots of fenders.  I play at a semi-pro level (i.e. I get paid to play, but I have a 'real' job as well) and I know what works, what's good and what's not.

I've had 6 Warmoth necks now, and they have all - each and every one - been excellent in every way.

Hope that helps.

 
You know what... while you're here...

try an exotic neck. No finish required, saves some bucks, looks great and plays better.
 
Max said:
You know what... while you're here...

try an exotic neck. No finish required, saves some bucks, looks great and plays better.

i considered that originally, but i really am partial to the maple neck and fingerboard with alder body formula.  never say never though...
 
canary sounds alot like maple, you should try it

http://www.warmoth.com/Showcase/ShowcaseNeck.aspx?Body=1&Path=Neck&nWood=38&i=SN6533
 
Markoooooo said:
Remember that USA Customs does not have accurate fender shapes. I always wonder if there is a reason why they are not licensed. I mean, if Mighty Mite, and Hefner (with their reputation) can get licensed, why can't they?

Also, no other replacement part maker and especially USACG come close to the quality and diversity of Warmoth's wood offering

Licensing costs money. USACG probably doesn't think it is worth the expense.  I have nothing bad to say about Warmoth. My experience with them has been good, but I went with USACG for the neck because they offered features that Warmoth does not, such as I was able to select the exact neck thickness that I wanted. I also had them carve me a custom headstock shape that I wanted. It was really a matter of personal preference.  And while no one in the custom guitar parts business does fret dressing, all of the ends were filed smooth (no rough edges). The neck arrived completely FINISHED. Nothing more needs to be done to it aside from truss rod adjustment when the guitar is finally strung up...
 
I gotta say this, I've built 6 warmoths, all the necks and bodies have been flawless, setups have been easy, but my only complaint, and it's a small one cuz I now have fret files, is that the ends of the frets feel sharp, I know why they leave them that way, and over time I got used to them, but a slight buffing with a diamond fret file made them perfect and smooth.

As far as USACG,. I don't like their website, I wanna see every guitar they have, and last I checked they don't. Those guys at USACG are also castaways from Warmoth, by their own choice or others, I don't know.

But I do believe USACG will someday soon be as good as Warmoth, they may already be.
 
I like my Warmoths, and that is in comparison to top-shelf offerings from Jackson, Gibson, and Ibanez that I also own.
 
As far as liscensing and USACG goes, it may be more money, but all it really entails is replicating the headstock shape and opening your product up to the inspection of Fender's QC depatartment from time to time.  That's it in a nutshell, which is way over simplifying it.  There's builders here that swear by Warmoth's necks alone, especially the double expanding truss rod on the Warmoth Pro, something USACG doesn't offer.

When it comes right down to it, Warmoth sells parts.  Enough parts for YOU to make a complete guitar.  They cannot sell fully assembled guitars or kits, per their liscensing agreement.  Since they can't do that, how could a neck be fully set up (fret dressing and leveling)?  The guitar must be assembled for the final setup.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top