What I love about this is that you just went for it. People overthink stuff, this was a refreshing antidote to that... and it worked out great. Guitar looks awesome (love the orange and black theme) and sounds really good! Thanks for the video.
THANK YOU Blade! That's exactly the spirit in which I approached this. At worst, I'd have a pile of wires and wood. At best, I'd have a guitar that I worked on. It turned out great, I learned a ton, It was a great project.
There's something to be said for " just going for it" when creating music; in my estimation, a lot, actually.But when it comes to building functional tools with specific tolerances, it's generally a recipe for disaster. I'd recommend small mods, working your way up in complexity; given the general level of mechanical skills I've witnessed, taking it slow is the move.
I wound up going with threaded inserts for the neck screws. Originally when Warmoth sent me all the parts they didn't send me the shorter screws that I needed. What they did send me was some filed down screws that wouldn't thread into the wood that instead tore up the wood. So I wound up taking the unfinished guitar to my guitar luthier and let him do the final work. He installed threaded inserts for all four screws for the neck pocket. I've had that neck off that guitar at least 50 times in the 20 years I've been playing it. Never had to worry about the holes stripping out because of his installation. Also he did all the fret leveling that needed done including hand rolling the edges of the fretboard. This has been my main guitar since 2002. It's a Dann Huff inspired strat with an original Floyd, hot stacks for the neck and mid, and a Duncan JB. If I were to ever build another guitar I probably do the same thing all over again. One of the best things I did at the time of assembling it was install Fender/Schaller locking tuners. I already have the Floyd Rose locking nut. This just made the string change that much faster. I can change the entire set of strings in 10 minutes that includes tuning them to pitch. Sadly I'll have to find a new luthier since my go-to guy passed away several years ago from cancer. Rest in peace Mike Gardner of Gardner Guitars.
This was an awesome build video from start to finish. I like how you got the tech to do the finishing work but were able to personalize it as a blank. Best of both worlds for a custom instrument. Fantastic hardware and electronic selection. That was a great sound demo at the end, the EMG’s sound superb!
I’m digging it!!! What I like is that it is something personal, that you built for yourself, so it has value to you! Who cares about all the others who are complaining about this and that! It’s not for them! Would they have criticized EVH for not painting correctly? LOL!! Excellent job, I may have to give one of these a go for myself! In honor of your new axe, I’m going to open a few similar colored Reeses’s packages since it’s Halloween!!!!
i admire your honesty ... very useful lesson in being extra careful about planning every little step of your work before buying anything let alone starting work ... and yeah, it nails that 80s hair metal tone
I'm in the process of building a guitar from scratch. Not that I'm above ordering from Warmoth, I just had the opportunity to do so. I can agree whole-heatedly as an amateur, it takes a village. Congrats on the new badass axe.
Sanding sealer,sand, primer, wet sand, get some 2 part paint like spray max 2k or nitro if you so choose, wet sand , seal with clear coat, wet sand and then buff to mirror finish. I am no pro though.
Steps to build a guitar according to Nielsen: 1 - Buy parts 2 - Buy paint 3 - Notice incorrect paint 4 - Try to fix wrong paint with new paint 5 - It is a new paint but not the paint you wanted. you give up 6 - Put the guitar together 7 - Notice some parts are wrong and remember eBay isn’t that reliable. you push on 8 - Notice you haven’t planned accordingly for some parts. Try to fix that. 9 - Your guitar works. Just not the way it should 10 - Take it to a veteran luthier 11 - Pay said luthier 12 - Wait for luthier to fix it. 13 - Receive it working as it should. Congratulations - you (and a luthier) have built a guitar Alternative 13 step: Your luthier can’t fix your mistakes. Wallow in self-pity. Give up the guitar for bass
lmao it was just a funny observation - kudos for trying tho, it is an arduous process (especially for beginners). i think most people understood it was just “breaking balls” but yall clearly not too bright
Michael you are hilarious-love your sense of humor. Actually the orange came out great. I loved watching-that seemed exactly how my first build will go, so I enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.
This video came at the perfect time. I was only looking at warmoth last night considering doing a build. Nice to see someone else cocks up as much as I do! Excellent video!
H-S is the best pickup config - change my mind 9:53 you'll start drilling pilot holes for these, once you've snapped a screw and had to drill it out ;)
The licks you were playing at the end were stupendous. All’s well that ends well. Sounded great! Also loved your self-deprecating humor throughout. Funny! Dunno if you dare reply with a comment naming the tunes you were inspired by ... all for educational purposes, mind you ... but it would be appreciated ... by me anyway.
I bought a warmoth body earlier this year and I fully expect it to go like this since I have no clue what I'm doing. I'm a little nervous since I payed for a paint job and I feel I'll still manage to mess it up, but we'll see.
Very much enjoyed this. I have built a few Warmoth guitars. The bridge is always the toughest decision for me. Warmoth offers Gotoh, Wilkinson, classic tremolo options. You chose Wilkinson.
You used my favorite pickup configuration, humbucker in the bridge, single coil in the neck, and no middle pickup. It’s very hard to find guitars with that configuration, especially if you want a fixed bridge.
I have a 2014 Charvel San Dimas Pro Mod HS HT is a Humbucker in the bridge (H), Single coil in the neck (S), hardtail (HT) guitar...and it is badass \m/
@@GearBoxTy I have the Charvel Justin Aufdemkampe model with the same configuration (HS hard tail), but as I said, it’s an extremely hard to find configuration. charvel.com/features/justin-aufdemkampe
I have a soloist type entirely from Warmoth and a Highway 1 Strat with a Warmoth neck and I love them both, such a great concept and company, both of them were worked on by Andy Greenberg from ElRayo guitarworks in San Diego who did a stellar job with both guitars, the strat has the second tone knob wired as a neck pickup blend knob so I can get all three pickups on at the same time and some tele-like sounds (jb Jr on the bridge, stock fender middle and a Classic Stack Plus on the neck), the Strat is my Number 1 guitar!
When you have a tapered heel, there are usually two screws that are shorter than the other two. Sounds like you put one of the longer ones in where a short one bolonged, thus pushing up the fret.
I definitely screwed in the shorter ones. BUT, I originally used screws that weren't FROM Warmoth, there were purchased based on the same measurement as the Warmoth. SO, that was probably the issue. I'd just get Warmoth's next time.
Great! I think that a wood sealer would have taken care of the grain, but I think it looks just as good with it. Nice job dude, I‘ve done 3 builds from Warmaouth and have been happy with each one.
I've watched the end of this video about 30 times over the last couple days... ... aaaand I ordered my first Warmoth. Soloist body in swamp ash. Roasted maple neck with reversed headstock and ebony fingerboard.
Nice build! With all my parts builds there is always an unforeseen issue that needs to be fixed, so yours seems pretty par for the course. Glad to hear you sorted it all out. Sounds killer!
That guitar is gorgeous! It reminds me of the guitar George Lynch used in parts of his REH instructional video. The music playing under the painting and construction was great, too!
I love this video! I've been thinking of building a guitar using Warmoth parts for ages, but never pulled the trigger. I think you could have gotten the lighter McLaren shade of orange if you had sprayed a white base coat first. But great job! People should post more of this kind of content!
You have to use grain filler on ash if you want a flat surface, then probably good to do a sanding sealer coat before painting. Also you shouldn't paint the neck pocket if you want the neck heel to sit flat.
Nice guitar! Warmoth does sell the offset screws for the contour heel. No issues on my tele with it. Also highly recommend Wudtone finish - wipe it on with a rag and let it dry. Very thin yet durable finish that lets the grain through for a cool look!
Great video Michael...axe turned out greatl! From now on this will be our training video for using the correct screws on the Contoured Heel. Haha! EDIT: also...where are the strap buttons??! Holding on to a guitar with no strap buttons is like holding onto a greased watermelon! :)
This sums up the experience nicely! Not the best wood choice considering you didn’t want grain and didn’t use a filler but I prefer it this way. I like the colour and EMGs! I forgot to tick the tapered heel in my order and now I’m happy I didn’t.
Love it Michael. I've done the same a good few times and fucked it up and learnt along the way. It's so gratifying when you get it right and end up with a life instrument you can call your own :-)
That is great paint. I painted my whole car with it. And it looks incredibly good. You wouldnt believe me if i show it to you. I also paint my charvel the gold with kona base. Looks amazing. 2x
I don't know how anyone saw that! There's like 2" of 800 showing, and a ton of people have asked! hahahah. It's my buddies. I'll see if he minds if I do a vid on it.
@@BigHairyGuitars ah, good to know. Never had a chance to make Warmoth build but I will surely give it a try after this video :) Any reason why not use a primer before color coating on the body?
You can actually pay Warmoth to do all the painting,doesn´t cost that much money and they also have lots of guitar bodies on sale,which are already painted. Their paint department is top notch btw. so I would rather pay the extra dollar for a body that is already painted by a pro. The real tricky part,in putting a guitar together,is definetely the electronics/pickups.
That's a beautiful instrument you created there. Congratulations! Hilarious commentary, and you ran into some real world stuff like when a part doesn't quite fit, or isn't quite as described, but the only thing you can do is go around it. I love what you came up with, and I really dig the orange. It might be nuclear, but it's class. thanks to @Robert Baker for suggesting your channel. Stay well!
Sounds awesome Mike...emg are my favorite...filler primer, 2-3 coats to take out shallow woodgrain Mike....although the grain showing thru the orange looks really good as well man!...nice job
This is fantastic. I have seen so many people out together guitars, and it looks so professional and great, and I brought a few cheap kits off Thomann to do with my nephews, and was worried about looking like an idiot and doing a terrible job. Now, I have a lot more confidence. 😜
man that guitar is KILLER,, dig that Orange, spray paint like EVH , I've built so many warmoth and fender partscaster guitars, learn something every build ,, you did a great job btw
Welcome to the warmoth club! I'm building my second one right now. Neck is a quartersawn two piece maple right hand reverse Tele full scallop. It is to be mounted on a U.S.A. Fender Bullet body that I rat fucked as a kid. Hopefully all will go well. I like putting together guitars for myself. I definitely feel more connected to the instrument as opposed to buying one off the rack.
