NGD - Warmoth edition

[tinkertoy]

Hey guys.

I present to you my latest creation:


It's a VIP.

I was going for a modern meets classic vibe with this one.

Here's the spec:

Mahogany chambered body in a custom faded firemist blue.
emg brushed black chrome 57/66tw with coil splits on bith controls. 1 for each.
gotoh wraptail
3 way emg tele switch
Gotoh strap locks
All gotoh metal hardware
Gotoh locking tuners

3a flamed maple modern construction gibson scale neck
Warmoth headstock
Ss6115 frets
Black MOP dots
Tusq nut
Boatneck contour
14" radius
1.65" nut

The color is so hard to capture properly. It looks blue/green, blue, silver, and everything in between depending how the light hits it. Pics don't do it justice at all.

I abso-f'n-lutely love the boatneck. 23 and 13 years ago, I passed up on it for fatback and '59 profiles. THIS is the one I shoulda gotten from the get go. The ss6115 are great, and quite possibly the best fret shape/size ever!

I love the EMGs. With only a limited time this evening to play around with them (and first time ever playing full actives), I gotta say, they are fricken cool! They seem to work well with my ears and hands. The controls are super smooth and smooth tapered. I love the way the tone does not change as the volume drops. Spitting them turns them into very different sounding beasts, and singling either one with the other in HB mode makes hugely different middle position sounds.

Back story:
I have been planning this build for more than 2 years. Money concerns and obsessive planning led to option paralysis. I basically took all the attributes of my guitars that I preferred and melded them into one guitar.
During the time between ordering and receiving the parts, I went back, forth, and sideways on the color. I landed on the final result hours before I shipped it off to my finisher. Lol

All in all, I am beyond happy with it.

It still needs to go out for a pro setup. I like to give a new guitar a bit to settle in before hand though.

It will get a custom reflective black warmoth logo to match the inlays and hardware.

No truss rod cover either.

Watcha guys think? Would you hit it? Lol.

 

[StratoMutt]

Nicely done! We need to see the back of the neck!

 

[StratoMutt]

An idea for you...

I made a rosewood truss rod cover held in place with mini magnets. Had some headplate bits rejected from Martin Guitar.

Warmoth SG build

The pickups, along with the last of the little parts will hopefully ship this week. I have no idea on the return of the Warmoth body. Will the body just go into the queue or will they spray and ship? I'm in no hurry really.

www.strat-talk.com

 

[Handsome McClane]

Looks great. Congrats!

I've had that same Gotoh bridge on my SG for a while now. It's a nice bridge.

 

[tinkertoy]

Nicely done! We need to see the back of the neck!

For you sir.

From when I first got it and had to put it together like a kid at Christmas.

The flame is fairly consistent up and down the neck, not missing in spots as shown. It is extremely directional too. In some instances, it's almost like it has no flame. Then you move it a bit and, POW! There it is.

Looks great. Congrats!

I've had that same Gotoh bridge on my SG for a while now. It's a nice bridge.

Indeed. I spent a good almost 2 decades on strat style and floyd bridges, only to come around to the TOM style in the end.

I like the palm muting and hand position better. Plus, wraptails look sexy as hell! Lol.



Thanks for the kind words guys.

 

[Torvald]

Very nice! Great color.

 

[GrooVey]

The color is so hard to capture properly. It looks blue/green, blue, silver, and everything in between depending how the light hits it

Absolutely beautiful! All around.

 

[Bane]

Very nice, congratulations

 

[Lonn]

Nice. That neck looks similar to the Warmoth neck on my DeLonge.

 

[tinkertoy]

Nice. That neck looks similar to the Warmoth neck on my DeLonge.

Thx. This was my first time ever upgrading to a flamed neck via warmoth. I heard stories that the 3a (Standard upcharge) was sorta eh, the high grade (4 or 5a?) was not worth the upcharge, that 3a was not worth it.

From this guy's perspective, it was very much worth it.

I don't think I've seen your delonge strat. I've heard about it though. Got pics?

 

[Murdog]

Nicely done!

 

[MT Poteet]

Great looking guitar!

I personally would have to use some sort of truss rod cover if it were mine, that slot is just way too big for me.

Happy for ya"

 

[tinkertoy]

Great looking guitar!

I personally would have to use some sort of truss rod cover if it were mine, that slot is just way too big for me.

Happy for ya"

I am still torn by that decision. They always seem to stick out on am maple headstock.
Plus, the big hole, means a bigger cover. I am open to having one, just not something clunky. Maybe a matching plain maple one? Do those exist?

For the record, all ibanez j customs don't have covers. So it's not totally outlandish.

Another option is to paint the truss nut black.

 

[Believer7713]

Very nice!!!
I have that same set of pickups in my Jackson RRX24M. I swapped them in to try something a little different from my favorite EMG combo, the 85 (bridge)/60 (neck). They definitely have that extra something that is a different flavor of the same thing and I really am glad that I used them.
If you want a truss rod cover that is just as unique as the rest of the guitar, you can get one that is custom etched metal or Philaluthiertools (no affiliation) has made me several custom 3 ply pvc covers with my personal logo engraved into them.

 

[tinkertoy]

Yeah, the 57/66tws are interesting. The split sounds are really good. They don't seem like a compromise type of thing.

I like the tone roll off too. Heck, the volume as well! They are so usable.

So far, I am digging them. Just set the volume where you want it for just the right gain and response with no worries of tone loss. So cool!

Thanks for the breadcrumbs re: truss rod covers

 

[MT Poteet]

I am still torn by that decision. They always seem to stick out on am maple headstock.
Plus, the big hole, means a bigger cover. I am open to having one, just not something clunky. Maybe a matching plain maple one? Do those exist?

For the record, all ibanez j customs don't have covers. So it's not totally outlandish.

Another option is to paint the truss nut black.

Yea, I get that, outlandish or not, still not my thing.

I doubt that you can find a plain maple cover, but any hardwood store would have thin maple veneeres that you could possibly make one out of.

 

[Miotch]

Love it !!! I'd even buy it dinner and drinks first.

 

[Lonn]

I don't think I've seen your delonge strat. I've heard about it though. Got pics?

 

[fos1]

Such beauty. I will bet it sounds as good as it looks!

 

[FuncleManson]

Sweet! Have you considered coming up with your own headstock logo? I find it a fun way to customize my projects.