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Post subject: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 12:43 pm
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...partscaster. I see more than a few suppliers of bodies and necks out there (Warmoth, Mighty Mite, Allparts, Musikraft, USACG, Fender themselves).
I'm looking for opinions on who makes the best necks or bodies (especially necks). Any experiences with these? Problems?
I have not set a budget yet, but I'm going with the 'you get what you pay for' approach, while still being careful to not get ripped off.
Thanks.


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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 1:12 pm
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The only way the finished item will match the sum of the parts is if you use Fender parts ... In which case you might just as well buy a finished guitar as the total cost of the parts individually is more (just) than a finished guitar.

I appreciate that you might consider others make more desirable pickups or tailpiece. In which case remove the Fender components and put them away safely in a box so that you can swap them back should you wish to sell in the future.

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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 1:55 pm
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While I appreciate the sentiment of John Sims, I have found that if you are a patient, smart shopper you can get the parts for a decent enough price to make it worth building your own. IMO, it is worth a little more than the cost of a factory guitar to have the options that you want, if you can't get one that already has the options that you want. And yes, go with genuine Fender parts....all of them. 8)

Having said that, with all of the different models that Fender offers, surely the only reason to build your own is for the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 2:05 pm
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I can appreciate using Fender parts, certainly for pickups, bridge, etc. The appeal of places like Warmoth is that they offer a wider selection of options, especially woods and colors.
I agree on the price thing. If I was making an exact copy of a Fender produced Strat, it would be less expensive to buy an assembled instrument from Fender. Again, the issue is options. What about Custom Shop? Or will this necessarily increase the price too much? For example, if I wanted a guitar with Am. Std. specs apart from a custom color?
Right now I'm still at the homework stage of planning this project.


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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 2:10 pm
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Maybe the best place to start is with a definite plan. Make a list of your desired options, body wood, fret board, colors, hardware, etc, and go from there. There is nothing wrong with using multiple sources to get exactly what you want, your dream guitar. :idea:

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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 2:19 pm
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What about relative quality of the various vendors? Is a Warmoth neck just ok, or are they very good, perhaps as compared to a Musikraft neck? What are peoples experiences with these vendors.

I've been leaning towards swamp ash body, clear blue or blue burst finish, SSS arrangement, possibly a fixed bridge, compound radius quartersawn neck with head end truss rod adjustment, rosewood or ebony fretboard. Blue pearl or white pearl pickguard, chrome round top knobs.
I haven't settled on pickups yet. Thinking about S. Duncan cool rails maybe, but also waffling over Texas Specials or Fat 50's.


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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 2:32 pm
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I agree with Shimilou's advice, the main reason to build one yourself is to get a combination of features that you can't get in a production Fender. If you take your time and buy all the parts at the cheapest prices from different vendors, you should be able to save money over what a Fender would cost. I decided to get lazy and order most of the parts at the same time as I ordered the neck and body from Warmouth. All told it cost me about $1,750 to build a real nice Strat exactly like I wanted with birdseye maple neck, SS frets, Fat 50's. I could have easily cut the cost by $250, but I didn't want to have any regrets about features or worries that the parts didn't fit.
As far as quality, Warmouth parts that I received were top quality. They are a licensed vendor for making replacement necks for Fender.

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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 3:32 pm
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Warmoth makes excellent parts. I do like my Fender USA replacement neck more than my Warmoth neck but I think that has more to do with the bodies they are attached to. I would put my Warmoth neck above my MIM replacement strat neck. The MIM neck needed fret end work and was a touch narrower at the nut that I like.

I've refinished a squier body, bought a mighty might body and finished it and a purchased a finished warmoth body. The warmoth body's finish is probably the best in the house next to a tobacco burst PRS SE that I own. Certainly better than my self finished bodies and my fender Am Standard from 1994.

If you plan to finish it yourself and you've not done such a thing before either expect to spend a ton of money and time or just don't. Warmoth makes great finishes. Fender makes great finishes.

The key thing to buying warmoth is that if you want anything semi normal you need to just wait until it comes through the warmoth showcase. You can save quite a lot of money that way. My neck was around the same price as the MIM neck I purchased. Clearly a step up to the warmoth neck.

Mighty might made a nice ash body. You have to drill the bridge holes with those. Warmoth will do it for you.


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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 6:19 pm
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Try getting a Strat like this from Fender at anything less than a Custom Shop price! 8)

I have yet to own a Fender neck that rivals this Warmoth compound radius Indian satin rosewood neck with ebony fretboard... don't know if you can even get one of these through Fender. The body is also Warmoth swamp ash and is excellent.

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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:19 am
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Hey nice strat Tiger J.
I would like to compare yours to one of these
http://www.goodguysmusichawaii.com/new- ... aple-flame
But they are rare and as you mentioned expensive!


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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:14 am
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DarkPenguin wrote:
Warmoth makes excellent parts. I do like my Fender USA replacement neck more than my Warmoth neck but I think that has more to do with the bodies they are attached to. I would put my Warmoth neck above my MIM replacement strat neck. The MIM neck needed fret end work and was a touch narrower at the nut ...


So, in summary, the best neck for a Fender Strat is made by Fender.

With such vast choice of guitars available I tend to feel if you want a Strat then get one made by Fender, otherwise get some thing else which ticks your boxes. You don't decide you want a Ferrari but opt to build one from parts because you think it will be better with a Dodge Ram engine.

Fender have been making Strats for a few years now...I think they are best qualified to decide what's right on a Fender Strat.

Don't get me wrong I'm not averse to changing things for the sake of economy. I have an American Strat which I have owned for 21 years. I wanted a second recently but couldn't justify the cost of what would now be an American Deluxe. So I bought a MIM and changed the bits (for American Fender parts) which were important to me.

If building from parts because of economy there is always a danger that the many small parts can push the cost above something already built. I have a very godd supplier locally who sell Fender necks and bodies at very good prices but, even by trawling the Internet and using second hand parts, I would be hard pushed to assemble a guitar for the same as one already built.

Get one, change what you don't like, and keep the parts. If, over time, you have enough parts to make a second guitar (or reassemble the original) well at least you will have a legitimate Strat to sell.

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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:29 am
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jimmy_james wrote:
Hey nice strat Tiger J.....


Wrong... It is a very, very nice looking guitar but it isn't a Strat. It is a Strat shaped guitar but a Strat has to be made by Fender. You don't say "That's a nice Les Paul" if it's made by PRS.

One could argue how many Fender parts are needed for it to be a real Strat but I would suggest body and neck are the minimum.

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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:50 am
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I had a Fender MIJ body that kinda fell into my lap, which prompted me to put together a partscaster in the first place. I really wanted a 22-fret HH that utilized Dimarzio humbuckers (I always have really liked them). So I used F-spaced Dimarzios (a PAF Joe in the neck and a PAF Pro in the bridge). For the rest I used a Fender-licensed Might Mite neck, and then mostly Fender parts for everything else. The biggest lesson learned out of it was (1) it did take awhile to really get the intonation dialed in, and (2) my Might Mite neck had VERY rough fret edges that took a good while to get right. In the end, I ended up with quite a burner. Just my $0.02 ...

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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 8:18 am
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John Sims wrote:
jimmy_james wrote:
Hey nice strat Tiger J.....


Wrong... It is a very, very nice looking guitar but it isn't a Strat. It is a Strat shaped guitar but a Strat has to be made by Fender. You don't say "That's a nice Les Paul" if it's made by PRS.

One could argue how many Fender parts are needed for it to be a real Strat but I would suggest body and neck are the minimum.

To a certain degree I disagree :wink:
It is a Strat (and a remarkably nice one), but of course it ain't a Fender Strat®. Fender owns rights to the commercial use of the name, but I bet Leo will be happy on his cloud when (and it might and should be soon) "Strat" is added to the trademarks that became generic list.
Just a reminder: Mark Knopfler is known as one of the great Strat playes, although his main axes were Schecter Strats...

Generally, on the building your own: nothing teaches you more about guitars than really making one yourself. Everyone should try it at some point.

And, if you need something that ain't on the Fender (affordable) menu (e.g. the sortiment of compounds is limited...), there are plenty manufacturers to help if you don't want to start by chopping down the tree on your backyard. I'd recommend the Fender licensed manufacturers, among those just take your pick.

I don't care if the end result is called a "DIY Strat" or a "Partscaster" (the latter used to be reserved for Fenders that were assembled from several Fender guitars - like Clapton's Blackie, you know :lol: ); I draw the line on putting any ® or ™ protected label on a product that didn't have one originally. And: one should never expect to get even the price of parts if someday you're selling the guitar.


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Post subject: Re: Thinking about building my own...
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 9:09 am
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John Sims wrote:
Fender have been making Strats for a few years now...I think they are best qualified to decide what's right on a Fender Strat.


I think I'm best qualified to decide what I want in my hands when I play a Strat. The last time I wanted to buy a new one, Fender didn't make one the way I wanted. Custom Shop takes too long and is not an option for me. I'm a player, not a collector. I'm just glad places like Warmouth are around, so I can have it my way. I like Fender, but I don't drink their cool-aid.

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