Build your Own

[Stone]

Hey guys, so i have long term project that i might do so this is the plan and some dilemma's

1) ill be selling my My LTD EC1000 for that LTD white Winter one
2) also will sell my DK22 instead of adding the Dimarzio Rail SD + 2 Dimarzio Areas i was planning, i have a bitter taste for anything MiM

So Looking at building a guitar 22 Fret SSS Strat exactly how I want it But damn $3,350.00 Canadian is steep for someone like myself But its really a bargain if i compare it to a Fender Ultra Start @ $3,000.00 CDN
The custom would have so much better everything + Exactly how id want it
to name a few

* Warmoth exact body and neck for me no compromises whatsoever, Custom Neck radius, Gold Jescar Frets, Roasted Swamp ash body 1 Piece, Color pallet id want etc etc
* Vega trem VT1
* Tone Claw Locking Spring Claw
* Gotoh staggered locking tuners
* Obsidian Custom HSS Wiring
* Anodized aluminum Pickguard
* Exact Dimarzio Pickups id want

PS: yes no need to ask everything is mapped out on my Excel Sheet

Cheers
Mike

 

[Eagle]

I would give the spring claw a miss because the regular steel one sounds better . I would also do my own wiring but Obsidian are quality parts for everything except the Les Paul toggle switch is a crap one. I don't understand it because all the other parts they use are best in class and then we get a shitty import three way WTF.

 

[Stone]

I would give the spring claw a miss because the regular steel one sounds better . I would also do my own wiring but Obsidian are quality parts for everything except the Les Paul toggle switch is a crap one. I don't understand it because all the other parts they use are best in class and then we get a shitty import three way WTF.

Thanks Andy was hoping to get your Thoughts
And well I'm certainly no tech besides some minor truss rod and Intonation adjustments
so Ill have to send it to my tech for building it and putting it together , the price I came up with is with tech build and adjust and fine tune and is in CDN funds Quebec gouging taxes included.

Off hand How much does Andy charge to put it all together and fine tune it ?
Just curious

 

[Eagle]

Thanks Andy was hoping to get your Thoughts
And well I'm certainly no tech besides some minor truss rod and Intonation adjustments
so Ill have to send it to my tech for building it and putting it together , the price I came up with is with tech build and adjust and fine tune and is in CDN funds Quebec gouging taxes included.

Off hand How much does Andy charge to put it all together and fine tune it ?
Just curious

It would depend but generally £100 per hour. Some jobs work out cheaper but that is a typical hourly bench rate. If I had it in front of me and could get the measure of exactly what it needed I would quote first and I can do quite a bit in an hour.

 

[la szum]

Just. Don't.

 

[Stone]

Just. Don't.

 

[duzie]

 

[KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!]

There there.

I've built a bunch of guitars using Warmoth necks. Every one has been on par with my Am. Std. Strat necks. But I've never had one of their bodies. Back when I built mine you could get an American Fender body off of the Stratosphere for under $250. 4 of mine needed no fret work at all. 2 needed minor fretwork.

The downside is that you won't know if it's "the one" until you play it. If it's not, you're on the slippery slope of trying to replace parts, or selling at a likely loss.

 

[Eagle]

There there.

I've built a bunch of guitars using Warmoth necks. Every one has been on par with my Am. Std. Strat necks. But I've never had one of their bodies. Back when I built mine you could get an American Fender body off of the Stratosphere for under $250. 4 of mine needed no fret work at all. 2 needed minor fretwork.

The downside is that you won't know if it's "the one" until you play it. If it's not, you're on the slippery slope of trying to replace parts, or selling at a likely loss.

IME Warmoth necks are quite a bit better than Fender Amstd ones when you finish the details. You can probably get a good idea of how it will sound if you stick within known parameters. IE a thinly painted alder body weight 3.5 ~ 4lbs unloaded. That with a vintage style strat bridge is going to be fairly predictable. Hardware makes a big difference but you need to get the wood right first.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I won't talk you out of it Stone. I've had great experiences with all of Warmoth's parts so I'm biased. I love their neck shapes -- the Boatneck and '59 Roundback are my favorites of any necks I've played. I've used about 10 or so, although some were projects for other people. Only body I've purchased from Warmoth was an unfinished alder, Soloist shape w/ the recessed Floyd rout. Well made.

As @KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!! said -- the only downside is the not knowing until you play it finished. But conversely, that's part of the excitement of building one too. If you care about resell value then that is something to consider. But honestly I never think of resell when I do a project like this for myself. Just be pretty sure of the specs you want (mainly neck shape, radius and frets) and take your time or get a skilled tech for the build and you should be fine.

 

[Eagle]

If it just doesn't work you can sell the parts because the price holds quite well if they are known brands.

 

[Stone]

Thanks all for Input, but I have to agree with @la szum, based on the price, this is way to high given the use ill give it and my current skill level
Does not make much sense, and I've snapped back to reality, still it was fun building it
And its crazy how much better it would be compared to a Fender Ultra that I mentioned above, im betting it would also be even better hardware wise to even a Custom shop

 

[V|J]

I don’t want to curb your enthusiasm at all but just wanted to mention another option.

I remember trying to search for budget Canadian luthiers recently in order to stay away from the big names.

One in Halifax puts guitars together for around $2000, maybe a bit lesser when I checked.
Although it was fairly standard configurations with minor customizations but seemed like good work.

But everytime I think about it, I am reminded of just focusing on getting better and getting a midi keyboard instead. Learn recorsing and mixing. Make more music, ugh..

I’ll look for a link.

It was Cody Custom guitars, NS..
remember reading good reviews on the Canadian guitar forums.

 

[laxu]

The problem with your plan is that if you want to sell it, expect to take a steep loss on it. That's the issue with partscasters, you better love it for life or expect to tear it down to parts to sell it.

IMO if you want a Strat, then finding one that is 90% right out of the box is the way to go and then fix that last 10%.

To me things like stainless steel or gold EVO frets are not a big deal in the long run, more like "eh, it now needs a refret so might as well go stainless"

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Hey guys, so i have long term project that i might do so this is the plan and some dilemma's

1) ill be selling my My LTD EC1000 for that LTD white Winter one
2) also will sell my DK22 instead of adding the Dimarzio Rail SD + 2 Dimarzio Areas i was planning, i have a bitter taste for anything MiM

So Looking at building a guitar 22 Fret SSS Strat exactly how I want it But damn $3,350.00 Canadian is steep for someone like myself But its really a bargain if i compare it to a Fender Ultra Start @ $3,000.00 CDN
The custom would have so much better everything + Exactly how id want it
to name a few

* Warmoth exact body and neck for me no compromises whatsoever, Custom Neck radius, Gold Jescar Frets, Roasted Swamp ash body 1 Piece, Color pallet id want etc etc
* Vega trem VT1
* Tone Claw Locking Spring Claw
* Gotoh staggered locking tuners
* Obsidian Custom HSS Wiring
* Anodized aluminum Pickguard
* Exact Dimarzio Pickups id want

PS: yes no need to ask everything is mapped out on my Excel Sheet

Cheers
Mike

Has the tech you plan to pay to build this had a look at the DK? Is there anything other than the tuning issue that is bothering you about that guitar? Seems worth starting there -- if the tech isn't able to get that DK22 playing deliciously for well under $150, I don't see how he's going to have a BETTER likelihood of success working from scratch with a bunch of parts. Buying several thousand dollars of parts without knowing if you've got somebody lined up that is going to be able to put them together into a deliciously playing guitar is...a pretty big financial gamble. I can't imagine getting more than 65% of your investment back in flipping the parts, and you'll never get the money spent on assembly back. And I don't think I've ever seen a partscaster actually sell for over $1k.

 

[Stone]

Has the tech you plan to pay to build this had a look at the DK? Is there anything other than the tuning issue that is bothering you about that guitar? Seems worth starting there -- if the tech isn't able to get that DK22 playing deliciously for well under $150, I don't see how he's going to have a BETTER likelihood of success working from scratch with a bunch of parts. Buying several thousand dollars of parts without knowing if you've got somebody lined up that is going to be able to put them together into a deliciously playing guitar is...a pretty big financial gamble. I can't imagine getting more than 65% of your investment back in flipping the parts, and you'll never get the money spent on assembly back. And I don't think I've ever seen a partscaster actually sell for over $1k.

Yes he Fixed the terrible fretwork that came from Mexico a long time ago when i first got it, Tuning stability is Ok its just as mentioned Id like to change the Pickups in that even after my tech did what could its certainly not as good as my Ibanez, that plus I don't want anymore MiM products lol, also like I mentioned I'm looking at a long term project here so nothing is set in stone, pardon the Pun

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Yes he Fixed the terrible fretwork that came from Mexico a long time ago when i first got it, Tuning stability is Ok its just as mentioned Id like to change the Pickups in that even after my tech did what could its certainly not as good as my Ibanez, that plus I don't want anymore MiM products lol, also like I mentioned I'm looking at a long term project here so nothing is set in stone, pardon the Pun

The tuning stability isn't as good as your Ibanez? If that's the case, honestly -- I'd be super wary of dropping $3k on a guitar that's going to be built/set-up by someone that couldn't get a DK-22 to have perfect tuning stability. Not saying he's a BAD tech, but he's not the guy I would have building a $3k+ guitar for me.

 

[unix-guy]

@Stone - for your DK, get staggered locking tuners, ditch the string trees and add the Wilkinson locking saddles.

I had a lot of challenges with my MIM DK-24 when I first got it... After that and a little lube in the nut slots it's very good. They punch way above their weight class, in my opinion.

 

[unix-guy]

The tuning stability isn't as good as your Ibanez?

Perhaps his Ibanez is a double locking system? Very different in regards to tuning stability. And my dozens of Ibanez double locking guitars are extremely stable...

 

[DrewJD82]

You could always ‘backburner’ something like this, too. Every couple months grab another part and instead of looking at it as “Spend a bunch of money on all the parts now”, you can gather everything over and year and then assemble it when you’re done getting everything.