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warmoth quality?

T

therex

Jun 24, 2007
832
2
lima
#1
so how warmoth`s quality? i am looking to build my dream bass, but its quite similar to a fender MIA p bass,
is warmoth quality the same as MIA fenders? or even better?:hyper:almost as good?:) is it better than MIM quality? :hmm:better than squier affinty?:confused:

PS sorry for my enlglish
 
#2
I've seen Fender's made in America with too large a neck pocket to fit the neck it was shipped with. Seen made in Mexico jazz bass that sounded better than the MIA right next to it.

NEVER seen a Warmoth with a problem that wasn't induced by the end user.
 
#9
In my actual experiance, no, the neck is not going to fit correctly...

i am building a warmoth fretless jazz bass by upgrading a Squier VM J bass fretless piece by piece until it becomes a completly custom instrument.


the neck pocket is a little bit wider than the warmoth neck, and i had to stuff a shim in the bass side between the pocket and the neck.

i took a picture of the gap, and i will try to find it and upload it.
 
#11
I built a bass with a Warmoth body and neck and it is vastly superior to the Fender stuff.

IMG_0526.jpg


It is the best sounding bass I have. It is clearer than my Lakland and plays wonderfully. The oly things I would change if I did it again is that I would have had them put in jumbo frets (which they advised me to do, but I didn't) and I would have got a neck with out the mother of toilet seat binding because it's hard to seewhere I'm at on the neck.
 
#14
Don't go with it just based on what I say, but I'm pretty sure it'll be a close fit. Close enough to make it work, at least. My VM fretless J had a neck pocket pretty close to Fender spec, close enough that a Fender neck would work in it without shimming. YMMV.
 
#15
fwiw, the Warmoth I own has* a feel, fit, & finish as good as any Fender I've ever played. Actually, the feel is better in some ways, since I've got either an unfinished neck or else some extremely subtle satin-type finish that makes the back of the neck feel like raw wood. (I bought it used, so I really don't know what was done to it.)

However, there was one egregious shortcoming in the sound of my Warmoth: it's a 5-string, and the low B was the most lifeless, anemic, no-balls, wimpy POS I have ever heard on any 5-string bass anywhere. The other 4 strings sounded fabulous, fat, punchy & crisp with plenty of note definition, proper harmonic balance, and no dead spots. But that B string was an epic failure.



* I say "has" but since that bass has now been parted out into two different instruments I guess technically I should say "had". The body & electronics are now coupled with a custom Michael Dolan 8-string neck that sounds wonderful; I'm re-using the neck & bridge for a still-in-process fretless 5-string that's getting a custom WattFab body & will probably be strung EADGC (though I may try it as a BEADG once just to confirm whether the lame B string was an inherent problem in the neck, or just bad symbiosis between the original Warmoth body & neck).
 
#16
One thing to note about Warmoth necks. They are a bit chunkier than current Fender specs, and they only offer one contour. Some folks find them to be too large, and have them shaved down. Other folks like Valenti, stop using them entirely and switch to USACG. Other folks like me like them.

I've got a Warmoth P-bass neck that I am in the process of finishing up. It hasn't been permenantly installed yet, but I prefer a larger neck, so it feels very good in my hand.

As for sizes, IIRC, warmoth are a pretty standard replacement for MIM and MIA fenders. MIJ, MIC, and MIK Fenders may have slightly different measurements, but it shouldn't be anything you can't handle with a shim or a bit of sanding.

If you are mounting it on a non-USA made fender, or are at all unsure of the exact specs, you should definatley order the neck without the neck mounting holes drilled. Holes come standard, so you have to request this specifically.
 
#17
An MIA Fender will have a higher resale value than a Warmoth. My experience with Warmoth has been excellent. I have no compunctions against ordering from them, they do excellent work. If I were to be buying right now I'd look to the MIA Fender. They're making great instruments right now and my investment in the instrument is safer.

Yes I do always look at the financial back end of an instrument, even if I throw caution to the wind. I've had too many "this is my last..." instruments to not know that there's a reasonable chance I'll change out later. I think my Noguera (10 years with me), Lakland (five years) and Tokai (three years) will be with me a long time, BTW.

KO
 
#20
The Warmoth neck does have a slightly different feel than a Fender, but it is so far superior tone wise to a Fender that it's not even a fair comparison. Every note, everywhere is fat and clean and round with few, if any distracting overtones.
 

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