Pritchy96

What a fantastic, inspiring read. Made me fall in love with Tele's, too. Thanks for a brilliant, informative half hour or so

Eyeballing that, the only difficult things if I were building it would be the binding, drop top, paint and keeping that Gotoh side-adjuster working. The rest is by-the-numbers Strat-rattling. You could get that built for (estimate, don't hold any luthier on this) half what you'd pay Warmoth. By the way....import and taxes don't apply within the EU either, so you can widen your hunt for a luthier.

(I just invented the term "Strat-rattling" to describe the noise of a eleventy-hundred quadrazillion Strats rattling down a conveyor belt.)

Mine is a tad different, but yeah. I would really miss my Vintage Tint Masked Binding, as I'm guessing people other than Warmoth couldn't do it. Apart from the obvious wood changes, the only real difference I can see, off the top of my head, between the above image and my baby would be any possible additional routing for the three boards being chucked in there (The sustainer board and the two for the Ghost pickups) As well as the midi jack and battery box rout, as well as the holes for the killswitches and various switches for the sustainer and stuff (Was gonna do them myself, but hey, makes it easier ) and obviously, the headstock shape. Nothing massively difficult for someone used to doing this kinda stuff I guess!

As far as body woods are concerned, you're basically looking for something like this, right?

http://www.wezvenables.co.uk/Veteran.html

Thats god damn gorgeous, but, in a perfect perfect world, I want THIS. Absolutely perfect.

LRS prep:

Have you had an LSR nut before? Some people like them, but a lot of people will tell you they're more trouble than they're worth. I personally have no experience with them, but if you're concerned about binding at the nut, any material should be fine as long as the setup is right. A string shouldn't bind at the nut on a strat, if the nut is cut correctly. Also, are you planning to skip the string trees?

This thing is pure speculation. Basically, I'm used to hardtails, thus I want that trem, however beautiful to play with, to lock down as much as possible when I need it to, thus the Tremol-no and This. Need one to play about with.

I am not a believer in anything but a locking nut for a trem.I don't care what anyone says,a locking nut is always superior for severe trem use.

I just used my first LSR nut...on a TOM guitar...it works really well and stays in tune better than any cut nut and there is no rattling to drive you crazy like you might think,but it is not a "simple" install for your average "non guitar building" person.But again that is not a trem.

I would love to, would love to have a UK bloke/bloke-ess do it for me, the thought of customs makes me cry Anyone you would reccomend?

WezV is in the UK

http://www.wezvenables.co.uk/

I'm not particularly keen on the idea of a locking nut :/ Cheers though!

Warmoth isn't totally custom. You are stuck with a standard fender neck heel for example. A must better more custom strat could be had for far less.

Lets not turn this into "How much we all hate Warmoth" here I used warmoth to build the idea, simply because it has nearly everything I want Neck + Body wise, and spits it out in a pretty little list. If someone could take that list and build it for £500 cheaper, awesome

If I were you, id have a look at the lads on the site here & see if you can get someone to build it for you. Thats a fairly serious price tag for parts & im sure you could get it built for you at that price, maby a little less.

Id have a look ath the guitars on the site & PM a few members to see if anyone is interested.

I would love to, would love to have a UK bloke/bloke-ess do it for me, the thought of customs makes me cry Anyone you would reccomend?

Pritchy - First of all, this is totally within the scope of this forum, as I understand it. It's like a kit build, and it's a good way to get started. The downside is the price, but if you say it doesn't matter, then great. Most everyone here knows all about Warmoth, and has at one time or another either built one or wished they had the money to (put me in category 2). Just a few thoughts...

Haha, I really wish I could do this myself, but I think that will be when I'm more confident with stuff like this. It is indeed basically going to be a kit build, a bloody awesome kit build Don't get me wrong, the money IS NOT gonna be there on a silver platter, I'm going to have to work like hell to get it, but, the way I see it, this is my baby, my dream guitar, other people spend money on Game consoles and Games, expensive nights out, I just want this, whether it be £50 or £5000, I don't need to eat!

Cream face dots:

Why? Nothing wrong with cream face dots, of course, but on a no-holds-barred build, I'd think you might go for MOP or Abalone. If you just want that look, no problem. It's just aesthetics.

If I'm honest, the entire idea of the aesthetics of this guitar stems from THIS absolute BEAUTY. The neck wood changed, but I think the dots contrast with the Fretboard beautifully. I will play around though.

LRS prep:

Have you had an LSR nut before? Some people like them, but a lot of people will tell you they're more trouble than they're worth. I personally have no experience with them, but if you're concerned about binding at the nut, any material should be fine as long as the setup is right. A string shouldn't bind at the nut on a strat, if the nut is cut correctly. Also, are you planning to skip the string trees?

This thing is pure speculation. Basically, I'm used to hardtails, thus I want that trem, however beautiful to play with, to lock down as much as possible when I need it to, thus the Tremol-no and This. Need one to play about with.

2 tones:

Is that just how you want it drilled, or do you actually plan to have two separate tone knobs? I question Leo's wisdom on this one, but I know a lot of people use them.

Two tone knobs.

Schaller tuners:

Good. Have you considered locking tuners? You can string your guitar in such a way that you don't need locking tuners, but most people don't know how to do that.

I plan for either Schaller or Gotoh locking tuners. The best I can get my filthy mits on.

This:

Middle Pickup

£130 (Estimate)

Tappable Bridge Humbucker

£70 (Estimate)

Why do you expect a single coil to cost more than a humbucker? As far as choices go, this is possibly your biggest decision. It depends on what kind of tone you're looking for, though if your primary concern is a whole lot of options, it's hard to beat Seymour Duncan P-Rails. For something more traditional, consider these, among all the other choices:

http://www.wildepickups.com/

http://www.lollarguitars.com/

http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/

I have no idea why I split it up like that, if I'm honest. Either way, this is another area where I'm ust going to save until I get what I want, be it £30 or £300! Cheers for the info, I'll take a look

Also, concerning your wood choices, the only way to know what it will look like before you order is to order from the Showcase. If you're flexible in your wood choices, you can often end up with something really cool. If not, ok.

Concerning neck contours, have you tried out a number of different necks to know what you want? Standard Thin is a popular choice, but everybody has differently shaped hands, and it makes sense to have something that fits. At least I think so. Also, a lot of people will tell you an unfinished neck feels faster. Have you considered some of the exotic woods?

Again, something I need to really think some more about.. As long as the spalt is pretty prominent, and is dark (Cannot stand really light spalt) I should be pretty happy. If all else fails, Flame Koa!

Looks like a fun build. Be warned. The bug will bite, and I'd be shocked if this is the last guitar you ever put together.

Oh, it better do! I need a Les Paul, and something to leave an atrocious tuning for when I want to compose rocky game music pieces

So, My baby. My dream, my future, etc etc. Logic, long, hard, thought out reasoning, all backed up by a huge lump of insanity and "OOOHHH, I'll have THAT!" I have everything I need for it, bar the money, the skill to put it together, and the ability to play it

Here we go :V

Neck

Style:

Warhead

Construction:

Warmoth Pro

Scale:

25-1/2 in.

Neck Wood:

Shaft Wood: 3A Flame Maple

Fingerboard Wood: Ebony (Macassar) £312.00

Orientation:

Right Handed £0.00

Nut Width:

1 11/16" £0.00

Back Shape:

Standard thin £0.00

Radius:

10-16" compound £0.00

# of Frets:

22 £0.00

Fret Size:

SS6105 (Stainless) £12.91

Tuner Ream:

Schaller (25/64", 11/32") £0.00

Inlays: Cream Face Dots

Cream Face Dots £0.00

Pre-Cut Installed String Nut:

LSR Prep £29.04

Mounting Holes:

Standard 4 Bolt £0.00

Vintage Tint Gloss £61.31

Total £415.26

Body

Model:

Standard Stratocaster®

Scale:

25-1/2 in.

Orientation:

Right Handed

Wood:

Core:

Black Korina £158.47

Front Laminate:

Spalted Maple (Dark) £452.78

Control Cavity:

Rear Rout £12.93

Pickup Rout:

Strat® (Neck) - Strat® (Middle) - Humbucker (Brdg) £0.00

Control Rout: £0.00

Volume (Strat®)

Tone 1 (Strat®)

Tone 2 (Strat®)

5 Way Switch (Strat®) £0.00

Bridge Type:

Tremolo £0.00

Bridge Rout:

Recessed Wilkinson Tremolo £0.00

Jack Rout:

1/2" (12.70mm) Side Jack Hole £0.00

Neck Pocket:

Strat® Shape £0.00

Mounting Holes:

Standard 4 Bolt £0.00

Contours

Contoured Heel £22.64

Forearm Contour £0.00

Tummy Cut £0.00

Binding Top:

Vintage Tint Masked Binding £100.00

Battery Box:

Double Battery Box £9.70

Finish £161.71

Tobacco Burst

Back Finish:

Clear Gloss £0.00

Total £918.23

Electronics

(Use Fender's S1 circuit diagram)

Sustanic Stealth Pro Neck Pickup £148.12

Middle Pickup £130.00

Bareknuckle Bridge Humbucker £93.00

Killswitch £3.00

"Complete Ghost Modular Pickup System Kit

(Acousti-Phonic Kit and Hexpander MIDI interface Kit)" £270.34

Ghost Saddle Pickups - Wilkinson VS-100 £80.82

Total: £725.28

Other

VS100 Wilkinson Tremolo System £130.00

Tremol-No System £64.58 (£48.44 for product, rest for import approx)

Schaller Ruthenium Plated Straplocks £18.28

Tuning Pegs £90.00

Fender LSR Roller Nut £35.00

Total:£337.86

Overall Price: £2,396.63

Now then, as you may have guessed, lots of these prices are estimates, You may have also guessed parts of this may not be well thought out (¬_¬), and of course, this is done with warmoth. While I would love to do it myself, it may be a bit out of my abilities, With the spalted maple and all..

So, questions, comments, flames, death threats? Are my prices right? Reviews of the products? What do you suggest for my Middle and Bridge pickups? I want to get as wide a range of sounds as possible! Money, as you can probably see, isn't really that much of an issue XD

If this is violating any rules, Deepest apologies and it shall not happen again.

Cheers,

Tom

EDIT: Upon looking at my prices, some were complete crap, and some had been added up wrong. Changes have been made, stuff is correct now.

EDIT 2: If stuff is not correct this time, I will respectfully not post until I can add up.

The government is the fault of the electorate. It just continually oscillates between the biggest and best financed traditonally-accepted bunches of liars. I would ban all three of the big parties, complete what Fawkes failed to manage. England has no real modern system of social welfare and the cost of living exceeds the the minimum wage unless people are willing to live in cramped overcrowded damp cold houses.

I can't continue. I have to run around our house kissing the underfloor heating, triple glazing and sacrificing a penguin to the awesome welfare system here. I would however appreciate a grounding pin on all of my wall sockets.

*Returns hug* Haha, seriously though, England isn't THAT bad...

England is fine, it's just that we need a decent government...

*Runs away from can of worms*

You know the worst thing about living in (insert country other than "England" here)?

The English. Goddamn things everywhere.

Maybe you just feel intimidated by our Superior geetar skills?

I kid, of course

I like how this thread is quickly becoming a focus group on sharing the pain of being English.

Group hug.

*Returns hug* Haha, seriously though, England isn't THAT bad...

Welcome to PG Pritchy, from another UK resident, originally a Cheshire Cat, but 53 years in places like Cornwall, Devon, South Wales, the home counties, and the last 13 years in Cheltenham has put paid to any northern accent I had

Here you will find plenty of information, humour, and incredible talent, but that's enough about me

Haha, I love this place already!

Welcome Tom! And if you ever decide to build from raw lumber, we can help you there too.

Thanks! While I would love to, building a Spalted maple drop top may be sligtly past my abilities Thanks though, may look into it the closer I get!

Where in the north-west? There are plenty of English builders lurking around here also.

Around the Blackpool area, and excellent, good to know I'm not alone!

Thanks for all the welcomes guys, Can't wait to start discussing some ideas with you all! Sustainers, Killswitches, Spalted Maple on Mahogany, Ghost pickups, the list goes on!

Cheers,

Tom

Hi!

I'm Tom, from the North-West England area, Been playing guitar for about seven months now, Currently equipped with a Epiphone Les Paul Special II, medicore but hey, it's a guitar! Been looking at how guitars are built since before I got mine, and stumbled upon warmoth, and... well.. I was hooked. Over the past few months I've designed my dream Stratocaster, Plenty of goodies built in, which I will probably discuss with you guys later on, Very excited to hear the views of a professional community such as yourselves! Looking forward to asking a few silly questions and hopefully being able to become a part of the community!

Cheers,

Tom