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Fender vs Warmoth

Fender vs Warmoth jazz v

  • American Fender Deluxe Jazz v

    Votes: 52 38.5%

  • Custom Warmoth

    Votes: 58 43.0%

  • Hybrid, Fender neck, Warmoth body

    Votes: 8 5.9%

  • Salad-like body with orange-y organic neck.

    Votes: 17 12.6%
  • Total voters
    135
  • Poll closed .
#3
If you're going to be spending around the same amount then I would pick Warmoth seeing as you can have it spec'd out to meet your specific likes and needs. Also, their build quality has been pretty outstanding in the Warmoths that I've played (which to be honest has not been very many). I'm not gonna lie though, I might be somewhat biased as I've been saving up to go all out on a dream Warmoth build for a little while now. :D
 
#4
I had to get a new neck for my jazz 5 so I got a warmoth neck, I didn't care about resale either. it plays extremely well, better than the abused ten year old neck that came on it (used bass was an understatement, but the body was in surprisingly good condition). and if you are really into getting custom woods and picking your own inlay, it's a pretty good thing. I would gladly replace another neck with a warmoth one. I can't say anything about bodies though, I've actually never even seen one.
 
#5
I did the hybrid thing, apart from the sunburst my main players are fender USA standard necks with warmoth bodies. All the hardware is also Fender.

Had warmoth offered necks without the metal bars back when i put those together i might have tried one.
In the end i am really happy with them, they play great, sound great, look great, and no one can give me crap for putting a Fender decal on a non Fender neck!

DSC_3417.jpg
 
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#6
If you're not concerned about resale value,go Warmoth all the way.

If you're kinda concerned about resale value,go hybrid.

I'm a fan of both company's products,but when I can replicate a $4k Fender Custom Shop bass for 1/4 the price,it's a no brainer..
 
#7
funkingroovin said:
If you're not concerned about resale value,go Warmoth all the way.

If you're kinda concerned about resale value,go hybrid.

I'm a fan of both company's products,but when I can replicate a $4k Fender Custom Shop bass for 1/4 the price,it's a no brainer..
Click to expand...

I would say that if you're really concerned about resale go all Fender.

Otherwise I have nothing to add. I have 5 Warmoths and a hybrid. Outstanding in every way.
 
#13
oh ya. they are good. Im the kinda dude who likes to customize things, so I really read a lot about woods and things like that, I was skeptical about getting an exact fit for the body, I just got a neck, and I've heard horror stories about getting new parts made. like sometimes they don't fit perfect, ie, I'm in worse shape than when I started, but I gave ten a call and they assured me that they have all of fenders specs and that if indeed what I had was a fender, then they could make something to fit it. and sure enough, perfect fit. already had the holes drilled and everything. I'm super happy with the neck, mine is a MIM and say what you will about them, but in my opinion the new neck is much more fit to my liking, also the old neck was cracked :/ check out the site and ask people on here about their experiences with full builds from them. everyone will chime in ;)
 
#15
essentre said:
Can someone enlighten might about these basses? It seems like something I might really want to pursue. Thanks
Click to expand...

In a nutshell, Warmoth is a parts production company based in Washington that makes custom bodies and necks for both guitars and basses. You can choose from bodies and necks you are familiar with and have them made to your specifications, with a boutique-level quality, for less than if you had gone to most luthiers. They've got alot of exotic woods and options when sorting through things. However, things CAN get pricey quickly and some things aren't really optional (i.e. all warmoth necks have a 10" radius), and lastly with such a customized instrument the resale value is pretty terrible. If you get it right you wouldn't want to sell it though and people all over TB swear by them. They're instruments all their own really.

Now for the Fender... Well its a Fender. :D Amazing instruments with one helluva pedigree, but not as personal in my opinion.

I wouldn't really compare Fender and Warmoth though. They might have similar specs, but they can be COMPLETELY different animals. I'm just sounding like a fanboy at this point though, so I'll just stop. :D
 
#16
essentre said:
Is the quality comparable to Fenders? I'm assuming it's basically a Fender bass made by Warmoth. Would that be safe to say?
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It's basically Fender comparable parts made by Warmoth. You still have to assemble everything (or finish/paint it if you didn't have Warmoth do that) and likely take it to a qualified luthier to do final setup (fret dressing, etc.). And depending if you're good with a soldering iron, you would need to have someone install the electronics as well.

I owned an American Deluxe Jazz V and then also assembled a Warmoth from parts (Deluxe 5 P with Nordstrand Dual Coils and Aguilar OBP-1). The Warmoth is my main gigging bass and the Fender is now sold. You have to do a little more legwork on a Warmoth, but if you know what you want then it's totally worth it. You can get the exact bass you want. That said, if you're just going to get a 5-string Jazz with Jazz pickups either way, I'd go with the Fender.

And as others have said, you need to considering whether resale value matters to you. You will never get back what you put into a Warmoth. Not even close. But you will get the exact bass you want, and depending on who does the assembly and setup, it will play as good or better than a Fender.
 
#17
One thing to think about is your history with turning over basses. How many have you had, gotten rid of, and replaced? If you've gone through a lot, I'd bet that behavior isn't likely to change. Might want to do Fender.

If you're looking to get a bass that you spec out, don't care about resale, won't need to sell off to feed GAS, and you plan on keeping it for years and years, then go with Warmoth. If you can't use a screwdriver or a soldering gun, factor in the $ for a tech to assemble and set up.

That said, I have a fully custom Warmoth that I love. But I'd like a thinner neck. So final bit of advice, try to get your hands on some Warmoth necks to make sure you're ok with the neck profile.
 
#19
I have a beautiful 2005 Fender American Deluxe 5 swamp ash vintage cherry burst Jazz bass that I bought new (mail order thru MF). When it arrived I was very dissapointed by the sound of the bass. Looks, fit, finish, hardware, neck and body were all fantastic. The pickups and preamp just didn't do a thing for me. So after paying over $1200 for the bass I sunk over another $600 in it to replace the noiseless pickups with Barts and the preamp with a John East deluxe. That and a string change to LaBella tapewound made a huge difference in the sound of the bass and brought it to the point where I really liked it.
A couple of years later I decided I wanted to try my hand at a bass spec and build so I worked with Warmoth to find a really lite Jazz 5 body and solid Indian Rosewood neck. I again with with John East for a custom designed preamp to my specs and slapped all gold hardware, gold frets and a brass nut on the bass. The result was a custom designed 5 string bass with a P/MM pickup configuration that cost me a little over $1500 (almost $500 less than my MIA Fender deluxe 5 jazz). The Warmoth bass, looks just as good, plays just as good, feels just as good and sounds even better than the Fender and cost me a lot less.
When people see them side by side I get lots of complements on both but more on the Warmoth. When I play them I get nothing but complements on the sound of the Warmoth, not much of any reaction when I play the Fender.
My advice, if you're going 5 string, go Warmoth and plan on about $1500 total cost give or take a hundred. You'll end up with exactly what you want and it most likely will be a keeper (which is a good thing because you'll never get more than $500 at most for it if you decide to sell it). I'll have mine forever, not because of the low resale value but because of the high quality and fantastic looks and sound.
I'll see if I can find a pic of the two basses together to post.
 
#20
If you're making a fender-style on warmoth, go for an actual fender. You can sell it for more.

If you're making something unique on warmoth, obviously go for warmoth. But you wont sell it for as much.

Tbh, I'd go for warmoth. The build quality is excellent, and you get a customs built bass. Not something off the factory line.

You'll figure out which to go for in the end. Go for what speaks to you most, not what you think you can sell it more.
You don't buy a bass so that you can sell it later. You buy a bass to play it.
 
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