Cracked Posted October 5, 2004 Report Share Posted October 5, 2004 Just enquiring to see if any of you have any experience with Warmoth necks for projects etc. carvin, Stew-Mac and Might Mite also sell them. Which would be the best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Bell Posted October 5, 2004 Report Share Posted October 5, 2004 Warmoth have a reputation for good necks. I know yamaha used Warmoth necks on their more expensive Pacificas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushy the shroom Posted October 5, 2004 Report Share Posted October 5, 2004 I highly reccomend Carvin necks. They definatly make the best thru-neck models. The actual model selection seems kind of low, but you can contact them and have them do some custom work on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester700 Posted October 5, 2004 Report Share Posted October 5, 2004 (edited) I have 4 Pacificas with Warmoth necks (I HAD 5). And 3 Carvin necks. Both are good builders. Warmoth offers more options, including several profiles. The frets sometimes come unseated after a while, though. Carvins are a bit more stable, IMO - My main axe sports a Carvin neck. Edited October 7, 2004 by Jester700 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www Posted October 6, 2004 Report Share Posted October 6, 2004 I've had a warmoth neck on a bass and liked it alot, but I like USA Custom Guitars necks even more. Tommy the guy who runs USACG worked at Warmoth for years as did most of his employees. Give them a shot and see. You won't regret it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdguitars Posted October 6, 2004 Report Share Posted October 6, 2004 Warmoth is A++++++++++++ Buy 2 necks a month from them somtimes. They have great quality and are second to none in terms of options and price. I have seen tommy's work at USA custom and its great too. I like warmoth cause I can get rare woods at great prices... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www Posted October 6, 2004 Report Share Posted October 6, 2004 Yeah! USACG doesn't have the wood selection or the different head shape options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted October 6, 2004 Report Share Posted October 6, 2004 If you want all the extra options USA Custom Guitars offers at no extra price, go with them. However, if you want something a little more funky (woodwise and headstock wise) go with Warmoth. I have a good relationship with Tommy, have ordered two necks from him, and my loyalty lies there. I'm sure you won't go wrong with either one though. By the way, Tommy also offers neck through now, its just not listed on the USA Custom Guitars site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracked Posted October 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2004 Thanks everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 USACG - you can choose from a very wide variety of neck radii and profiles, and as long as they are already programmed into their CNC, there is no upcharge. If you want a specific kind of wood that Tommy doesn't carry, just find a good slab, send it to him, and he'll make the neck for you. I've heard several people say that the fretwork on USACG necks is much better than Warmoth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 I am new here, however I hope that my openion will be valued. I presently have a warmoth that I built in 1988 and it is to this day my main guitar. I am also in the process of building another guitar using warmoth products that I aquired from e-bay. As far as I am concerned for the price, craftsmanship, options and service Warmoth is the total package. Not to take anything away from the rest of the factory component providers listed, but they just dont have everything that Warmoth has to offer, however USACG is working toward getting there. If anyone would like to see my Warmoth go to (http://www.warmoth.com/gallery/gallery.cfm?fuseaction=include_strat) its the black strat with the red and yellow dragon airbrushed on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepultura999 Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 That's one sick looking beast man. Keep up the good work! -Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 I must admit, my Warmoth neck is well built and comfortable, but the fretwork isn't perfect. Having nothing to compare to in terms of other necks alone, I really can't give a comparison, but my problem is that I can't get consistent action, and will have nice action along the whole board and one or two frets that don't sound at all, or buzz extremely, or play the same note as the next fret up; it's kind of annoying. If I adjust the action I can get rid of the problem, but then the action is kinda high for my tastes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerryL Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 I'm with Mushy on this one, I Love My Carvin Neck and I've bought quite a few over the years. The warmoth nex are great n all but myself, I'm tite as hell and didn't wanna shell out what they wanted for one. I haven't had a USACG Neck before but most of the folks on here can't be wrong as they haven't led me wrong before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester700 Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 I must admit, my Warmoth neck is well built and comfortable, but the fretwork isn't perfect. Having nothing to compare to in terms of other necks alone, I really can't give a comparison, but my problem is that I can't get consistent action, and will have nice action along the whole board and one or two frets that don't sound at all, or buzz extremely, or play the same note as the next fret up; it's kind of annoying. If I adjust the action I can get rid of the problem, but then the action is kinda high for my tastes. This was the case on ALL 5 of my Pacificas. Now, these were from the early 90's, but on a couple there was no appreciable wear, so the issue was the frets themselves. I've had the worst ones leveled & crowned, but even one of THOSE had a low fret that the repair guy missed (low enough to not be touched by the level), so it still buzzes on that fret. I've heard from a couple people that they need to have some thin glue shot under the frets to tack them down. My Carvins have no such issues - they are ROCK solid. And I'm lucky enough that their design & options fit my idea of "the perfect neck". In fact, I just got a bolt on neck and figured I'd have to sand it down slightly (I had to do this to my last one), but their newest profile is perfect for me. But they have *far* fewer choices available, so if you don't like their basic flavor, you need to go elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 I see it this way...if you really don't want to get into making a neck and doing the fret job, then you should buy a neck where you don't have to tweek the frets; just bolt on and go. USACG or Carvin. Don't buy a pre-made neck with the idea of doing your own fret work. If you're interested in learning how to do the fret work, then you might just as well learn how to make the entire neck from scratch. At the beginning I was terrified of this (after all, the neck is really the "business end" of the guitar) but after doing a couple of necks I discovered it was not all that hard. My necks are not quite as "perfect" as any of the above companies, but I can definitely say that the fretwork is great and presents absolutely no issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 i've never had any experience with carvin but i've used both warmouth and usacg. i'm more comfortable with tommy and his guys. he's never failed to call me after shipping a neck to make sure i liked it. that being said you might also give allparts in houston a try for stock necks. they'll make custom necks for you but only in bulk. but they have a nice variety of stockers at a decent price and the customer service is excellent. www.allparts.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 Every Warmoth neck I touch gets a superglue drip down each fret slot, from each end. Their frets walk up over time. It's just the experience I've had. But I've heard it from so many other people that it has to have merit. I got a 10 year old NOS warmoth neck that had been sitting on the wall the whole time. It needed a refret. You could actually see the barbs on the tangs from under the frets. That's how high they had walked out. I could've hammered them down, but I took it as a bad sign. I just pulled them and refretted it. Even if I could've hammered the other ones down I wanted to have a new and random placement of the barbs, since the others theoretically left their "tracks" in the fret slot. Hey you know what else I've noticed? They have a real bad "diving board" problem. At least the ones with their double truss rod do. I haven't tried their vintage construction neck. The neck pulls up at the heel so you effectively have a ramp at the end. You end up having to level it out of the frets, or plane it during a refret. Most bolt on necks have this to some degree, but theirs do it faster, and to a greater extent. It might have something to do with how they end their truss rod channel, or perhaps with the neck-side adjustment, there's just too much wood removed there for that long, fat barrel nut. Maybe it weakens the neck from frets 17-up. I don't buy necks anymore because I just make them. But I would try very hard to avoid Warmoth if I was. Sometimes you can't. Sometimes they're still the cheapest and best for certain things, despite the issues. I haven't tried USACG but I loved Tommy when he was at Warmoth. He was always a straight shooter and he knew about some of their issues even 10 years ago, and he'd have an honest discussion about it. I would trust him sight unseen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushy the shroom Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 Random side story: I was using a table saw to cut down the Neck Thru part of a Carvin neck, and the saw was having trouble. You know, all smoking and varying speed and all. After about 6 inches it just stopped. It turned out that the saw had blown a fuse in the wall because it tried to draw more power (or something). That's how good the maple is in Carvins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 Random side story: I was using a table saw to cut down the Neck Thru part of a Carvin neck, and the saw was having trouble. You know, all smoking and varying speed and all. After about 6 inches it just stopped. It turned out that the saw had blown a fuse in the wall because it tried to draw more power (or something). That's how good the maple is in Carvins. sounds like you were using the wrong blade for the job...has nothing to do with "good" or "bad" maple.all rock maple is hard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litchfield Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 Tommy will use any wood you want. You just might have to supply it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushy the shroom Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 Random side story: I was using a table saw to cut down the Neck Thru part of a Carvin neck, and the saw was having trouble. You know, all smoking and varying speed and all. After about 6 inches it just stopped. It turned out that the saw had blown a fuse in the wall because it tried to draw more power (or something). That's how good the maple is in Carvins. sounds like you were using the wrong blade for the job...has nothing to do with "good" or "bad" maple.all rock maple is hard Yeah, I was just flattering Carvin. The blade is probably 30-40 years old Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester700 Posted October 9, 2004 Report Share Posted October 9, 2004 And Carvin doesn't use quartersawn stock. Neither does Warmoth normally, but you can request it. Carvin DOES use carbon fiber rods (they USED to use steel!) and they seem to do the trick. Some people say this makes the neck less "lively" or resonant. But I like 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracked Posted November 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 Great advice everyone! Does anyone have any experience with Mighty-Mite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdog Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 Yo! Mushy!!!!! Are you sure you didn't have the blade in backwards!!!!!!! HA!!!!! Seriously....A dull saw blade is a very dangerous tool......Safety, unfortunatly, does not seem to get discussed around here very often......SAFETY FIRST!!!!!!! A quick true story about table saw safety.... A well known home builder/remodeler( He is a client of my exotic wood supplier) in my area was cutting one last piece of trim for the day on his job-site table saw......Could have been a slightly dulled blade, a rip fence out of alignement, or maybe just fatigue....Regardless, the workpiece he was ripping, violently kicked back on him, catching him in the groin. The impact was enough to cause tremendous pain, doubling him over. He tried to catch himself from falling by attempting to brace himself on the table saw. His hand slid across the table and then into the saw blade.... running the blade right between his middle finger and ring finger all the way to his wrist. The poor guy almost bled out......After 9 or so operations....he has very limited used of what used to be a hand...it looks more like a birth defect now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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