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Fender American Design Experience
- Thread starter ShoeManiac
- Start date
Ash slab-body Tele bass w/ neck humbucker, maple fretless. Lollipop tuners, bridge cover. Oly / tort? 
I wonder if you can get that in Japan?
I wonder if you can get that in Japan?
Again it took you 30 min, not me .. I've never done that kind of work and I'm sure it will take me longer, not to mention I've never soldered before and while it may be easy, I'm pretty sure I won't do it in 30 min and probably end up with something that works but is a mess inside.
I'm not really into Stratocasters, just picked the one that looked most like a P or J bass and made something I liked.
If we are to get into guitars, then you can make a nice Tele with vintage spec like the U-neck and brass sadles you'll end up with 1700-1800$ while the only option from fender is the butterscotch '52 AVRI that lists at 2500$.
But my point was just that once they start offering more options especially bling and colorwise, so you can do something fairly unique, then I'm tempted. If I was in the marked for a Telecaster, I'd do something like above. Maybe in a vintage blonde, maybe in a silverburst .. Dunno .. maybe something else, but whatever it is, it beats that very mustard butterscotch blonde that is the only option from fender at this point in time.
They actually had something like that around 7-10 years ago. Butch of select windows that would result with a simple picture of a bass with the selected options.
I don't see on the Warmoth website where they do assembly and setup. Am I missing something?
For anyone who is upset that they're not offering necks with matching headstocks and no pickguards with rainbow sparkle finishes and mother of mastodon tusk inlays with LED side dots, Fender has a custom shop and they will do all of that for you.
For people like me who have been waiting for THIRTY YEARS for an option as simple as a left-handed bass with a maple fingerboard, this a dream-come-true.
For example, I just ordered this... it was $1600 or so... until now, I could only get this bass through the custom shop at a minimum of $4000.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I am PUMPED about this.
And, even if you're not a lefty, you've never been given the option of throwing a blocked jazz neck on a p-bass body with a pearloid guard and a 2-tone sunburst finish before UNLESS you paid $4K through the custom shop. People who like the idea of piecing something together unique and built-to-order are also having a big win.
And, I'm sorry, but for as awesome as Warmoth is, their resale SUCKS. It doesn't matter how awesome your build is, you lose 75% of the purchase price the moment you place the order. A genuine Fender item will always have better resale, so if you're a person who likes to buy and sell and try new things, Warmoth is a money-pit.
I really, REALLY hope that people (especially lefties) seize this opportunity and show Fender that they appreciate it, so even more options will open up in the future.
For people like me who have been waiting for THIRTY YEARS for an option as simple as a left-handed bass with a maple fingerboard, this a dream-come-true.
For example, I just ordered this... it was $1600 or so... until now, I could only get this bass through the custom shop at a minimum of $4000.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I am PUMPED about this.
And, even if you're not a lefty, you've never been given the option of throwing a blocked jazz neck on a p-bass body with a pearloid guard and a 2-tone sunburst finish before UNLESS you paid $4K through the custom shop. People who like the idea of piecing something together unique and built-to-order are also having a big win.
And, I'm sorry, but for as awesome as Warmoth is, their resale SUCKS. It doesn't matter how awesome your build is, you lose 75% of the purchase price the moment you place the order. A genuine Fender item will always have better resale, so if you're a person who likes to buy and sell and try new things, Warmoth is a money-pit.
I really, REALLY hope that people (especially lefties) seize this opportunity and show Fender that they appreciate it, so even more options will open up in the future.
Are you telling me that assembly & setup is worth the $3-400 difference? With even the slightest technical know-how, a novice can assemble their bass & have it wired in 2-3 hours, TOPS. Even a guitar shop would charge you less than that!
All this said, if they had a nitro option, I'd probably buy this, as it would still come in under an AVRI:
For anyone who is upset that they're not offering necks with matching headstocks and no pickguards with rainbow sparkle finishes and mother of mastodon tusk inlays with LED side dots, Fender has a custom shop and they will do all of that for you.
For people like me who have been waiting for THIRTY YEARS for an option as simple as a left-handed bass with a maple fingerboard, this a dream-come-true.
For example, I just ordered this... it was $1600 or so... until now, I could only get this bass through the custom shop at a minimum of $4000.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I am PUMPED about this.
And, even if you're not a lefty, you've never been given the option of throwing a blocked jazz neck on a p-bass body with a pearloid guard and a 2-tone sunburst finish before UNLESS you paid $4K through the custom shop. People who like the idea of piecing something together unique and built-to-order are also having a big win.
And, I'm sorry, but for as awesome as Warmoth is, their resale SUCKS. It doesn't matter how awesome your build is, you lose 75% of the purchase price the moment you place the order. A genuine Fender item will always have better resale, so if you're a person who likes to buy and sell and try new things, Warmoth is a money-pit.
I really, REALLY hope that people (especially lefties) seize this opportunity and show Fender that they appreciate it, so even more options will open up in the future.
Amen, brother. I'm a righty and am
placing my order as early as today. P-bass with Jazz neck. Just debating color schemes at this point.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
Are you telling me that assembly & setup is worth the $3-400 difference? With even the slightest technical know-how, a novice can assemble their bass & have it wired in 2-3 hours, TOPS. Even a guitar shop would charge you less than that!
All this said, if they had a nitro option, I'd probably buy this, as it would still come in under an AVRI:
Don't you have to cut the nuts and level the frets with a Warmoth build? It could also require shimming. There is enough work involved I could easily see how people justify the added $3-400.
If they're lazy or uneducated or working 16hr/day 7 days/week, maybe. I'm no luthier, but I look at work like that as trivial & definitely worth my time more than paying someone else to do it. Also, Warmoth will install & cut a nut for $30 on most necks, and my luthier will do a fret level for $60. That's $90 off the $3-400...so $210-310. That's still more than enough for me to justify putting it together myself.
Besides, you get a better appreciation & connection with the instrument, the more you do to it.
Go build your Warmoth and tell me how much you get for it resale vs what you invested. You may not care that there's no logo on the headstock, but a lot of buyers do. Additionally, if I buy a Warmoth build I have no faith or level-set for what quality the build is. It may have been done by someone "lazy" or "uneducated" like me.
Some people are lazy. Fact of life. Those people will justify paying more to do less themselves. It's not an insult.
Uneducated isn't an insult either. People may or may not have the knowledge to do it themselves.
The fact that people want to see that Fender logo shows more for brand recognition than it does for quality.
Warmoth's quality is renowned in the custom parts world. You only have to look at the reviews here to see this. Fender is very hit or miss with their quality. Again, reviews on this forum will show you this.
No doubt their parts are high quality. Doesn't help brand recognition. Also doesn't guarantee a numb nuts didn't slap it together.
And you don't get that guarantee with Fender, either. I've seen some terrible American series basses & guitars come out of those shops!
As for the Warmoth, I'd be the numb nut throwing it together...so I really only have myself to blame if something is screwed up. If something didn't come right from the factory, back it goes & I get a replacement.
Nope. Not saying that. But assembly is worth something, and it's worth more to people who have never done it before. But even if you value assembly at about $100, you are down to about $200 difference...and there is that silly little logo on the headstock that was on the headstock of the basses of Jamerson, and Dunn, and Kaye, and... to each his own.Are you telling me that assembly & setup is worth the $3-400 difference? With even the slightest technical know-how, a novice can assemble their bass & have it wired in 2-3 hours, TOPS. Even a guitar shop would charge you less than that!
All this said, if they had a nitro option, I'd probably buy this, as it would still come in under an AVRI:
And just for the record, I have a Warmouth telecaster and a couple of jazz basses that have Warmouth parts, so I'm all for making a bass. And I have all the tools for wiring and setup, and I enjoy taking apart bolt neck basses and putting them back together. I just don't think it's a great way to save money.
Let us not forget that Fender is shipping these orders for free AND including one of their deluxe G&G hardshell cases.
Those two things make up most of the additional $100-$200 difference.
Those two things make up most of the additional $100-$200 difference.
