Warmoth.com or other custom guitar makers.

  • Thread starter Thread starter ShanPeyton
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ShanPeyton

ShanPeyton

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Has anyone used this site for their custom guitars? Any rave reviews? Things one should know good, bad or indifferent? I am debating on getting set up with one. And if not Warmoth any other recommendations?

I am located in Canada so if there are Canadian companies then even better.

I have a sort of an odd playing style, I play left handed but play a regular right handed guitar strung for a right handed player, like Dick Dale if you are familiar with him. To date it has worked out o.k. but the volume and tone knobs get in the way. Ideally i would like to get a good quality les paul style guitar with some P90's at the bridge and neck with the tone, volume knobs and pick guard where they should be for a lefty, but keep it set up strung for righty. If that makes sense?

I often get "Advice" from "experts" telling me to just get a lefty guitar and learn to play "properly" But i usually knod and make foul comments about in them in my head. I like the way i play, I use alot of open chords with the stuff i write and this set up works well. I like to think it has shaped my own sound. I can't really hammer out a hair metal solo and jam away scales for hours and hours on end, but i don't really want to do that anyhow. It's a perfect set up.

Anyways. Please pass on your recommendations.
 
I've dealt with Warmoth. I was building a custom guitar and the finish on the body (which was from Warmoth) turned out much better than I thought it would (I did the finish myself, and I thought I might fail!)--so I decided to spend the big bucks on a killer neck. i spent just over $600 on an all maple (birdseye at that) neck with gold hardware, including a locking nut. I've never regretted it. The guitar plays like a dream and Warmoth was great to deal with!
 
Being Canadian, I've dealt with all the hassles buying from the US, and some are still worth it. I've put together kits from maybe six different suppliers, and hands down, Warmoth has absolutely the 'best' wood and the best workmanship. I mean grade A+++++ maple (or whatever else you want), and the workmanship was beyond flawless. Amazing. Just be aware that you will absolutely pay for this. And then pay some more. If you can only use the best, cost be damned, then Warmoth is it.
You can save a bundle and still have an awesome guitar buying AllParts. From my experience, places like Mighty Mite sell Mexican Fender necks and bodies, AllParts sells Fender Japan necks and bodies, and Warmoth make their own. I've always thought the Japanese Fender stuff was better, and a lot cheaper, than USA Fender, so I love my AllParts guitars and basses.
Maybe try a Warmoth neck on an AllParts body? I've done that, and it worked out great.
 
Thanks guys. Great responses. The more I think about this the more it makes sense for me. I could spend the mega bucks on my dream Gibson, but i think i could turn around and still spend the same amount and get exactly what i want and how I want it. I may go the Warmoth route.

@ Ranjam: You are the second one who has recommended allparts.com. I will check it out. Thanks.
 
ranjam said:
ust be aware that you will absolutely pay for this. And then pay some more. If you can only use the best, cost be damned, then Warmoth is it.
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What kind of price range are we talking here beginning to end? Just ball park some numbers if you can? All I have really had time for is to price the body and the one i wanted rang in around 750 bucks i think? So i know it is going to be costly.
 
Say you were like 99% of the rest of us, and building a Strat. The last time I did a CBS headstock, the Warmoth was around $350, the AllParts was $180, and a Mighty-Mite was around $120, and that's a small headstock. For bodies, an unfinished simple s-s-s is $250 from Warmoth, $265 from AllParts(!!??), and $150 from Mighty-Mite. On the plus side for AllParts, an extra $100 gets you a nice 2-tone sunburst finish. On the down side, Warmoth will charge you about $250 to do a finish on a Strat body. So that painted Strat body from Warmoth is now about $500, as opposed to $350 or so from AllParts.
I use to buy Stew-Mac when they had better necks and bodies that were fully machined. Not anymore, as they don't want to pay the exorbitant fees to license the Fender design, so you are left with a canoe paddle for a headstock and you have to finish shaping the headstock. And those aren't any cheaper!
So if you went with a Warmoth neck on a painted AllParts body, you're at $700 already, and that's just the wood! $530 or $550 gets it all from AllParts. Now for $200 more, the hardware can come from Stew Mac. See? It can be done, you may have to spend a few bucks over the budget if you want 'the best'. Sometimes resellers are on eBay, with less than full retail prices, if you can believe that. Here's an awesome deal on a real vintage type Strat neck from Warmoth! The BIN is $275! Warmoth Stratocaster Neck 59 Roundback Birdseye Maple Grover Deluxe Tuners | eBay This thing is ready to bolt on and play!
 
ranjam said:
Say you were like 99% of the rest of us, and building a Strat. The last time I did a CBS headstock, the Warmoth was around $350, the AllParts was $180, and a Mighty-Mite was around $120, and that's a small headstock. For bodies, an unfinished simple s-s-s is $250 from Warmoth, $265 from AllParts(!!??), and $150 from Mighty-Mite. On the plus side for AllParts, an extra $100 gets you a nice 2-tone sunburst finish. On the down side, Warmoth will charge you about $250 to do a finish on a Strat body. So that painted Strat body from Warmoth is now about $500, as opposed to $350 or so from AllParts.
I use to buy Stew-Mac when they had better necks and bodies that were fully machined. Not anymore, as they don't want to pay the exorbitant fees to license the Fender design, so you are left with a canoe paddle for a headstock and you have to finish shaping the headstock. And those aren't any cheaper!
So if you went with a Warmoth neck on a painted AllParts body, you're at $700 already, and that's just the wood! $530 or $550 gets it all from AllParts. Now for $200 more, the hardware can come from Stew Mac. See? It can be done, you may have to spend a few bucks over the budget if you want 'the best'. Sometimes resellers are on eBay, with less than full retail prices, if you can believe that. Here's an awesome deal on a real vintage type Strat neck from Warmoth! The BIN is $275! Warmoth Stratocaster Neck 59 Roundback Birdseye Maple Grover Deluxe Tuners | eBay This thing is ready to bolt on and play!
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I am the 1% that will be building a LP. HaHa.

Super helpful. I am going to sit around tonight and look at all those sites and see what i can come up with! Huge Help. thanks. Do you have an pictures of your custom guits? Those would be cool. I am always interested to see what people put together themselves! It is true that off the shelf Fenders / Gibsons are pretty sexy, it's still cool to see what creations the everyday user can piece together.

Thanks again, for the tips.
 
Funny this thread just came up. I'm really considering a p-90 telecaster. I have a gibson P90T and R lying around as well as some spurtzel locking tuner heads that I really would love to get into a guitar.

Pricing it out looks like I can has what I want for just under $600 usd through warmoth (I'm totally fine with a 1 piece maple neck).
 
Guitargodgt said:
Funny this thread just came up. I'm really considering a p-90 telecaster. I have a gibson P90T and R lying around as well as some spurtzel locking tuner heads that I really would love to get into a guitar.

Pricing it out looks like I can has what I want for just under $600 usd through warmoth (I'm totally fine with a 1 piece maple neck).
Click to expand...

Cool. I don't recall having ever heard a tele with P90's? I am still kinda pricing mine out. I am incredibly indecisive.
 
Warmoth makes some nice bodies and necks. After putting something together yourself, take the guitar to a good tech to dress the frets and file the nut just to get the action right though. The thing about Warmoth's necks is the truss rod adjustment is at the headstock, which makes things a heck of a lot easier.
 
I've never build a Warmoth, but I found a partscaster used in a shop for like $300 once that absolutely SLAYED. I would have picked it up but I didn't have the cash at the time and it was gone a week later. I've wanted one ever since.
 
Before you decide on Warmoth please take some time to check out USACustomguitars.com. I believe some of the guys who started this company came from Warmoth. I had them make a neck to my specs and spent a little over two hundred. They were very personable in their contacts with me. I believe you could get a better deal through them than Warmoth price wise at the least and the quality is superb. I don't know if they put the whole guitar together, but you could buy the finished neck and body and then get the parts you need to finish it off. Part of the fun of putting together a guitar is getting what you want on it!
 
My experiences with Warmoth have all been good. If you're building a guitar or putting a new neck on a guitar, it's always wise to take it to a good tech to get the frets dressed a bit or the nut filed though.
 
I had a Warmoth alder strat body guitar with a JB Player jumbo fret neck I assembled at one time, with DiMarzio SD pickup in the bridge and a Gibson PAF at the neck and had a local guy custom paint it. It ended up being a decent guitar.
 
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