Warmoth build?

[Mediocrity Man]

I've been thinking about putting together a 51 Precision. The usual slab body, tele neck and single coil thing. My question for anyone who has done a Warmoth build. It is worth the money? I'm guessing about $800 or more when done. My other option was to eventually find a Sting bass which run around the same used. It seems with a parts bass I'll never recover my money if I'm not happy with the results. I have this glorious vision of a trans blue finish over alder with a roasted maple neck.

 

[BioDriver]

If you don't plan on selling it then I say go for it. If you think your tastes will change and you'll want to offload it then it would be best to find the used Sting bass. You won't lose much more beyond the cost of shipping on that, vs at least half of what you put into a parts bass.

 

[mojomike001]

Part of your decision should hinge on the type of finish you want on the body. Nitro or Poly? A Warmoth body won't have a nitro finish unless you do the finish yourself. I'd suggest MJT for a body with a nitro finish and Warmoth for the roasted neck.

 

[BassChuck]

Like any custom bass, the resale is a drag. Make sure you get what you want. The wood they use is outstanding, and you may find it a little heavy... maybe not. They're good people doing good work.
Unless you are really good at putting things together, I'd recommend taking the parts to a good luthier and having it assembled and set up. I don't have the tools or the experience and it was worth the money, for me, to have that done by someone who didn't mess it up.

 

[Mediocrity Man]

Part of your decision should hinge on the type of finish you want on the body. Nitro or Poly? A Warmoth body won't have a nitro finish unless you do the finish yourself. I'd suggest MJT for a body with a nitro finish and Warmoth for the roasted neck.

I'm thinking oil finish over stain if I go unfinished.

 

[Mediocrity Man]

Like any custom bass, the resale is a drag. Make sure you get what you want. The wood they use is outstanding, and you may find it a little heavy... maybe not. They're good people doing good work.
Unless you are really good at putting things together, I'd recommend taking the parts to a good luthier and having it assembled and set up. I don't have the tools or the experience and it was worth the money, for me, to have that done by someone who didn't mess it up.

I'll definitely have my Tech put everything together.

 

[JPaulGeddy]

Quality & feel, it is absolutely worth it. The only concern, as mentioned, can be resale. I just put together a Warmoth Jazz, and it is awesome.

 

[Funkinthetrunk]

There are companies that uses Warmoth and USACG for their bodies and necks. But since your build don't have the right name on the head, resale will take a nose dive. I love both Warmoth and USACG parts...absolutely top notch parts and customer services.

 

[Picton]

If resale is even a blip on your horizon, it's a no-brainer to get the Sting. No brainer. And how great would the qualitative difference even be?

Not very, I think.

 

[2saddleslab]

Done it twice, including MJT nitro, and thrilled with the results. If your build is something you've thought long and hard about and you have the appropriate skillset, go for it.

 

[BobKos]

IMO Warmoth is for when you want something not readily available out of a box. I have a number of Warmoth builds and very few technically resemble the Fender basses they are derived from. If you would be happy with a Fender, go for it. If you want premium everything at a higher cost, Warmoth is the ticket.

 

[Robert Darby]

Its a tough call. Certainly resale on a Warmoth you are going to take a hit. You may want to look for a used Warmoth. Take your time. I picked up a 5 string that is awesome for 600 and got a body awhile back and threw a Warmoth neck on her for a total of 700. I currently own 5 Warmoths. You should be capable of putting one together that's the fun in it. Its my opinion you will end up with a better bass for the money. You will probably go over 800 though. All mine end up well over 1000. Got to love those Norstand pickups!
From left to right:
Swamp ash jazz (my first build)
Alder Fret less
Pino copy (copy all the specs from fenders)
5 string Birdseye maple neck / bass line pickups / audree pre-amp (killer at 600)

 

[hypercarrots]

trans blue finish and a roasted neck sounds like a good combination

 

[porterbass]

A trans blue finish looks awesome! I saw a Fender Japan Tele bass in a trans blue on guitarcenter.com about a year ago and have thought about it every week since...I was too late to pull the trigger (it was $1000 and I delayed a day or two). Here are a couple of TB threads with the same model bass (although I think I'd just do single coil vs the humbucker):
SOLD - Fender CIJ Thinline P. 1.5" nut, light, awesome!
FENDER THINLINE TELE BASS IN BLUEBURST!!!!

If you want the custom finish, do the Warmoth or MJT, but if you just want a stock '51 P bass, find a Fender Japan '51 reissue or the Sting instead of the Warmoth build for the reasons others have listed.

One other note, decide if you want a true '51 style slab body vs a '54 style...the Warmoth does have both and the '54 style has the body contours.

All of that said, do this... Consider dual '51 style pickups...Yes!!! I was researching '51-54 style P basses and was considering a Warmoth or custom build when I came across this pic (I believe a TBer did this if I recall.)

Then I did a bit more research and found this:
Dual little single coil on a 51/54 style p bass ?

Must have been one of those weird timing things because within a week or two of all of this research, I found this bass and bought it, a 2013 Fender Custom Shop with dual '51 pickups:

The Fender CS has dual Seymour Duncan CS '51 Stack pickups (same as in the Fender CS Dusty Hill). If I hadn't found this Fender CS bass, I would have built a Warmoth with the same pickups.

After all of that...I vote for a trans blue '54 style (with a roasted maple neck) and with dual SD '51 Stack pickups. Cuz those pics above.

Here's a good thread to look through:
Where are the 51-56 single coil precision basses?
Good inspiration for your consideration and my fave from this thread..this SC P bass is owned by @fretno and is a Warmoth body with a custom nitro finish from @paulslagle. Amazing looking single coil P bass. Paul's finishes are ridiculously good:

There are some cool looking ones in this thread too: Post Your '51-55 Precision or Tele-inspired bass

Lastly, there's a TBer who has done a number of custom '51-54 style Warmoth P bass builds. I just can't think of who it is right now. I'm sure I'll remember so I'll post for you so you can look at what he's done.

Good luck!!!

 

[twinjet]

I've been thinking about putting together a 51 Precision. The usual slab body, tele neck and single coil thing. My question for anyone who has done a Warmoth build. It is worth the money? I'm guessing about $800 or more when done. My other option was to eventually find a Sting bass which run around the same used. It seems with a parts bass I'll never recover my money if I'm not happy with the results. I have this glorious vision of a trans blue finish over alder with a roasted maple neck.

If it's a Fender Bass you want, why not get a production model and refinish it? If you fall out of love with the build, you're stuck with it unless you settle for what little you can get for it.

My build is a project that started out of lust for a Jazz Bass. Having been through three over 13 years of playing, I knew I needed to get one in my hands again. The end result is, dare I say, unique. The only one like it that I can think of is the bass which inspired the whole adventure. However, nobody has seen or heard that bass on record, presumably, since the 80s.

This bass had me at first pluck. It's satisfying to hear that J bass sound and great to have it as the backup to my G&L. If you have a vision of a particular bass and see yourself playing it for as long as you can, go for it. Just don't expect to make much, if any, on a sale.

 

[2tonic]

Hey, there's a guy here on TB that has a great deal on some Tele bass necks.....really rare ones.

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/fender-neck-made-in-mexico-or-us.1397267/

 

[ClassicJazz]

I built this ‘72 P-Bass (Sort of) last year. Can’t say enough great things about Warmoth. The body is Swamp Ash with Flame Maple top, neck is Maple/Maple with Tele headstock and Jazz neck profile (1.5” nut). Both finished in Vintage Tint Gloss. Dropped in a Nordstrand NP4a pickup, Hipshot Kickass bridge and Schaller tuners. Gotta say this bass plays and sounds amazing! Hands down the best sounding P-Bass I’ve heard (not just saying because I built it). Strung up with GHS Pressure Wound strings. All said and done it cost under $1k.

Here’s a video clip of it live and in action.

 

[Tom0Blam0]

I built a jazz bass and I love it.

 

[micguy]

If you KNOW what you want, and either you know what you're doing putting it together, or you have a great luthier to do it for you (when you're using the best parts you can get, having a hack assemble your bass is not a wise investment), a Warmoth build is a great way to get it. If you're just guessing, like any custom built thing, it's risky, as YOUR dream bass is almost certainly not someone else's dream bass, so yes, you won't get out of it what you put into it financially.

I have had a dozen or so commercially built basses in my lifetime. I used and modded those to figure out what I really wanted. At this point, I own precisely zero of those. I built a small herd of Warmoth builds - exactly what I wanted. I still have those. Resale, when you build what you want, is a complete non-issue.

 

[philthygeezer]

Depends. If you want something specific then do it up. E.G. You won’t find a tele body with a P-J configuration in copper metallic anywhere else.