Warmoth is Deadly (another build idea)

[DocNrock]

It was so easy to not build guitars as long as I didn't come to this forum, and didn't visit Warmoth's webpage.  :laughing7:

Now I have another build idea, darn it. 

Velocity body, chambered arch top.  Black korina with a quilt maple top, finished in washed blue dye, clear gloss back, clean line option. 
24 3/4" conversion quartersawn maple neck and fingerboard with Warmoth headstock.  Satin finish, azurite malachite dots.
Black Hardware with TOM/STP, but possibly chrome (or satin chrome?).
DiMarzio Air Classic bridge pickup and a (discontinued) DiMarzio Virtual Vintage 2.1 in the neck slot.
It will be strung up with 0.010s instead of my usual 0.009s.

The idea is to have something that is very different from my other guitars, most of which are standard scale, Floyd Rose, and high-output pickups.  This one will not only be more rhythm-oriented, but also designed to *kind of* fill the obligatory Les Paul slot in a collection, with a twist.  The bridge pickup is "vintage output" PAF-style, so somewhat cliche, but a well-known and arguably desirable sound.  But I think the neck pickup in this particular build is going to give a somewhat unique tone.  I love the sound of a single-coil Strat neck pickup, especially clean.  But with the shorter-scale neck, mahogany-like tonal profile of black korina, and TOM/STP bridge, I'm thinking (hoping?) the tone will be similar, but somewhat fatter and only slightly warmer.  The discontinued neck pickup is one I just happen to have in my parts bin, and as I recall, it had a really sweet tone. 

With the washed blue dye finish and azurite malachite dots on a maple neck, it makes me think of cutoff denim shorts on a hot lady with blue (or blue-green) eyes.  For that reason alone, the guitar has to be named "Daisy Duke."  :icon_biggrin:  I'm wondering, given creative license, what kind of neck plate Mr. DangerousR6 could come up with given the concept? 

ccasion14:

Although I haven't yet ordered it, this is basically a done-deal.  There are only two things holding me back, at present.  One is which UC quilt maple piece to choose.  The other is to call W to see if they still do matching laminates on headstocks and, if so, if the price is not out-of-this world.  Although, it might look better with just the plain quartersawn maple headstock.  Any thoughts from anyone about this?

Being off-work for an uneventful recovery from spine surgery is dangerous...too much free time.  :laughing7:     

 

[DocNrock]

Does anyone else have this problem:  When posting, the computer seems to hang up.  But if I navigate away from the posting page, my post seems to be there.  But if I go back one level in the form, it is not listed.  If I add a second short post, it then appears.

Weird.

 

[fdesalvo]

Yep - I've exp the same issues with my browser (Chrome, IE, and Safari).

Ok - back on point - your plan sounds amazing!  I'm even thinking a Tele peghead would look amazing here.  I wish we could get the Warmoth cut in Vintage Modern.  I'm so close to pulling the trigger on one of these Velocity bodies and xferring the hardware and electronics from one of my older builds onto it.

 

[stratamania]

Cool, you should be able to get a matching headstock veneer and paint job if done at the same time as the body.

 

[rgand]

It was so easy to not build guitars as long as I didn't come to this forum, and didn't visit Warmoth's webpage.  :laughing7:

So true.

Your new project sounds great. I look forward to seeing it done.

Cool, you should be able to get a matching headstock veneer and paint job if done at the same time as the body.

This would be outstanding.

 

[Cagey]

There are only two things holding me back, at present.  One is which UC quilt maple piece to choose.  The other is to call W to see if they still do matching laminates on headstocks and, if so, if the price is not out-of-this world.  Although, it might look better with just the plain quartersawn maple headstock.  Any thoughts from anyone about this?

There are two issues here. One, there's no way to get a perfectly matching headstock veneer. But, it'll be close enough for rock 'n' roll and you'll never notice. Two, the only way they'll guarantee a matching finish is if you order the neck and body at the same time. 

That said, If I remember correctly, the headstock veneer is a good deal. I think they only charged me $45 for it. So, no real hardship there. Plus, they do a superlative job. It's well worth the money. I've had several necks come through here with veneered headstocks that were absolute beautiful.

Personally, I wouldn't pay the premium for quartersawn Maple, but if you want the straight grain, that's the way to do it. Although, the grain usually isn't so obvious on Maple so there's little gain there. Stability-wise, Warmoth's wood is properly aged so any worries about twisting and warpage aren't a consideration.

 

[stratamania]

Yes, when I said matching I am of course referring to wood type and colour, not an exact match of the grain pattern. But perhaps you could ask for something complementary.

 

[DocNrock]

Thanks for the replies, guys. 

@fdesalvo:  Thanks.  I think the Velocity body would look good with a number of headstocks.  I hadn't considered the Tele, but you're right.  It would work.  But, in the Freudian depths of my mind, I think of an inline six headstock as male and  a 3+3 as female.  This build is a female.  If I've lost you with that, don't worry.  I think I just lost (it) myself.  :laughing7:

@stratamania:  Good to know.  I knew they used to do it.  I just didn't know if that offer had changed.  Their website now is different than the one to which I was previously accustomed.  To me, it is a little harder to find some of the information that was previously easy to find. 

@rgand:  Thank you.

@Cagey:  Thank you for the information.  I am aware there is no perfect match when it comes to two pieces of wood, particularly two different thicknesses and a separately stained piece.  But I definitely would order both at the same time.  I have a V2 that I built back in 2009 with a Bengal Burst finish on a quilt maple top and matching Jackson-style headstock.  I really had to do some talking to convince them to do that, since the body didn't have a lot of "real estate" to work with.  But in the end, they did it.  I was really happy with the result.  From a discussion with Greg at Warmoth, apparently when the body and neck were being built, the build was the talk of the shop!  I got the impression they were really happy with the outcome, as well.  But I didn't remember the cost of the matching headstock veneer.  You're right, at $45, that's basically a done deal!

Regarding quartersawn maple, that is an argument that probably never will be laid to rest, and I think is always a worthy discussion to have.  I remember having a fairly lengthy online discussion via PM with Wyliee about this a number of years ago.  If nothing else, he is quite passionate that quartersawn maple does not equate to improved stability over time.  I have no doubt he knows a lot more about neck woods than me.  There is just one thing that sticks in my craw, so to speak.  Why is it that high-end, USA made, guitars with maple necks use quartersawn maple, and their lower-cost, made in whatever third world country, guitars don't?  We are talking about corporations, where profit is king.  So, if there was not some benefit to using quartersawn wood, why use a cut that gives them fewer necks per log and not reap the difference as profit? No one has ever been able to give me a good answer on that point.  Is it a marketing gimmick that one manufacturer historically used, and now is somewhat uniform across the industry?  If there is no benefit to stability, this is the only other rationale I can think of that makes sense.  I honestly don't know enough about maple to say anything, one way or the other.  But it is the utilization of quartersawn maple by high-end, USA guitar makers that keeps me coming back to it, not because I "know any better."  It certainly is not the grain pattern (or lack, thereof).  The best way to put it, I guess, is that I feel like there is just some "je ne sais quoi" that I am missing out on if I don't go with quartersawn.

Someone once told me that even if the patterned cuts were less stable, that it doesn't matter because of Warmoth's double-action truss rod.  To me, that is a non-starter as an argument.

And then, there are some who would argue that quartersawn gives a better tone, more sustain, etc.  I'm not even going to get into that, as it is completely subjective.  I have five Warmoths with maple necks.  Two are quartersawn, two are flame maple, and one is birdseye.  They all sound good, and they all have good sustain.

But for this build, "je ne sais quoi" aside, I think a flame or birdseye neck might be too busy with the dyed quilt body. 

 

[Cagey]

For as hard a wood as it is, Maple is surprisingly squirrelly. I've seen it do some strange things in my day (I used to do some cabinet work). It'll shrink/expand/warp/twist like a piece of 1x2" fuel pine if it's not properly finished. I suspect that's where the whole "quartersawn" desirability for necks came from. That cut is more stable if left on its own, and many old acoustics didn't get hard impermeable finishes like have been available in modern times. Today, I doubt it makes much difference. It's more likely a marketing thing than anything else.

 

[fdesalvo]

This thread has induced unwanted GAS!

Doc, have you played a lightweight hog body mated to a one piece, flatsawn maple neck?  I have to tell you that of all the guitars that I've assembled, the guitar I own with this combo is so resonant and lively!  This is my #1 guitar - my Warmoth Tele and it sounds perfectly balanced from treble to bass.  The neck is the vintage modern, 59 profile and is finished in tru-oil and the body has a flamed maple cap on it, btw.  I will try to recreate this combo with my next build (minus the flamed maple cap).  Do not fear properly finished/treated maple!  It is goooood.   

On my other guitars, which I consider dead by comparison (heavy mahogany, alder, and walnut bodies), the acoustic sound seems to resonate from the bridge.  On the magical Tele, the sound seems to come from the center of the guitar, where the neck meets the body.  It's just a beautiful thing!  I can't wait until you get underway!  :guitarplayer2:

 

[DocNrock]

This thread has induced unwanted GAS!

Doc, have you played a lightweight hog body mated to a one piece, flatsawn maple neck?  I have to tell you that of all the guitars that I've assembled, the guitar I own with this combo is so resonant and lively!  This is my #1 guitar - my Warmoth Tele and it sounds perfectly balanced from treble to bass.  The neck is the vintage modern, 59 profile and is finished in tru-oil and the body has a flamed maple cap on it, btw.  I will try to recreate this combo with my next build (minus the flamed maple cap).  Do not fear properly finished/treated maple!  It is goooood.   

On my other guitars, which I consider dead by comparison (heavy mahogany, alder, and walnut bodies), the acoustic sound seems to resonate from the bridge.  On the magical Tele, the sound seems to come from the center of the guitar, where the neck meets the body.  It's just a beautiful thing!  I can't wait until you get underway!  :guitarplayer2:

That's awesome!  So glad yours turned out the way it did.  I do have a guitar with a chambered black korina body with a zebrawood neck.  That thing rocks, also! 

I just did the deed and put in the order.  They had a great piece of quilt I nabbed for the washed blue dye top!  ccasion14:

 

[Cagey]

Goodness gracious! That's a beautiful piece of lumber!

 

[DocNrock]

Goodness gracious! That's a beautiful piece of lumber!

Thanks, Cagey.  I agree.  It was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but I kept coming back to it.  In the end, I couldn't pass it up.

 

[Cagey]

Pictures never do that sort of stuff justice - I'll wager that's gonna be a spectacular piece in real life.

Bagman's got a quilted top Tele that's that way. Looks pretty good in pictures, but you'd have to see it in real life to appreciate how beautiful it is. The light refracts differently and in such a way that 2D photos just can't capture. I'll bet that piece is gonna be the same way.

 

[DangerousR6]

Sweet...I like the whole idea.... :headbang1:

 

[stratamania]

Lovely piece of maple... :icon_thumright:

 

[DocNrock]

Pictures never do that sort of stuff justice - I'll wager that's gonna be a spectacular piece in real life.

Bagman's got a quilted top Tele that's that way. Looks pretty good in pictures, but you'd have to see it in real life to appreciate how beautiful it is. The light refracts differently and in such a way that 2D photos just can't capture. I'll bet that piece is gonna be the same way.

@Cagey:  Thanks, man.  I'm thinking, and hoping, the same thing.  Even in that photo, there is an amazing 3D appearance to the quilting. 

@DangerousR6:  Thank you, kind sir.  I can't wait to see what kind of neck plate you come up with for this.  PM sent to you. 

@Stratamania:  Thanks, and I couldn't agree more.  How'd you get that scroll effect?  That's cool! 

When I placed the order, it turns out that clean line wasn't an option, and binding was mandatory.  So, it got black binding.  I thought about white binding and getting a bridge pickup with black and white coil bobbins, but decided against that.  I think all of the hardware will be black.  I just happen to have a black TOM/STP and a black set of Planet Waves tuners in my parts bin.  And the black hardware will not distract away from the washed blue dye finish.

And, I was able to get the quilt pegface veneer in washed blue dye also.  And you were right, Cagey, $45.  Given the prices of the rest of the finishes, that to me is a steal. 

Now comes the wait, lol.  I forgot, but it seems to me the wait is about three months for a custom body and neck.  On average, does that sound about right?

 

[rgand]

That is one beautiful piece of quilt. It's going to look fantastic with the blue. :glasses10:

 

[DocNrock]

That is one beautiful piece of quilt. It's going to look fantastic with the blue. :glasses10:

Thank you, kind sir.  :icon_thumright:

 

[stratamania]

The scroll effect is using the move tag. It has a an icon that looks like an M with arrow either side of it.