Warmoth worth the money?

Hi guys

I've always been an ESP guy oriented on the Gibson side (Explorer, Eclipse) but lately I've been considering buying a Strat like guitar just to try something different. My first (and only) choice has been an ESP Vintage Plus Maple but, looking on the web, I've started to put some interest in building a Warmoth guitar. Of course I cannot built an ESP quality instrument by myself but it would be very cool, for me, to choose each piece individually, adjust each nip, sand the body 'till it's perfect for me, adjust the controls to fit my hand at best and so on. Of course building a guitar that way it's not that cheap and my main concern is: Is a Warmoth Strat worth the money over an ESP Vintage Plus Maple or the difference in quality will be so dramatic that I'd be better buy an ESP guitar? Specially 'cause the specs of my Warmoth project would be almost the same of the ESP VPM (maple neck/fretboard, alder body, 3x Duncan's single coils, 22 XJ frets, Wilkinson bridge, Gotoh tuning machines, I'm not sure yet if going with front routing or back routing).

I've used Warmoth parts in the past and built a few Warmoth guitars. I didn't find them to be better or worse than most quality name brands. I also use ESP and can say that between the two I'd do ESP unless you want some option that there is just no way you could ever install into the ESP. Also bear in mind that unless you get everything pre drilled and painted or have a huge workshop with luthier tools you may find final fit and finish to be a bit daunting. Also from my experience the fret edges on Warmoths are not properly finished so you will probably need those beveled and a good fret leveling. Something an ESP would already have. Just my $.02. I like Warmoth but i do not think they are worth the money unless you just absolutely need some option that no ESP could ever be modified to include.

Peace,
Joshua

Mister Joshua said:

I like Warmoth but i do not think they are worth the money unless you just absolutely need some option that no ESP could ever be modified to include.

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That's exactly what I was thinking, in fact I would be ending with a guitar at 90% with the same specs of the ESP with only differences Graph tech nut and string tree and a side-of-body jack instead the strat-like on top of the body. Yesterday I was making some counts about the parts I'd be needing and ended up with something around 750 - 850 Euro for the Warmoth project, about an half of the ESP, of course with the only neck finished by the maker and the body to be finished by me.

I further second Joshua's comment.

I owned, and recently sold, a black ESP Vintage Plus with a maple neck. It's one of the best quality guitars I've ever had the pleasure to own. The neck is very fast and feels very solid. ESP's fit & finish are top notch. That guitar was, arguably, on the same level, if not above, the Fender Am. Std./Dlx. series.

I've never played a Warmoth guitar, but was very closed to building one just like you're thinking about doing. I started doing tons of research and came to the conclusion that it would end up being far too expensive and time consuming.

I would suggest you look for a nice used ESP Vintage Plus. Some of the older models have slightly different hardware configurations. On this side of the pond, Guitar Center usually sells ESP's for cheap because most of their customers prefer bigger names like Fender and Gibson. You might want to try and find a similar store.

Thanks y'all's time!