Tony I agree 100%…I ordered a Warmoth warhead neck and it is custom shop level…quarter sawn maple, 6130 frets, graph tech nut…everything was perfect…had to file down the nut slots a hair…about 300 bucks…I would get another in a heartbeat 👍
Thanks for the opinion as a Warmoth customer! That always matters. Historically they (the necks) did have some fret ends that were a bit off, but I have not really seen them with that issue for many years. Thanks for watching too.
Thanks' Tony for another Great review. Warmoth - Great Necks - I've replaced all my Fender Guitar necks with them. Reason mainly I wanted Stainless Steel and in some cases a wider nut as well. The only Fender I did not have to replace was the Strat Ultra Luxe because it comes with SS frets. I have a heavy hand and go through standard frets within a year where as the Stainless after 3 years have no sign of wear and will last beyond my lifetime. I prefer stainless to the point I will not purchase a new guitar that does not come with stainless frets. I would however purchase the body and then buy a Warmoth Neck. The only draw back last time I checked is Warmth doesn't make a neck that will cosmetically fit the new Ultra series. If you try to adapt one it's likely part of their logo will be visible.
Stainless are really tough as you say... tough to get right too :) Hey thanks for the info on the Warmoth fitting ultra guitar. I have not used an ultra 'yet' :) and thanks for watching. The guitar build is not really that far away maybe a few weeks.
I just got my all rosewood neck and mahogany body (gloss black) from Warmoth. Absolute beauty. I purchased a used Warmoth online months back and it’s the best guitar I’ve ever played. I don’t think I’ll buy anything else from now on!
Hi Tony. Thanks for another really interesting review. Maybe I missed something earlier but I would like to know a bit more about the body that you tried the neck in. I thought it looked really good. I'm looking forward to the next one but until then I wish you good health and happiness.
Thanks for another in depth review !! The neck is perfect for the body, and maybe you can use some veneer strips to make a snug fit. Have a great summer !!!
Hi Tony at time stamp 5:40 I use Howards feed-N-wax Beeswax and Orange Oil on my Rosewood Stratocaster and all my fretboards from the Conklin 7 string fretless Bass to my new 2022 Ibanez JSM20th Anniversary .It sinks in with in a few minutes and you can buff it to a nice shine with a soft cloth.I have looked at these amazing necks by that famous brand :>) and may yet snag one soon.Cheers Tony.
Me too. It's great stuff. The orange oil keeps the beeswax slightly viscous and feeling like silk. If you want an Indian Rosewood neck for the punchy tone, you might consider the "Modern" construction option so you can get a Goncalo Alves shaft. It's like East Indian RW (which is nothing special), but not as dark for ~$100 less and has a natural smooth waxy feel. One-piece necks are more likely to have fret sprout because any grain shift is magnified. There's really no tonal advantage. Otherwise, it would be common on acoustic guitars. A glued-on fretboard makes it much more stable. Ziricote is a very nice-looking FB wood that generally damps highs less than Indian RW, but more than Pau Ferro. Arizona Turquoise dots would look very good with that. EVO Gold frets are a good choice, but they only offer 6150 "wide and tall". Ken Parker said they should last at least as long as the Stainless options. I got a few very nice standard thin necks with Stainless frets from a guy on etsy for under $200 each. One was Wenge, but I actually prefer the lacquered Maple. The Wenge tone is too "hard" sounding for my taste, and I got a nasty splinter from it.
@humblegeorge and @GCKelloch Thanks guys for this info. BTW I did buy a neck with a different fretboard wood and it felt a little 'strange' when you play - forget the wood but a common one alternative. I like the maple and rosewoods etc. but some of those other woods are a bit weird. Thanks for watching
@@tonymckenzieofficial Feel is very important. My experience with Goncalo Alves is that it feels very smooth. I don't know about Ziricote, but I have two Pau Ferro (Bolivian Rosewood) FB's that I use Feed-N-Wax on a few times a year, and they feel smooth. I also use it on necks. It's particularly good on my non-lacquered or Tru-Oiled Maple necks. Should be great on any raw RW, GA, Ebony, etc. Indian RW is fine if 4kHz+ sparkle isn't important to you, and your pickups don't deliver it anyway.
@@GCKelloch I have heard about the splinters !!! Clear coating should help,,,,,IF,,,,,the wood can be cleared.But again there is something about the real honest wood.I cleared a Violin years ago and it looked wonderful,,,,sounded like a cat in a suitcase. Thank you for re-commenting GCKelloch.
Hey Tony, Cool video, I've purchased three rosewood necks via Warmoth and I was eying this one too when the six of them popped up on their 'Showcase'. I see you grabbed one of them obiously ahah! Two reasons why I didn't grab one, I prefer an Ebony board ( which obviously makes it a 2 piece ). I also rather go with the Gibson scale length so the strings are a bit more slinky when you are bending. The Nervana nut was nice touch and also the gold frets you chose, I've never purchased their gold ones as of yet but perhaps one of these days :) Lastly, and this is purely for eye candy purposes but I've always chose the premium dots with the mother of pearl dots which really look fantastic on an ebony board and gives more contrast ( However the neck starts getting heavy as well with the rosewood and ebony too which can be a downfall so choose your poison lol ). Thanks for sharing Tony, I love building and painting Warmoth guitars & parts here as well. Looking forward to what you will couple this neck onto... My next build is going to be a Telecaster body with an F-hole, 1 piece mahogany with a laminated rosewood top with a rear control lay out and I'll do it with the LP controls, 4 pots and the upper toggle switch and I'll paint it with Nitro. Have a good one Tony, thanks, Tommy~
Ha I did 'grab' one :) it suits what I wanted to use for the neck on this body and should be OK - but we shall see. I have considered a shorter scale too but never got to it... yet! Maybe at some stage. Thanks for the info and for watching.
The most important part of any guitar is the neck. If you choose the wrong one and you don't like how it plays then the only option is to change it. At least that is usualy easy with a bolt on neck. The fun strats when you have a body socket on an older guitar made before CNC started to make them all the same size and a neck that is too tight, too slack is fine you need some room for adjustment and a place to keep spare picks ! This Warmoth one looks excellent and the dark Rosewood looks far better than maple with a Rosewood fretboard. just keep it well oiled as they say. Fender necks i can't stand, they are like playing a baseball bat ! Can't wait to see the finished guitar.
:) Oh I agree - the neck really contributes to that feel and playability. I'll see how it all works out on this guitar. There are some differing pickups too that will be interesting when that video comes on later. Thanks for the post and for watching as always.
I got a Clapton Strat off eBay years ago, the neck fit was like a sausage in a shirt sleeve, but it was one of the most lively and resonant guitars I ever owned, wish I still had it. That's a beautiful piece of rosewood btw.
Ive ordered maybe 3 warmoth necks over the years. I like the modern neck with the 12 to 16 fretboard radii. I also like the 50s neck contour. Always get stainless frets.
They are all a gamble on how they will sound. I've put a bunch of "Fender" guitars together and have had a Fender neck that made every guitar I put on sound dead. Same with a Musickraft neck, out of the 4 or 5 I had, one sounded terrible on every body I put it on. Had oy 1 Warmoth neck and it was OK but not great. The feel and manufacturing of all the necks were fine but it's a gamble because you never know how they will Sound. I would have never thought the neck would affect the sound of a guitar as much as they do.
Well from my own experience, it's not just the body, or the neck etc. I do think there is much more to it all. Overall I have made about 10 Warmoth/Fender guitars and none sounded really 'bad' except for maybe one, that closer and careful setup solved (basically my own fault). But the other items like tremolo, tuners, neck nut, pickups and even the controls can have poor results and that is one reason I often carefully look at the idea about the guitar before I buy the parts. Just simply buying a bunch of parts without the thought of the overall final instrument I think would be not the best way of getting a good 'final' result. For the Fender necks I found the Jeff Beck necks to be far the 'best' when using a Fender neck for say on a Warmoth body etc. Good post and thanks for watching too.
I totally agree with you. It's a crap shoot so shipping half way across the world is high risk. I've never bought a Warmoth neck but my best neck is on a 90s US made Tele. The 90s Fender necks have this fault where the coating cracks and peels off. Mine was in an absolutely terrible state after a few years. Also, the grain didn't look that great yet this neck played and sounded like a dream. I refinished it and refretted it and now it looks better than new. The issue with Warmoth is that they cost multiple times that of a Mexican Fender neck if you are not in the US. I've tried Mexican Fenders and some played fine. in fact if I go to order a Warmoth neck the way I want it, the cost is more than a US made Fender neck. I'm left handed which makes it even more difficult. I'm pretty much limited to Fender or Warmoth, if I want a neck that is close to Fender design. So many necks are narrow at the nut but Fenders newer Roasted Maple necks are wide enough. I can buy a Fender neck, get it in two days and if I don't like it I send it back with hardly any cost so that's the no brain option but we'll see. It's what I'm going to do because I'm building a Cabronita. If the Fender neck is a fail I'll go Warmoth or something else. Another point is that you are better off without highly figured necks. They tend to be less stable so a plain maple neck that doesn't cost a lot can be excellent. Go with nice looking wood on the body in my opinion. It's a safer bet but don't buy a dirt cheap neck.
Great warmoth neck . I have one ( Telecaster wengué ) i ve buyed ( second hands ) but he 's like New . Great shape and great quality ... I Will like to buy a strat neck vintage shape but shipping cost and tax are incrédibly high ( i m in 🇫🇷) . Later maybe ... Thank you for your advices 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
warmoth if it has the side heel adjuster on it... no likey headstock truss rod access, weak and you lose resonance due to the material loss, remember resonance comes form the tuners as well, resonance travels up and down the neck, you can feel it in your hand . .
This one did not have the adjuster - but I have a number of them with it... that's a GOTOH part and seems fine to me in the necks I have. You could be right of course... re the resonance and how the GOTOH might affect the neck - its a good point so thanks for the post and for watching too.
Neither. I like Strats a lot, but only when somebody other than myself is playing one. I do not like guitar stuff to look too blingy either. Some necks have amazing flame and are roasted etc, but that look does not compute for me. Not when a maple neck Strat is my reference. The other thing is modern rosewood. The grain is tighter, less gnarly looking and tends to have a lighter brown colour. Not my bag really. That's because the first guitar I bought myself in 1985 was a 1955 Gibson Southern Jumbo. It had that really nice, dark Brazilian rosewood. But rain forests etc. Fair enough. I do however prefer Stainless frets. Bigger ones too. Little frets are not as easy to bend notes on, plus nickel wears out quickly with my angle grinder vibrato. Stainless sounds different apparently. Maybe. Some folks say you should never put a Fender decal on a non-Fender Strat or Tele neck. I dunno about that either. Fender licensed a few companies to make OEM replacements, because Leo Fender intended the necks to be disposable. Just buy a replacement and bin the old one. Therefore a decal is legit I'd say -- even if the body is OEM too. Modern bridges might be more functional and even have more sustain etc. But I think that old vintage style bridge with the six screws might be a key part of the classic Strat sound. A sum of the parts thing. The more we stray from what Leo used in the 1950s, the less it might sound like a 50s Strat. Fret work. Warmoth will not level and dress the frets - or at least the last time I checked. That puts me off, because I would have to learn to do it myself, or pay a luthier. A good fret job makes all the difference. A cheap guitar with good fret work and setup can play better than an expensive one that that has dodgy frets and is not set up well.
On the rosewood light streaks I believe were of inferior wood, and like ebony if I remember they die those out often. I could be wrong on that but I'm pretty sure I learned that a while back. I think stainless does have a particular feel when playing a guitar with those fitted. On the decal... well I have fitted them but only for my own guitars. And the neck is licensed and already says Fender on it. I guess we all have our own opinions on it... but using the logo commercially? That's a no no. On the bridges, I have the 6 screw Fender versions, the Fender 2 screw and other tremolos with different things... like saddle metal types. The saddle metals made the most difference to tone and I showed it on a video review of the HALON tremolo. The difference of different materials on the tone was incredible. Warmoth do not fret level, or dress frets that's true. It's not rocket science and worth learning how to do it. But its not on Warmoth as standard you're right. Great post and thanks for watching too.
Maple rosewood neck only 4 me because to have the neck too would be like it gets too dirty and a maple and rosewood fretboard I can see how it's getting dirty too but that's 🆒😎 too for sound and nice frets gold sweet woods sound or tone different too Awesome Discussion.....😊I bought a Gretsch Streamliner jet jr natural brown and it's Great with my Marshall Haze 40 Combo WoW different types of woods there Too Very Nice Enjoi🙂👍
Personally, loose neck joints bug me. I rather have a interference and do a slight sand myself. You are always taking a chance when getting a new neck or body.
Exactly. The stuff is not particularly cheap if you opt for all those options. But you can create some brilliant necks for sure - or bodies! Thanks for watching
Ha a great comment and I smiled immediately... :) I have built a number of Warmoth and Fender guitars and I wanted something a little different that can't easily be bought off some shelf. Trust me, when its done it will be pretty unique.. just like Granny's dresser :) Thanks for watching
Hi Tony. Interesting 🥜 nut , but can't quite get my head around the dictated scale length if it's intonated at the bridge point as well. Or is the intonation covered by the Nut 🥜 only.Its why I used mainly FR double locking systems mainly as they ignore the extra string bits between the nut and the post. John.
Well' you intonate after its together of course - usual way. But it does affect the overall settings I have seen and they at the bridge end are more aligned than when you don't have the Earvana fitted. I do think it does make a difference and have the Earvana fitted to a number of necks. On the Strat builds I usually fit pretty regular Fender style designs for the bridge... the one for this is shown in the body review I did. Thanks for the info. And thanks for watching.
I much orefer playing 1950s Gibsons, Id order a Warmoth neck , specifically those with Fat 59 neck profile, compound radius. I would also order a 24 3/4" scale length conversion neck, ebony fretboard, Dunlop 6100 frets, Left handed Headstock for shortened string length for G, B, E strings. In other words something impossible to find on a Stock Fender. Look in the Warmoth completed Necks list, they often have sales to clear inventory Who cares about Rosewood
That's an interesting choice for sure. I have considered the LP style of guitar a few times re Warmoth, but stuck to the 'easy' stuff :) (so far). Thanks for watching.
Hey Tony and friends... its your favorite pedant... lol 1) the fretwire is a copper alloy thats work hardened and becomes incredibly hard on the surface; should outlast nickel fretwire by a reasonable margin. That said, JESCAR EVO wire is a touch better, but thats a bit hard to get these days lol. Stainless is a bit harder still. These copper alloy wires have a very interesting "feel". They also chew through strings pretty quickly, so keep that in mind. Its superior for "hard" players. SRV would have loved them. But you will be going through strings at an accelerated pace. Stainless are a bit worse; but I guess the trade off is not having to do maintenance on these very often. 2) the skunk stripe is bubinga; though in earnest its a very similar wood overall. 3) Thats a fair amount of slack as you attest to; Im wondering if you got a 55 vs a 56mm heel for some reason (Like ambiguous ordering options may have happened). Either the body or the neck is the "wrong size". thats not proper. I'd say slap a micrometer on and get an accurate measurement and bark up the tree of whomever is "Wrong". Its not that its "bad", its just not right. If you got the wrong item or wrong size, so be it, but I think for a review and the cost, it really should be properly sized. I disagree firmly with your "just tighten it up" mental here; but its your piece and money. 4) corian is a cheap synthetic material used for replacement of quartz countertops made by dupont. Very quality material, but nothing exceptional about it. Not trying to poop in your cheerios, just being objective. 5) For Warmoth at least; "vintage" "vintage/modern" And "modern" ONLY discuss the truss rod adjustment mechanisms. "Vintage" is a single way truss rod adjusted at the heel, "Vintage/Modern" is again a single action truss rod, but adjusted at the headstock. "modern" is a dual action truss rod. You seem to be coming to the same conclusion. The fitment really should be a deal breaker though. That said, considering the options, its probably feasible your body is a "56mm" neck heel and your neck is " 2 3/16" " [fender sizing]. this is half a mm of play and would really be the issue. Either way, since it doesnt "fit" properly, take care to align the strings first. Its VERY easy to misalign your neck if you just crank it down. Order of operations -> LOOSELY attach 2 screws into the neck; opposite corners. Get it so the neck still has "some" wiggle/play. String through your high and low E string. You can play with the string tensions to align the neck by tigtening the opposite side string to "pull" it into alignment. Once you get it aligned properly, get a clamp and tighten it down to keep the neck in position, then install the other 2 screws and get them just past finger tight. From there, use a hand screw driver and tighten in a cross pattern until its firmly in position. If you already know this, so be it, but its good info to pass along lol. cheers.
Oh, one more thing ... very important actually -> Be VERY careful what oils you use to "treat" your neck. Rosewood is a naturally oily wood and genuinely needs absolutely no additional "oils" for upkeep. You can buff it out with a microfiber cloth and it'll look brand new in basically every scenario outside of physical damage. Many oils have drying agents, and these actually oxidize the shit out of rosewood and turn it just basically black. Not in a "cool" ebonized way, but in a "it looks dirty and grungy" way. Stuff like linseed oil, "lemon oil" (real lemon oil is great lol, but youre probably not getting that in most cases) and all that other nonsense have these properties and will basically "ruin" your neck. Murphy's oil soap is pretty good to clean dirty necks, some naptha if its really grimey. Stuff like mineral oil is ... useless. It's like putting tire shine gel on your bald tires; just makes it shiny for a bit haha. Probably actively harms the wood too, but I dont know enough to speak completely on that subject. Stuff like "teak oil" or "tung oil finish" are polyurethanes mixed with linseed and tung oil + the driers, so its again not suitable here. Its astounding how much "bad" info is propagated about this topic. In most cases, cedar oil is probably the best bet, but its expensive. Lasts a long time tho. PURE tung oil would be best but it takes quite some time to properly absorb and dry (we're talking weeks here). "Tung oil finish" is just polyurethane mixed with tung oil, and it is absolutely not the same thing even a little bit. But as mentioned, some oil soap and a buff with a microfiber will resolve 99% of issues. Would take some serious abuse before Id consider oiling a neck ... thats full of oil already lol
Hi JG this is a very useful post and great info and points raised. Its the first time I have seen ANY variance on the neck at the body end and I have to say I was surprised a lot about that. To mess about sending back is really too much hard work from here in the UK. But I hope many see that and don't just assume that everything fits everything. This neck was pre made and I'll certainly do some measuring and I might make a short video about that - which I'm sure would be great for some guys out there. On frets I did once get stainless steel but hard work on any work to do on those. I have opted for the 'gold' ones a few times and they are I think better than Stainless. On alignment I'm OK with that, but great that you post the answers for it. Like I said - a really good and informative post... and where I come from that is what matters because it passes on info to any guys that watch the video. Regards and thanks for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial yea, it being a warmoth, id personally gjve them the benefit of the doubt. I personally am curious of the measurements, ive only used warmoth necks that came on an existing guitar. Im normally an all-parts guy due to cost ratios lol, but every warmoth ive touched was quality.
Use a pair of your Wife's nylon footies, hose and put your hand in them then run them up the side of the neck & frets. If they need filing tand are not 100% smooth they will make a mark on the hose. Phil from the YT site Know your gear uses this technique.
Eh he just does that to provide an objective way to showcase it on the video. The reality is .. use your hand and if its "Sharp" then you dont need a stocking to tell you youre not crazy lol.
You’re more accepting than I, Tony. For nearly €600 posted, I would not be happy with that level of slop. Pretty neck, I’ll grant you, but sloppy tolerance
I had a reply today from Warmoth so the 'official' answer is as follows: "As you state in your video, once bolted down, it will be pretty fantastic. That is spot on and what our experience has been with these situations." They did say that if ordering a body and neck at the same time they check - but I ordered them separately so they do still check each component but without direct comparison to the other part - in this case the body. Well, I'll continue to carry out the build and the video should say if the guitar is generally 'good' or bad... I think it will be fine, but ha here's the test. A few guys commented about the fit but Warmoth say its no real issue. Thanks for the post and it does show Warmoth's opinion which is important too. Thanks for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial that's fair, I guess. There are 2 variables in this instance... neck dimensions and body dimensions, only one of which they control.
Slack? It wallows around like a hippo in the Nile. If you dont shim that neck pocket you'll never keep string alignment or tuning. Believe me if Fender thought they could get away with that they wouldn't make their necks to fit so tight which is why you get the typical cracking of the pocket. Wallowing neck pockets are neither fashionable or practical , they're a bloody nightmare. It should be a good tight fit and you should be able to pick up the guitar by the neck without any movement before you screw it in.
Ha I know... I was being 'generous' about it. Indeed your description is typical of what I 'normally' see from Warmoth. I'll be looking carefully at this one for sure and thanks for watching.
That logic doesn't really follow. First, there's no way a neck that's even very firmly pressed against only the upper side of a Fender style neck pocket won't pull horizontally up or down ever so slightly. In fact, the vibrational friction between the neck and that upper side may absorb more string energy than if it weren't touching the upper side at all. It can also still shift down vertically if it is against that upper side. Even if the neck is pulled firmly against the back side of the pocket, which I do recommend, it won't necessarily resist any vertical or horizontal pressure that is amplified exponentially by the neck length. The best way to restrict vertical neck shift is to have both surfaces dry and maybe roughed up with course sandpaper, or you might even put some sand in there if it's problem. Indian RW is very oily. It might shift more easily than raw Maple.
It’s the friction between the neck and bottom of the pocket is the most important thing. I’ve played some Fenders from the 60’s that have a huge gap between the pocket and neck. You can insert pick and even coins into the gap but the guitar sounds amazing and stays well in tune. If you want a pocket that aligns neck properly, you need a different kind of pocket design. Tom Anderson has an exceptionally fine neck pocket.
I wouldn't have either one of them when I can get a MIC neck off eBay that's just as good or better for $50.00 and less but that's just me because I take the cheaper approach when it comes to material things in life' kinda like you can stick to eating your sardines and I'll stick to eating rice' either way if you do eat you can't 💩
Frankly, I have been there, bought numerous necks from China and have yet (even with a guitar attached) been unable to find a decent one. They tend to be a lowish quality $50 neck - which is exactly what you paid for. My video of the Chinese parts says much about all of this: th-cam.com/video/cl9rNk0uK94/w-d-xo.html Thanks for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial Well I've bought hundreds of them and used them to assemble guitars' put Fender made in the USA headstock logos on them and pass them off for high dollar fenders guitars without any problems. No but seriously I've bought 4 that were just as good as USA fender ones so I guess it's a hit and miss and depending on which source.
Tony I agree 100%…I ordered a Warmoth warhead neck and it is custom shop level…quarter sawn maple, 6130 frets, graph tech nut…everything was perfect…had to file down the nut slots a hair…about 300 bucks…I would get another in a heartbeat 👍
Thanks for the opinion as a Warmoth customer! That always matters. Historically they (the necks) did have some fret ends that were a bit off, but I have not really seen them with that issue for many years. Thanks for watching too.
Thanks' Tony for another Great review.
Warmoth - Great Necks - I've replaced all my Fender Guitar necks with them. Reason mainly I wanted Stainless Steel and in some cases a wider nut as well. The only Fender I did not have to replace was the Strat Ultra Luxe because it comes with SS frets. I have a heavy hand and go through standard frets within a year where as the Stainless after 3 years have no sign of wear and will last beyond my lifetime. I prefer stainless to the point I will not purchase a new guitar that does not come with stainless frets. I would however purchase the body and then buy a Warmoth Neck. The only draw back last time I checked is Warmth doesn't make a neck that will cosmetically fit the new Ultra series. If you try to adapt one it's likely part of their logo will be visible.
Stainless are really tough as you say... tough to get right too :) Hey thanks for the info on the Warmoth fitting ultra guitar. I have not used an ultra 'yet' :) and thanks for watching. The guitar build is not really that far away maybe a few weeks.
I just got my all rosewood neck and mahogany body (gloss black) from Warmoth. Absolute beauty. I purchased a used Warmoth online months back and it’s the best guitar I’ve ever played. I don’t think I’ll buy anything else from now on!
I have them going back to 2009 and used some genuine Fender parts and those all seem great to me. Thanks for watching
Warmoth really makes a nice neck! Great review!
Thanks for watching...
Hi Tony. Thanks for another really interesting review. Maybe I missed something earlier but I would like to know a bit more about the body that you tried the neck in. I thought it looked really good. I'm looking forward to the next one but until then I wish you good health and happiness.
The body is reviewed here: th-cam.com/video/sqPSwvvxzdc/w-d-xo.html and should answer most of it... and thanks for watching
Thanks Tony, I don't know why I didn't get a notification.
Thanks for another in depth review !! The neck is perfect for the body, and maybe you can use some veneer strips to make a snug fit. Have a great summer !!!
Ha I'll solve it one way or another :) Thanks for watching...
Hi Tony at time stamp 5:40 I use Howards feed-N-wax Beeswax and Orange Oil on my Rosewood Stratocaster and all my fretboards from the
Conklin 7 string fretless Bass to my new 2022 Ibanez JSM20th Anniversary .It sinks in with in a few minutes and you can buff it to a nice shine with a soft cloth.I have looked at these amazing necks by that famous brand :>) and may yet snag one soon.Cheers Tony.
Me too. It's great stuff. The orange oil keeps the beeswax slightly viscous and feeling like silk.
If you want an Indian Rosewood neck for the punchy tone, you might consider the "Modern" construction option so you can get a Goncalo Alves shaft. It's like East Indian RW (which is nothing special), but not as dark for ~$100 less and has a natural smooth waxy feel. One-piece necks are more likely to have fret sprout because any grain shift is magnified. There's really no tonal advantage. Otherwise, it would be common on acoustic guitars. A glued-on fretboard makes it much more stable. Ziricote is a very nice-looking FB wood that generally damps highs less than Indian RW, but more than Pau Ferro. Arizona Turquoise dots would look very good with that. EVO Gold frets are a good choice, but they only offer 6150 "wide and tall". Ken Parker said they should last at least as long as the Stainless options. I got a few very nice standard thin necks with Stainless frets from a guy on etsy for under $200 each. One was Wenge, but I actually prefer the lacquered Maple. The Wenge tone is too "hard" sounding for my taste, and I got a nasty splinter from it.
@humblegeorge and @GCKelloch Thanks guys for this info. BTW I did buy a neck with a different fretboard wood and it felt a little 'strange' when you play - forget the wood but a common one alternative. I like the maple and rosewoods etc. but some of those other woods are a bit weird. Thanks for watching
@@tonymckenzieofficial Feel is very important. My experience with Goncalo Alves is that it feels very smooth. I don't know about Ziricote, but I have two Pau Ferro (Bolivian Rosewood) FB's that I use Feed-N-Wax on a few times a year, and they feel smooth. I also use it on necks. It's particularly good on my non-lacquered or Tru-Oiled Maple necks. Should be great on any raw RW, GA, Ebony, etc. Indian RW is fine if 4kHz+ sparkle isn't important to you, and your pickups don't deliver it anyway.
@@GCKelloch I have heard about the splinters !!! Clear coating should help,,,,,IF,,,,,the wood can be cleared.But again there is something about the real honest wood.I cleared a Violin years ago and it looked wonderful,,,,sounded like a cat in a suitcase.
Thank you for re-commenting GCKelloch.
Hey Tony,
Cool video, I've purchased three rosewood necks via Warmoth and I was eying this one too when the six of them popped up on their 'Showcase'. I see you grabbed one of them obiously ahah! Two reasons why I didn't grab one, I prefer an Ebony board ( which obviously makes it a 2 piece ). I also rather go with the Gibson scale length so the strings are a bit more slinky when you are bending.
The Nervana nut was nice touch and also the gold frets you chose, I've never purchased their gold ones as of yet but perhaps one of these days :)
Lastly, and this is purely for eye candy purposes but I've always chose the premium dots with the mother of pearl dots which really look fantastic on an ebony board and gives more contrast ( However the neck starts getting heavy as well with the rosewood and ebony too which can be a downfall so choose your poison lol ).
Thanks for sharing Tony, I love building and painting Warmoth guitars & parts here as well. Looking forward to what you will couple this neck onto...
My next build is going to be a Telecaster body with an F-hole, 1 piece mahogany with a laminated rosewood top with a rear control lay out and I'll do it with the LP controls, 4 pots and the upper toggle switch and I'll paint it with Nitro.
Have a good one Tony, thanks,
Tommy~
Ha I did 'grab' one :) it suits what I wanted to use for the neck on this body and should be OK - but we shall see. I have considered a shorter scale too but never got to it... yet! Maybe at some stage. Thanks for the info and for watching.
I love warmoth stuff. Incredible value, the have never let me down.
Thanks for that - on this one it's looser than I would have expected in the body, but first time for that and I'll solve it. Thanks for watching too.
The most important part of any guitar is the neck.
If you choose the wrong one and you don't like how it plays then the only option is to change it.
At least that is usualy easy with a bolt on neck.
The fun strats when you have a body socket on an older guitar made before CNC started to make them
all the same size and a neck that is too tight, too slack is fine you need some room for adjustment and a place
to keep spare picks !
This Warmoth one looks excellent and the dark Rosewood looks far better than maple with a Rosewood fretboard.
just keep it well oiled as they say.
Fender necks i can't stand, they are like playing a baseball bat !
Can't wait to see the finished guitar.
:) Oh I agree - the neck really contributes to that feel and playability. I'll see how it all works out on this guitar. There are some differing pickups too that will be interesting when that video comes on later. Thanks for the post and for watching as always.
aaron is a nice guy, i would take warmoth because of that.
keep on pickin'.
I like Warmoth and have used them since 2010 always OK. Thanks for watching.
I got a Clapton Strat off eBay years ago, the neck fit was like a sausage in a shirt sleeve, but it was one of the most lively and resonant guitars I ever owned, wish I still had it. That's a beautiful piece of rosewood btw.
Thanks for the info... I'll be looking close at this one. And thanks for watching.
Ive ordered maybe 3 warmoth necks over the years.
I like the modern neck with the 12 to 16 fretboard radii.
I also like the 50s neck contour.
Always get stainless frets.
Thanks for the post... I like Warmoth parts in general too and thanks for watching.
9:48 For info: The Fender Licence isn’t a specification or quality check for the neck - it only relates to the design of the headstock 👍
Correct. Warmoth among many others vary the neck specs. Thanks for watching too...
They are all a gamble on how they will sound. I've put a bunch of "Fender" guitars together and have had a Fender neck that made every guitar I put on sound dead. Same with a Musickraft neck, out of the 4 or 5 I had, one sounded terrible on every body I put it on. Had oy 1 Warmoth neck and it was OK but not great. The feel and manufacturing of all the necks were fine but it's a gamble because you never know how they will Sound. I would have never thought the neck would affect the sound of a guitar as much as they do.
Well from my own experience, it's not just the body, or the neck etc. I do think there is much more to it all. Overall I have made about 10 Warmoth/Fender guitars and none sounded really 'bad' except for maybe one, that closer and careful setup solved (basically my own fault). But the other items like tremolo, tuners, neck nut, pickups and even the controls can have poor results and that is one reason I often carefully look at the idea about the guitar before I buy the parts. Just simply buying a bunch of parts without the thought of the overall final instrument I think would be not the best way of getting a good 'final' result. For the Fender necks I found the Jeff Beck necks to be far the 'best' when using a Fender neck for say on a Warmoth body etc. Good post and thanks for watching too.
I totally agree with you. It's a crap shoot so shipping half way across the world is high risk. I've never bought a Warmoth neck but my best neck is on a 90s US made Tele. The 90s Fender necks have this fault where the coating cracks and peels off. Mine was in an absolutely terrible state after a few years. Also, the grain didn't look that great yet this neck played and sounded like a dream. I refinished it and refretted it and now it looks better than new.
The issue with Warmoth is that they cost multiple times that of a Mexican Fender neck if you are not in the US. I've tried Mexican Fenders and some played fine. in fact if I go to order a Warmoth neck the way I want it, the cost is more than a US made Fender neck. I'm left handed which makes it even more difficult. I'm pretty much limited to Fender or Warmoth, if I want a neck that is close to Fender design. So many necks are narrow at the nut but Fenders newer Roasted Maple necks are wide enough. I can buy a Fender neck, get it in two days and if I don't like it I send it back with hardly any cost so that's the no brain option but we'll see. It's what I'm going to do because I'm building a Cabronita. If the Fender neck is a fail I'll go Warmoth or something else.
Another point is that you are better off without highly figured necks. They tend to be less stable so a plain maple neck that doesn't cost a lot can be excellent. Go with nice looking wood on the body in my opinion. It's a safer bet but don't buy a dirt cheap neck.
Warmoth is the midlle name of all my guitars, they are good, no much better! 🙏
I tend to stick with them too :) Thanks for watching.
Hmmm, I like maple with rosewood.
A rosewood neck does sound great.
Most definitely a difference in tone.
We shall see :) and thanks for watching.
1.690 " could be the nut width in inches. beautiful piece of rose wood.
Thanks for the info - probably is... and thanks for watching.
Great warmoth neck .
I have one ( Telecaster wengué ) i ve buyed ( second hands ) but he 's like New .
Great shape and great quality ...
I Will like to buy a strat neck vintage shape but shipping cost and tax are incrédibly high ( i m in 🇫🇷) .
Later maybe ... Thank you for your advices 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I like the Warmoth necks too :)
warmoth if it has the side heel adjuster on it... no likey headstock truss rod access, weak and you lose resonance due to the material loss, remember resonance comes form the tuners as well, resonance travels up and down the neck, you can feel it in your hand . .
This one did not have the adjuster - but I have a number of them with it... that's a GOTOH part and seems fine to me in the necks I have. You could be right of course... re the resonance and how the GOTOH might affect the neck - its a good point so thanks for the post and for watching too.
As long as string alignment is good, should be fine..
It is :) It's now completed I just have to complete the build video... thanks for watching.
Neither. I like Strats a lot, but only when somebody other than myself is playing one.
I do not like guitar stuff to look too blingy either. Some necks have amazing flame and are roasted etc, but that look does not compute for me. Not when a maple neck Strat is my reference.
The other thing is modern rosewood. The grain is tighter, less gnarly looking and tends to have a lighter brown colour. Not my bag really. That's because the first guitar I bought myself in 1985 was a 1955 Gibson Southern Jumbo. It had that really nice, dark Brazilian rosewood. But rain forests etc. Fair enough.
I do however prefer Stainless frets. Bigger ones too. Little frets are not as easy to bend notes on, plus nickel wears out quickly with my angle grinder vibrato. Stainless sounds different apparently. Maybe.
Some folks say you should never put a Fender decal on a non-Fender Strat or Tele neck. I dunno about that either. Fender licensed a few companies to make OEM replacements, because Leo Fender intended the necks to be disposable. Just buy a replacement and bin the old one. Therefore a decal is legit I'd say -- even if the body is OEM too.
Modern bridges might be more functional and even have more sustain etc. But I think that old vintage style bridge with the six screws might be a key part of the classic Strat sound. A sum of the parts thing. The more we stray from what Leo used in the 1950s, the less it might sound like a 50s Strat.
Fret work. Warmoth will not level and dress the frets - or at least the last time I checked. That puts me off, because I would have to learn to do it myself, or pay a luthier. A good fret job makes all the difference. A cheap guitar with good fret work and setup can play better than an expensive one that that has dodgy frets and is not set up well.
On the rosewood light streaks I believe were of inferior wood, and like ebony if I remember they die those out often. I could be wrong on that but I'm pretty sure I learned that a while back. I think stainless does have a particular feel when playing a guitar with those fitted. On the decal... well I have fitted them but only for my own guitars. And the neck is licensed and already says Fender on it. I guess we all have our own opinions on it... but using the logo commercially? That's a no no. On the bridges, I have the 6 screw Fender versions, the Fender 2 screw and other tremolos with different things... like saddle metal types. The saddle metals made the most difference to tone and I showed it on a video review of the HALON tremolo. The difference of different materials on the tone was incredible. Warmoth do not fret level, or dress frets that's true. It's not rocket science and worth learning how to do it. But its not on Warmoth as standard you're right. Great post and thanks for watching too.
You can't go wrong with either one also Mighty Mite necks
I keep saying I'll look at Mighty Mite... I'll get there... and thanks for watching.
Warmoth all the way!!
Thanks for watching...
Maple rosewood neck only 4 me because to have the neck too would be like it gets too dirty and a maple and rosewood fretboard I can see how it's getting dirty too but that's 🆒😎 too for sound and nice frets gold sweet woods sound or tone different too Awesome Discussion.....😊I bought a Gretsch Streamliner jet jr natural brown and it's Great with my Marshall Haze 40 Combo WoW different types of woods there Too Very Nice Enjoi🙂👍
Good point and one I did not mention... Ha when making the videos its hard to get everything in the video. Thanks for watching.
Both Warmoth and Mighty Mite are contracted with fender
Thanks for the info and for watching...
Personally, loose neck joints bug me.
I rather have a interference and do a slight sand myself.
You are always taking a chance when getting a new neck or body.
It did bug me too... first I have had from them like that and I have to say I was surprised. We'll see how it goes... and thanks for watching.
For the amount of choice of so many componants of the Guitar Neck,Warmoth would have that covered,hands down...Be prepared to pay for it,of course
Exactly. The stuff is not particularly cheap if you opt for all those options. But you can create some brilliant necks for sure - or bodies! Thanks for watching
Not for me I'm afraid. Body looks like my Nans' dresser. Cool content though Tony, Keep it up. Cheers.
Ha a great comment and I smiled immediately... :) I have built a number of Warmoth and Fender guitars and I wanted something a little different that can't easily be bought off some shelf. Trust me, when its done it will be pretty unique.. just like Granny's dresser :) Thanks for watching
Hi Tony. Interesting 🥜 nut , but can't quite get my head around the dictated scale length if it's intonated at the bridge point as well. Or is the intonation covered by the Nut 🥜 only.Its why I used mainly FR double locking systems mainly as they ignore the extra string bits between the nut and the post. John.
Well' you intonate after its together of course - usual way. But it does affect the overall settings I have seen and they at the bridge end are more aligned than when you don't have the Earvana fitted. I do think it does make a difference and have the Earvana fitted to a number of necks. On the Strat builds I usually fit pretty regular Fender style designs for the bridge... the one for this is shown in the body review I did. Thanks for the info. And thanks for watching.
I much orefer playing 1950s Gibsons, Id order a Warmoth neck , specifically those with Fat 59 neck profile, compound radius. I would also order a 24 3/4" scale length conversion neck, ebony fretboard, Dunlop 6100 frets, Left handed Headstock for shortened string length for G, B, E strings. In other words something impossible to find on a Stock Fender.
Look in the Warmoth completed Necks list, they often have sales to clear inventory
Who cares about Rosewood
That's an interesting choice for sure. I have considered the LP style of guitar a few times re Warmoth, but stuck to the 'easy' stuff :) (so far). Thanks for watching.
Hey Tony and friends... its your favorite pedant... lol
1) the fretwire is a copper alloy thats work hardened and becomes incredibly hard on the surface; should outlast nickel fretwire by a reasonable margin. That said, JESCAR EVO wire is a touch better, but thats a bit hard to get these days lol. Stainless is a bit harder still. These copper alloy wires have a very interesting "feel". They also chew through strings pretty quickly, so keep that in mind. Its superior for "hard" players. SRV would have loved them. But you will be going through strings at an accelerated pace. Stainless are a bit worse; but I guess the trade off is not having to do maintenance on these very often.
2) the skunk stripe is bubinga; though in earnest its a very similar wood overall.
3) Thats a fair amount of slack as you attest to; Im wondering if you got a 55 vs a 56mm heel for some reason (Like ambiguous ordering options may have happened). Either the body or the neck is the "wrong size". thats not proper. I'd say slap a micrometer on and get an accurate measurement and bark up the tree of whomever is "Wrong". Its not that its "bad", its just not right. If you got the wrong item or wrong size, so be it, but I think for a review and the cost, it really should be properly sized. I disagree firmly with your "just tighten it up" mental here; but its your piece and money.
4) corian is a cheap synthetic material used for replacement of quartz countertops made by dupont. Very quality material, but nothing exceptional about it. Not trying to poop in your cheerios, just being objective.
5) For Warmoth at least; "vintage" "vintage/modern" And "modern" ONLY discuss the truss rod adjustment mechanisms. "Vintage" is a single way truss rod adjusted at the heel, "Vintage/Modern" is again a single action truss rod, but adjusted at the headstock. "modern" is a dual action truss rod.
You seem to be coming to the same conclusion. The fitment really should be a deal breaker though. That said, considering the options, its probably feasible your body is a "56mm" neck heel and your neck is " 2 3/16" " [fender sizing]. this is half a mm of play and would really be the issue.
Either way, since it doesnt "fit" properly, take care to align the strings first. Its VERY easy to misalign your neck if you just crank it down. Order of operations -> LOOSELY attach 2 screws into the neck; opposite corners. Get it so the neck still has "some" wiggle/play. String through your high and low E string. You can play with the string tensions to align the neck by tigtening the opposite side string to "pull" it into alignment. Once you get it aligned properly, get a clamp and tighten it down to keep the neck in position, then install the other 2 screws and get them just past finger tight. From there, use a hand screw driver and tighten in a cross pattern until its firmly in position. If you already know this, so be it, but its good info to pass along lol.
cheers.
Oh, one more thing ... very important actually ->
Be VERY careful what oils you use to "treat" your neck. Rosewood is a naturally oily wood and genuinely needs absolutely no additional "oils" for upkeep. You can buff it out with a microfiber cloth and it'll look brand new in basically every scenario outside of physical damage. Many oils have drying agents, and these actually oxidize the shit out of rosewood and turn it just basically black. Not in a "cool" ebonized way, but in a "it looks dirty and grungy" way. Stuff like linseed oil, "lemon oil" (real lemon oil is great lol, but youre probably not getting that in most cases) and all that other nonsense have these properties and will basically "ruin" your neck. Murphy's oil soap is pretty good to clean dirty necks, some naptha if its really grimey. Stuff like mineral oil is ... useless. It's like putting tire shine gel on your bald tires; just makes it shiny for a bit haha. Probably actively harms the wood too, but I dont know enough to speak completely on that subject.
Stuff like "teak oil" or "tung oil finish" are polyurethanes mixed with linseed and tung oil + the driers, so its again not suitable here.
Its astounding how much "bad" info is propagated about this topic. In most cases, cedar oil is probably the best bet, but its expensive. Lasts a long time tho. PURE tung oil would be best but it takes quite some time to properly absorb and dry (we're talking weeks here). "Tung oil finish" is just polyurethane mixed with tung oil, and it is absolutely not the same thing even a little bit.
But as mentioned, some oil soap and a buff with a microfiber will resolve 99% of issues. Would take some serious abuse before Id consider oiling a neck ... thats full of oil already lol
Hi JG this is a very useful post and great info and points raised. Its the first time I have seen ANY variance on the neck at the body end and I have to say I was surprised a lot about that. To mess about sending back is really too much hard work from here in the UK. But I hope many see that and don't just assume that everything fits everything. This neck was pre made and I'll certainly do some measuring and I might make a short video about that - which I'm sure would be great for some guys out there. On frets I did once get stainless steel but hard work on any work to do on those. I have opted for the 'gold' ones a few times and they are I think better than Stainless. On alignment I'm OK with that, but great that you post the answers for it. Like I said - a really good and informative post... and where I come from that is what matters because it passes on info to any guys that watch the video. Regards and thanks for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial yea, it being a warmoth, id personally gjve them the benefit of the doubt. I personally am curious of the measurements, ive only used warmoth necks that came on an existing guitar. Im normally an all-parts guy due to cost ratios lol, but every warmoth ive touched was quality.
@@tonymckenzieofficial and yeah, i figured you would know how to align a neck lol. Its just a weird thing a lot of people skip over sometimes.
Cheerz fom Buckingham N Tha Heart of Virginia
Great to hear you... and thanks for watching.
Isn't rosewood a bit heavy for a guitar neck?
In fact that neck is near enough the same weight as the maple one I showed... thanks for watching.
Do they come pre-drilled to mount to the body?
Yes!
Use a pair of your Wife's nylon footies, hose and put your hand in them then run them up the side of the neck & frets. If they need filing tand are not 100% smooth they will make a mark on the hose. Phil from the YT site Know your gear uses this technique.
Eh he just does that to provide an objective way to showcase it on the video. The reality is .. use your hand and if its "Sharp" then you dont need a stocking to tell you youre not crazy lol.
I have tried many times to remove my wife's tights :) Thanks for watching.
You make me want it but you don't give me a link!
Link is in the text below the video... ;-) and thanks for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial
Thank you!!!
You’re more accepting than I, Tony. For nearly €600 posted, I would not be happy with that level of slop. Pretty neck, I’ll grant you, but sloppy tolerance
I had a reply today from Warmoth so the 'official' answer is as follows: "As you state in your video, once bolted down, it will be pretty fantastic. That is spot on and what our experience has been with these situations." They did say that if ordering a body and neck at the same time they check - but I ordered them separately so they do still check each component but without direct comparison to the other part - in this case the body. Well, I'll continue to carry out the build and the video should say if the guitar is generally 'good' or bad... I think it will be fine, but ha here's the test. A few guys commented about the fit but Warmoth say its no real issue. Thanks for the post and it does show Warmoth's opinion which is important too. Thanks for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial that's fair, I guess. There are 2 variables in this instance... neck dimensions and body dimensions, only one of which they control.
Slack? It wallows around like a hippo in the Nile. If you dont shim that neck pocket you'll never keep string alignment or tuning. Believe me if Fender thought they could get away with that they wouldn't make their necks to fit so tight which is why you get the typical cracking of the pocket. Wallowing neck pockets are neither fashionable or practical , they're a bloody nightmare. It should be a good tight fit and you should be able to pick up the guitar by the neck without any movement before you screw it in.
Ha I know... I was being 'generous' about it. Indeed your description is typical of what I 'normally' see from Warmoth. I'll be looking carefully at this one for sure and thanks for watching.
That logic doesn't really follow. First, there's no way a neck that's even very firmly pressed against only the upper side of a Fender style neck pocket won't pull horizontally up or down ever so slightly. In fact, the vibrational friction between the neck and that upper side may absorb more string energy than if it weren't touching the upper side at all. It can also still shift down vertically if it is against that upper side. Even if the neck is pulled firmly against the back side of the pocket, which I do recommend, it won't necessarily resist any vertical or horizontal pressure that is amplified exponentially by the neck length. The best way to restrict vertical neck shift is to have both surfaces dry and maybe roughed up with course sandpaper, or you might even put some sand in there if it's problem. Indian RW is very oily. It might shift more easily than raw Maple.
It’s the friction between the neck and bottom of the pocket is the most important thing. I’ve played some Fenders from the 60’s that have a huge gap between the pocket and neck. You can insert pick and even coins into the gap but the guitar sounds amazing and stays well in tune. If you want a pocket that aligns neck properly, you need a different kind of pocket design. Tom Anderson has an exceptionally fine neck pocket.
I wouldn't have either one of them when I can get a MIC neck off eBay that's just as good or better for $50.00 and less but that's just me because I take the cheaper approach when it comes to material things in life' kinda like you can stick to eating your sardines and I'll stick to eating rice' either way if you do eat you can't 💩
Frankly, I have been there, bought numerous necks from China and have yet (even with a guitar attached) been unable to find a decent one. They tend to be a lowish quality $50 neck - which is exactly what you paid for. My video of the Chinese parts says much about all of this: th-cam.com/video/cl9rNk0uK94/w-d-xo.html Thanks for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial
Well I've bought hundreds of them and used them to assemble guitars' put Fender made in the USA headstock logos on them and pass them off for high dollar fenders guitars without any problems.
No but seriously I've bought 4 that were just as good as USA fender ones so I guess it's a hit and miss and depending on which source.
Lack of finish i suspect
Well finish or not... good point and thanks for watching.
annoying
Then don't watch it. Thanks.