Warmoth Precision Body & Fender American Standard Pickguard

[d00dr]

Hey, all! I have a couple of questions for you Warmoth body owners out there. I JUST received a brand new Warmoth Precision body that I ordered from their showcase a couple of weeks ago for a build project that I’ve been wanting to do. I have a Fender American Standard neck and pickguard that I’m planning on using but I’m not sure that the pickguard is going to work. I slid the neck heel into the neck pocket and placed the pickguard onto the body, sliding it up until it stopped at the neck heel. It seems that the routing is a touch too wide around where the output jack will be...

Is this normal for Warmoth bodies and Fender pickguards? Is it possible that the rout is too wide there? Do I need to order a Warmoth pickguard for the Warmoth body? Are the Warmoth pickguards a little wider in that area than the stock pickguards from a Fender American Standard?

 

[MobileHolmes]

That’s an unpleasant surprise. I would expect that the warmoth guard would fit right. I do wonder if some of their routes are just a touch wider than normal. On one of my warmoth guitars there’s a spot where you can see under the edge of the bridge just a little.

 

[d00dr]

That’s an unpleasant surprise. I would expect that the warmoth guard would fit right. I do wonder if some of their routes are just a touch wider than normal. On one of my warmoth guitars there’s a spot where you can see under the edge of the bridge just a little.

Yes, it sure was. Especially since I waited for two weeks to receive it and it was the last piece of the build that I needed. Today was supposed to be “the day.” And now I have to wait until Monday to speak with somebody at Warmoth about it...

 

[FunkHead]

Is that an older Scratch plate that may have "Shrunk"? I have had a few Warmoth Bodies and never encountered a problem like yours.

 

[d00dr]

Is that an older Scratch plate that may have "Shrunk"? I have had a few Warmoth Bodies and never encountered a problem like yours.

That is actually quite possible. I didn’t even think about that possibility. What I do know is the bass I pulled this off of is a 2010. I’ve owned it (the bass) for two years and just pulled this guard a month ago. It could be the stock guard, it could be older, or it could be newer. Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer to that. However, when it was on the Fender, it showed no signs of being warped or shrunk. It still seemed to fit just fine. When does a pickguard start showing signs of shrinking?

Did you use new(er) pickguards on your Warmoth bodies? Or were you able to use “older” ones?

 

[FunkHead]

That is actually quite possible. I didn’t even think about that possibility. What I do know is the bass I pulled this off of is a 2010. I’ve owned it (the bass) for two years and just pulled this guard a month ago. It could be the stock guard, it could be older, or it could be newer. Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer to that. However, when it was on the Fender, it showed no signs of being warped or shrunk. It still seemed to fit just fine. When does a pickguard start showing signs of shrinking?

Did you use new(er) pickguards on your Warmoth bodies? Or were you able to use “older” ones?

The ones I used were from 5 - 15 year old Basses. I guess the only way to test this is to try another Pickguard. I seriously doubt that Warmoth would be messing up their routes but anything's possible.

 

[d00dr]

The ones I used were from 5 - 15 year old Basses. I guess the only way to test this is to try another Pickguard. I seriously doubt that Warmoth would be messing up their routes but anything's possible.

I thought the same thing. I’ll definitey try a different pickguard as soon as I can get my hands on one.

 

[FunkHead]

I thought the same thing. I’ll definitey try a different pickguard as soon as I can get my hands on one.

Good luck with it. That's a sweet body.

 

[d00dr]

Good luck with it. That's a sweet body.

Thanks! I’ve wanted a Seafoam Green bass for quite a while now and finally decided to put one together. I’m pretty excited for the end result.

 

[d00dr]

Well, it would appear as if the tort guard has in fact shrunk a little. I’m lucky enough to have a gold anodized guard on one of my other P’s. So I pulled that guard off to match up to my tort guard and here’s what we’ve got (tort on top of the gold anodized):

 

[mbasile]

Warmoth has a pickguard template on their website. You can print it out at 100% scale and make sure your current pickguard is the correct size.

I’ve often wondered if the showcase items are custom ones that didn’t pass QC. My painted showcase body came with obvious thin spots in the paint.

 

[d00dr]

Warmoth has a pickguard template on their website. You can print it out at 100% scale and make sure your current pickguard is the correct size.

I’ve often wondered if the showcase items are custom ones that didn’t pass QC. My painted showcase body came with obvious thin spots in the paint.

Hey, thanks for the heads up! I’ll check it out, though I’m already fairly certain the issue is with the tort guard. I’m going to try to flatten it out and see what happens. Worst case scenario, I either roll with the gold anodized guard on this body, or I scoop up a new tort guard for it. One way or another, this bass WILL be completed in time for next weekend’s gigs!

 

[d00dr]

So, as it would turn out, the “original” Fender pickguard that I planned on using for this build is not in fact a genuine Fender pickguard. I ordered a brand new genuine Fender pickguard and it’s a little bit bigger than the original guard I planned to use when the holes are all lined up. Also, you can see the difference in the truss rod access notch between the two of them. The one on the left is the guard I pulled from my 2010 American Standard P, thinking it was original, and the one on the left is the brand new Fender guard that I just received yesterday. TOUCHDOWN!!!