WARMOTH NECKS: quality of fretwork?

[ferdi from Germany]

Hi there.
I'm thinking of buying a Warmoth replacement neck for a Strat. As I usually have a good deal of fretwear, I am tempted to go for the stainless steel frets. As these are so hard (that's the idea, right?) that it is almost impossible to do a fretjob on them, the fretwork should be perfect, not just acceptable, the way it is delivered.

I'd appreciate if you shared your experience with Warmoth necks with me, also concerning the back contours. I'm tron between standard and boatneck.

As for the other options, I think I'll go for the modern vintage construction (because fo the lighter trussrod and the 22. fret) and a 1 11/16 nut width. By the way, are the necks and bodies from the thrift shop any good or is it really second choice?

THX, ferdi

[Snags]

I live fairly close to Warmoth, so I have seen a lot of their necks and bodies used in completed guitars in my area. Their fretwork is immaculate, and their thrift shop items are not second to my knowledge, just extra inventory that they are trying to clear out. As for the stainless fret issue, I have not given much thought to stainless frets, but the hardness of stainless steel would probably make it a bit trickier to work with.

[Dale]

I have a neck with the stainless wire on my tele clone. It is my number 1 these days, and gets played a lot. I have had it about a year. I have the med jumbo version of the stainless wire (all they had at the time) and it came ready to go (birdseye/birdseye clear gloss). No problems at all. The stuff is great. I have usually had to a level and polish about 1 time a year on my number one guitar, and this thing is mark free. Greatest idea I have had with fret wire. I am sure I will end up doing this with my other guitars as well!

Dale

[Fresh_Start]

Most people seem to have good luck with Warmoth necks - I did not. The 4th, 10th and 14th frets were high and two of those were uneven also. $80 later I have a really great neck. Probably just bad juju for me, but Wamoth itself does warn that your frets may need to be leveled and dressed.

About the Thrift Shop, I think some of the stuff is less than perfect. My neck is quartersawn and beautiful, but it has two small knots on the underside. They actually look cool to me, and I don't think they will affect the neck at all. I spent almost 3 months lurking to find the right body and got a beautiful one, but there is a flaw in the wood hidden under the pickguard. (no, I don't care about it) Both pieces cost a lot less than if I'd ordered them, plus I got to see the actual parts before putting down the dinero.



Chip

[Don]

It seems that most of the thrift shop stuff has knots and funny grain patterns that they didn't expect while machining the bodies and necks. Some of the others might be experiments and overstock.
I believe they're fine otherwise.

[Tonefiend]

You can have the most stellar piece of maple you have ever seen. Perfect in every way, nice silky grain, perfect color. The kind you would stick that 40 year old Brazilian fingerboard on. When you shape out the neck you could run into a nasty sap line, or worse yet the grain does a zig zag and the cutter rips a nice splinter of wood out.
It's a bit like seeing the opposing team score in overtime to knock your guys out of the playoffs.

[Ace]

Fret work on my neck was a little off, but I was happy overall.

[Harpua]

my warmoth neck came in fairly great shape. i did however spend the extra money to get the frets leveled and dressed by a professional. apparently, only two of the frets were a little off. i probably could have let it slide without any troubles, but i figured since i was investing so much money in the axe anyway..what the hell.

[FullDrive2]

Warmoth states right on their site that they recommend a fret level. At least they used to. So the need for that shouldn't be a big surprise to anyone.

[RMosack]

Like Forrest Gump said, "Life is like a box of chocolates...."

I have three Warmoth necks - two from the Thrift Shop. The first came with very good fretwork. I have been playing it for a couple years with absolutely no work required. The second wasn't so great, but did come practically playable from Warmoth.

The third was an absolute disaster. It's a 24.75" mahogany Tele neck with a rosewood board. I ordered this one (not Thrift Shop) from them with their standard 10"-16" compound radius fretboard. Cosmetically, with regard to the wood itself, the neck looks great. The frets are another matter entirely. As I got the nut cut properly (initially, I keep it high during assembly et al), I realized that about half the neck was unplayable. Upon inspection, it became evident that the frets weren't seated properly. As I went from the first to the 22nd fret, the seating got worse. From the 10th fret (or so) on, I could actually slip paper under the edge of the frets under the middle 4 strings. My guess is that all the frets were pressed in with a 10" radius tool even though the fingerboard gradually gets flatter given the compound radius.

This wan't a matter of simply leveling off frets - which it's obvious Warmoth doesn't do. It's even worse: not even pressing them into the board.

[Dave Paetow]

I just worked on a Warmoth neck for a forum member, the frets definitely needed leveling. I didn't notice bad fret seating, though. I wish this particular neck were made from a little stiffer piece of maple, I had to run the truss rod pretty tight.

[Cogs]

I've had WD, Allparts Warmoth, & USACG necks & all of them needed final dressing. The Warmoth & USACG necks were definitely head & shoulders above the others. They paid attention to the fret-ends, especially. Allparts was the worst.

[Dale]

Originally posted by 71818
I've had WD, Allparts Warmoth, & USACG necks & all of them needed final dressing. The Warmoth & USACG necks were definitely head & shoulders above the others. They paid attention to the fret-ends, especially. Allparts was the worst.

Any new neck may need a level and polish. Nobody claims to dress them that I know of right now. But it also depends on how high you like your action. For me none of the Warmoth, or Carivn necks I have used needed work. I do play higher than many though. I tend to set mine up using this method:

Nut: When pressing the strings at the second fret the string should slightly clear the first fret.

Relief: press at 1st and last frets and there should be about a business card relief at the 17th fret.

String height (bridge): Height at the 17th fret of about 5/64" (generally pretty even across all 6).

Then intonate.

[wurlwynd]

I agree with 71818. Without a fret dress, you don't get that "buttery" feel.

I like butter.

[fmontele]

I got one that had a hump between the frets 9-12 in the wood. Thats a bigger problem you may not see till the neck is under tension. Be real careful. Since i discovered too late they didn't want to hear about it. Real condescending and rude.

[lasher]

i've had 3 warmoth necks, one thrift shop, the others special ordered. one full blown brazillian, abalone, clapton grind...the whole nine yards. that one and the thrift shop neck had no problems i couldn't live with. the other special order had one of those humps on the bass side between the 12th & 15th fret. i had spent close to 2 grand with warmoth, and they treated me shabbily when i asked about that neck. downright rude. i haven't gone back and sold all that stuff a piece at a time.

[Dale]

Originally posted by lasher
i've had 3 warmoth necks, one thrift shop, the others special ordered. one full blown brazillian, abalone, clapton grind...the whole nine yards. that one and the thrift shop neck had no problems i couldn't live with. the other special order had one of those humps on the bass side between the 12th & 15th fret. i had spent close to 2 grand with warmoth, and they treated me shabbily when i asked about that neck. downright rude. i haven't gone back and sold all that stuff a piece at a time.

This would do it for me as well! The one I just finished finishing and installed the tuners seems good so far. I am doing the nut now. I will not know for sure until it is string and set up properly but everything seems fine (level) were it should be.

This is one with the new side adjuster. I will have to see how that goes. Seems sorta Peavey in some way.

Dale