Let me ask you this, mostly as food for thought - how many production instruments have their frets leveled from the factory?
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Warmoth neck......?
- Thread starter Sands
- Start date
Let me ask you this, mostly as food for thought - how many production instruments have their frets leveled from the factory?
And you continue? How so very rude.
They don't claim to. So what is your compulsion to beleaguer the point?
You only just joined, and it's likely that this behaviour will cause your visit to this forum to be short lived.
There's no way to know that.
A better question would be, how many $700 necks do not have their frets leveled?
@Sands
That's a beautiful neck.
For me, I always find that even new factory necks need some adjustments.
Fret sprout, fret ends beveled but not rounded to my liking, high frets, most nuts need to be filed deeper, and of course I like rolled neck edge.
If you are realistic about the raw part aspect (which is clearly stated at the site) the Warmoth product is generally well made, the woods are stabilized / aged, and well selected.
Truth about the steel rods adding weight. Truth about them also mitigating dead spots.
I say if the neck fits your desires, and the cost is what you are willing to pay ,
Go for it.
Personally , I find that their stuff is nice, but their prices to be a bit steep.
I worked at G&L for many years and build / modify almost every bass I own.
New or used . Even my Warwick needed a little loving when it came to the fret ends, - You know, 'cause : wood. Unfinished wood at that.
That's a beautiful neck.
For me, I always find that even new factory necks need some adjustments.
Fret sprout, fret ends beveled but not rounded to my liking, high frets, most nuts need to be filed deeper, and of course I like rolled neck edge.
If you are realistic about the raw part aspect (which is clearly stated at the site) the Warmoth product is generally well made, the woods are stabilized / aged, and well selected.
Truth about the steel rods adding weight. Truth about them also mitigating dead spots.
I say if the neck fits your desires, and the cost is what you are willing to pay ,
Go for it.
Personally , I find that their stuff is nice, but their prices to be a bit steep.
I worked at G&L for many years and build / modify almost every bass I own.
New or used . Even my Warwick needed a little loving when it came to the fret ends, - You know, 'cause : wood. Unfinished wood at that.
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I’d just say that if you do it, don’t put a Fender logo on it. Not only for reasons of principle. Warmoth in that configuration won’t look close to a Fender. The binding is a stark white color that you won’t find on a Fender. Same for the blocks. Their white blocks generally have coloring that doesn’t look at all Fender-like.
I have built (for myself and others) over a dozen builds with Warmoth necks. 2 of them I did some fret leveling, and even those it was a very minor amount. The rest were, and continue to be (for those I still have) flawless w.r.t. fretwork. Curiously, both of those were with their smallest fretwire, and the sngle slightly low fret (it was .0015" low in both cases (yes, I have feeler gauges)) that necessitated the minor leveling was the same fret. So, sometimes a Warmoth neck will require a bit of fret touchup, but typically they don't.
None of the Warmoth necks I've ever used have twisted or warped. I can't say that about Fenders. Or Mighty Mite necks, or......
If you want to try a Warmoth neck, by all means go for it. Don't put a Fender sticker on the neck - that would (in my opinion) be the equivalent of putting a Ford badge on a Maserati.
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Warmoth has some of the best necks I've ever played on. They are very very stable.
Less weight, similar benefits.
The stiffer the neck, as a general rule the better , sustain and harmonic overtones richened .
Enjoy!
*Edit: agree with the logo.
Why give credit to Fender, when you are upgrading to better?
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I will say, keep the original neck just in case you decide to sell the bass. Even though the Warmoth neck is probably much nicer, the bass will have more value original than it will with the Warmoth neck. Then, you just put the Warmoth on your next bass...
It is an unoriginal neck - 2019 Fender American professional neck on a 74 AVRI body.
And amplified the importance and impact of that fact out of proportion based on your opinion of what Warmoth should do.
Not that you are wrong, just that you are in the minority.
I have vintage pickups actually from 73 & 74 in the 74 AVRI Body. They were rewound by Tom Brantley. He does amazing work. Emerson control kit w treble bleed.
The bass probably came with a bound and blocked RW neck (2013). I’m really not quite sure where I want to go with it. The body is a nice, resonate ash. The neck is not super stable but not bad at all either. Put it on the stand over night, and it sometimes stretches/ straightens, and a hair of relief is gone and a couple strings go slightly sharp. No biggie. DR Sunbeams 100-40s.
Neck finish is silky smooth, and I rounded the fret ends already. The bass overall is close to perfection. I put a hand made ebony thumb rest on it. ($20). It feels much nicer than anything else I’ve used (zero mod, vintage, new plastic). It’s silky.
I’m not sure I can justify that nice of a neck for the bass, but that is ridiculous. It’s not like nice quarter sawn Fender necks are available anywhere, ever. Then you add the fact it’s got the graphite shafts (not on the reissue necks), nice flame figuring, vintage tuner holes, SS frets (never see that in a Fender), ebony board (only on Elites), it’s close to perfection if not perfection.
The bass probably came with a bound and blocked RW neck (2013). I’m really not quite sure where I want to go with it. The body is a nice, resonate ash. The neck is not super stable but not bad at all either. Put it on the stand over night, and it sometimes stretches/ straightens, and a hair of relief is gone and a couple strings go slightly sharp. No biggie. DR Sunbeams 100-40s.
Neck finish is silky smooth, and I rounded the fret ends already. The bass overall is close to perfection. I put a hand made ebony thumb rest on it. ($20). It feels much nicer than anything else I’ve used (zero mod, vintage, new plastic). It’s silky.
I’m not sure I can justify that nice of a neck for the bass, but that is ridiculous. It’s not like nice quarter sawn Fender necks are available anywhere, ever. Then you add the fact it’s got the graphite shafts (not on the reissue necks), nice flame figuring, vintage tuner holes, SS frets (never see that in a Fender), ebony board (only on Elites), it’s close to perfection if not perfection.
I’d have to count but I think I have 6 Warmoth necks. (5 bass guitar, 1 treble guitar)
I didn’t have to do anything to the two fretted necks, but I may have blacked out from blood loss due to the sharp fret edges, and cannot recall correctly.
the steel rods are fine, but I should have sprung for the graphite ones on my wenge and rosewood fretless neck as it went on a thunderbird body.
best bolt on necks I have experienced. (Best is a set neck Gibson)
I didn’t have to do anything to the two fretted necks, but I may have blacked out from blood loss due to the sharp fret edges, and cannot recall correctly.
the steel rods are fine, but I should have sprung for the graphite ones on my wenge and rosewood fretless neck as it went on a thunderbird body.
best bolt on necks I have experienced. (Best is a set neck Gibson)
I am now on my 7th Warmoth build where I used Warmoth for both the neck and body (each build is a Gecko model).
The necks and frets are the most reliable I have EVER come across. For me, the fret work and neck stability has been virtually flawless right out of the box! The ONLY other neck I have found with as much quality is on my Ken Smith and Warwick and even those can get in really bad shape if not kept an eye on. But man, Warmoth necks are fantastic!
The necks and frets are the most reliable I have EVER come across. For me, the fret work and neck stability has been virtually flawless right out of the box! The ONLY other neck I have found with as much quality is on my Ken Smith and Warwick and even those can get in really bad shape if not kept an eye on. But man, Warmoth necks are fantastic!
If you’re going to spend that much, get one with graphite rods. It’s unbelievable how heavy those necks can be
I am a huge advocate of Warmoth parts. I will say the slim Jazz profile is much better for me than the 'standard' profile. I have never had to do fret work to my Warmoth necks, but someone much fussier than me may consider it a requirement. I have many low to mid level production basses and Warmoths are my favorites for sure.
My opinion only - I don't care for blocked / bound necks. There are some older Fenders that have materials that were different maybe and / or have aged gracefully that look very cool. Many newer instruments have a sterile, modular look that contrasts too much and is a distracting appearance.
For the OP - You seem to be wanting to re-create the 74 AVRI. I don't know what Fender used on the 74 AVRI but you may want to consider the neck radius. Many older Fenders were 7.25" radius. Warmoth is 9.5" radius. Not sure if that spec is important to you either way. I personally like either and I personally don't like flatter 12" or larger radius necks. I recently GASsed for a 7.25" neck Jazz Bass neck and once I got one (or 3) actually found the difference negligible. YMMV.
My opinion only - I don't care for blocked / bound necks. There are some older Fenders that have materials that were different maybe and / or have aged gracefully that look very cool. Many newer instruments have a sterile, modular look that contrasts too much and is a distracting appearance.
For the OP - You seem to be wanting to re-create the 74 AVRI. I don't know what Fender used on the 74 AVRI but you may want to consider the neck radius. Many older Fenders were 7.25" radius. Warmoth is 9.5" radius. Not sure if that spec is important to you either way. I personally like either and I personally don't like flatter 12" or larger radius necks. I recently GASsed for a 7.25" neck Jazz Bass neck and once I got one (or 3) actually found the difference negligible. YMMV.
I buy Warmoth's excellent bodies just about any chance I get. I stay away from their necks based on limited experience with the downsides of steel stiffening rods and their shop's tendency to overthink and mess up a basic design that doesn't need to be messed with. Not sure if anyone mentioned my pet peeve about the Warmoth headstock. Why would their incorrect shaping around the area of the "E" tuner be such an obvious deviation from a Fender neck? This really gets me, to others perhaps not an issue.
