New Strat Build

[SavageRiffer]

This is the cleanest, whitest Poplar body I've seen. Plus, it has some weight to it, about 4.4 lbs. That's pretty average for Alder to be around 4.4 to 4.8, Poplar is usually around 4 to 4.2 lbs. Though the weight isn't a sure way to tell anything, a little heft in softer woods provides a bit more low end resonance. In my experience, Poplar is between Alder and Ash.

Check out the grain. I think it's pretty nice. There isn't a greenish tint or ugly mineral streaks. I think once I dye it, sand it, and then apply another coat of dye, those grain patterns will pop out a bit more through the finish. I'm going to finish with Tru or Danish oil. What do you think, I mean, is it just me or is this a fantastic piece of Poplar? It was only $125 so I jumped on it. Below that are some pics of the neck I bought for this body. It's flame Maple + Kingwood.

If you're thinking of building a Warmoth, don't be afraid to buy their Poplar bodies. They kind of have the high end of Ash, and a low end between Alder and Basswood. You can save a lot of money using Poplar. It has a great sustain and a bit of midrange growl to it. This will be my 3rd Poplar build from Warmoth. I'll post some pics after I finish and dry the parts.

 

[SavageRiffer]

Just for comparison, this is what Poplar bodies usually look like. They sound incredible, but usually not good for clear finishes unless you get a nice white piece.

 

[SpiderWars]

Looks good to me but I'm no expert. That's a great price. That headstock should look really nice once finished. Not familiar with Kingwood. Looks a little Pau Ferro-ish but different. My most recent Warmoth neck was QS Maple/Pau Ferro and I love it.

 

[SavageRiffer]

Looks good to me but I'm no expert. That's a great price. That headstock should look really nice once finished. Not familiar with Kingwood. Looks a little Pau Ferro-ish but different. My most recent Warmoth neck was QS Maple/Pau Ferro and I love it.

Kingwood is very much like Bocote which is a type of Rosewood I think. It's an oily hardwood, like Rosewood, and kind of snappy like Ebony. I like to use my wedding ring to knock on exotic wood boards to get a sense of how they resonate. It's not a scientific way of doing things, but it does generally give you a pretty good idea of which frequencies different woods will resonate. Kingwood seems like it has more lows and highs than Rosewood, but I'll be able to give you a better idea of it once I plug it in

 

[Crunchtime]

I like that fretboard. I've looked at kingwood on the Warmoth site before. How tight is the grain structure? Are the pores more open like rosewood or tight like pau ferro?

What color are you going with? I think I just need a shell pink and I will be set.

 

[SavageRiffer]

I like that fretboard. I've looked at kingwood on the Warmoth site before. How tight is the grain structure? Are the pores more open like rosewood or tight like pau ferro?

What color are you going with? I think I just need a shell pink and I will be set.

It's more like Pao Ferro, but sounds maybe a tad warmer. I have a couple of Pao Ferro fretboards and to me it's a bit more on the bright side like Ebony or Maple. My favorite neck & fretboard wood however is Goncalo Alves. It's a very fast, smooth, and luxurious wood. It's dense and sounds warm without rounding out the upper frequencies. It's more beautiful in person than in pictures.

For this body, I was thinking about a gloss black or candy purple finish, but since it has a nice wood grain, I think I'll probably do a coat of brown stain, sand it so that the darkened grain patterns are left, and then use a honey colored Danish oil. I'm going to give it 6 coats this time so that it's a shinier, harder finish. I'm going to use Tru-oil on the neck. I'll use about 6 coats over probably a 8-10 day process. Tru-oil is darker than Linseed oil, so it will really bring out the flame maple. I have some yellow dye, so I might just give it a bit of vintage tint before I apply the oil finish.

 

[harddriver]

I agree, poplar is also my favorite tonewood by far... after playing Northern Ash, Maple and mahogany over the years, it's warm but snappy with great resonance. Basswood bodies have always been either marginal or dead when I built a basswood superstrat, it was dead, no pickup changes helped it. My old EBMM axis was ok... but not snappy like my Kramer. I recently played an EVH Basswood Striped series and I had the same "MEH" reaction to it as well. Poplar is often overlooked.

Kramer used alot of Poplar back in the 80's, I have two 1983 poplar Kramers that have awesome acoustic resonance and tone. The downside to poplar is that the wood is somewhat soft like basswood and becomes fatigued then the anchors start to move or the ligament between the stud and pickup cavity cracks, this usually takes about 15-30 years to occur though. It is easy to route out and install Maple or another hardwood block and then re-install the studs, of which both of my Kramers had to have done, the retrofit did not affect the tonality, just locked down the tuning issues on the GB and E strings which tended to go flat mostly on the G when the stud would move using the Floyd.

I have found the grain is nice and tight on poplar unlike Northern Ash which you sometimes have to use grainfiller.

I have a poplar KNE Kramer build that's been staring at me to get done, just haven't found the motivation yet. I'd love to see your pics you posted but they aren't showing up at all.

 

[SavageRiffer]

I agree, poplar is also my favorite tonewood by far... after playing Northern Ash, Maple and mahogany over the years, it's warm but snappy with great resonance. Basswood bodies have always been either marginal or dead when I built a basswood superstrat, it was dead, no pickup changes helped it. My old EBMM axis was ok... but not snappy like my Kramer. I recently played an EVH Basswood Striped series and I had the same "MEH" reaction to it as well. Poplar is often overlooked.

Kramer used alot of Poplar back in the 80's, I have two 1983 poplar Kramers that have awesome acoustic resonance and tone. The downside to poplar is that the wood is somewhat soft like basswood and becomes fatigued then the anchors start to move or the ligament between the stud and pickup cavity cracks, this usually takes about 15-30 years to occur though. It is easy to route out and install Maple or another hardwood block and then re-install the studs, of which both of my Kramers had to have done, the retrofit did not affect the tonality, just locked down the tuning issues on the GB and E strings which tended to go flat mostly on the G when the stud would move using the Floyd.

I have found the grain is nice and tight on poplar unlike Northern Ash which you sometimes have to use grainfiller.

I have a poplar KNE Kramer build that's been staring at me to get done, just haven't found the motivation yet. I'd love to see your pics you posted but they aren't showing up at all.

One things I've figured out about Danish oil is that it has hardeners and dryers that work extremely well in making the wood more durable. Most poplar finishes are solid glossy colors that don't penetrate down into the wood, but Danish oil penetrates deep into the wood and hardens a lot. If you make sure to get the oil inside all of the drill holes, it will harden to the point where you can't even sand it out of the wood unless you sand like 1/2 the wood off.

This piece of Poplar has a real nice grain and is a bit heavier, so I think it's going to be pretty sturdy in the end. I love the tone of basswood, especially the way Musicman does it with the mahogany center block inside the body, but I don't use it because it's too soft. So far, Poplar hasn't been nearly as soft as basswood, so I think it will do well.

 

[harddriver]

Hey the pics finally appeared! Yeah that body doesn't seem to have any discoloration at all. Yeah the Maple caps on the EBMM axis seem to help keep the posts from fatiguing for sure, had my EBMM for over ten years and the post were rock solid in it.

Are you going the Floyd this strat or go with traditional strat trem?

 

[scottosan]

For strat builds, USACG is far superior

 

[PBGas]

Looking forward to seeing that when it is done! Nice!

 

[JackBootedThug]

i have a pv falcon that's poplar....heavy as fuck.

 

[SavageRiffer]

For strat builds, USACG is far superior

Uh, yeah, you sure qualified that statement. Sorry, but USAGC isn't "far superior" to Warmoth. At least Warmoth has an easy way to order online, and tons of parts in-stock and ready to ship. USAGC's website sucks. Warmoth is of the highest quality, so there's not such thing as "far superior" when you're on that level. The Warmoth vs USAGC debate threads are generally 60/40, and the 60% is usually Warmoth, so what's your point? I post a build and you come along "USAGC is far superior." That's like someone going to your amp building thread and saying "Rodrigo's Amps are far superior."

 

[SavageRiffer]

I've got a couple of ideas for the body. Check out these mock-ups and let me know what you think:

 

[cecilbag]

I like the first pic the best. That light purple with black guard looks smooth.

 

[SavageRiffer]

I like the first pic the best. That light purple with black guard looks smooth.

Yeah, I'm kind of leaning between that and the third one. Notice the 3rd and 4th have darker headstocks. I was thinking about a darker tint for the neck. What do you think?

 

[SpiderWars]

I like the darker headstocks too. Looks more natural to me.

I've only built one Warmoth and one USACG. Very comparable quality and I wouldn't be able to recommend one over the other. Very happy with both.

 

[SavageRiffer]

I like the darker headstocks too. Looks more natural to me.

I've only built one Warmoth and one USACG. Very comparable quality and I wouldn't be able to recommend one over the other. Very happy with both.

Your Tru-Oil neck came out nicely. I stop at a satin sheen, but I think I'm going to go 6-7 coats with up to 200 grit and see how thick I can get it. Patience is the problem man because once you have the first few coats then it's ready to play.

 

[shredhead7]

I like the purple with the white pickguard. The black pickguard distracts from the body IMO.

 

[stephen sawall]

The guys at USACG are people that worked at Warmoth and decided to start their own business. I know most of them. They mass produce bodies and necks for companies around the world. If you want to spend the money they will pretty much make anything you want. One being better than the other is pretty subjective.

Build looks pretty nice. I'm thinking about doing a Strat myself.