Rodent said:
As Warmoth utilizes CNC to shape all of their parts, there is incredible accuracy built into the equasion. I find it incredibly difficult to believe a neck pocket could be cut out of spec - one neck pocket out would equal all of their neck pockets out for a specific body style, and every body I've ordered (P-bass, J-bass, and Deluxe 5) have been dead on. Now if you are talking the miniscule amount of fine sanding you must due to fit any neck to a specific body ... well, this is natural for all instruments regardless of manufacturer (and is even performed within the Fender shop itself)
Please explain what went wrong on your body. Remember, Warmoth utilizes CNC to shape bodies to Fender approved specs and then in many cases they provide you the option to choose the p/u style(s). By utilizing CNC, if one body is wrong then the entire line of this specific body style would be incorrect, if one p/u shape is wrong all of the others would be wrong, if one neck of a specific style was wrong they would all be wrong for that style. Period.
I have a basic understanding of CNC technology, and like you I found it difficult to fathom the inaccuracy in the neck pocket. I tried four necks with the body - Two fenders, a squier, and even went so far as to buying a used warmoth neck through my local Craigslist. None of them fit. The pocket was far too narrow.
I'm not sure what you consider 'fine sanding.' I spent a significant amount of time sanding the heels of the necks and the pocket itself. I eventually gave up, and took it to a professional. In addition to sanding the pocket, he had to remove more than a 1/4" from the sides of heel of the neck, and even then it was an incredibly tight fit. I love the idea of a tight fit in the pocket - but not so tight that I have to worry about damaging the instrument to get the neck off at some later date. Even with all of the sanding that was done, there's already a stress crack from the tightness of the fit.
With the pickup routing, I'd specifically asked the the body be routed to fit everything - HB's, MiniHBs, and P90s. I like to experiment with new gear and different sounds, so options and versatility are always good things. I'm not sure if it was an error with the CNC or with the operator, but the body will not fit P90s. The pickguard was also cut improperly. I'd ordered it to fit a MiniHB. I started with a GFS pickup which barely fit, but it was so tight that the pickup would get stuck when trying to raise it past a certain height. The gibson pickup I tried never fit at all.
Rodent said:
When you speak of shipping delays, you are aware that orders are always shipped as a complete entity? If you are custom ordering something or having a part finished, your entire order ships when the last part is completed. If you want things shipped separately, you need to divide your order accordingly. IME everything has shipped within one business day of completion of the last item.
My most recent order was parts only. No wood, no custom work. Everything in stock. I was told that my order would ship the next day, when in fact it took nearly a week to ship. And when it arrived, the order was incorrect.
Rodent said:
I can agree with you on the e-mails many times being slow to be responded to. I have found that specific questions (instead of general questions where the info can easily be found on their website) tend to be answered quickly.
When I send emails about the status of my order, I never received a response. And even before my order, asking specific yes/no questions (which were not answered on their website), received a response of "maybe".
Rodent said:
Customer service is all about receiving what you dish out. You have to remember that the person you are talking to was not personally responsible for your order - they didn't make it or ship it. It always, always, always is to your benefit to treat them nicely when you call - you have to be smart up front whenever you deal with any company's customer service whether it be Warmoth, Sears, Starbucks, or your local Chevy dealer. Beginning a conversation with "You messed up my order ..." will always lead to the loo, and you being even more frustrated than before you called. If you think Warmoth has rude customer service I ask you to give Ed Roman a call sometime
I think you're selling me short here. Yeah, I'm a New Yorker, which by nature and necessity means I'm a bastard, a misanthrope, and a disgruntled sumnabitch. But that said, I'm also a small business owner, and treat people the way I'd like to be treated. I say please and thank you. I laugh at the sales guys stupid joke. Even when faced with a rude sales manager and disinterested employees, I request, not demand.
In my experience, there's often two philosophies of customer service - either the customer is always right, or the customer is always an *******. Either way, the customer is still the customer, and I beleive that it is the responsibility of the business to keep the customer happy (of course, within reason, and without "giving away the store") and make sure that promises and expectations are met. I've worked in customer service, and know that it's not always the easiest or most enjoyable occupation in the world.
When my order was delayed for five days, no one offered to expedite, upgrade, or refund my shipping. When my order was fulfilled incorrectly, no one apologized (in fact, the opposite was true - I was given a story about how they'd never make such a mistake, and it had to have been my error). When I had to ship parts back to them, due to their mistake, I requested that my shipping fees be at least partially refunded. What I received was out right refusal and indignation. When I asked for confirmation that they received the items I returned, well, I still haven't heard anything...
Rodent said:
Obviously you won't be using Warmoth again, so I am not attempting to persuade you otherwise. My intent here is purely to expose the improbability of CNC created parts being made inaccurately and out of spec. I could be with you if this was a shop building parts individually by hand, but not a large company utilizing CNC to build hundreds of necks/bodies each month.
All the best,
R
I have not affiliation, interest, or compensation with/from Warmoth
Again, I entirely agree with you that with CNC technology, these inaccuracies should be improbable. But, I've learned that they definitely are not impossible. Whatever the reason for the errors, I was extremely disappointed with the custom work I ordered. That, combined with all of the other problems I've had with Warmoth, will assure that they no longer receive my business. Maybe my experience was that one in a million (well, now it's 2 in a million) where everything went to hell - but it's the only experience I can draw upon.
I'm fairly new to TalkBass, and have been having a great time here. I believe in the power of the Internet, and specifically forums like this, to educate and inform the consumer. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not always the most wellspoken, and I definitely haven't tried everything under the sun, but when I see someone asking "Is Warmoth worth it?", and wanting to contribute to a forum I enjoy and respect; I can only draw from my experiences, and outrightly say, "No, no, it isn't." Others will share their opinions and experiences, and from there comes discourse and discussion. It's there reason we're all here.
Rodent, Thank You for your detailed respnse. If you want to stand by Warmoth, more power to ya. I hope nothing I have said has offended, as that is not my intention, but we'll have to agree to disagree.
Have a good weekend.
But, I have a few questions. First, will it mate with my bass? I think that any good tech/luthier will be able to take care of this, but who knows. 
Also, Warmoth claims that their necks are free of "dead spots." Is this just hype? Thanks for any replys and/or advice.
better go to the turtle.
