Warmoth builds that didn’t work out? Looking for mistakes made in hindsight

T

Tchillanos

Newbie
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Hey all, I’m doing my first Warmoth build (first custom build ever) soon and I’m super excited to get started once all the parts come in.

It’s going to be a telecaster style body with TV Jones pickups. Here’s my initial thread on it. https://unofficialwarmoth.com/threads/first-build-ordered-tele-style-with-tv-jones-pups.35291/

I’ve loved going back into the older threads and reading about everyone’s builds, and it seems like almost everyone has been happy with their builds, both the newer builders and the experienced builders. As this is my first time building one, I’m very nervous to accidentally make a mistake when drilling/putting it together, so I’m curious if anyone had a build that went wrong and what mistakes they realized in hindsight they could’ve avoided. I’ve already gotten some great advice (thanks again @stratamania ) about the tuner hole bores that I originally planned out, so I got those changed before my order processed.

I appreciate any advice anyone has or any shared experiences for something that went wrong that you realized afterwards!
 
Just forgive yourself when you make mistakes, and understand it's the "school fees" to understanding.
That said,
just measure and plan the best you can, and it'll turn out alright. As a famous, philosopher said:

You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.
 
Tchillanos said:
Hey all, I’m doing my first Warmoth build (first custom build ever) soon and I’m super excited to get started once all the parts come in.

It’s going to be a telecaster style body with TV Jones pickups. Here’s my initial thread on it. https://unofficialwarmoth.com/threads/first-build-ordered-tele-style-with-tv-jones-pups.35291/

I’ve loved going back into the older threads and reading about everyone’s builds, and it seems like almost everyone has been happy with their builds, both the newer builders and the experienced builders. As this is my first time building one, I’m very nervous to accidentally make a mistake when drilling/putting it together, so I’m curious if anyone had a build that went wrong and what mistakes they realized in hindsight they could’ve avoided. I’ve already gotten some great advice (thanks again @stratamania ) about the tuner hole bores that I originally planned out, so I got those changed before my order processed.

I appreciate any advice anyone has or any shared experiences for something that went wrong that you realized afterwards!
Click to expand...

You got this, man. Any mistakes you might make are fixable. They might leave a little scar, but scars are just tattoos with a better story!

If you're in doubt about any part of it, stop, get yerself YouTube certified, and/or come here and ask. The knowledge base here is wide and deep!
 
If you’re just doing this for the one build, then patience is indeed your friend, as is the abundance of wise, time tested and tempered counsel of those on this forum.

If you are wanting to build your skills to do this stuff long term and become a luthier, then cheap necks and parts as per GFS can help you learn on the cheap.

There something very gratifying about making a $300 dollar guitar play and feel like a $3k custom shop. When you get to better quality components after building up your skill set, the result are even greater.
 
1) Think real hard before you go putting battery doors in a chambered body. Think twice if its a pretty wood body.

2) Aaron says not to go too crazy off the beaten path. The classics are classics for a reason. He's right,, but if I want a bog standard strat, I can get one a lot cheaper than Warmoth. Always keep these two perspectives in tension. Especially before you order a unique choice left hand 7-string Z in Jaguar scale

3) Finishing is called that because it only seems to exist in the present-imperfect tense. It's never quite "finished". I'm not the only guy to weary of a project after the 47th coat hes blasted through. DIY finishing is appealing if you're a tightwad and especially if you're a tightwad that appreciates the results of wood finishes, but if you price your time its a bargain.
 
As I have shared on the forum, if you're not wiring competent (me), it's, in my opinion, best to go top route. Others may disagree.
 
I need to get a couple abandoned projects into the abandoned but playable state. It's embarassing when you realize you have three W necks sitting in a corner.
 
I made a couple mistakes on my first build:
  • sand too smooth before applying danish oil
  • oil drips on the sides that I didn't see
  • didn't wipe oil in the cavities quick enough
  • didn't cover all holes while applying finish
  • cut the neck pickup wire while drilling pickup ring holes (the hole aligned with the neck pickup canal in the body)
  • drilled tuner bolt holes upside down
  • didn't wait enough between tung oil coats
  • didn't protect the body with a rag while installing pickups in the cavities
  • I had to dremel the bridge route to fit the Hipshot Contour
  • Far from perfect ground soldering on the pots
Almost all of the above are fixable by refinishing the body. The pickup wire I just cut half an inch of it then reconnected each wire.
 
My feedback is that there are 3 elements that are most likely to give a guitar a bright tone:
1) Warmoth "Modern construction" neck.
2) Ebony fingerboard on a maple neck.
3) Single cut body made from Swamp ash.

This is just my opinion, but many people who post here are likely to have different opinions or probably say it doesn't matter at all. So please take it with a grain of salt!
 
Most builds can have challenges. The key is to take your time, have a plan, dry fit things, use sharp newer drill bits and quality tools in general. Think or measure at least twice before drilling or cutting. Be prepared to overcome mistakes. They can happen.

Here is one that happened to me. (Feel free of course to read the whole thread)

Metallic Black Cherry Floyd Rose Non-Fine Tuner

This is really beautiful. Classy. What a great idea to use an eraser to protect things for the installation. I'll remember that trick. Thanks on both counts. Saves using wood and wrapping it in insulating tape or something. Erasers are also especially useful for wrapping sanding or wet and...
unofficialwarmoth.com unofficialwarmoth.com

Other tips, if you are tired, just walk away and come back to it.
 
Avoid the reversed style headstock
On my last build I decided to go with a Strat style reversed headstock, putting the tuner keys facing the ground rather than facing the celling as Jesus intended.
I choose this because I thought it looked cool. Well it may, or may not look cool, but it is a pain to tune. You have to reach under the neck to get to the tuners.
Also since I struggle with the whole "righty tighty, Lefty loosely" thing at the best of times flipping the tuners over from where they should be, hasn't helped.
Bye for now
 
The 2 mistakes I've made both involve the frets. One neck had such horrible fretwork I would have returned it had I checked it before putting the guitar together. The other mistake is ridiculous. I ordered a 22 fret neck (which I finished myself), from Musikraft and I didn't notice it was only 21 frets until I started playing the finished product. 😆
 
Last edited:
NutBehindTheGuitar said:
Avoid the reversed style headstock
On my last build I decided to go with a Strat style reversed headstock, putting the tuner keys facing the ground rather than facing the celling as Jesus intended.
I choose this because I thought it looked cool. Well it may, or may not look cool, but it is a pain to tune. You have to reach under the neck to get to the tuners.
Also since I struggle with the whole "righty tighty, Lefty loosely" thing at the best of times flipping the tuners over from where they should be, hasn't helped.
Bye for now
Click to expand...
I’ve been playing one for nearly 28 years, seems very ergonomic to me, my hand is already at the bottom side for playing, access to the tuners is easy from there.
 
I hate the way reverse headstocks look, but I've sometimes wondered if it's not a better system since your hand lives on that side of the neck. Of course, it does take a thumb and a finger, so maybe that negates the "finger side, thumb side"
 
NutBehindTheGuitar said:
Avoid the reversed style headstock
On my last build I decided to go with a Strat style reversed headstock, putting the tuner keys facing the ground rather than facing the celling as Jesus intended.
I choose this because I thought it looked cool. Well it may, or may not look cool, but it is a pain to tune. You have to reach under the neck to get to the tuners.
Also since I struggle with the whole "righty tighty, Lefty loosely" thing at the best of times flipping the tuners over from where they should be, hasn't helped.
Bye for now
Click to expand...
Goodness… given how many guitars have 3+3 headstocks, I can’t imagine this being a problem
 
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