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Warmoth Bass build

#41
Charlzm said:
Sounds good. My personal choice for a Warmoth neck was to get quartersawn maple, graphite rods, wenge fretboard, no inlays, 6230 frets and a TUSQ nut. I also did Hipshots with a D-Tuner on the E string.

My body choice was waaay different.

View attachment 3973129
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I went with a mahogany body because I wanted something dark and warm (this body was initially intended for a fretless build, but I repurposed it for fretted with the above neck and pickups). The top is flamed maple, blue dye, glossy. It's a little heavy, but I went with the Warmoth Z body since it is smaller and more ergonomic than Fender designs. The Nordstrand pickups are super aggressive. The BadAss bridge might add some resonance, if the hype is to be believed. Same story for the through-body stringing.


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The pic above shows the bass when it had Bartolinis in it and a fretless neck. It has since been fitted with the fretted neck and Nordstrands.

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#42
deff said:
I can't envision what the control plate and jack think would look like together. Personally I think, right angle cable connectors should supercede the need for that
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REV said:
Do I understand correctly that you plan to put the strat jack on the side of the body? If so, how will you get the jack plate to follow the radius on the side of the body?
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bombpop14 said:
Sounds killer! I’m super curious about the jack positioning, love to see a pic or drawing of that...intriguing.
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I have not seen this done on a bass body, but here's something similar a customer did on a guitar body.

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#43
MrMoonlight said:
Body wood: Keep in mind that Warmoth bodies are generally up to 1/8th of an inch thicker than stock Fender bodies. I don't know why this is. Someone told me it has to do with the licensing agreement between Fender and Warmoth...but I don't really know for sure.
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I'm not sure this is the case. It's been a long time since I compared the thickness of a Fender bass body to a Warmoth. Perhaps I'll do it today.

If there is a difference, it has nothing whatsoever to do with licensing. The full scope of Warmoth's Fender license is regarding the headstock shapes. Bodies don't even enter the picture.

IF there is a difference in thickness, it would have more to do with the difference between building complete instruments versus building parts, where you have to make bodies compatible with as many things as possible.

 
#45
deff said:
I don't see how this offers any mechanical advantage. Even with this, a right angle jack is less likely to become disengaged.
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I agree. I would opt for a standard side jack and right angle plug every time.

To me, the Strat jack on the side thing is an unnecessarily elegant solution to a simple problem...that's already been solved. My ESP EII ST-2 has a similar Strat-side-jack set up....the sole misstep on an otherwise great guitar.

But....the heart wants what the hearts wants, and building an axe from Warmoth parts is about getting exactly what you want.
 
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#46
smallbutmighty said:
I agree. I would opt for a standard side jack and right angle plug every time.

To me, the Strat jack on the side thing is an unnecessarily elegant solution to a simple problem...that's already been solved. My ESP EII ST-2 has a similar Strat-side-jack set up....the sole misstep on an otherwise great guitar.

But....the heart wants what the hearts wants, and building an axe from Warmoth parts is about getting exactly what you want.
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I completely understand that. While I've switched to RA Jacks and have never had a single issue as I loop around my strap, I totally understnad getting the special appointments that make it your bass.
 
#48
If you want a traditional looking bass, go with less frets. If you put a 24-fret neck on a traditional sized body, you'll get neck dive especially with big clover style tuners w/ drop d, and stainless steel frets. And although mahagony is a heavier wood, a chambered one will be lighter. How light, you'd never now. You can shrink the body, to compensate for neck dive, but then it won't look like a traditional bass.

Post #2 has a point, and he shared his opinion very politely. Selling a custom made instrument is hard if you ever decide to do so. Don't start a thread asking people what they think if you'll tell them to keep their mouth shut later on. Just have the instrument built, and show us the bass instead. Good luck.
 
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#50
MYLOWFREQ said:
If you want a traditional looking bass, go with less frets. If you put a 24-fret neck on a traditional sized body, you'll get neck dive especially with big clover style tuners w/ drop d, and stainless steel frets. And although mahagony is a heavier wood, a chambered one will be lighter. How light, you'd never now. You can shrink the body, to compensate for neck dive, but then it won't look like a traditional bass.

Post #2 has a point, and he shared his opinion very politely. Selling a custom made instrument is hard if you ever decide to do so. Don't start a thread asking people what they think if you'll tell them to keep their mouth shut later on. Just have the instrument built, and show us the bass instead. Good luck.
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It’s not an actual 24 fret neck on a 20 fret neck body. It’s essentially a fretboard extension that hangs over the body. The nut/headstock are exactly the same distance from the body as a traditional 20 fret Fender neck.

The other concern I see with a fretboard extension and pick guard is spacing. I had a 21 fret Warmoth neck on my Warmoth Jazz and had no issues but several years ago I bought a replacement Warmoth neck for a strat and the fretboard extension didn’t fit over the pickguard (it sat flush with the body when the neck was in the pocket). It was either shim the neck up a few mm or cut the pickguard to fit.

Just a thought.
 
#51
@The_Conqueror: I have not done a Warmoth build but I have ordered a few custom basses over the years. While not perfect, custom bass generator websites can help you visualize your creation. There used to be a G&L one that was pretty neat but it seems to no longer work. Between Halo, Maruszczyk and Fender, you should be able to get a good indication on how your bass will look.

Halo® Custom Bass Guitars

Elwood C - Type | Public Peace

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Also, Warmoth's Strat and Tele custom body builders are really good for looking at colors. The photo of the body will change to match what you are building unlike the bass body builder that is just drop-down menus.

I have nothing to add on the wood or option choices, just wanted to hopefully make your ideas a little easier to 'see'. Good luck on your build!
 
#53
The_Conqueror said:
I’m a hard rock/metal bassist influenced by Steve Harris, Cliff Burton and Duff McKagan about to build a Warmoth Jazz bass with the following specs. What do y’all think?

BODY
Chambered mahogany
Flamed maple cap
Pearl pickguard
Red dyed top and black back gloss finish
Chrome hardware
Seymour Duncan quarter pound J/P pickups
Vol/vol/tone/toggle controll layout
Contoured heel
Fender hi mass bridge
Side mounted Stratocaster jack socket (think Ibanez JEM/Jackson Rhodes V/many Explorer-type guitars) to prevent the cable from getting ripped out, should it be stepped on

NECK
Flamed maple neck (vintage tint, satin finish)
Ebony fingerboard
24 stainless steel 6100 frets
No inlays
Luminescent side markers
Hipshot D tuner on E string and Schallers for the 3 others (vintage clover buttons)
Brass nut

I’m after a fairly Traditional looking, unique and versatile bass. Is this it, or am I WAY off? According to what I like in basses (and guitars) as far as woods and hardware this should be it, but maybe I’m missing something?
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Only curious about what a toggle control layout would mean? If a toggle is a 3-way pickup switch, I don't know if there's any need for that if it also has vol/vol/tone controls. I guess you could have the J pickup partially blended in - I like playing my P/J like that - and then easily switch between that tone and your solo'ed P pickup, right?

You sound like you've got a honey of a build in mind. Best of luck with it!!

My passive P/J is a neat custom build I found from a TB'er (no info on who crafted it), which has a mahogany body and a very handsome flamed maple top. I can say that I'd never think of covering any of that spiffy top with a pickguard - just my personal preference.

I haven't played an ocean of different instruments through the years and even my P/J experience is limited. I got this bass when I wanted an alternative to my parts Jazz, which I should point out has a Warmoth neck - maple/rosewood and steel rods. That J is rock solid, but too heavy for me (10.5 lbs.) to gig for a full evening. My P/J actually weighs a little more than a pound less than that Jazz, so its heft isn't a nuisance for me and it has a similar rock solid feel and playability.

My Warmoth neck on my Jazz has 21 frets, but the fingerboard extends beyond the heel of the neck by about 7/8" and covers enough of the access to the truss rod fitting that I have to take the neck off the body whenever I want to adjust it. Deal-breaker. I love Warmoth's necks and bodies, but I'll only play another one in the future if I don't have to put up with this.

My P/J also has a maple/rosewood neck, but I'm not ashamed to admit that if I could have my way, I'd love it with an ebony fingerboard. It might be a minor detail, but I don't remember being disappointed with any fretted or fretless bass I've ever tried that had an ebony board. Great call!!

As for its sound, the P/J had active EMG's when I bought it. I eventually got the itch to swap in a passive layout and my first thoughts were to go for DiMarzios or perhaps a set from Aguilar or Lindy Fralin. My luthier pals were very big on Joe Barden products (JBE), so I took their advice, made the investment, and I'm still getting perma-grin when I get to turn up with that bass at a gig. Balanced, rich, and yummy sounding. Just my story.

There are several "right" answers for sure in terms of pickup options and you can always sample something new down the road. If you trust the Seymour Duncans, then that's probably the smart call - you may get some extra confidence with their familiar response and sound.

Come to think of it, my P/J also has a D-tuner and a brass nut. Both features seem to work great. I've really never used anything other than standard tuning, but my band played one tune last summer where that low D came in really handy. Fortunately I don't need to give you the curmudgeon line: "It's MY bass, go build your own!!" You sound like you're on the case :thumbsup:
 

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