Very true. I'm really thinking I'm going Warmoth. I want a MM style humbucker at the bridge anyway. And I love the look of exotic woods. I have had a Fender in the past, and I do miss it, but then again I did get rid of it in the first place.
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Fender vs Warmoth
- Thread starter chubfarm2001
- Start date
Very true. I'm really thinking I'm going Warmoth. I want a MM style humbucker at the bridge anyway. And I love the look of exotic woods. I have had a Fender in the past, and I do miss it, but then again I did get rid of it in the first place.
TB Rules (no pic no bass), as promised in post #19, my Fender American Deluxe Jazz 5 and my Warmoth P/MM 5 side by side.
If I ever sold one of the two it would be the Fender, it's nice but not nearly the bass the Warmoth ended up being.
If I ever sold one of the two it would be the Fender, it's nice but not nearly the bass the Warmoth ended up being.
I could be completely happy with a nice Fender P-Bass. I have had nothing but good experiences with Warmoth but unless you want something more custom there's no good reason to not get a Fender. Resale has been beat to death, but it's true. It's a little cheaper going into Warmoth but I think it's eclipsed by the amount you lose when you sell. All that said, I like Warmoth and occasionally go to their site to drool over their stuff. The one Warmoth bass I had was sold when I got my Tokai. I have no regrets.
KO
KO
Warmoth resale issues are generalizations and put in context with resale issues with other brands may not be all that bad.
FWIW - my 2005 American Fender Deluxe Jazz 5 as shown above probably has a resale value of somewhere around $700. I have over $1900 in it including the East preamp, Bart pickups and plack pearl pickguard I put on it. That's a loss of about $1200 over what I have in it.
I'd estimate my Warmoth to have about a $500 resale value at best (maybe as low as $400 to someone via mail order who can't play it before buying it). I have about $1500 in it. That's a loss of about $1000 to $1100 which comes out as a better resale value than my Fender.
Had I never modified the Fender I would have only had a $500 to $700 loss. But if you read my earlier posts, had I never modified the Fender I wouldn't have even owned it, it sounded like crap fresh out of the box.
Moral of the story - assume just about any mods you make to a bass are at best a wash and possibly a loss. And if you want to loose less money on stock Fender bass, buy a stock Squier bass instead (at least when it drops by 50% in value you're only out $150)
FWIW - my 2005 American Fender Deluxe Jazz 5 as shown above probably has a resale value of somewhere around $700. I have over $1900 in it including the East preamp, Bart pickups and plack pearl pickguard I put on it. That's a loss of about $1200 over what I have in it.
I'd estimate my Warmoth to have about a $500 resale value at best (maybe as low as $400 to someone via mail order who can't play it before buying it). I have about $1500 in it. That's a loss of about $1000 to $1100 which comes out as a better resale value than my Fender.
Had I never modified the Fender I would have only had a $500 to $700 loss. But if you read my earlier posts, had I never modified the Fender I wouldn't have even owned it, it sounded like crap fresh out of the box.
Moral of the story - assume just about any mods you make to a bass are at best a wash and possibly a loss. And if you want to loose less money on stock Fender bass, buy a stock Squier bass instead (at least when it drops by 50% in value you're only out $150)
Wow, really tough call between warmoth & fender, The cool factor of building my own bass to my specs (all in will cost about same as fender) or go with what you know ,Fender. I voted Fender as Im concerned I might make the wrong choices when selecting components for the warmoth.
Also, Im probably going to kick a hornets nest here, but Ill bet that some well known high end builders source their necks and bodies from Warmoth.
In the past yes a company did due to being swamped with orders and lacking man and machine power, but said company doesn't do so anymore as they like to keep things in house.
i've been considering going the warmoth route, i think a '72 P-Bass in Charger Green with a white pickgaurd and maple board with a gotoh 201 bridge and Dimarzio Model P would be pretty sick. or maybe trans brown finish with a black gaurd and maple board
A good instrument is not just a collection of 'the best' parts though..
You pick up a pre made fender, it is what it is.. its either good or bad.
You buy a bunch of Warmoth parts, there is no guarantee its going to be any good as a final assembled bass.
I went down this path, spent A LOT of money on the best of best of everything and it sucked, was just horrible, no luthier could get it happening, it just didn't gel.
You pick up a pre made fender, it is what it is.. its either good or bad.
You buy a bunch of Warmoth parts, there is no guarantee its going to be any good as a final assembled bass.
I went down this path, spent A LOT of money on the best of best of everything and it sucked, was just horrible, no luthier could get it happening, it just didn't gel.
- Jun 29, 2006
- 5,148
- 3,216
- Disclosures
- President, CEO, CFO, CIO, Chief Engineer, Technician, Janitor - Reiner Amplification
If you stick to classic woods - alder, ash, maple, rosewood - and go with the graphite rods, you won't have any surprises and should end up with something as good if not better than Fender. I think a lot of the less than stellar results folks end up with is from poor choice/combinations of neck and body woods and odd pickup configurations. Look at some of the monstrosities on their showcase page. It's not that complicated if you want something fairly classic. The mixing of exotics is where is gets a bit dicey.
The thing is, a Fender is just a collection of parts at first too, and what makes it a good or bad Fender is the fret dressing and final setup done at the factory. With a Fender you don't know who did the dressing and setup so you play a bunch and find one you like. With a Warmoth you're ideally taking it to a known luthier who will do a good fret dressing on it and a good setup based on your playing style. Now if you picked some crazy out-there wood choices and pickup configurations you may get some odd results, but I don't think it's quite the crapshoot some people make it out to be.
JGR said:
I was actually really afraid if this when getting my neck, my body is ash, so I just went classic maple, but instead of Indian Rosewood fretboard, I went Brazilian. Exotic! lol
Ok, I have made my choice. Ash body, spalted maple top, birdseye neck and fingerboard with spalted headstock laminate, j neck pup and MM bridge pup, black hardware. I want to put a fender logo on it, or some kind of logo. Where would I get one?
- Jun 29, 2006
- 5,148
- 3,216
- Disclosures
- President, CEO, CFO, CIO, Chief Engineer, Technician, Janitor - Reiner Amplification
Well I have played a Warwick with pups like that, but Warwicks do have a sound all their own. I am familiar with Music man and Jazz, so my deductive logic tells me what this sound should like, but my rational side tells me I will most likely be wrong. Either way, I'm sure with those woods and pups, it will have versatility to fit most applications.
I went hybrid because I much prefer the Marcus Miller V neck over anything Fender or Warmoth builds and I wanted a 70's jazz body that Fender does not offer.
In the past I've had custom builds that never really did it for me.
Fortunately , this one does.
In the past I've had custom builds that never really did it for me.
Fortunately , this one does.
Fender Marcus Miller V neck, pups and hardware.
Warmoth body with 70's pup placement
Bartolini pre
Badass V bridge
Warmoth body with 70's pup placement
Bartolini pre
Badass V bridge
Building my own bass even as I speak ,split p,s ,one jazz pickup,and one humbucker.Toggle switches(3)70,s jazz neck,not bound.Corvette summer paint job (go look up the movie,stars Mark Hamill)push /pull active passive volume pot.Custom?hellayeah!DIY it yourself bro.You will have a Satori moment.for the rat of your life
I have done two Warmoth builds based on the best jazz basses I tried. The first one was in 1997. I have been so happy with the tone and playability that I'm going for a third. I have one that I use 2-5 gigs per week, and it has never let me down. Alder jazz body, Birdseye maple with rosewood. Add Bartolini 9j pickups, BadassII bridge, Gotoh tuners, brass nut and mandolin frets. This is the magic formula!
