Warmoth Owners Club!!

[Kubicki Fan]

It usually happens because while the low-selling offering is just sitting there doing nothing, the landscape is changing around it....and those new rules have to be adapted to that product, just like all the rest.

Taking the Carved Top Dinky P (CTDP) as an example, about five or six years ago Warmoth changed how we build carved tops. We went from 3/4" solid figured wood tops to our Double Lams, which use a 1/8" figured piece over sub-lam of non-figured wood. As a result, we had to create new CNC programs for all carved tops models...including the CTDP. Then we had to updated the website to acknowledge the change...including the CTDP page.

Another example might be offering a new bridge rout. You have to program this bridge rout for all bodies, including the CTDP. But does it actually work correctly on that body, with no conflicts? Well....I guess we have to build one to find out. Then you have to update the offering on all the bass bodies on the website, including the CTDP.

Now you've spent a bunch of money on a body that sells maybe four or five units a year.

Hope that makes sense.

Offering a wide range of quality products at a good price is what attracts and retains customers. Sure it costs money to keep offerings available, but I think that is money better spent than creating and disseminating marketing-BS, generally.

Warmoth will get my business because it has what I want now, and not because it is a streamlined to the hilt operation. Please, do what you need to stay in business and generate some profit but don't discount our loyalty to the brand which was hard won with attention to the details.

For my new bass, whenever the GAS will subdue my better judgement, I will be looking to Warmoth first, based on past experience.

Oh, and don't forget the lefties.

 

[BlueTalon]

Taking the Carved Top Dinky P (CTDP) as an example, about five or six years ago Warmoth changed how we build carved tops. We went from 3/4" solid figured wood tops to our Double Lams, which use a 1/8" figured piece over sub-lam of non-figured wood.

Thank you for the explanation, that makes sense.

This quote caught my attention. I imagine doing it the way you do it now saves a fair bit of figured wood, but is it more process intensive? Do you make the center hump out of the non figured wood and then bend & form the 1/8" figured wood over the hump?

Oh, and don't forget the lefties.

Warmoth is the only company I know of that offers everything they make in a lefty version at no additional cost.

 

[Kubicki Fan]

Thank you for the explanation, that makes sense.

...
Warmoth is the only company I know of that offers everything they make in a lefty version at no additional cost.

This is, partly, why they have my affection and loyalty. We have to remind our vendors, from time to time what is important to us ;-)

 

[smallbutmighty]

Thank you for the explanation, that makes sense.
This quote caught my attention. I imagine doing it the way you do it now saves a fair bit of figured wood, but is it more process intensive? Do you make the center hump out of the non figured wood and then bend & form the 1/8" figured wood over the hump?

Yep, that's correct. It's more labor intensive, but allows us to get three figured tops out of a piece of wood, where before we could get only one. It also allows the tops to be more symmetrical and nice looking. When you are cutting a carved top down into a 3/4" piece of figured maple, you never know what lies beneath the surface, and sometimes you cut the the top and one side looks great and the other side looks sleepy. You see that a lot on Les Pauls. With 1/8" lams you know what they look like from the start...no surprises.

 

[BlueTalon]

Wow, so you make the 1/8" lamination out of two book-matched halves for symmetry, and then bend that? Or am I reading too much into the word "symmetry"?

That wood glue always impresses me when I think about how strong it is.

 

[Root 5]

Wow, so you make the 1/8" lamination out of two book-matched halves for symmetry, and then bend that? Or am I reading too much into the word "symmetry"?

That wood glue always impresses me when I think about how strong it is.

A properly applied glue joint is stronger than the wood would be if one piece.

 

[BlueTalon]

A properly applied glue joint is stronger than the wood would be if one piece.

I understand that. But think about the process of gluing the edges of 1/8" pieces of wood together, and then bending the glued-together piece of 1/8" wood over a hump. To someone who does not work with wood much, that's a mind-bender.

It's like magic. If it's something I was to gain experience in, it would become less impressive to me.

 

[bassclef112]

Wow...I'm glad I got mine when I did! And I'm glad (and I guess lucky) to get this particular piece of quilt. Back then there were no wood pics for selection. I just asked for it and got this.

Like sbm said, getting 3 slices out of a piece can weed out inconsistency in the figuring. But yes, more work...

I would consider another.

 

[BioDriver]

I'm back on my "If I can't find it I'll build it myself!" BS.

The plan (as it stands now) is to get a Jazzmaster body with a J route in the neck and MM route in the bridge. Battery box in the back, top route the control cavity and lower switch plate. From there....

Put a Nordstrand 51 P Split in the neck and either a Big Splitman or MM4.4 quad coil in the bridge. That much I'm certain of. Preamp and switches can go one of two ways:

A: Stay with Nordstrand and use three stacked knobs - Vol/Bal (or Vol/Vol if those prove too hard to source), passive tone/active mid, treble/bass. The switches will have the top be active/passive, middle be a mid frequency selector, and bottom be dual/single coil switch for the humbucker. The biggest problem here is whether or not the module will fit in the control cavity. Or,

B: Go with a John East Uni-Pre preamp. Knobs on this would be Vol/Bal, Mid/Mid freq sweep, and treble/bass. Switches would be active/passive, series/parallel for the humbucker, and single/dual coil also for the humbucker. The 3-position slider switches won't fit in the Jag plate as it's laid out. The modules bolt onto the pickguard so space isn't a concern, but how well using two switches as outlined will work is questionable.

Both would require a LOT of shielding and soldering, and the latter is something I flat out suck at. Both also require a fair chunk of change which I also don't have, but I'm not gonna let that stop me from scheming.

Alternatively, I can use a different body shape, rear route, and have all the knobs and switches at the usual spot, but Jags and Jazzmasters are so uncommon that I like the idea of something more unique.

The rest is fairly straightforward - Warmoth pickguard, Babicz/Hipshot bridge, Hipshot tuners with a De-Tuner, used Fender neck from the classifieds, Stratosphere, Fender parts store, or somewhere else, and other hardware that can be more easily found. The electronics are where I'm scratching my head, especially since it's my weakest area.

I'd love some feedback from y'all and any pointers/tips you could provide!

 

[JEDI BASS]

I was holding a loaded body for a friend. I’ve done work for him before and he had plans for me to finish a build with it. It’s a special order lightweight swamp ash in aged white with neck access contour, and recessed bolt ferrules. It also has countersunk Dunlop Straploks, aluminum Hipshot bridge, Nordy big singles, Sadowsky pre with VTC and aluminum knobs. It had been here a few months, and his plans changed, and it became available. I had snagged an amazing loaded J neck a while back: birdseye and rosewood, slim contour, graphite rods, pearl blocks, pearl binding, quilt maple headstock veneer, and US Hipshot tuners. Needless to say... a few turns of a screwdriver and a tightening of the slacked off truss rod, and I had a bass together. Strangely, all 4 strings were intonated perfectly and the relief was also perfect, which is very odd cause I’m picky about relief and expected to need a tweak. I should have bought a lottery ticket!

 

[Bass Viking]

Some Aerosmith played on my black limba/wenge Warmoth PJ:

 

[axelrod]

Bridge string spacing for 1 1/2 nut standard Warmoth 4 string paddle neck. The 5 stringers have a page explaining the difference between the warmoth and other necks and proper spacing to avoid overhang, but nothing about the 4. Any experiences with different Bridges on these lovely necks? Mine is a beautiful maple on maple. I recently built a 5 string, my body and another type of neck and ended up with strings a little close to the edges which is why I want to double check.

 

[bgartist]

Some Aerosmith played on my black limba/wenge Warmoth PJ:

That really sounds great!! What are all of the woods and electronics?

 

[murphy]

Some Aerosmith played on my black limba/wenge Warmoth PJ:

OMG...So nice to hear a demo and actually very clearly hear the bass,
..Thank you !

 

[Bass Viking]

That really sounds great!! What are all of the woods and electronics?

Body is black limbs, neck is Wenge with an ebony board, and pickups are Aguilar.

 

[Bass Viking]

OMG...So nice to hear a demo and actually very clearly hear the bass,
..Thank you !

Thank you! I turn the instrument volume up higher than it would normally be for this very reason. I don’t want it to get buried.

 

[murphy]

Body is black limbs, neck is Wenge with an ebony board, and pickups are Aguilar.

Next time...please let us see the bass you are playing

 

[Bass Viking]

Next time...please let us see the bass you are playing

You mean like hold it up to the camera to display it?

 

[bgartist]

Body is black limbs, neck is Wenge with an ebony board, and pickups are Aguilar.

Active or passive electronics?

 

[Bass Viking]

Active or passive electronics?

They are passive. The previous pickups were active Seymour Duncan Basslines which were very good but I wanted peace of mind and not have to worry about battery drainage.