Warmoth SuperStrat (Parts guitars) x2

[Prages]

Up for review today are my two Warmoth Partsocasters.

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/BothWarmoths1.jpg

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/BothWarmoths2.jpg

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/BothWarmoths6.jpg

The bodies and necks for both guitars came from Warmoth’s ‘Showcase’ section.

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/Quiltybody.jpg
http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/BirdseyeNeck1.jpg

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/OrangeBody.jpg
http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/PlainNeck.jpg

I put the quilty one together first, so I’ll detail it first and then move on to the orange.

The quilted one was completed in December 2002. Here are the specs.

Body: 3 piece alder with quilted maple drop top.

Neck: Birdseye maple with birdseye maple fretboard (no finish). Dunlop 6105 fretwire (tall and skinny). Wolfgang (asymmetric) back shape. Compound 10-16” radius. 1 11/16” nut width.

Hardware: Gotoh Wilkinson two point tremolo. Schaller M6 Mini Locking Tuners. LSR Rollernut. Roller string trees. Schaller strap locks.

Electronics: CTS 500k and 250k pots. Switchcraft 5 way switch and jack.

Pickups: Seymour Duncan SH-11 Custom/Custom bridge humbucker, Kinman AVN ’62 middle and neck noiseless single coils.

Pickguard: W/B/W/Pearloid.

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/Quiltypickguard1.jpg

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/QuiltyKnobs.jpg

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/Birdseye.jpg

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/BirdseyeHeadstock.jpg

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/BirdseyeTuners.jpg

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/LSR.jpg

As you can see from the stock Warmoth photo of the body, it was originally routed for 3 single coil pickups and the tremolo route had not been done. I was able to specify (for no charge) that I wanted the bridge pickup routed for a humbucker and wanted the bridge routed for a Wilkinson. The neck was also routed for a regular nut and vintage Klusion tuners and had not been fretted. They were able to widen the nut slot for an LSR rollernut ($30 charge), widen the tuner holes for 10mm Schaller M6s (no charge), and fret it with my choice of frets (no charge). Both the body and neck shipped less than a week after I placed my order, and arrived at my door, well packaged and damage free from UPS about a week after they shipped.

It’s been a while, but I think the body cost $399 (it was prefinished) and the neck cost about $210 after the upcharge for the LSR nut routing.

Now, on to the actual assembly.

The neck pocket was a very nice, tight fit. I had to drop the neck straight down into the pocket, as it was so tight that you couldn’t just slide it in. That’s a good thing. Once it was in the pocket, you could actually pick the guitar up by the neck even before screwing it together. The neck attachment holes were pre-drilled in the body, but not in the neck, so I had to drill my own pilot holes in the neck. The bridge stud holes were perfectly placed, and the studs dropped right in (with a dab of epoxy) with no problem. The only holes that were not drilled on the body were the pickguard mounting holes and the tremolo spring cover holes. I used the pickguard and trem spring cover themselves as templates to mark where the pilot holes should be, and used a very small drillbit to drill the holes. On the headstock, I had to drill the small holes on the back of the headstock where the tiny tuner screws go.

The routing for the LSR nut was also perfect, and even had the pilot holes drilled for the two screws that hold it to the neck. The LSR came with several different thicknesses of metal shims so you could adjust the height of the nut if need be, but I didn’t need to use any of the shims. The nut height was perfect.

For the pickguard, I had Warmoth cut all the holes except for the volume and tone control holes. I placed those holes myself so I could put them exactly where I wanted them. After that, I wired the guitar up as a standard Strat, only I went with a master volume/master tone instead of a master volume/middle tone/neck tone. I find the volume knob sometimes gets in the way of my pinky on a standard Strat setup, so the master volume/master tone control allowed me to move the volume down away from the bridge pickup enough that I don’t accidentally turn myself down when I’m playing.

After the wiring was done, the guitar was basically finished. I set the action and intonation as usual. The frets were perfect, even though Warmoth doesn’t actually do fret leveling. The installation was so precise that they didn’t need additional leveling. The ends of the frets were beveled to 30 degrees. I did eventually round the ends a little more for comfort, but I played it for over a year before I did that.

This guitar rivals any guitar I’ve ever played for feel and tone. It just feels like a custom shop axe. It plays amazingly well all over the neck, and it sustains as much as my Les Paul. The SD Custom Custom delivers a very well rounded tone. It’s not a great pickup for heavy metal, as the bottom end is very round and ‘buttery’. It has a very nice mid range growl and sparkly high end though. The Kinman pickups are just fantastic. They deliver classic single coil Strat tones with absolutely no noise. They are pricey though. That’s their only real flaw, IMO.

All told, this guitar cost about $1200 plus another $100 for the case I bought. It was money well spent, IMO.

[Prages]

The orange Warmoth is pretty similar to the quilty one.

Body: Alder

Neck: maple with maple fretboard (no finish). Stainless steel 6100 fretwire (true Jumbo). Wolfgang (asymmetric) back shape. Compound 10-16” radius. 1 11/16” nut width.

Hardware: Original Floyd Rose Tremolo. Schaller M6 Tuners. Schaller strap locks.

Electronics: CTS 500k and 250k pots. Switchcraft 5 way switch and jack.

Pickups: Seymour Duncan TB-11 Custom/Custom bridge humbucker, Seymour Duncan APSII middle and neck pickups (middle is RW/RP).

Pickguard: W/B/W.

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/OrangeFront.jpg

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/Orangepickguard.jpg

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/Orangenut.jpg

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/Orangetuners.jpg



The assembly of this guitar was much the same as the other one. Everything was very well done at Warmoth, and no major modifications were needed.

This one did have a few quirks though.

Mostly, those quirks were because of the Floyd Rose tremolo. Since the body wasn’t routed for a tremolo before it was finished, even though I could pick the type of routing I wanted, had I gone with a recessed Floyd, there would have been a big unfinished chunk of wood missing from the top of the guitar. I didn’t want a recessed tremolo anyway, so no big deal. However, for a flush mounted Floyd, you need a neck angle to make it work. I was able to have Warmoth angle the neck pocket by 3 degrees, which was just enough. However, since the body was pre-painted, when they routed the pocket, it chipped off a little bit of the paint. Not that big a deal, since it’s only noticeable if you’re looking specifically for flaws.

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/OrangeHeel.jpg

This neck also had a very small blemish on the side. You can’t feel it, but you can see it. It’s almost like the beginning of a knot.

http://www.thewindtunnel.com/GuitarPics/Warmoths/Orangeneckflaw.jpg

Other than those two things, the parts for this guitar were also perfect. I believe I paid about $250 for the body and about $150 for the neck. The angled neck pocked added about $30 to the cost of the body, and the Floyd locking nut route for the neck added about $30 there. The stainless steel frets also added $20 to the price of the neck.

The fretwork on this one wasn’t quite as nice as the first one. I was still able to set it up well and play it right away, but if I tried to get the action as low as the other one, I’d get buzz. I ended up going back and doing just a spot level on a couple of frets and that took care of the problem.

This guitar also has a side adjust truss rod. The other one has a heel adjust, which means you have to take the neck off to access the truss rod. This one you can adjust (still at the heel) from the side of the heel with a small allen wrench. I haven’t had to adjust the rods on either of them since a month or two after I put them together, so it’s no big deal either way.

The only difference in the bridge pickups between the two guitars is that the orange one is F-Spaced. I can’t hear a bit of difference between the two, even though the pole pieces don’t line up perfectly with the E strings on the quilty one. I think the F-Space is more of an aesthetic thing than a tonal one. The APSII single coils in this aren’t noiseless, but they are hum cancelling in positions 2 and 4. Even by themselves, there isn’t a lot of hum. These pickups aren’t as classic sounding as the Kinmans. They are hotter and have more bite. They can also get a little ice-picky on the clean channel if you don’t roll back the tone control a hair. They still sound great though. I actually think I prefer their character over the smoothness of the Kinmans. And they were less than ½ the price of the Kinmans.


The orange guitar has been my most played guitar since I got it put together.

All told, I've got about $1000 in this guitar, plus $100 for the case. Once again, Money well spent. It feels and sounds like a custom shop guitar.

[Mark Wein]

Great review!

I wasn't aware of the neck angle adjustment for the floyd if you aren't having the top rout.

I like how you detailed all of the requests for modification you made from Warmoth and what the prices were. My strat was originally built by a tech and then I did a big overhaul on it last year,,,I'll do my review today or tomorrow smi

[Prages]

Great review!

I wasn't aware of the neck angle adjustment for the floyd if you aren't having the top rout.

I like how you detailed all of the requests for modification you made from Warmoth and what the prices were. My strat was originally built by a tech and then I did a big overhaul on it last year,,,I'll do my review today or tomorrow smi


Those prices are just to the best I can remember. I built the quilty on in December '02 and the orange one in October '03, so I may not be 100% correct on the prices and upcharges, but they should be pretty close.

[Mark Wein]

I'm sure they've changed over the last half decade or so, but it does give the reader an idea of whats involved and whats possible if you go this route.

I think many people are afraid to do this because they think it might cost too much or it might be too complicated but I personally think that if you do a little research and don't go too crazy with features you can build a better bolt on neck guitar better than Fender every time for the same or less money than an American Standard or Custom Shop smi

[Prages]

Oh, and I just edited in that the stainless steel frets on the orange one were a $20 upcharge.

[Mark Wein]

Oh, and I just edited in that the stainless steel frets on the orange one were a $20 upcharge.


Thats it?

How do you like them? Do they sound different?

[Prages]

I'm sure they've changed over the last half decade or so, but it does give the reader an idea of whats involved and whats possible if you go this route.

I think many people are afraid to do this because they think it might cost too much or it might be too complicated but I personally think that if you do a little research and don't go too crazy with features you can build a better bolt on neck guitar better than Fender every time for the same or less money than an American Standard or Custom Shop smi


I agree completely.

If you want to tackle finishing it yourself, you'll save a couple hundred bucks right off the bat.

And there's really not that much that's complicated about putting them together. If somebody is that worried about spending a bunch of money on quality parts and not being able to put it together...go to a pawn shop. Get the cheapest beater strat copy they have. Take it home and take it apart. I mean, take it apart completely...take off the tuners and the bridge. Unsolder all the connections and remove all the electronics from the pickguard. Once it's all apart...put it back together.

If you can do that, you can build a Warmoth guitar. You may need to budget $100 or so for a final fret level/dressing and setup, but I wouldn't even do that until you're sure you need it.

Once you get all the parts, it literally takes about 2-3 hours to put it all together and get it set up and playing. That's if you don't have to trouble shoot your wiring too many times.

[Prages]

Oh, and I just edited in that the stainless steel frets on the orange one were a $20 upcharge.


Thats it?

How do you like them? Do they sound different?


I don't hear a difference at all.

I do see and feel a difference though.

You know how when you get a brand new guitar it just plays so smoothly. You can bend a note and it's like the fretboard is made out of glass because there's absolutely no friction between the strings and the frets? You know how after you've played a guitar enough to wear divots into the frets, suddenly it doesn't bend so smoothly anymore?

Well, the stainless steel frets pretty much keep that smooth glassy feel almost indefinitely. As much as I've played the orange guitar, you can take the strings off and not see a single mark on the frets from where the strings have rubbed. They are as smooth now as they were the first time I played the guitar.

I've also seen some threads where people talk about how hard stainless steel frets are on your strings and that you'll go through strings twice as fast as you would on nickel/silver frets. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. In my 20+ years of playing, I don't think I've ever broken a string anywhere other than at the tuner, nut, or saddle. I've broken strings on the orange guitar before, but it has always been at the nut or saddle. Never anywhere in between.

[Mark Wein]

And there's really not that much that's complicated about putting them together. If somebody is that worried about spending a bunch of money on quality parts and not being able to put it together...go to a pawn shop. Get the cheapest beater strat copy they have. Take it home and take it apart. I mean, take it apart completely...take off the tuners and the bridge. Unsolder all the connections and remove all the electronics from the pickguard. Once it's all apart...put it back together.

If you can do that, you can build a Warmoth guitar. You may need to budget $100 or so for a final fret level/dressing and setup, but I wouldn't even do that until you're sure you need it.



That is an awesome suggestion. I might do that myself embarrased0

[Mark Wein]

Oh, and I just edited in that the stainless steel frets on the orange one were a $20 upcharge.


Thats it?

How do you like them? Do they sound different?


I don't hear a difference at all.

I do see and feel a difference though.

You know how when you get a brand new guitar it just plays so smoothly. You can bend a note and it's like the fretboard is made out of glass because there's absolutely no friction between the strings and the frets? You know how after you've played a guitar enough to wear divots into the frets, suddenly it doesn't bend so smoothly anymore?

Well, the stainless steel frets pretty much keep that smooth glassy feel almost indefinitely. As much as I've played the orange guitar, you can take the strings off and not see a single mark on the frets from where the strings have rubbed. They are as smooth now as they were the first time I played the guitar.

I've also seen some threads where people talk about how hard stainless steel frets are on your strings and that you'll go through strings twice as fast as you would on nickel/silver frets. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. In my 20+ years of playing, I don't think I've ever broken a string anywhere other than at the tuner, nut, or saddle. I've broken strings on the orange guitar before, but it has always been at the nut or saddle. Never anywhere in between.


I had heard that they can change the tone a little bit (metallic, IIRC) but I've never tried them.

I HAVE broken a string in the middle before but it was only once and I was being fairly abusive with my bends and picking facepalm0

[Prages]

I had heard that they can change the tone a little bit (metallic, IIRC) but I've never tried them.

Granted, I can't do an apples to apples comparison, since the only guitar I have with ss frets is the orange one and I don't have another guitar that exactly matches it's specs except for the frets.

That said, the orange one's tone is a tiny bit brighter than the quilted one, but how much of that brightness is contributed to the Floyd is beyond me.

Even at that, it's only a very, very tiny bit brighter. I mean, we're talking the difference in brightness between week old strings and month old strings.

[Mark Wein]

Good to know....I'd like to do an Warmoth Tele and that might be an good option...

[Prages]

Good to know....I'd like to do an Warmoth Tele and that might be an good option...


I think it's a good option.

I wouldn't ever say that 'I'll only buy guitars with stainless steel frets', but I probably would say that any neck I get from Warmoth will have stainless steel, and if one of my good guitars needs a refret, I'd probably spring for the ss option if it was readily available.