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Post subject: Warmoth neck vs. Fender American neck?
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 10:56 am
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Location: Lee, MA
I'm pondering assembling a new American Deluxe strat to replace mine that was stolen last week. In searching online at various part prices, it's come to my attention very quickly that the neck seems to be the most expensive part. I really loved the feel of the neck on my guitar, but have heard that warmoth make really good necks, and they seem to be running considerably less money, plus I can use different materials and construction than what come on fender necks, i.e, ebony fretboard, wider radius etc. This isn't something that Im going to put together to have to sell later, Im doing it to play. I liked the shaped edges on my american deluxe, but figured my luthier could do it if I needed. Anyone out there with first hand knowledge? I'd appreciate the help.


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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 12:09 pm
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Location: Peckham: where the snow leopards roam
Regarding the edges of the fingerboard: I don't recall if Warmoth offer an equivalent of Fender's rolled edges. If not, it is easy to do as a mod later, in a slightly different way, arguably even better. Take a glance at the fingerboards on James Tyler's "superStrat" guitars. Those also have bevelled edges, but only between the frets. That means the fret end comes to the full width of the neck which improves the handling of the e strings.

The whole point of this fingerboard edging is to emulate the feel of an old, well worn neck. Tyler himself says he got the idea from an old vintage Strat he owns, '50s or '60s, I don't remember which.

You can do it yourself in the Tyler style on any neck. Of course, if you have a maple fingerboard then it has to be refinished afterwards, and getting the lacquer onto corners is the most time consuming part. As a retouch it involves successive bouts of masking and careful buffing to avoid nasty lacquer join lines. But it is perfectly do-able and a very fine way to improve the feel of a neck. I've done it several times: highly recommended.

Good luck - C


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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 2:59 pm
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When I built my Warmoth I was trying to cut costs as I went to keep it a dream guitar but still reasonable. One option I didn't go for originally was the neck binding. Never had it and didn't think I had to have it. My brother talked me into it and paid for it for my birthday present. I went with the pearloid and it is one of my favorite features on the guitar. Worth the $100 I think. Just something to think about if your keeping this one for a while.


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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 3:19 pm
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Binding sounds nice, I just can't picture it on a strat, I've never seen any like that, it sounds really cool though. I've looked up reviews after posting this question, and it's a real mixed bag, which makes me think I should stay away, but with reviews you never know if it's the product, the player, or if it wasn't set up properly. How was the sound and playability of yours. Also, I see alot of mighty mac, or something like that, but they seem really inexpensive, and I believe that 19 out of 20 times you get what you pay for. Anyone have any thoughts on the matter?


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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 6:58 am
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windwalker9649 wrote:
How was the sound and playability of yours.


Great on both sound and playability. I went with Pau Ferro (spelling?) on maple and I couldn't be happier.


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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 12:12 pm
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I've built 2 Warmoth Guitars, A Strat and a Tele. They have the best necks I have seen. Great choices of wood and fretboards. I chose birdseye maple with Kingwood and a Clapton style contour - SWEET and a Flame Maple with Pau Ferro fretboard with rectangle inlays - standard thin contour. I chose stainless steel fret wire - med jumbo size - they did a great job finishing the frets - smooth no sharp edges anywhere. I also got to pick the nut material. Bone for the Tele and Graphite for the Strat.


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