See completed instruments in the Warmoth Gallery

Complete instruments start at £900...something very fancy might be about £1500.

How I make guitars...

First of all, I work with my customer on the design, wood choices, pickups and wiring, hardware etc.

The parts are ordered and we wait a few weeks...

When all the parts have arrived, the building process can begin.

The frets are dressed, nut (Funky or normal) installed, tuners fitted.

The bridge and scratchplate (pickguard) are fitted (this involves drilling lots of holes in exactly the right places!)

The pickups, pots, switches etc are fitted and soldered.

The neck is fitted to the body...nearly there!

A set of strings are fitted and the guitar is tested electrically.

The last stage is a set up...and a very full test (hard work, but someone has to do it!)

Left handed? NO EXTRA CHARGE for a Left Handed guitar!!! (makes a change!)

If you've never heard of these guys, then check out their amazing web site.

They make bodies and necks (in the USA) and are licensed by Fender under a quality control agreement. Basically, they have to make bodies and necks which are at the very least equal in quality to USA Fender product. The 'replacement' bodies and necks for Fender Strats and Teles form the basis for some fantastic 'Custom Shop' style instruments. Warmoth's finishing (paintwork) is first class, though some woods don't require finishing.

So you want a Tele... one piece light Swamp Ash, with big fat 'boat' neck, 21 big frets, compound radius, quarter sawn Maple neck with Brazilian Rosewood 'board, P90 and Tele pickups... or a hollow Rosewood body, with matching one piece Rosewood neck, 22 frets, Gibson scale length (24 ¾"), humbuckers, Floyd Rose trem (!)

Or how about a Strat.....Mahogany body with Flame Maple top, Flame Maple neck with Ebony 'board, Lipstick tube pickups on copper pearl pickguard... or Korina body and neck, one humbucker, one control, no pickguard, 7 strings and attitude!

There are LOTS of possibilities..double-necks, basses, 12 strings, 7 strings.. if you can think of it, then Warmoth probably already have! On the other hand, you might want a "Tele that sounds like a 335" or a "Strat that sounds like a Tele crossed with a Les Paul". I can help turn these ideas into possible wood choices for the neck and body.

Of course, you could order what you want and build it yourself, but if you don't normally set up your own guitars, then the prospect of making one might seem a bit daunting to say the least! This is where I come in... you design the guitar (with or without creative input from me)... the neck and body are ordered from Warmoth... all the other parts (bridge, tuners, pickups etc) are ordered from the various manufacturers (Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Fender, Grover, Schaller, etc).

When everything has arrived, the frets are dressed, the guitar assembled and set up and tested (the fun bit!). My charge for the fret dress, assembly and set up is £200. This price does not include any parts, necks, bodies, finishing (painting)!

See completed instruments in the Warmoth Gallery.