why?

line6man

Epic Member
Messages
6,443
ok, this is a really stupid question, but i cant figure it out.

aside from doing some kind of unique custom job, WHY would you want to buy an unfinished body/neck and put your own finish on it??? isnt it better and easier to just have warmoth professionally finish a body/neck for you?
 
well first off Warmoth doesn't do nitro - - so right there you've got a whole bunch of people that prefer nitro who aren't going to get it. And then there are the crazy people that actually enjoy doing their own finish - hehehehe ;)

that's just two reasons.... I'm sure there are others
 
A feeling of accomplishment.  I've built two Warmoths with factory finished bodies, the second one I finished the neck myself.  The next one I'm hoping to finish the whole shebang.  After that I might have to get a body blank, and well after that I'm gonna go cut down a tree.  See, each time I feel like I want to and can do more of the project myself.  It's not all about getting a great guitar in the end for me.  There is just something about the feeling of doing something for yourself, by yourself.  It is a learning experience. 
 
As GoDrex and Guitlouie said, and I'll add in my perspective.  I personally have W finish anything I order.  I just don't have the time to do a finish on a neck or a body.  However, if I did, I'd love to try to do my own.  My hat goes off to all of those who do their own finishes.
 
Well, I'll bite on the question.  It is fun.  Like quite a few people around here, I am curious as hell about how things work.  I have built my own pedals, built my own amp, and am building my own guitar now.  You learn an immense amount by looking into things, and testing ideas in your mind.  You learn even more by trying out some of those ideas.  So, why not build a one off instrument that has exactly what you want?  There are things that Warmoth will not do, and if you want one of those things you have to do it yourself, or pay some one to do it for you.  It is not cheap to be a Warmothoholic, but it is cheaper than buying custom shop stuff.  But for me, it really comes back to being curious about things.  Besides, unless you really butcher something, it will end up being a nice instrument.  Win, win in my mind.
Patrick

 
+1 all the above, and also, Warmoth doesn't do a range of finish types - they do the standard finishes, and they do them in poly, and they do a great, great job at it too. But if you want something out of the ordinary, , you've got to do it yourself or pay really big bucks to a third party.
Finally, finishing is the biggest challenge by of guitar building. I'm sure my soldering job is just as good as yours is, and fine setup is something any serious musician should know how to do anyhow. But finishing makes your guitar, really, totally unique.  Getting my first burst finish to where I could accept it was really a challenge and totally satisfying, for instance. (pics at some point).
Oh and finally, not all finishing is hard. Finishing maple necks with nitro spray cans isn't a big deal at all.
 
I get an idea for a color I want... it's usually plainer & more woody than most of the zoomy caterpillar-bursts and spaceship stuff, but it's hard to find a plain wood guitar. Unless you're willyk.... :hello2:

Besides, I must like to do this? :icon_scratch: It seems like every one I make, I reach a certain point in construction where I'm thinking "what the hell is wrong with me?" Then it gets done, and I'm back sniffing around Warmoth... similarly, the Showcase isn't of much use to me personally, because I have a really good idea of what I want first. My next bass body came off the Showcase, but that was happenstance, they had exactly what I wanted.
 
For me it's cost. If you finish or re-finish 2 or 3 guitars the equipments actually end up paying for itself and you learn a lot in the process. By equipment I mean compressor, spray gun, etc. Plus you're only limited by your imagination as far as the finish goes, and you can use lacquer which is more "vintage correct" as well as being easier for the average home user to work with, and being more forgiving when it comes to cleaning spray guns too. I get lacquer for 5 bucks a quart and colorings last so long that the prices on those doesn't matter (takes very little aniline dye to do a burst)

Plus when you order things overseas it helps to reduce the invoice price as much as possible to minimize the possibility of a tariff as well as the amount of tax to pay...
 
Keeps some of us off the street corners and out of trouble. Well, less trouble than we'd be in otherwise.....
 
dbw said:
rahimiiii said:
For me it's cost.

+1; I'd love to have beautiful factory finishes but they cost around $200!

Besides, if you are patient and are willing to learn (invest in time and trial and error) you could really put out factory quality finish at like 1/10th the cost! But if I were doing it as a business I'd still charge over 200 because of the time and labor involved and the fact that it takes some skill to do this.
 
rahimiiii said:
dbw said:
rahimiiii said:
For me it's cost.

+1; I'd love to have beautiful factory finishes but they cost around $200!

Besides, if you are patient and are willing to learn (invest in time and trial and error) you could really put out factory quality finish at like 1/10th the cost! But if I were doing it as a business I'd still charge over 200 because of the time and labor involved and the fact that it takes some skill to do this.

You aren't factoring in your labor...  Even if you're only worth minimum wage, a professional looking finishing job will cost you MORE than what Warmoth charges if you factor in your time.
 
line6man said:
ok, this is a really stupid question, but i cant figure it out.

aside from doing some kind of unique custom job, WHY would you want to buy an unfinished body/neck and put your own finish on it??? isnt it better and easier to just have warmoth professionally finish a body/neck for you?

Some people on this board ACTUALLY like doing this...absolute madness I tell you!  :laughing7:
 
Its all been said - but I'll say it for myself....

I like doing it.
I like the materials I use.
I like the way I can fine tune whatever I want.
I like ... hehheehhe... saving the money (yah it costs in time though....).
And I like the way Warmoth does finishes too. 
To each their own!~
 
You get to be more creative, because it costs less than sending in your ideas on paper, or in a rough drawing, getting a quote or some guy saying it can't be done, or it'll cost three times what you want to pay.
 
-CB- said:
Its all been said - but I'll say it for myself....

I like doing it.
I like the materials I use.
I like the way I can fine tune whatever I want.
I like ... hehheehhe... saving the money (yah it costs in time though....).
And I like the way Warmoth does finishes too. 
To each their own!~

You nailed it CB  :icon_thumright:

I might just add that once in a while the original idea develops its own personality and morphs into something totally different.
My "barndoor-burst" bass and "Rusty" the strat are cases in point.   Too much fun  :toothy12: :toothy12: :toothy12:
 
Back
Top