NGB Day

Almost finished with my 16th Warmoth strat. I finished the body with boiled Linseed oil and buffed with Meguiar's car wax. The neck is so beautiful, but the pics don't do it much justice. It's a real nice dark red with a copper sheen; very unique looking Padauk.

Mahogany + Flame Maple
Padauk + Rosewood
Tesla Opus-1 neck/bridge pickups
Wilkinson VS100 tremolo
Gotoh Magnum locking tuners
Electronics: Sozo .047 capacitor, CTS pots, Carling 2-way switch

The mint pickguard will eventually be replaced with a white or parchment pickguard.

bitchin man! lets see pics of the other guitars you made! how does it sound?

mooncobra":1xp3u8ao said:

bitchin man! lets see pics of the other guitars you made! how does it sound?

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Sounds killer. I've had Mahogany Fender strats before, but none ever sounded like this. The maple cap makes a difference, but everything together makes it sound incredible. The neck pocket is tight and the wood is so resonant, but the body only weighs 4 lb 6 oz. The Padauk neck with Rosewood board has a perfect combination of snap and warmth to match the Mahogany. This body seems to have a real nice upper mid snarl and not too stuffy on the low mids like some Mahogany guitars. The pickups are outstanding. It's a damned shame they don't make these anymore.

Tesla says the Opus-1 are "better than handwound." Well, handwound is a debatable topic, but I have never tried a so-called budget pickup anywhere near this good. I want to buy a few sets more just to keep around. The neck is thin, but it's a very comfortable hardwood. It's not waxy like Goncalo Alves (my favorite). It's kind of like Wenge in a way. Just a super nice neck.

Here are 13 or 14 more I built at this link:

http://www.sparkguitars.com

Looks real nice!

sweet...

Nicest Warmoth ive seen ...

Gorgeous guitar! I've never heard of padauk, what kind of wood is it? Soft/hard? Is it closer to maple or mahogany, or something in the middle?

VH4_BigRig":1fdebetc said:

Gorgeous guitar! I've never heard of padauk, what kind of wood is it? Soft/hard? Is it closer to maple or mahogany, or something in the middle?

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It's a hardwood. It does't require a finish like Maple of Mahogany. It's kind of like Wenge, but Wenge has kind of a threaded appearance and Padauk has kind of a porous appearance. It's very smooth, but harder than maple, so stainless steel frets might add a tinge of brightness. I'd say Padauk is sounds closer to Ebony bit a bit flatter EQ. It's a very comfortable wood in your hands, and doesn't get slippery when your hands sweat. I prefer the gold frets to the stainless steel with Padauk, but I wanted a little more sizzle since Mahogany tends to be a bit lower mid oriented and darker than Alder.

Sweet!

99% finished. Just need to add drill 9 more holes for the pickguard. I updated the pics.

Beautiful! I've only built one Warmoth and one USA Custom and love them both. I wasn't as adventurous as you with the woods, just went with standards except Pau Ferro on one fretboard. I really want to build a Tele next.

SpiderWars":1763j1im said:

Beautiful! I've only built one Warmoth and one USA Custom and love them both. I wasn't as adventurous as you with the woods, just went with standards except Pau Ferro on one fretboard. I really want to build a Tele next.

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Man I love Pao Ferro. I have two with Pao Ferro and my next project will be Wenge with a Pao Ferro fretboard. This Mahogany body is so damned good that I'm going to start using it from now on. If you undertake a Tele project, then I highly recommend considering a mahogany body.

Love that finish with the gold hardware, congrats !!

stratjacket":1f0hhihn said:

Love that finish with the gold hardware, congrats !!

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I used red food coloring for the initial cherry stain, then sanded it almost all off, then used yellow dye to give it an amber look. That's why there's kind of a cherry color mixed in. I'm a sucker for gold hardware. Thanks for checking it out and the compliment.