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Be honest: Was your Warmoth build worth it?

#21
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Mine it is not typical. The body is ash. It has dual output jacks which was a custom feature so I can send each signal to a dedicated rig. I got the guard custom from them too. Everything was spot on.

The neck are USA Fender, not Warmoth with decals.
 
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#25
Warmoth bodies are fairly heavy as it is easier to go under radar with heavy parts rather than complete bass. My first ever warmoth strat was the coolest guitar I've had which made me warmoth fan. Since then I've had few more warmoth builds which were mediocre. Personally, I would go with US custom or MJT (if you go for fender-ish build) as they are weight consious and you can't beat nitro.
 
#26
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 have built several, which should tell you a lot. What I do runs under a grand, usually, but then I do my own finish work.

Is it worth it? I have had many, many basses, and the Warmoths are by far the best, even when considering the multi-thousand $$$$ basses I've had.

Aside from quality, think of the options you can get with Warmoth vs any other bass. No comparison. Recently I wanted to build a lightweight P-J; it ended up being 6.5 lbs and sounds killer. I also got to monkey around with doing a sunburst finish myself. The 'burst turned out meh, but the bass is really awesome. Beat that with any other maker!

As for pics: Look at my avatar. I've been offered a couple of grand for it, and said no.
 
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#27
organworthyplayer337 said:
It was a custom body
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Yeah, that's kind of a grab bag when you do it that way. Same with the necks. And as good as Warmoth necks are, they're heavy. I recommend the graphite rods over the steel.

I try to buy from the Showcase, that way you see what you get.

There is also USACG - USA Custom guitars - they are at least as good as Warmoth (lot of former employees there). the cool thing with USACG is their necks are way lighter, and you can get more options, like custom radius. Prices are similar.
 
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#29
Well, first of all - my Warmoth is not my "Dream Bass". To be honest, I don't really have one. I have a list of brands/models/bass types that I want; and since I'm left handed, finding a 4 string, passive lefty 30" scale solid body bass in the $750 - $1500 range is a daunting challenge. They are around, but tend to be "Vintage", and almost always more than a little overpriced. So, a year or so ago, I bit the bullet and had a Warmoth built. It's basically my '78 P-Bass' baby brother - ash body; 3 tone burst nitro finish; maple neck; but, with a Shaller bridge and BM4 tuners, and an SD vintage pickup. There are lots of Fender bits and pieces in it, too. Including having the luthier at Cowtown Guitars build it, the total cost was just under $1400. So, was it worth it? Yes, I think it was. It looks great, and plays (and sounds) as good as it looks. Happy as I am with it, it's not going to replace my "Favorite" bass, though; a '73 Rick 4001....:whistle:
 
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#30
bdplaid said:
Yeah, that's kind of a grab bag when you do it that way. Same with the necks. And as good as Warmoth necks are, they're heavy. I recommend the graphite rods over the steel.

I try to buy from the Showcase, that way you see what you get.

There is also USACG - USA Custom guitars - they are at least as good as Warmoth (lot of former employees there). the cool thing with USACG is their necks are way lighter, and you can get more options, like custom radius. Prices are similar.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips.
 
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#31
My two favorite instruments are home builds. A Strat with a StewMac body and WD neck, and a Jazz bass with a Guitar Fetish body and Mighty Mite neck. Both were quite inexpensive (about $300 for the Jazz) but play great. The Jazz weighs about 6 1/2 pounds and plays "like buttah" - when I'd finished the basic build I liked it so much that I went for some nice DiMarzio Area J pickups instead of the cheapies I was going to use.

I put those together for the experience and to just build some instruments to be specifically the way I wanted them. 10/10 on that score. I definitely have it in mind to do more using some higher end parts, probably Warmoth, though honestly it will be hard to improve on the ones I've done, playing-wise. So, big thumbs up on the home build route from me. Go for it!
 
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#32
buldog5151bass said:
I did a butterscotch blonde '51 P. Since I did all the wood finishing myself, even with un upgradd pickup it was under $700.

Worth it.
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Did I buy it from you ? I bought a Warmoth build like that off of a TB'r and then sold it because ......( I can't remember). Probably because I was in my "I'm going to try 12 basses in twelve months stage". The classifieds on our forum are certainly a delight.
 
#33
The one someone else built and paid for before selling to me at about half the price was well worth it ! Spec'ed out exactly as I would have myself and has become my number one player .
P Body, Silver flake with matching Tele headstock on a slim taper jazz neck with graphite rods,, fender 62 original pups, vintage style bridge, passive electronics, Hipshot 3/8's ultralights.
It probably was not worth it to the builder !
 
#35
Worth it? Hmm - I've built 4 Warmoth guitars and 1 bass project (not 100% Warmoth though). In each case the costs got up over $1k. My Stratocaster with a flamed maple top over chambered swamp ash body with a maple masked binding - that got very pricey.

Now in each case, I got a custom instrument of high quality, with options you just can't get on a Fender without going Custom Shop. So the "worth it" thing is relative. I will say one thing on my bass project: I wish I paid closer attention to weights bc it ended up being heavier than I wanted. Here's the specs; sorry for bad pic:

Blade B2 Tetra ash body
Warmoth Pau Ferro neck with Macassar Ebony board
Blade B2 preamp
Fender Jazz pickups
Sperzel tuners?

The neck feels amazing. Natural, no finish, so comfortable. Notes have punch and brightness to them.

4FEECD9E-F5AF-44CD-917C-136AA7B363E3.jpg


0717091055.jpg
 
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#37
Every Warmoth I've played has FELT great. Though many of them have been built with extremely questionable color combinations and look tackier than I had thought possible.

Not to stir the pot (this is gonna stir the pot), but >90% of what a bass sounds like comes from the pickups, electronics (if any), and strings. So they sounds like whatever it is you choose in those regards.

TLDR: they are worth it. Just make good choices and assemble it properly.
 
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#38
I've got two Warmoth necks both bought second hand. A Jazz fretless bolted to a Fender Blacktop Jazz and slim jazz fretted bolted to a P body. My opinion is mixed.

The rosewood fingerboard on the fretless was so badly worn it was unplayable and the finish was very rough. I don't know how old it was but the rosewood was so soft it should never have been used on a fretless. My luthier completely revamped it with rolled edges and epoxied the fingerboard. It cost me a lot but the result was well worth it.

I've just taken the fretted to the luthier. Not because there was anything wrong with it as such, it's one of the best necks I've played, but since playing the revamped fretless for a while and compared to the fretwork on my Godin, it could be better.
 
#39
I built a very simple Warmoth Alder body fretless Precision bass. I did use high end hardware however. In the end I realized it was far too costly and not being an expert Luther or having the right tools I made a few errors, which bugged me. Much better off buying a second hand bass IMO. But the project was enjoyable.

You wont save money building your own bass with Warmoth parts but I would definitely recommend them for replacement parts. The quality is top notch (better than Fender IMO)
 
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