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Be honest: Was your Warmoth build worth it?

#281
...getting back to the original question, I've done 2. First was a "rescue". I put a Warmoth tele-style neck and hardware from Warmoth (other than the Barden pickups) on a nice 70's precision body that had been through Hell and came back to tell the tale. It took be a while to bond with the "standard" profile neck, but I learned to love it. Second was a build from scratch fretless Jazz bass. I used the slim profile neck on that one and love it.

Having said all that, I probably could never sell either one for what I have put into them in terms of cost, but I was in it for love, not money.
 
#282
I may have answered already. And this is in NO way, shape or form knocking one of our greatest American (and international) companies - and also, I certainly don't mean any disrespect to one of our greatest innovators and inventors, Leo Fender. He's certainly a hero of mine! I am a "Fender guy." But...

Time and time again, when I play a Warmoth - whether it be one of my own builds or another's - The Warmoth is hands down superior to equivalent (or even purportedly superior) Fender basses. It may be my own taste or (certainly) my own opinion. But my Warmoth jazz build - and I didn't go with more expensive components or woods, etc. - is hands down better than my American Geddy Lee Jazz. You may say "it's setup, it's this, it's that" - but it's the same person (me) setting up the bass and of course, playing it. Same strings, etc. I am sure if I handed each to most any player, they'd agree.

But, I am very happy to own a Geddy Jazz! I am both (as aforementioned) a Fender fan, and a huge Geddy / Rush fan. I am proud to own it, I know not everyone has one that would want one. I am fortunate. But I also want to contrast how good Warmoth is. It's truly (also) a quality American company, just that the end-user is the one assembling and setting up. This part may make all the difference, IMHO.

Note: I did have the frets dressed (on the Warmoth) from someone who absolutely does magic with frets. I would recommend finding a good fret person for your Warmoth. Takes it to another level. I do some fret work, but find someone that does a LOT of fret work.

Cheers.
 
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#284
TexasEdition said:
I thought this was a discussion site. Where folks can discuss differences in likes and dislikes.
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It is. But at some point just accept that some people might enjoy some stuff you don’t, and it’s not because you’ve experience a few lemons that they are all bad. I accept you don’t like the Player series but you are relentlessly trying to make us think we are making the biggest mistake in the history of bass.
 
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#285
Ian774 said:
It is. But at some point just accept that some people might enjoy some stuff you don’t, and it’s not because you’ve experience a few lemons that they are all bad. I accept you don’t like the Player series but you are relentlessly trying to make us think we are making the biggest mistake in the history of bass.
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Get over it please. Sorry upset your sensitive feelings. Can we be friends now? Let's get back on task. I'm genuinely interested in learning how well warmoth necks are finished.
 
#287
FRoss6788 said:
Hopefully as nice as the MIM roasted maple P neck I recently bought is. Among the nicest I've ever had.
...and I've had Ricks, Spector Euros, Sadowsky, Lakland, Guild, G&L, EB Musicman, ect.,ect...
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I was afraid of that. Thanks for the report. I might have to rethink this warmoth idea. The worst neck I ever had was on a brand new Rick.
 
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#289
The original post was written in 2016 and frequently references the criteria of building for <$1K. Over ten years ago I build a Precision using a Warmoth ash body, Allparts fretless Jazz neck, Wilde P-46 pups, Hipshot tuners, Stewmac wiring harness, Fender neck plate & ashtrays. Lately just for grins I priced what it would cost me to do t again and there's no way I could get under 1K. BTW I love the bass; just sayin'...
 
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#290
Just finished a Warmoth jazz fretless. It's currently being wired up, but I can say right now that the body and neck are impeccable. They finished the body and I finished the neck.
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#292
I've built three. Two Jazz basses, and one G4. The first Jazz and the G4 are great. I still own the Jazz, and even though I sold the G4 it is undoubtedly a wonderful bass. The third was another Jazz, and while it is also great, I've never really bonded with it for some reason. Build quality is top notch, but it mostly just hangs on the wall these days. There's nothing to fault Warmoth for on that, it's just how things go sometimes. Warmoth is great.
 
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#293
silky smoove said:
I've built three. Two Jazz basses, and one G4. The first Jazz and the G4 are great. I still own the Jazz, and even though I sold the G4 it is undoubtedly a wonderful bass. The third was another Jazz, and while it is also great, I've never really bonded with it for some reason. Build quality is top notch, but it mostly just hangs on the wall these days. There's nothing to fault Warmoth for on that, it's just how things go sometimes. Warmoth is great.
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I'm really tempted to build a Gecko 5 with a wenge neck, something a little different.
 
#295
Warmoth won’t let you down, but the problem is you never know exactly how a project will pan out until it’s done and if you don’t like the result you won’t be able to get out as much as you put in.

not all my parts were warmoth, but I built my dream P Bass from parts and did the finishing and wiring myself. The result was beautiful. It was also the worst playing and sounding bass I’ve ever owned. I can’t exactly explain why, I tried replacing all the parts to get it to sons better: different pickups, different caps, different hardware, different necks. It always played like a dog and over time it just collected dust in a closet. I took it apart and sold the pieces on eBay but didn’t get half of what I put in.
 
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#296
Sharko said:
Warmoth won’t let you down, but the problem is you never know exactly how a project will pan out until it’s done and if you don’t like the result you won’t be able to get out as much as you put in.

not all my parts were warmoth, but I built my dream P Bass from parts and did the finishing and wiring myself. The result was beautiful. It was also the worst playing and sounding bass I’ve ever owned. I can’t exactly explain why, I tried replacing all the parts to get it to sons better: different pickups, different caps, different hardware, different necks. It always played like a dog and over time it just collected dust in a closet. I took it apart and sold the pieces on eBay but didn’t get half of what I put in.
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That's also true with any "upgrades" done to a production bass.

Sometimes the bass is as good as it's gonna get, regardless of what you change out.
 
#298
BusyFingers said:
I'm looking into making my dream bass via Warmoth parts, but if I made the ultimate dream bass it would cost over $1,000 and that's not including the fact that it still needs to be put together.

I may be able to get away with a version that isn't my ultimate, but I'm still looking at just under $1,000 bucks.

How much did you spend on your Warmoth build and was it worth it to you? Pics are appreciated, too, because I know there are probably some cool basses conceived out there.
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I know this is an old post and all, but I wanted to throw my perspective as someone who has built 2 basses. I would say if you care about a quality American made instrument with some customization options, it’s the easiest choice. Less than 1500 dollars on a completely custom instrument? If you are going for a somewhat plain design, I would not do it. Just mod out a squier of MIM fender. I have a G4 PJ bass that I only got bc of the dark purple and while I love it, honestly it probably wasn’t worth all the money. Plays amazing, but as a bass that sits around 90 percent of the time, I couldve just modded a squier.
 
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#300
Yes! Just finished a Warmoth double build - a fretless jazz and an attempt to get a Wooten sound on a passive bass (after 18 months of testing different circuits and pickup positions).

Both are sublime and I’m very happy with the results. Took a while to get the fretless action just right but it sings now. The only thing I wouldn’t order again is a 24 fret fingerboard extension.
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