Whats up with Warmoth?

[Engle]

The quality is great, but the steel bars make the necks too heavy. It keeps me from playing my Warmoth equipped basses very often.

 

[knumbskull]

EDIT: i’m just being silly - i see a lot of really nice looking Warmoth basses out there & am always kind of tempted to make one myself. But i wonder if you do get a few “Homer car” basses too!

 

[Bpb]

It’s been said before, but the customization you CAN do doesn’t always mean you SHOULD. The guys at warmoth as well as many techs and smart customers will tell you, stick with combinations of materials that are KNOWN to work. Tempting as it would be to slap together a beautiful and eccentric combination of woods and finishes, at the end of the day, it would be smart to keep it simple. Maple on maple, or maple on rosewood for a neck. Alder, maple, ash, or MAYBE Mahogony on a body. A top if you like. No funny stuff

 

[yodedude2]

... It's easy to get seduced by some sexy wood, ... - years of experience helps.

hey - oh!

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

My friend put this one together for me about 31 years ago. It’s not going anywhere.
Swamp Ash body, Birds Eye Maple neck, Schaller bridge, Hipshot tuners and EMGs.

 

[Bassnkeys]

I go to Warmoth because what I want is not available anywhere else…like a Fretless 5-string Jazz neck….
My next parts bass will be a 5-string version of the Flea Active Jazz from Warmoth. It will cost $1k less than a new Stingray 5. I don’t plan on ever selling it like I did my actual Stingray…

Yup — like lined ebony fretless Warmoth neck to my exact specs on Fender American body. Gorgeous job they did.

 

[ThunderV]

They are definitely for playing........collecting and selling......not so much. My main bass is a Warmoth......I always opt for the Mighty-Mite necks due to them weighing less and costing less.

 

[Hectobar]

OTOH, I know some serious builders that fashion their basses from Warmoth parts. Some are really superb. You gotta know what you're doing - years of experience helps.

There is a lot more to a great bass than just the parts. All those little decisions along the can make magic. Or not. Turnaround nailed it.

Gotta know what you are doing.

 

[pie_man_25]

I would assume it's either a person building up an instrument they ended up not liking or wasn't quite "what they wanted," or their attention span made them want to make another one and they need to make budget/room.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

The weight comments ring true, I put together a Warmoth Frankenjazz Fretless a long time ago, and it's the proverbial boat anchor. It sound absolutely lovely, and the quality of the parts is superb, but not something you'd want hanging off you for more than short periods of time.

 

[non]

i would put my $1400 warmoth p bass up against any $2000 fender p bass for quality, tone and playability. simply a fantastic bass!

 

[Bpb]

I suppose the weight thing isn’t really an issue for us who unfortunately don’t gig. Hell a bass could weigh 20 pounds for all I care. I’m sitting when I play.

 

[iriegnome]

I bought 2 bodies and a neck from Warmoth. My first in 2001 was a Dinky P Archtop 1 piece white Korina body. I went to buy another and they say they never made them. But it is an awesome body. Second in 2004 was their G5 neck and body #1 prototype. Mahogany body Maple neck. Fat chunky neck and no belly cut on the body. Excellent fit and form.
As to why someone would sell it, because they want to. Sometimes it is nothing more

 

[AltGrendel]

I have two exotic wood necks, an ebony strat and a teakwood/ebony fretless jazz neck. Both are excellent quality and I have no intention of selling either.
The only thing is it looks like Warmoth is no longer making exotic wood necks. I understand why but it’s still a shame.

 

[micguy]

26918889[/URL], member: 268459"]The quality is great, but the steel bars make the necks too heavy. It keeps me from playing my Warmoth equipped basses very often.

They also have graphite reinforced necks. The ones I buy are roasted maple, with graphite rods. Those necks actually weigh less that a regular, non roasted neck.

This detail illustrates the issue with any custom bass (Warmoth makes a wide diversity of parts so you can have the bass you really want) - getting what you want is the whole reason for custom basses.

Anyway, the reason Warmoth’s (along with other custom basses) get resold is because people think they know what they want, but in reality they don’t know that the combination of parts they’re putting together will not result in their dream bass. When faced with the reality that their choices didn’t make their dream bass, they bail and sell.

Warmoth’s don’t have to be heavy or neck dive - I have a few 5 stringers that are ALL under 8 pounds - a couple are 7.2 pounds, and they balance beautifully. You can buy necks with graphite reinforcement, you can buy bodies of a known weight from their showcase - if you make a Warmoth that’s heavy or neck dives, it’s not their fault - you just don’t understand what you need to do to build the bass you want.

When a custom bass isn’t your dream bass, chances are that it isn’t anyone else’s dream bass, either, so you take a hit on the price. A Warmoth build may cost you $1500, and if you bail, you’ll probably lose half - $750. If you hire someone to make your dream bass, it’ll take a year, cost you $3K (maybe more), and if you bail, you may lose only a third of your money, so it sounds like better resale, but you’re out $1K, and a year waiting for the thing.

My advice on any custom build is you REALLY have to know what you want, or…realize it’s an experiment, with a pretty high risk.

All my basses are built with Warmoth wood. Quality is not an issue. I have had some that didn’t end up as dream basses, but I know enough about what I like that the hardware and the neck I’m not taking any risk on - the biggest loss I’ve had was replacing a body. The quality of the body was never an issue - my choice in pickup routes and locations is what didn’t work out. Most of the time, a different set of pickups or some circuitry tweaks was enough to get the thing to where I wanted it to be.

 

[mikewalker]

^
THIS!!

 

[Jackcrow]

I usually say this every time starts a "I see a lot of "X" for sale they must be terrible". Seeing people selling things, no matter what it is, is not an indicator of poor quality, tone or whatever. People sell stuff.

 

[Jscriv]

I had a beauty of a warmoth jazz neck. Rosewood, blocked and bound with pearloid. It was just a bit too chunky for my liking so I sold it. I think people don't realize just becuase it looks like a fender (for example) it still going to have different specs. But from experience thier actual quality exceeds the name brands they emulate

 

[Pauly 4001]

For just one example how else would a poor young man be able to put together an 8 string fretless in the late 80's early 90's without the local annual Warmoth factory garage sale?
That particular neck is no longer available sadly and you can tell it was the late 80's by my choice of gold hardware which aint so bad on basic black I guess.
Try to ignore my stockinged feet sneaking into the shot which is more aesthetically unforgivable than gold hardware.
I have several Warmoth builds and love each for what they gave me for taking the trouble.

 

[mrjim123]

Unreal expectations? The down side of Warmoths is that you can't try before you buy.