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Warmoth necks

#21
Freddels said:
I'm going to put Hipshot ultralights on it.
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Hate to beat a dead horse, and to each his own, but....that's REALLY heavy. I've got a Wenge/Ebony from them that weighs 2lb. 7oz. that I've found I can't use. Ultralight tuners on mine too. Just way too heavy. I hope it works out for you, I couldn't deal with it-mine's gathering dust.
The good news is the fit and finish are flawless, perfect fretwork right out of the box. And the weight does give it unbelievable sustain/no dead spots. But I was going for a more old-school tone. I shoulda gone maple. Oops.
 
#24
I don't know about other people's experiences, but with standard tuners on it, my all goncalo alves neck is noticeably lighter than the maple neck on my 08 J, with its light tuners. The bass feels quite a bit lighter with the neck installed, as well. Bathroom scale is telling me about 1/2 lb difference.
 
#27
I do like the way that they make a bass respond for certain styles of music...but i dont like the weight due possibly to the steel rods set under the fingerboard.. i found they make a bass sound even but to me they dont do the vintage sound very well... I wish they made a regular bass neck without the added steel stiffening bars
 
#28
svtb15 said:
I do like the way that they make a bass respond for certain styles of music...but i dont like the weight due possibly to the steel rods set under the fingerboard.. i found they make a bass sound even but to me they dont do the vintage sound very well... I wish they made a regular bass neck without the added steel stiffening bars
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Keep in mind that they have to deal with warrantees though. If somebody bought one of those necks and it warped, they'd have to deal with it one way or another. They've just opted not to make any necks that are going to do that (at least not very often) and people can take em or leave them.

Even though a lot of people want them to go to graphite bars, I really respect their decision to stick with the steel ones. On their site, they say that they had tried a lot of things to stabilize the necks and remove dead spots, graphite rods being one of the things that they tried, but they say it didn't solve all of the problems. Gotta respect them for sticking to their guns; doesn't seem to have hurt them all that bad. George Porter Jr. seems to be okay with their necks ;)
 
#29
OK my last bitch session on the Warmoth thing... I too had a Wenge neck.. sounded killer and the most stable neck I've played... But they had to put those reinforcement bars in wenge??? It's just overkill in the extreme.

That's what took me over the edge to just go 100% custom. But if you don't mind weight and neck dive, Warmoth is definitely the place to go. That neck alowed for excellent great tone.

As was just said... why don't they make a 'vintage' style neck without the steel bars? They do that for their guitar neck line... They are losing out on a lot of money. Oh wel, there are plenty of other options out there, they just don't have the sweet website Warmoth has. :)
 
#31
i here what you are saying... i have had perhaps 4 or 5 warmoth necks over the years.. they always sounded great.. but i like a light bass.. my allevas and sadowsky are all under 9 pounds. and i have made a few warmoth parts basses. .but the neck with the bars always made the bass neck dive when i had a light alder body P bass...
I also understand their warranty and think it may be the best in the business... but again those rods make it too neck heavy for my taste..
dead spots can be a bad thing and sometimes an OK thing.. look at all the fender players from J to P basses over the decades that had dead spots and have been played on countless records..
Im not sure what im trying to say and i dont want to be argumentative at all.. I guess i was just voicing my idea on an option that would allow me to buy and keep a warmoth neck product for years... but then again allparts has necks without bars i believe..


superfunk47 said:
Keep in mind that they have to deal with warrantees though. If somebody bought one of those necks and it warped, they'd have to deal with it one way or another. They've just opted not to make any necks that are going to do that (at least not very often) and people can take em or leave them.

Even though a lot of people want them to go to graphite bars, I really respect their decision to stick with the steel ones. On their site, they say that they had tried a lot of things to stabilize the necks and remove dead spots, graphite rods being one of the things that they tried, but they say it didn't solve all of the problems. Gotta respect them for sticking to their guns; doesn't seem to have hurt them all that bad. George Porter Jr. seems to be okay with their necks ;)
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#32
I have two Warmoth necks and they do have dead spots, yes they are less dead dead spots the fender and other production basses but they are there.

I've met Ken before and he is a odd guy. He also has kind for a bad rep around here with wood people, something about buying up all the good maple or something, I have yet to actually hear any details, just gossip............
 
#33
allexcosta said:
Profile and fretwork is just fine, but they ARE heavy...
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They really aren't heavy. Yes - lots of hard exotic woods are heavier then maple. No, that's not Warmoths fault.

Their standard maple/maple neck is almost identical to a Fender in weight. A tiny bit heavier due to their truss rod, but not noticeable.

And I love my Warmoth canary/macassar ebony neck. It's amazing.
 
#34
well I have a Jazz body from warmoth that weights about 4 1/2" pounds loaded (swamp ash/maple top), and it has a maple/maple P bass neck from Warmoth also. The neck has ultralites, no neck dive whatsoever and it actually hangs better than my ash body/rosewood board MIA Jazz.
I'm sure if you get a goncalo alves neck with wenge fretboard, you will have neck dive unless you have a heavy body, and that would be regardless of brands.

oh and I did have a warmoth neck that warped: I bought it used on ebay, it was a birdseye maple/ebony board, and the previous owners had no finish on it. When it stayed in New Orleans for a while, it decided to do the twist. I use it to hang Fender bodies for spraying
 
#35
allexcosta said:
Anyone who takes the Warmoth Body + USCG neck will be on route for a potentially great bass...
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Like this?
DSC01052.jpg
 
#36
I just finished a Warmoth project; http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=6342.0

The wood work is flawless , the neck is straight as an arrow , perfect fretwork. I found the neck to be a little "chubby" compared to my MM neck and my Carvin , wich is my main bass. I will probably en up working on it a bit , to have a little less "chunkiness".
The tone and sustain are really good.
That project is my lightest bass.

My Carvin , wich I received a couple of months ago , has a "dream like" neck for my needs , if you want to know what I compare to.
 
#37
My "modern 54" is light, balanced and plays great up an down the fingeroard. The koa/swamp body is just rings unamplified.

R0010472.jpg


MY "modern 51" fretless is pretty heavy. The solid korina body/bubinga neck sounds awesome but is is better for sit-down gig at the tiki bar

R0010477.jpg


In its favor it has a cheeky girl sticker on the back.

R0010479.jpg
 
#39
micahbell said:
They really aren't heavy. Yes - lots of hard exotic woods are heavier then maple. No, that's not Warmoths fault.

Their standard maple/maple neck is almost identical to a Fender in weight. A tiny bit heavier due to their truss rod, but not noticeable.
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Would any of you find it helpful for neck builders to list the weights of the necks they sell? Some of the builders list the body weights down to the ounce, why not the necks too? For general neck info, the width at the nut is always listed, the radius, sometimes the depth at the first and 12th frets, and the general shape.

For those of you who've bought after-market necks, have you weighed them other than casually noting that one may be 'light' or 'really heavy'? Although it may sound obsessive, I'm curious how much the necks of my various instruments weigh, I may weigh some. My Sting is my most resonant bass, it's also got the thickest neck. It doesn't neck-dive, but considering how chunky the neck is, I wonder if it's heavier than my other bass necks. For me, if the mass is responsible for it's sustain, it's a worthwhile trade-off.
 

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