Warmoth Strat

[Mark Wein]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/markwein/IMG_0992.jpg

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This is my Warmoth strat build...I originally ordered a local tech to build me a "Super strat" in 1995. It really didn't turn out very well and the guitar wasn't played very much in spite of the price tag.

Here is the original Build

Warmoth Swamp Ash body (This is the basis for the current build)

Warmoth Vintage construction neck with a brazilian rosewood fretboard

Fender vintage reissue tuners and bridge.

Seymour Duncan Trembucker custom and two 57-62 Fender pickups


The Fender pickups were replaced with Duncan Antiquities but between the neck being too small and the sound being thin and bright the guitar sat unplayed most of the time. I did like how resonant the body was and even though the original builder had botched the job it had a very thin nitrocellulose lacquer. I really think that the guitar body had aged nicely over time...

In January of 2007 my Dad passed away and in a need to be constructive I decided I was going to turn the guitar into my "Hendrix" guitar. My buddy Scott bought the rosewood neck that I hated from me and I ordered a maple neck from Warmoth. I wanted something bigger and made the mistake of ordering a "fat" profile neck. :facepalm: The neck is 1" thick all the way down...more than a little fat, even for my big hands.When I finally got the neck from Warmoth I was heartbroken, but I figured I might as well give it a try.

I installed the tuners on the neck and put the neck on the body. I had ordered the neck from Warmoth with the nut and frets and pre drilled for the Gotoh Kluson style tuners so it all went together smoothly.

Once the neck was on the guitar it didn't seem so bad. The next step was sending it to TR Guitars in Tustin to have him replace the bridge, set the neck up and do some electronics work that I don't feel comfortable doing.

Tom at TR Guitars installed a Callaham strat bridge I had ordered, a Duncan Antiquity for the bridge position and made the bottom tone control a push/pull pot to turn the neck pickup on regardless of where the pickup selector is. That gets me the two outside pickups on or all 3 at the same time..something you can't do with a standard 5 way switch by itself.

When I finally got the guitar back I was amazed at how playable it was, even with the giant neck. The fretboard radius is 10"-16" and he did a great setup. I used it for gigs occasionally but it currently is my "home guitar"...the only one I have in my house to play for fun. The bassist in my Blues band is always asking me to play it on our gigs even though I personally prefer my Suhrs for that gig. He says it has a "ballsier personality" and it really does sound great.

Because of the multiple builds on the same body this project cost way too much money over the years but I am happy with the outcome and I think I have a better idea of how to put together a Warmoth parts guitar in the future. I definitely will do this again before buying a strat or tele from Fender.

I think I have a video of me playing the guitar on a gig...I'll see if I can upload it on MOnday.

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http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/markwein/strats.jpg

[Prages]

Nice.

I've got the Wolfgang carve on both of my necks, but both also have a 1 11/16" nut width (real Wolfgangs have 1 5/8"). They've got just enough heft to them. They fill up my hand perfectly without seeming overly large. I don't remember their exact thicknesses, but I'm thinking it's very close to .9" at the nut and probably tapers up to about 1" towards the heel.

[Mark Wein]

Nice.

I've got the Wolfgang carve on both of my necks, but both also have a 1 11/16" nut width (real Wolfgangs have 1 5/8"). They've got just enough heft to them. They fill up my hand perfectly without seeming overly large. I don't remember their exact thicknesses, but I'm thinking it's very close to .9" at the nut and probably tapers up to about 1" towards the heel.


Thanks!

Thats actually a pretty big neck. I've never played the Peavey, just the Ernie Ball version of his guitar and the whole thing seemed so small to me smi

Is the Wolfgang profile really asymmetrical? I seem to remember the EB version as feeling kind of strange to my hand...

[Prages]

It's asymetrical, but I don't really notice it feeling awkward. It just feels really comfy to me.

The EBMM neck was a little thinner than the Wolfgang neck, and was narrower at the heel. The Wolfgang neck always felt good to me, but if I had one complaint, it's that the strings are a little cramped at the nut. Getting that neck carve in the 1 11/16" nut width really helped with that.

Honestly, I love the Wolfgang neck, but I GREATLY prefer the feel of my Warmoths because of the wider nut width.

[Mark Wein]

It sounds like you've probably worked my "issues" with the feel of the neck out...what is the scale length of the Peavey?

[Prages]

It sounds like you've probably worked my "issues" with the feel of the neck out...what is the scale length of the Peavey?


The Peavey, the EBMM, and the Warmoths are all 25.5" scale.

I think the EBMM had a 10" radius, the Wolfgang has a 15 or 16" radius, and the Warmoths have the 10-16" compound radius.

[Mark Wein]

You Warmoth neck seems to be the best combination of dimensions for my tastes AOK

[Prages]

You Warmoth neck seems to be the best combination of dimensions for my tastes AOK


They feel better to me than the Peavey or the EBMM, that's for sure.

What's really odd is that the neck on the orange one seems to be a lot bigger than the neck on the quilty one, but I've measured them with a caliper, and the necks are very nearly identical in size. The orange one just has much larger frets, so I guess the extra height of the frets makes the neck seem thicker. idn_smilie

[thredlok]

I have the SRV carve on my tele neck, it's fat and asymmetrical, a little bit bigger than the wolfgang, it's the most comfortable neck I have. It sits perfectly in the palm of your hand. AOK


out of all the profiles that is my favorite...least would be the clapton