Pretty much every point has been made in the other comments. I just want to say excellent job with the video. Thorough but concise. It was an enjoyable watch. Thanks!
Thanks, I visited the Warmoth factory way back in 1985 in Puyallup WA and bought my first strat body and neck. I stated which frets I wanted and then took off for an hour with my girlfriend to get some lunch. When I returned the Dunlop 6150 were installed and fret edges buffed, pretty well ready to play.. The sons were running the place and their father was a millwright and built some of the machines they used. Great quality and dedication, and they are still around.
yep, superior quality comes from those superior brutal cnc and router machines and after that they even have a bunch of manual work on top, so, this has to have a price tag also. basically money makes money so they even buy probably the best wood money can buy for this kind of work, and i guess that's why the gfs body on this video is not perfectly plane, maybe the wood was not perfectly stabilized yet
GFS sells Chinese junk to people who don't know any better. I used to buy their pickups because he made it sound like he made them in his shop. That was a lie. I found out when i found the exact same pickups on a direct purchase company for 1/3rd the price, and they shipped from China. The ONLY difference is, the Chinese factory stamps GFS on the base-plate. Everything they sell is made in China.... now they say "designed in the USA".... probably because someone sued them.
Thank you for providing a valuable comparison. I had my suspicions about the ultra cheap GFS bodies and you have confirmed what I was afraid of. It's the difference between something slapped together with scraps at a Chinese factory (GFS) and something built individually by accomplished craftsman (Warmoth). The GFS stuff would likely be good enough for eBay, Amazon or Reverb partscasters as you mention but not for something I'm building for myself or as a gift. With every purchase you have to consider your time, effort, abilities and shop capabilities as part of the cost. The fact is that many people looking to build there own guitar by purchasing a body and neck and assembling them rather than building a body and neck from raw lumber will not have the woodworking skills or tools to fix the problems with that GFS body. Even considering that I do have the tools and abilities how much time and shop supplies (sandpaper, wood filler, etc) am I going to sink into that cheap body to make it useable? Maybe it takes me a whole weekend to get that body into shape. If I'm buying a body and neck my goal is not to waste a weekend getting the parts into usable shape. My goal is to have some fun one weekend assembling a custom guitar. That extra $116.00 is money well spent if it means I also don't have to worry about those glue lines coming apart considering the lack of quality control on the rest of the body.
I am a woodworker and am very mechanically inclined. The concept of building a guitar out of parts is appealing... BUT there is a store near me that sells used guitars. They almost always have several pretty nice and complete electric guitars on clearance for under $50. So even if I wanted something custom, I would start with one of these.
If a raw tele body is too heavy & you're doing a custom build anyway, then go ahead and put the belly & elbow contours on it like a strat style. Lightens the body, makes it more comfortable & it's stylish too 😀
Thank you for such an excellent comparison. I have a GFS tele body boxed away in my shop. Actually, it's not even a GFS, it's from their factory buyout section. It's kinda rough, but usable. Warmoth, as nice as they are, is way outside my budget right now. I'm in the process of teaching myself guitar repair and building. I've been learning tons, and videos like this are an excellent tool. Thank you so much. :)
Jim Jackson Thanks for the great feedback, Jim! Glad it was helpful. I know, in general, Warmoth is out of my league too, so what I did was buy parts for this build over two years. It represents birthday gifts, father's day gifts, Christmas gifts and some freelance work. It will be a once in a lifetime build for me. I have it painted sonic blue and it is ready to assemble. I am finishing up a room remodel project so after that, I will complete it and post it. Best of luck on your future builds!
I have used Both, and although the Cost reflects these Differences, in the End I had found Better to Start with a Higher or Highest Quality and Not try to hammer out a jewel from a rock
Thanks for the video. All the parameters you touched on are important to consider when putting a guitar together. The warmouth body is bookmatched lumber from the same log. That is how top notch woodworkers roll!!!! The GFS body could have been from the same log, who knows? Late wood & early wood joined together right down the middle could explain the cupping. Extra glue joints and heartwood boards cause the wieght to be more than you would expect! Nice job Dave
Thanks for thinking of doing this nice comparison, when you ended up with two bodies. Easy to see you were NOT trying to critique and compare them as equals. But were merely showing what differences one might get when paying that much more, or less. I also appreciate that you stated a few times that some things were your opinion and not an absolute, AND that a 10 point comparison with some editorial comments was only 11 minutes and change, haha. This could have easily been twice as long.
As long as all the holes line up, once the guitar is all together I bet you can't tell the difference. The real old vintage Tele's were hand made. The weight was all over the place. So was grain patterns and number of pieces.
False and false and false and false. You don't know anything and now everyone else knows you don't. It takes a special kind of stupid to be that wrong.
@@jasonhisington5928 You wanted to say ignorant shit without accountability? That's Trump's jam. He'll sue for trademark infringement if you don't cease and desist.
I really appreciate the review. I think most people wanting to do a build are struggling with the price difference. But you really cleared that up. Thanks!
jon lennon thanks for the great comments and for the Indo China reference. That's good to know and glad this was helpful for you in determining which product to go with. Best of luck on your Warmoth build! Peace.
Realizing this is a couple years old... Carpenters (like me) know that wood is sold by grade. Better grades are more expensive, simple as that. Select grades can be several times the cost of utility grades. The main difference in cost between these two bodies is the grade and dryness the wood used. I'm betting the weight difference is primarily moisture content as well.
@@stevenarmstrong5364 Irregularities, and appearance, but I doubt the GFS is actually swamp ash at 5.5 lbs. Hard ash is heavier and less resonant that swamp ash. The thing is, swamp ash is not actually a species, but a growing condition, so sellers can get away with claiming that their ash is swamp ash. Ash that grows in a swamp starts off heavy, but when dried is very light as water leaves the fibers. It has a very course grain as a result. It takes a lot of grain filling to get it smooth.
@@qua7771 You are so right about swamp ash and grain filling! I learned the hard way which resulted in a happy accident. I bought a gorgeous lightweight swamp ash Strat body from Warmoth and my plan was to stain it blue and shoot it with clear for a nice transparent glossy finish. After spraying coat after coat after coat of clear nitro lacquer, I realized that the grain was just too prominent to bury with clear. At first I was disappointed. Then when I buffed it out it had a beautiful gloss with the texture of the grain still being quite evident and “feelable”. Lesson learned…for future projects. And an absolutely beautiful guitar!
@@martinthompson2425 I sprayed a couple sealer coats, then used clear grain filler, then repeated. It's hard not to get grain voids after drying with swamp ash. The grain consistency is like a bundle of miniature straw. Whatever the method, it more of a process than other guitar woods for sure.
very good comparison. it seems like the GFS body is usable for people who have the time and skills to "finish it up" but you may not want to just stain/paint and assemble.
Yak Yak Yak.... I have tried to get info from other videos but all they want to do is hear themselves talk. They want to talk about everything under the sun except what they are supposed to be talking about. Ugg!! Thank you for your presentation that was full of info without the fat! Awesome!
I couldn't have done a better review of these two bodies. Kudos for your thoroughness! In 2012, as a company guitar, I built a Warmoth Tele fitted with their FatBack maple neck with S.S. 6230s. The Veriegation and shimmer of the koa top is simply breathtaking. OTOH... I often get asked to build GFS Teles. I tell those customers that all parts must be pre-fitted before they come to me or the assembly cost could exceed the parts cost. I often hear they sent the parts back to GFS because they had so much trouble with fitment.
Thank you for this video. I am not someone overly concerned with QC on very small details, number of wood pieces, etc. I'm going to build a Mary Kaye white tele with a warmoth neck and a GFS body. I'll take the cheap body since the way I see it, it's mostly for holding everything else together. If the holes and routes are correct, I don't care about concavity or chips or anything like that. A neck takes a lot more TLC for it to play well and I think that cheaping out on one is generally bad practice (unless you're looking for something to practice working on, then by all means).
First, great video, great focus, you stayed on point, you present well, so, I'm not trying to start fights. :) Commenting because I finished my first build ever and used a GFS body. Mine was a Stratocaster. I wanted a triple humbucker Strat hardtail and it got a orange to red fade, from center out. Ended up cutting some corners, slicing build cost in half and ultimately, still being pretty pleased. On the body, never checked flatness, didn't even occur to me, so I can't comment. Did use a MIM Fender neck, neck pocket fit it poorly, like had to eat out a corner, chipped the coating, heel spot wasn't flat, had to chisel out, fit poorly. My body was painted. . . urethaned. . . Nitro'd. . . something thick, hard, and brittle Daphne Blue. Got a guy at work to rough it up for paint, he did blow through it on a corner but once he got a feel for wood as opposed to metal, it worked great! My 1/4" jack pocket was routed so big I almost couldn't get screws to bite. Had to drill out for my body ferrules but probably from my painting. Had to drill bridge screw and guard screw holes. GFS didn't offer hardtail and swimming pool route so I routed it fearlessly knowing the pickguard would hide some sins. My body actually feels light to me. Never weighed it, but compared to my heavy Chinese Deluxe Squier Strat, this one is almost alarmingly light. Many piece body construction, can see at least 3 in routing holes. Center seam is actually raised on one side, now that I'm thinking, visible after a dozen coats of paint, 2000 grit, and rubbing compound. Noticed while drilling pickguard that wood density differed dramatically from panel to panel, some were hard to drill into, others I almost made a deep enough hole marking with an awl. Overall, I'm still delighted, my total build was $400 give or take a few. $200 was the MIM neck, didn't want to cheap out there. Also Fender locking tuners and a cast American Strat bridge, screws, ferrules, string guides were all Fender. Pickguard was below $10, pups were $10 a pair (2 pair for a triple bucker and they do sound fine surprisingly, not crazy but fine, no plans to swap), and art of tone deluxe wiring kit. Where I cut corners: didn't get Bare Knuckle Pickups (maybe a bucking Tele next?), didn't get the carbon fiber pickguard I planned for, cheap knobs. I think that just those those simple corner cuts saved me like $520.
Definitely worth the price dif... I would go with Warmoth or USA Custom Guitars, Tommy's company. He was a Warmoth man first, until he started his own company. Makes great wood..
I certainly appreciate all the time you took for this review. I am not sure if I would ever do a project with an unfinished body, but I did two guitars last year, one with a Mighty Mite body and one with a GFS body. The GFS is clearly a three-piece body, and I used MIghty Mite necks with both. The Mighty Mite body fit a bit better. I enjoy playing both my guitars, and I don't want to apologize for enjoying the less expensive build as much as the other. Quite simply, I ended up with two guitars that I enjoy playing as much as any of the 20 or 30 guitars I owned. My guitars happen to be in the Strat-style, but honestly, I enjoy these builds more than my Fender and G&L guitars that are Strat and Tele style. I certainly would have no problem creating a guitar I would enjoy for many years from the two bodies you discuss here. Thank you for your thoughtful comments and all the time you have put into this.
Eric Wise that was really helpful to hear! Thanks for sharing your MightyMite and gfs experiences. So glad they find value to you among the many guitars you own. It is highly rewarding to choose the parts you want and then build it to the point where you and other can enjoy it. That's so awesome! Thanks again and cheers!
gfs...cheaper, yes...i believe one is expected to fine tune the gfs body far more than the Warmoth..this would explain the cost difference..the cheaper model always needs more work..just an observation..still, a comprehensive and thorough review..well done!
Great video. I have been a long time GFS fan. For the money, they are great. They do take some work out of the box, but I like to do that and have the experience to do so. I think for a kid looking to build their own guitar that makes 8 bucks an hour, they could make a great guitar to fit in their budget with GFS parts. Warmoth is definitely a different level. Thanks for taking the time to shoot this....
If you're gonna buy all Warmoth parts you may as well just buy the full assembled guitar. I wanted a neck for my build. $250 for the Tele neck. I can buy a squire for that, add about $200 more and have a killer Tele. I've done it dozens of times. Bought a Thinline when they were still cheap. Changed pups, tuners, bridge, pots and put a GFS vibrato on it. $500 total which is what they go for now with lesser grade parts. My American made Tele friends "hated" me. It sounded, felt and played every bit as good as their $1500+ Teles. One friend sold his Tele and had me customize a Thinline Cost him Round $600 (he wanted different pups) Sold his Tele for $1400, gave me $700 (cost of parts and my time) and had like $700 left over. He never went back to Fenders again.
@@twootters7433 I have a pal who just bought an "American Strat" because that means it will be great... He hates it and says his 100 dollar Mexican partscaster kills it hands down. I snickered...
@@BobbyMeeks HAHAHA!!! Yeah my one friend couldn't believe how mine played and sounded. My guitar with his pedals through his amp and it tore his Fender up. When he got the Squire thinline I did for him he was over the moon and pissed he fell for that...well it costs so much so it must be good...lol
I found with the only GFS body I ever ordered that the pickup slots weren't routed sufficiently to accommodate the Texas Specials I wanted to put in them, so that was some extra work. They also listed the finish as "warm butterscotch" but it turned out to be "honey," which is a lot darker. It was good for the money though.
I purchased a GFS tele body that is three piece. I'm going to paint it anyway. The one big problem I found with it is the string holes. Not only are the not lined up they are in the wrong place. I didn't send it back but I am unhappy with that aspect. I also purchased a bridge that didn't fit. When I called them I was told for the economy body I bought I needed a different part number. I returned it for the proper bridge. There're customer service is very good. Lesson learned. This is my first build and it's for my granddaughter. I hope it goes well.
David Flint sorry to hear the challenges so far. You probably know this but there are two types of tele bridges. There's the vintage style and the American. The string holes and mounting holes are different between the two so its important to know what they drilled for. I'm sure that once you get past this issue, you will really enjoy the process Best of luck!
Thank you for the review. Very good points to think about. I'm also getting into to building because now as a player for 30 years I know what I want a guitar to be able to do for me. Thank You again Sir..................jt
....As a builder myself, all your points are well taken & spot on....However, guitar building is a matter of what you're looking to build, what you're looking to get out of the guitar & what you're willing to spend in terms of both time & money. The GFS body is a paint grade & the Warmoth is a stain grade. The GFS has multiple laminations whereas the Warmoth has only 2 & is book matched. The mics/straight edge you measured is something I rarely ever do but does matter in terms of quality. A Telecaster is a very basic guitar design & both bodies will do the job. What really matters from here on out is the neck & electronics used as it is 90% of any guitar build. I would like to point out that 2 piece bodies are more desirable (MHO) as they are more resonate (again-MHO) & weight is a matter of opinion. What kind of wood they are made of matters more than weight. I own a few Fender Strats & Tele's that I've built myself using both Fender & Warmoth necks. Both are good but I would give an edge to the Warmoth's, just seem to be a better quality neck all around. Hey dsnagel1, nice piece & well done...keep up the good work.
+floyd burney Thank you very much, and well-said! I completely agree. Again, it all comes down to your goals for your build. Thanks for sharing your comments and experience.
I built a Mahogany/Koa top Thinline tele body on the Warmoth website with a H/S/H pickup config, rear routing, switch, knobs, clear coat finish, flat bridge and I was up to $1200 and still had not added a neck yet. I didn't follow through because it was way to pricey for me, but their stuff is gorgeous!. I built a Firebird kit last year from Budget Musician.com and it turned out beautiful. Final costs after I added a Bigsby B5 and a Custom 920D wiring harness, (that harness that came with the kit kept breaking), was about $500.
Thanks for the info. I like a vintage feeling guitar (big neck heavy body no belly carve) but I like modern components so home builds are always appealing but everytime I think to start the project I find something already built I like!
Nice vid. I use GFS bodies and parts because i sell my partscasters for $300-400 and i put more money into pickups, hardware and electronics. So far so good as I have sold about 7 to professional musicians who said they love them. As far as the comparison, you should not have high expectations on a body that cost below $60. I have had good luck with most unfinished bodies i have ordered from GFS and usually i get the one pictured. I have even stained a few that were fine..others i do things to either even the different colors of the body sections or hide imperfections. GFS does make an effort to list what is wrong with their bodies, i guess some slip thru the cracks. overall this is a comparison of a budget body to a much higher priced one so no surprise the Warmoth is better quality. just a note..if your build budget is low keep in mind that GFS has big sales on most holidays. I just today ordered a Jazz bass kit and an aged white strat style body for $143 delivered. Thanks for nice vid.
I bought a strat neck and body from warmouth. Both times I had to call because I didn't receive any confirmation emails. Both time I had to deal with warmouth customer service reps they were unexpectedly rude. The quality seems really good but before I build my next strat and a few telecasters I'm definitely going to shop around
Dave,i have to agree with you in 90% off this very helpful unbiased comparison .I retired a few years ago and decided to build my dream tele,then my dream Strat,and two years later,im going on my 13 build.Just like you i found out that its not just getting a body and some electronics,slap a neck and VOALA,good playing guitar. To all that are starting,best thing is stay with US parts and good necks same for electronics. However ,here's my 10% opinion. If its about a beater build,you can not beat GFS at 49.00 because as you said the neck pockets are good and neck alignment is 60 off a good sound. and although i give you 2 thumbs up and not arguing your points,comparing a warmoth body or neck to the cheap GFS or Squire Affinity is like comparing a Fender Select with A fender Squire,you get what you pay, Because i build both high end and beaters i find Gfs already painted ones are good looking and relatively safe buy. Also GFS HAS A HIGHER END BUILD AROUND 79.00 VERY NICE. i have bout 3 teles ans 1 strat body all around 4onz nice paint. Then again i was well aware of what i was buying,see i want to build some lookers,but its just projects. NOTE:I don't know anyone at GFS nor work for them,im just saying China bodies are 10 times worst ,necks don't fit at all.I Also recommend warmoth or mighty mite parts ar nice used mexican bodies Thank you for this well done video.
Congrats on retirement! Can't wait to do the same. Lots of guitar ideas I want to build, as well. Great comment about keeping the major parts American and what you said about GFS. It really comes down to what your goals are for your build and its best to define them first. I didn't and thats how I ended up with two tele bodies. I like GFS and my strat body on my next build will be from them. Thanks for watching and sharing. All my best!
dsnagel1 I agree with Tekz44 but only agree with about 50% of your video but that's just opinionated and not based on any facts are not. IMHO, Warmonth is over priced and if you're going to pay that much, then just buy and mod one of the $180 to $350 OEM models. """""Also GFS HAS A HIGHER END BUILD AROUND 79.00 VERY NICE. i have bout 3 teles ans 1 strat body all around 4onz nice paint.""""
Thanks for an excellent review. Guess it just goes to show, ya get what ya pay for; and that said, us really poor guys are gonna go with GFS, knowing full well that it can be a roll of the dice regarding quality. That's the case with anything made in China, let's face it. I agree, salvage that one; m'self, I'd sand the top and bottom until flat, and maybe add a cutaway section in the back, which ought to make the weight more acceptable. As long as the routing is decent, nearly anything else can be dealt with, if the problem isn't too extreme. (And for the record, I'm an amateur builder, been playing about forty years; doesn't mean I'm any good, I just have fun with it.)
+Seth Tyrssen Thanks for the nice comments Seth! I too, will be buying from GFS in the future since I can't afford to go with Warmoth on every build. At least I now know what to expect when I do buy from GFS and plan for it. I still plan to turn this GFS into a Thinline, though I will probably take your advice on having a cutaway and tummy cut on future tele builds. Thanks again for watching and sharing!
Dave, I have done forearm and belly cuts on 3 of my "tele" builds but have gone to half the depth of a strat so it is still comfy but looks like a tele. I find the strat depth belly or forearm cuts on a tele somewhat ugly.
Seth, I can't recall exactly where the GFS body was "built", but you can get quality from China if you pay for it. Chinese were master builders of practically everything before the USA even existed. We just equate China with cheap because that is where we go for cheap stuff. We ask them for it. Great boatloads of it! I have necks from my Chinese supplier that are better in every way than some of the Warmouth and other Fender necks I have seen and played.
Seth Tyrssen I was thinking something like that but maybe run it through a plainer and you can get a nice 1 piece flame top and glue it on there. But I guess with the price of all the extra work you could just buy a warmoth body lol
Hello Dave,thanks for posting this great video.Without the luxury of tone tapping each piece,one can only go with weight and grain appearance with their choice of wood.I will buy my next project body from Warmoth for these reasons. I play rt handed and when I play sitting resting the guitar on my left thigh, I like it balanced at that point.
Nice review - thanks for taking the time to post I've built a couple of strats now and have used Warmoth for the majority of source parts. I've found them to be excellent in consistency and quality. I really like that you get to see the exact body you're buying. Their finishes are top notch as well. My last build was a chambered, flame top strat that turned out fantastic - I think my parts total was just shy of $1700 but i would put it up against any high end strat on the market. that gfs body looks like a butcher block.
$1700 plus time and labor and you could have bought a high end Fender strat which has a warranty and better resale value. The last strat I priced out totally from Warmoth came to $2500 and that's just too much for an ax I have to put together myself.
Exactly. Leo Fender was all about making money. For opaque finishes especially Fender used the least expensive wood necessary and glued up as many pieces as needed.
After watching this vid, and based only on the information presented, I think I would choose the GFS body.The issues brought up seem completely justified by the price.. not finish sanded, 5 lbs instead of 4..I grew up playing a 10 lb les paul so, no biggie there. If im building a Tele its going to be an opaque blonde, so no cares about the grain either..I wonder which one sounded better?
Brad Reichel this is exactly why when I'm looking at vintage Fenders I try to find a light starburst color because they generally had a better grade of wood on it, and generally better construction. For dark or painted surfaces I've seen four and five piece frankenstein bodies like you describe.
yes leo fender did that they did it for strats also, the standart strat is sunburst no matter what till 80's I assume , If you were buyin color it was automatically custom shop. this is why its rare to find true vintage color strat , and leo was clever he was using many piece bodies on custom colors because you cant see the grain. he was making great profit for what he was offering.
Thanks cadd1969! I've started the Warmoth body in sonic blue. I hope to have it finished in a month or so, but when I'm done, I'd be glad to share the build with everyone. Thanks again for watching!
***** I don't have any experience with their pro neck, but I have played about 4 Warmoth necks and all were very different, but all high quality and fun & easy to play. I learned something very, very interesting that day, because I got to play them all in one session, (along with high end & vintage Fender necks)...trying to decide what Warmoth neck to buy. What I learned is there is no wrong answer, just personal preference. All played and sounded amazing! I have years of experience playing cheap guitars and bad necks so I went into this session expecting some to not feel or play as good as others. I was so wrong. Quality instruments are so fun, easy and inspiring to play. I went with the Warmoth Vintage Modern for the Warmoth tele body because I wanted as much of the vintage tele vibe as possible, without being OCD about it. I went with stainless steel frets for durability, compound radius for playabilty and TUSQ nut for reliability (tuning). I also had it drilled for the vintage tuners. by going vintage modern, I get the vintage vibe with ease of setup (with the truss rod nut by the head stock), yet a single truss rod, which leaves more tone wood in the maple neck. I also bought Joe Bardon (Danny Gatton) tele pickups for amazing twang, and super quiet output...especially for recording. I know this doesn't really address your question, but I hope my experience with these other guitars was somewhat helpful. It's really important to have a set of goals for your build; these goals will drive every decision you make when you are considering ALL the components that make up your future guitar. Thanks for watching Daniel. Best of luck with your Warmoth build!
Very helpful and informative, thanks! Yes, i've found that with the chinese stuff, you can get lucky, especially with the weight, or you can not get lucky. If i'm buying it hands on in a shop, i can check all that out, but online it's really a roll of the dice. Thanks, you discuss many details that one would not think of until s/he is actually in the build process.
From the angle of the camera I also noticed that the warmoth has much more of a rounded edge to the body which to my eye looked much better, and I'm sure will also feel much more comfortable while playing.
+Philippe Dubuc The Warmoth does have a bigger radius on the edge and it does feel better (IMHO), but you can easily round over the edge of the GFS with a router. It's very quick and simple to do. This is what I plan on doing.
Excellent comparison. I was considering a gfs finished flametop for $85 and I still may go that route but I also liked your suggestion of routing the gfs unfinished into a thin line.... Too many choices....
NIce, neutral comparison, I think you did it justice. I make UV lights for curing and aging (Solacure) and about to pick up at least one of the Xavier bodies for that. I've also bought a few Rondomusic guitars for aging testing. I will say, you can get a lot more bang for the buck than you could 20 or 30 years ago. Thanks for doing the side by side.
For crying out loud, the body is $50 bucks. No, it's not great looking ash, but guess what? You can't even buy enough raw lumber to MAKE a body for that money! It's rough? Sand it. It's a bit uneven? Drum-sand or thickness-plane it. GFS has great quality stuff, and for half a C-note, you can afford to put a little elbow grease into the thing. I've done that, and gotten great quality results. Don't get me wrong, Warmoth is wonderful, and if you've got no skills as a guitar builder and want a "nothing to do but bolt it together" guitar, that is the way to go. (Ditto if you're looking for som really exotic, cosmetically incredible wood.) If you've got any building chops and a little time, GFS absolutely does a great job, esp. their finished bodies. For the money, it's a no-brainer.
Agree 100%...GFS has never let me down...great prices and service. If ya got the skills you can take a body thats a little off and make something really nice out if it!
GFS kicks ass. they ship quick as hell to me too. I dont think the guy was trashing on the body more than just explaining why its almost reasonable to pay almost twice as much. GFS is still a helluva deal for the money though. Warmoth is actually maybe slightly over priced but it aint like your gonna find bodies like that around the net in stock and ready to go. if you want premium, you pay premium. as a regular GFS customer, i can handle that notion. its not that offensive. he may not have gave GFS credit for how solid most of their stuff is though even if its a little rough cosmetically here and there. either way, this isnt that bad of a ripping. its just some things to consider. none of the points of difference concern me but i feel educated at least knowing what im missing out by not buying warmoth and im that much more happier that i saved money over insignificant details that wouldnt have bothered me anyways.
@Garegh62 Actually with all that cupping and uneven thickness and seemingly random thickness changes throughout the wood the GFS body would not even make a very good cutting board.
If you're going to seal and paint it, GFS is just fine. If you're going with a translucent finish the Warmoth is a much better bet. I'll also agree the tele I bought from Guitar Fetish was pretty heavy.
I am doing two parts guitars/custom projects right now. I used a guitarfetish body for the less expensive build and Mighty Mite for the better build. The bodies, both finished, are very comparable, although the guitarfetish one may need a little extra work around the neck pocket.
thank you very much. I've been looking for something like this. the same holds true for factory built guitars. a 2 piece ash body is rare short of the custom shop. but many of those are one piece bodies nowadays which is part of the reason they cost so much.
When comparing items, compare them the same way. When you checked for flatness you went directly across the GFS. The Warmoth you checked at a diagonal. I would bet Warmoth is flat but that comparison was different. I am glad you did this review. I think the GFS looks like it is a good value for the money. It would be nice to see a comparison between necks. Good job. Thanks!
The GFS tele body is a better value than a Warmoth tele body. GFS American Spec Series flame maple top in transparent vintage sunburst with binding $89.99, Warmoth in stock tele replacement body with a flame maple top in transparent purple purse, no binding, $545.,
I’ve bought several parts from GFS to build my PARTSCASTER it plays so different from my other guitars. Locking tuners , roller bridge and HOT RAILS. I never bought a body so I’ll consider this .
Seikowski V to me is pretty balanced with a strap, maybe slightly neck heavy, but I have Occipital Neuralgia so I wanted something light, but with a quality neck. If it doesn't hurt to play it works for me lol
Seikowski V I bought the strat kit and put a Gibson conversion Wenge neck which has an ebony fret board. I also put on a Seymour Duncan "Everything Axe." it's super light and plays awesome!
Nice comparison, very thorough. The woods look different to me, imho. The GFS ash grain looks much tighter and darker, more like northern ash, which would be heavier and more color than the southern ash on the Warmoth. Gotta love the lighter, southern ash!!
as long as the part with the bridge, pickups and neck pocket is one piece your good to go thats where you get your tone the rest of the body is there just for play-ability, Les Pauls first electric guitar body was just a rectangular piece of wood he glued the rest on just because people were making fun of how it looked lol
Thanks for the comparison. The GFS anomalies wouldn't stop me from buying a Tele body from them. But I'd be afraid to order a neck from them, now. And you're right, doing stain on 4 different bits of wood would turn out to be heinous. Gluing up different pieces would usually correct any issues in the individual pieces, just not this time. I guess the Chinese guy who made it wasn't concentrating.
A really thoughtful and well reasoned review, thanks. It is sort of what I expected and good to know. PS. And, as I am from New Zealand, I love the ENZA box stuck to the wall behind you :-)
Mike Henderson thanks for the great feedback. Glad there were no surprises and I appreciate the feedback. Would love to visit and backpack New Zealand someday! Thanks for mentioning that. Cheers!
I got a fully assembled Tele from Rondo. ONE PIECE swamp-ash body. I couldn't believe it. It's also got a belly cut and arm-cut. My go to guitar for the last two years. I think it was just at $180 shipped. (it even has a bound neck) :0)
The worst body I have ever received was from Warmoth. A P-Bass Premium Ash body. Someone had taken either a very fine razor blade or X-Acto knife and carved it up. Even though I sanded it very well you could not feel these slicers at all. You could not see them until the stain went on that is. In the end I sanded this body 5 times and even then some of the slices showed up they were so fine and deep. I ended up having to finish that nice Ash body much differently than I intended. I wrote Warmoth about it and all I received back was silence. I bought a swamp Ash Stratocaster body from GFS and it was impeccable especially for the price. So I had to drill a few more holes to route wires differently. For the $225 dollar difference it just wasn't a thing.
That quality difference equals hours of extra labor you DON’T have to do! The neck pocket/bridge set up is critical in term of headaches. With Warmoth parts you can pretty easily build a “custom shop” quality guitar. Not cheap, but for a fraction of the price. Basically built a Post Modern Strat for $1200, no compromises. All the pieces, pickups, bridge etc. that I wanted. It plays and sounds amazing! Fender’s version is an amazing guitar, but costs $3750...and does say “Fender” on the Headstock.😜
GUYS Gfs now has a killer fiesta red i got my eyes on and now that the Surfer Green is back,well here i go ,number 14 and 15.So many guitars to build and money...they cost money...well heck you cant take money when you die,but with a guitar you build,you leave a little bit of your soul for others to enjoy. I now have a neck fetish,marble flamed maple bound neck wow. good building to all.
Another big difference is if you buy a painted body. I have done 2 warmoth builds and the paint shop has been flawless. I have done 3 GFS builds one with a painted body.The paint job was decent for the price $80 but was not as good as even a squier guitar. I did a better job with spray cans on the unfinished GFS bodies. But at $80 dollars I didn't care. GFS is great for inexpensive fun builds. Warmoth for when you want a professional level build.
Definite subscribe, very good and thorough video, your work has paid off air, I am your 21st subscriber. I plan to go into luthiery as soon as schools out in a few months actually.
I know this is a year old, but the GFS one probably just needed a couple light passes through a planer. It would flatten it and bring the weight down slightly. You'd have to hit the edges with a round over bit though. That might not be something everyone can do but for the price it's not that bad of a work investment.
You could plane it to the right thickness and such but the multiple glued boards kills me. I had a original 50's strat white blonde and unfortunately the grain just didn't line up good enough sold that and bought a 1 piece warmoth very very happy
Pretty much every point has been made in the other comments. I just want to say excellent job with the video. Thorough but concise. It was an enjoyable watch. Thanks!
Thanks, I visited the Warmoth factory way back in 1985 in Puyallup WA and bought my first strat body and neck.
I stated which frets I wanted and then took off for an hour with my girlfriend to get some lunch.
When I returned the Dunlop 6150 were installed and fret edges buffed, pretty well ready to play..
The sons were running the place and their father was a millwright and built some of the machines they used.
Great quality and dedication, and they are still around.
I bought a Warmoth strat body due to the wood grain since I was just bar top finishing it.
Gfs markets specifically to budget builders. Warmoth will almost always put out superior products but with a superior price tag as well.
+bsdraven Also Warmoth is a licensed company for Fender and for that license you must pay the price as well
yep, superior quality comes from those superior brutal cnc and router machines and after that they even have a bunch of manual work on top, so, this has to have a price tag also.
basically money makes money so they even buy probably the best wood money can buy for this kind of work, and i guess that's why the gfs body on this video is not perfectly plane, maybe the wood was not perfectly stabilized yet
GFS sells Chinese junk to people who don't know any better. I used to buy their pickups because he made it sound like he made them in his shop. That was a lie. I found out when i found the exact same pickups on a direct purchase company for 1/3rd the price, and they shipped from China. The ONLY difference is, the Chinese factory stamps GFS on the base-plate. Everything they sell is made in China.... now they say "designed in the USA".... probably because someone sued them.
@Garegh62 I use to work at Carvin now called Keisel, that kit is very nice, it's a great little secret
@@nelsonpainco1368 Also, you're paying for a bookmatched two piece instead of a four piece whatever.
Thank you for providing a valuable comparison. I had my suspicions about the ultra cheap GFS bodies and you have confirmed what I was afraid of. It's the difference between something slapped together with scraps at a Chinese factory (GFS) and something built individually by accomplished craftsman (Warmoth). The GFS stuff would likely be good enough for eBay, Amazon or Reverb partscasters as you mention but not for something I'm building for myself or as a gift.
With every purchase you have to consider your time, effort, abilities and shop capabilities as part of the cost. The fact is that many people looking to build there own guitar by purchasing a body and neck and assembling them rather than building a body and neck from raw lumber will not have the woodworking skills or tools to fix the problems with that GFS body. Even considering that I do have the tools and abilities how much time and shop supplies (sandpaper, wood filler, etc) am I going to sink into that cheap body to make it useable? Maybe it takes me a whole weekend to get that body into shape. If I'm buying a body and neck my goal is not to waste a weekend getting the parts into usable shape. My goal is to have some fun one weekend assembling a custom guitar. That extra $116.00 is money well spent if it means I also don't have to worry about those glue lines coming apart considering the lack of quality control on the rest of the body.
I am a woodworker and am very mechanically inclined. The concept of building a guitar out of parts is appealing...
BUT there is a store near me that sells used guitars. They almost always have several pretty nice and complete electric guitars on clearance for under $50. So even if I wanted something custom, I would start with one of these.
If a raw tele body is too heavy & you're doing a custom build anyway, then go ahead and put the belly & elbow contours on it like a strat style. Lightens the body, makes it more comfortable & it's stylish too 😀
Thank you for such an excellent comparison. I have a GFS tele body boxed away in my shop. Actually, it's not even a GFS, it's from their factory buyout section. It's kinda rough, but usable. Warmoth, as nice as they are, is way outside my budget right now. I'm in the process of teaching myself guitar repair and building. I've been learning tons, and videos like this are an excellent tool. Thank you so much. :)
Jim Jackson Thanks for the great feedback, Jim! Glad it was helpful. I know, in general, Warmoth is out of my league too, so what I did was buy parts for this build over two years. It represents birthday gifts, father's day gifts, Christmas gifts and some freelance work. It will be a once in a lifetime build for me. I have it painted sonic blue and it is ready to assemble. I am finishing up a room remodel project so after that, I will complete it and post it. Best of luck on your future builds!
Very informative video thank you!
I have used Both, and although the Cost reflects these Differences, in the End I had found Better to Start with a Higher or Highest Quality and Not try to hammer out a jewel from a rock
Thanks for the video. All the parameters you touched on are important to consider when putting a guitar together. The warmouth body is bookmatched lumber from the same log. That is how top notch woodworkers roll!!!! The GFS body could have been from the same log, who knows? Late wood & early wood joined together right down the middle could explain the cupping. Extra glue joints and heartwood boards cause the wieght to be more than you would expect! Nice job Dave
Thanks for thinking of doing this nice comparison, when you ended up with two bodies. Easy to see you were NOT trying to critique and compare them as equals. But were merely showing what differences one might get when paying that much more, or less.
I also appreciate that you stated a few times that some things were your opinion and not an absolute, AND that a 10 point comparison with some editorial comments was only 11 minutes and change, haha. This could have easily been twice as long.
They pay people to review movies. I think somebody outta pay you for youtube reviews!
As long as all the holes line up, once the guitar is all together I bet you can't tell the difference. The real old vintage Tele's were hand made. The weight was all over the place. So was grain patterns and number of pieces.
Good points Jason! I agree and am expecting both to play well when completed. Thanks for the encouragement! Best!
False and false and false and false. You don't know anything and now everyone else knows you don't. It takes a special kind of stupid to be that wrong.
@@richsackett3423 buzz off
@@jasonhisington5928 You wanted to say ignorant shit without accountability? That's Trump's jam. He'll sue for trademark infringement if you don't cease and desist.
I've played a number of builds from Warmoth parts and I've played the "real" instruments, I was able to tell the difference every time.
I watch this video six years after its take. Since then the Harley Benton kit appeared on the market and outperformed the competition... 😎
I really appreciate the review. I think most people wanting to do a build are struggling with the price difference. But you really cleared that up. Thanks!
Drastic Measures thanks so much for the kind feedback! This was made specifically for that reason! Best of luck!
Fantastic that you caught all the discrepancies and pointed it out. The GFS is from indo china so quality reflects the price. I will go with Warmouth.
jon lennon thanks for the great comments and for the Indo China reference. That's good to know and glad this was helpful for you in determining which product to go with. Best of luck on your Warmoth build! Peace.
Most of the Vintage Fender’s were like the GFS.
Realizing this is a couple years old... Carpenters (like me) know that wood is sold by grade. Better grades are more expensive, simple as that. Select grades can be several times the cost of utility grades. The main difference in cost between these two bodies is the grade and dryness the wood used. I'm betting the weight difference is primarily moisture content as well.
Well stated
I see this is old but if you don't mind, what makes a piece of wood higher grade than another?
@@stevenarmstrong5364 Irregularities, and appearance, but I doubt the GFS is actually swamp ash at 5.5 lbs. Hard ash is heavier and less resonant that swamp ash. The thing is, swamp ash is not actually a species, but a growing condition, so sellers can get away with claiming that their ash is swamp ash. Ash that grows in a swamp starts off heavy, but when dried is very light as water leaves the fibers. It has a very course grain as a result. It takes a lot of grain filling to get it smooth.
@@qua7771 You are so right about swamp ash and grain filling! I learned the hard way which resulted in a happy accident. I bought a gorgeous lightweight swamp ash Strat body from Warmoth and my plan was to stain it blue and shoot it with clear for a nice transparent glossy finish. After spraying coat after coat after coat of clear nitro lacquer, I realized that the grain was just too prominent to bury with clear. At first I was disappointed. Then when I buffed it out it had a beautiful gloss with the texture of the grain still being quite evident and “feelable”. Lesson learned…for future projects. And an absolutely beautiful guitar!
@@martinthompson2425 I sprayed a couple sealer coats, then used clear grain filler, then repeated. It's hard not to get grain voids after drying with swamp ash. The grain consistency is like a bundle of miniature straw. Whatever the method, it more of a process than other guitar woods for sure.
very good comparison. it seems like the GFS body is usable for people who have the time and skills to "finish it up" but you may not want to just stain/paint and assemble.
I just got the Guitarfetish XGP tele body (candy apple red) I have no problems with it at all. Very nice job on it .I have no complaints.
Yak Yak Yak.... I have tried to get info from other videos but all they want to do is hear themselves talk. They want to talk about everything under the sun except what they are supposed to be talking about. Ugg!! Thank you for your presentation that was full of info without the fat! Awesome!
I couldn't have done a better review of these two bodies. Kudos for your thoroughness!
In 2012, as a company guitar, I built a Warmoth Tele fitted with their FatBack maple neck with S.S. 6230s. The Veriegation and shimmer of the koa top is simply breathtaking. OTOH... I often get asked to build GFS Teles. I tell those customers that all parts must be pre-fitted before they come to me or the assembly cost could exceed the parts cost. I often hear they sent the parts back to GFS because they had so much trouble with fitment.
+guitartec Great to know that and thanks for sharing this information. Best!
You have to fit a warmoth As well. Wood "working" if they don't want to build a guitar just buy it! Something's require effort.love the craft
Normally I don't go out of my way to comment on videos like these but thank you for posting it, very well put together video.
I build my own guitar body's from scratch because of the way I like them but these are pretty cool and I would probably go with warmoth.
Wow, great info, thanks
Thank you for this video. I am not someone overly concerned with QC on very small details, number of wood pieces, etc. I'm going to build a Mary Kaye white tele with a warmoth neck and a GFS body. I'll take the cheap body since the way I see it, it's mostly for holding everything else together. If the holes and routes are correct, I don't care about concavity or chips or anything like that. A neck takes a lot more TLC for it to play well and I think that cheaping out on one is generally bad practice (unless you're looking for something to practice working on, then by all means).
I've done a couple of Warmoth builds.
Just wish they leveled the frets on their necks before they send them out.
That's because depending on where in the world the neck ends up it would most likely need a setup anyways
First, great video, great focus, you stayed on point, you present well, so, I'm not trying to start fights. :) Commenting because I finished my first build ever and used a GFS body. Mine was a Stratocaster. I wanted a triple humbucker Strat hardtail and it got a orange to red fade, from center out. Ended up cutting some corners, slicing build cost in half and ultimately, still being pretty pleased.
On the body, never checked flatness, didn't even occur to me, so I can't comment. Did use a MIM Fender neck, neck pocket fit it poorly, like had to eat out a corner, chipped the coating, heel spot wasn't flat, had to chisel out, fit poorly. My body was painted. . . urethaned. . . Nitro'd. . . something thick, hard, and brittle Daphne Blue. Got a guy at work to rough it up for paint, he did blow through it on a corner but once he got a feel for wood as opposed to metal, it worked great! My 1/4" jack pocket was routed so big I almost couldn't get screws to bite. Had to drill out for my body ferrules but probably from my painting. Had to drill bridge screw and guard screw holes. GFS didn't offer hardtail and swimming pool route so I routed it fearlessly knowing the pickguard would hide some sins. My body actually feels light to me. Never weighed it, but compared to my heavy Chinese Deluxe Squier Strat, this one is almost alarmingly light. Many piece body construction, can see at least 3 in routing holes. Center seam is actually raised on one side, now that I'm thinking, visible after a dozen coats of paint, 2000 grit, and rubbing compound. Noticed while drilling pickguard that wood density differed dramatically from panel to panel, some were hard to drill into, others I almost made a deep enough hole marking with an awl.
Overall, I'm still delighted, my total build was $400 give or take a few. $200 was the MIM neck, didn't want to cheap out there. Also Fender locking tuners and a cast American Strat bridge, screws, ferrules, string guides were all Fender. Pickguard was below $10, pups were $10 a pair (2 pair for a triple bucker and they do sound fine surprisingly, not crazy but fine, no plans to swap), and art of tone deluxe wiring kit. Where I cut corners: didn't get Bare Knuckle Pickups (maybe a bucking Tele next?), didn't get the carbon fiber pickguard I planned for, cheap knobs. I think that just those those simple corner cuts saved me like $520.
Definitely worth the price dif... I would go with Warmoth or USA Custom Guitars, Tommy's company. He was a Warmoth man first, until he started his own company. Makes great wood..
I certainly appreciate all the time you took for this review. I am not sure if I would ever do a project with an unfinished body, but I did two guitars last year, one with a Mighty Mite body and one with a GFS body. The GFS is clearly a three-piece body, and I used MIghty Mite necks with both. The Mighty Mite body fit a bit better. I enjoy playing both my guitars, and I don't want to apologize for enjoying the less expensive build as much as the other. Quite simply, I ended up with two guitars that I enjoy playing as much as any of the 20 or 30 guitars I owned. My guitars happen to be in the Strat-style, but honestly, I enjoy these builds more than my Fender and G&L guitars that are Strat and Tele style. I certainly would have no problem creating a guitar I would enjoy for many years from the two bodies you discuss here. Thank you for your thoughtful comments and all the time you have put into this.
Eric Wise that was really helpful to hear! Thanks for sharing your MightyMite and gfs experiences. So glad they find value to you among the many guitars you own. It is highly rewarding to choose the parts you want and then build it to the point where you and other can enjoy it. That's so awesome! Thanks again and cheers!
gfs...cheaper, yes...i believe one is expected to fine tune the gfs body far more than the Warmoth..this would explain the cost difference..the cheaper model always needs more work..just an observation..still, a comprehensive and thorough review..well done!
Ahh, how we wish all reviews would be this thorough. Greetings from Rome!
Great comparison and answers many of the questions one has over the price difference
Great video. I have been a long time GFS fan. For the money, they are great. They do take some work out of the box, but I like to do that and have the experience to do so. I think for a kid looking to build their own guitar that makes 8 bucks an hour, they could make a great guitar to fit in their budget with GFS parts. Warmoth is definitely a different level. Thanks for taking the time to shoot this....
+Bobby Meeks
Well said and agreed! Thanks for sharing your comments and experience.
If you're gonna buy all Warmoth parts you may as well just buy the full assembled guitar. I wanted a neck for my build. $250 for the Tele neck. I can buy a squire for that, add about $200 more and have a killer Tele. I've done it dozens of times. Bought a Thinline when they were still cheap. Changed pups, tuners, bridge, pots and put a GFS vibrato on it. $500 total which is what they go for now with lesser grade parts. My American made Tele friends "hated" me. It sounded, felt and played every bit as good as their $1500+ Teles. One friend sold his Tele and had me customize a Thinline Cost him Round $600 (he wanted different pups) Sold his Tele for $1400, gave me $700 (cost of parts and my time) and had like $700 left over. He never went back to Fenders again.
@@twootters7433 I have a pal who just bought an "American Strat" because that means it will be great... He hates it and says his 100 dollar Mexican partscaster kills it hands down. I snickered...
@@BobbyMeeks HAHAHA!!! Yeah my one friend couldn't believe how mine played and sounded. My guitar with his pedals through his amp and it tore his Fender up. When he got the Squire thinline I did for him he was over the moon and pissed he fell for that...well it costs so much so it must be good...lol
@@twootters7433 this is currently my goal.
I found with the only GFS body I ever ordered that the pickup slots weren't routed sufficiently to accommodate the Texas Specials I wanted to put in them, so that was some extra work. They also listed the finish as "warm butterscotch" but it turned out to be "honey," which is a lot darker. It was good for the money though.
I purchased a GFS tele body that is three piece. I'm going to paint it anyway. The one big problem I found with it is the string holes. Not only are the not lined up they are in the wrong place. I didn't send it back but I am unhappy with that aspect. I also purchased a bridge that didn't fit. When I called them I was told for the economy body I bought I needed a different part number. I returned it for the proper bridge. There're customer service is very good. Lesson learned. This is my first build and it's for my granddaughter. I hope it goes well.
David Flint sorry to hear the challenges so far. You probably know this but there are two types of tele bridges. There's the vintage style and the American. The string holes and mounting holes are different between the two so its important to know what they drilled for. I'm sure that once you get past this issue, you will really enjoy the process Best of luck!
Thank you for the review. Very good points to think about. I'm also getting into to building because now as a player for 30 years I know what I want a guitar to be able to do for me. Thank You again Sir..................jt
....As a builder myself, all your points are well taken & spot on....However, guitar building is a matter of what you're looking to build, what you're looking to get out of the guitar & what you're willing to spend in terms of both time & money. The GFS body is a paint grade & the Warmoth is a stain grade. The GFS has multiple laminations whereas the Warmoth has only 2 & is book matched. The mics/straight edge you measured is something I rarely ever do but does matter in terms of quality. A Telecaster is a very basic guitar design & both bodies will do the job. What really matters from here on out is the neck & electronics used as it is 90% of any guitar build. I would like to point out that 2 piece bodies are more desirable (MHO) as they are more resonate (again-MHO) & weight is a matter of opinion. What kind of wood they are made of matters more than weight. I own a few Fender Strats & Tele's that I've built myself using both Fender & Warmoth necks. Both are good but I would give an edge to the Warmoth's, just seem to be a better quality neck all around. Hey dsnagel1, nice piece & well done...keep up the good work.
+floyd burney
Thank you very much, and well-said! I completely agree. Again, it all comes down to your goals for your build. Thanks for sharing your comments and experience.
I built a Mahogany/Koa top Thinline tele body on the Warmoth website with a H/S/H pickup config, rear routing, switch, knobs, clear coat finish, flat bridge and I was up to $1200 and still had not added a neck yet. I didn't follow through because it was way to pricey for me, but their stuff is gorgeous!.
I built a Firebird kit last year from Budget Musician.com and it turned out beautiful. Final costs after I added a Bigsby B5 and a Custom 920D wiring harness, (that harness that came with the kit kept breaking), was about $500.
Excellent review. I'm working on a partscaster strat and am considering all options. This was very insightful.
Thanks for the info. I like a vintage feeling guitar (big neck heavy body no belly carve) but I like modern components so home builds are always appealing but everytime I think to start the project I find something already built I like!
I would send the GFS body back or use it for a door stop.
You won't find a Warmoth for 175 .00 today
Nice vid. I use GFS bodies and parts because i sell my partscasters for $300-400 and i put more money into pickups, hardware and electronics. So far so good as I have sold about 7 to professional musicians who said they love them. As far as the comparison, you should not have high expectations on a body that cost below $60. I have had good luck with most unfinished bodies i have ordered from GFS and usually i get the one pictured. I have even stained a few that were fine..others i do things to either even the different colors of the body sections or hide imperfections. GFS does make an effort to list what is wrong with their bodies, i guess some slip thru the cracks. overall this is a comparison of a budget body to a much higher priced one so no surprise the Warmoth is better quality. just a note..if your build budget is low keep in mind that GFS has big sales on most holidays. I just today ordered a Jazz bass kit and an aged white strat style body for $143 delivered. Thanks for nice vid.
I bought a strat neck and body from warmouth. Both times I had to call because I didn't receive any confirmation emails. Both time I had to deal with warmouth customer service reps they were unexpectedly rude. The quality seems really good but before I build my next strat and a few telecasters I'm definitely going to shop around
So rational, thoughtful persons exist on the web! Another first!
I like the way the Warmoth body rings vs. the other one when he knocks it with the straight edge.
Dave,i have to agree with you in 90% off this very helpful unbiased comparison .I retired a few years ago and decided to build my dream tele,then my dream Strat,and two years later,im going on my 13 build.Just like you i found out that its not just getting a body and some electronics,slap a neck and VOALA,good playing guitar.
To all that are starting,best thing is stay with US parts and good necks same for electronics.
However ,here's my 10% opinion.
If its about a beater build,you can not beat GFS at 49.00 because as you said the neck pockets are good and neck alignment is 60 off a good sound.
and although i give you 2 thumbs up and not arguing your points,comparing a warmoth body or neck to the cheap GFS or Squire Affinity is like comparing a Fender Select with A fender Squire,you get what you pay,
Because i build both high end and beaters i find Gfs already painted ones are good looking and relatively safe buy.
Also GFS HAS A HIGHER END BUILD AROUND 79.00 VERY NICE.
i have bout 3 teles ans 1 strat body all around 4onz nice paint.
Then again i was well aware of what i was buying,see i want to build some lookers,but its just projects.
NOTE:I don't know anyone at GFS nor work for them,im just saying China bodies are 10 times worst ,necks don't fit at all.I Also recommend warmoth or mighty mite parts ar nice used mexican bodies
Thank you for this well done video.
Congrats on retirement! Can't wait to do the same. Lots of guitar ideas I want to build, as well. Great comment about keeping the major parts American and what you said about GFS. It really comes down to what your goals are for your build and its best to define them first. I didn't and thats how I ended up with two tele bodies. I like GFS and my strat body on my next build will be from them. Thanks for watching and sharing. All my best!
dsnagel1
I agree with Tekz44 but only agree with about 50% of your video but that's just opinionated and not based on any facts are not. IMHO, Warmonth is over priced and if you're going to pay that much, then just buy and mod one of the $180 to $350 OEM models. """""Also GFS HAS A HIGHER END BUILD AROUND 79.00 VERY NICE. i have bout 3 teles ans 1 strat body all around 4onz nice paint.""""
Thanks for an excellent review. Guess it just goes to show, ya get what ya pay for; and that said, us really poor guys are gonna go with GFS, knowing full well that it can be a roll of the dice regarding quality. That's the case with anything made in China, let's face it. I agree, salvage that one; m'self, I'd sand the top and bottom until flat, and maybe add a cutaway section in the back, which ought to make the weight more acceptable. As long as the routing is decent, nearly anything else can be dealt with, if the problem isn't too extreme. (And for the record, I'm an amateur builder, been playing about forty years; doesn't mean I'm any good, I just have fun with it.)
+Seth Tyrssen
Thanks for the nice comments Seth! I too, will be buying from GFS in the future since I can't afford to go with Warmoth on every build. At least I now know what to expect when I do buy from GFS and plan for it. I still plan to turn this GFS into a Thinline, though I will probably take your advice on having a cutaway and tummy cut on future tele builds. Thanks again for watching and sharing!
Dave, I have done forearm and belly cuts on 3 of my "tele" builds but have gone to half the depth of a strat so it is still comfy but looks like a tele. I find the strat depth belly or forearm cuts on a tele somewhat ugly.
Seth, I can't recall exactly where the GFS body was "built", but you can get quality from China if you pay for it. Chinese were master builders of practically everything before the USA even existed. We just equate China with cheap because that is where we go for cheap stuff. We ask them for it. Great boatloads of it! I have necks from my Chinese supplier that are better in every way than some of the Warmouth and other Fender necks I have seen and played.
Seth Tyrssen I was thinking something like that but maybe run it through a plainer and you can get a nice 1 piece flame top and glue it on there. But I guess with the price of all the extra work you could just buy a warmoth body lol
Warmoth has all the bridge and string holes already drilled exactly. And the neck pocket will be exact to a Fender neck or Fender 'specs' neck.
Hello Dave,thanks for posting this great video.Without the luxury of tone tapping each piece,one can only go with weight and grain appearance with their choice of wood.I will buy my next project body from Warmoth for these reasons. I play rt handed and when I play sitting resting the guitar on my left thigh, I like it balanced at that point.
Thanks for making this video. I am also an amateur builder and I have often wondered what the comparison was between the two price points.
The number one issue for body, is weight.
Under 4 is my rule.
That rule has served me well.
Nice review - thanks for taking the time to post
I've built a couple of strats now and have used Warmoth for the majority of source parts. I've found them to be excellent in consistency and quality. I really like that you get to see the exact body you're buying. Their finishes are top notch as well. My last build was a chambered, flame top strat that turned out fantastic - I think my parts total was just shy of $1700 but i would put it up against any high end strat on the market. that gfs body looks like a butcher block.
$1700 plus time and labor and you could have bought a high end Fender strat which has a warranty and better resale value.
The last strat I priced out totally from Warmoth came to $2500 and that's just too much for an ax I have to put together myself.
Love Warmoth necks and body's
Get them built to the specs you want. Like having a USA custom shop guitar. Thanks for the video
Great job!!!
Excellent video, very helpful. I appreciate your attention to detail. Warmoth for me!!! Thank you!!!
My 1968 Tele has a body made from 4 pieces of wood.
Exactly. Leo Fender was all about making money. For opaque finishes especially Fender used the least expensive wood necessary and glued up as many pieces as needed.
After watching this vid, and based only on the information presented, I think I would choose the GFS body.The issues brought up seem completely justified by the price.. not finish sanded, 5 lbs instead of 4..I grew up playing a 10 lb les paul so, no biggie there. If im building a Tele its going to be an opaque blonde, so no cares about the grain either..I wonder which one sounded better?
solerso68 Excellent! That's exactly what this video was created for. To help you determine which one is right for you. Thanks!!
Brad Reichel this is exactly why when I'm looking at vintage Fenders I try to find a light starburst color because they generally had a better grade of wood on it, and generally better construction. For dark or painted surfaces I've seen four and five piece frankenstein bodies like you describe.
yes leo fender did that they did it for strats also, the standart strat is sunburst no matter what till 80's I assume , If you were buyin color it was automatically custom shop. this is why its rare to find true vintage color strat , and leo was clever he was using many piece bodies on custom colors because you cant see the grain. he was making great profit for what he was offering.
please post when you finish these, this was informative, thanks
Thanks cadd1969!
I've started the Warmoth body in sonic blue. I hope to have it finished in a month or so, but when I'm done, I'd be glad to share the build with everyone. Thanks again for watching!
dsnagel1 Have you had experience with the warmoth pro neck? I need to know if it sounds as twangy as people have been saying online.
***** I don't have any experience with their pro neck, but I have played about 4 Warmoth necks and all were very different, but all high quality and fun & easy to play. I learned something very, very interesting that day, because I got to play them all in one session, (along with high end & vintage Fender necks)...trying to decide what Warmoth neck to buy. What I learned is there is no wrong answer, just personal preference. All played and sounded amazing! I have years of experience playing cheap guitars and bad necks so I went into this session expecting some to not feel or play as good as others. I was so wrong. Quality instruments are so fun, easy and inspiring to play.
I went with the Warmoth Vintage Modern for the Warmoth tele body because I wanted as much of the vintage tele vibe as possible, without being OCD about it. I went with stainless steel frets for durability, compound radius for playabilty and TUSQ nut for reliability (tuning). I also had it drilled for the vintage tuners. by going vintage modern, I get the vintage vibe with ease of setup (with the truss rod nut by the head stock), yet a single truss rod, which leaves more tone wood in the maple neck. I also bought Joe Bardon (Danny Gatton) tele pickups for amazing twang, and super quiet output...especially for recording.
I know this doesn't really address your question, but I hope my experience with these other guitars was somewhat helpful. It's really important to have a set of goals for your build; these goals will drive every decision you make when you are considering ALL the components that make up your future guitar.
Thanks for watching Daniel. Best of luck with your Warmoth build!
This is a very good comparison and very similar to what I find also. Thanks for posting it.
Good info as I have some pick ups from a swap that would be great for my first build as I've looked at both bodies over some time.
Very helpful video.
Very helpful and informative, thanks! Yes, i've found that with the chinese stuff, you can get lucky, especially with the weight, or you can not get lucky. If i'm buying it hands on in a shop, i can check all that out, but online it's really a roll of the dice. Thanks, you discuss many details that one would not think of until s/he is actually in the build process.
Very nice. Thank you for your time and experience.
From the angle of the camera I also noticed that the warmoth has much more of a rounded edge to the body which to my eye looked much better, and I'm sure will also feel much more comfortable while playing.
+Philippe Dubuc
The Warmoth does have a bigger radius on the edge and it does feel better (IMHO), but you can easily round over the edge of the GFS with a router. It's very quick and simple to do. This is what I plan on doing.
Excellent comparison.
I was considering a gfs finished flametop for $85 and I still may go that route but I also liked your suggestion of routing the gfs unfinished into a thin line....
Too many choices....
NIce, neutral comparison, I think you did it justice. I make UV lights for curing and aging (Solacure) and about to pick up at least one of the Xavier bodies for that. I've also bought a few Rondomusic guitars for aging testing. I will say, you can get a lot more bang for the buck than you could 20 or 30 years ago. Thanks for doing the side by side.
Excellent upload, informative and very useful.
For crying out loud, the body is $50 bucks. No, it's not great looking ash, but guess what? You can't even buy enough raw lumber to MAKE a body for that money! It's rough? Sand it. It's a bit uneven? Drum-sand or thickness-plane it. GFS has great quality stuff, and for half a C-note, you can afford to put a little elbow grease into the thing. I've done that, and gotten great quality results.
Don't get me wrong, Warmoth is wonderful, and if you've got no skills as a guitar builder and want a "nothing to do but bolt it together" guitar, that is the way to go. (Ditto if you're looking for som really exotic, cosmetically incredible wood.)
If you've got any building chops and a little time, GFS absolutely does a great job, esp. their finished bodies. For the money, it's a no-brainer.
Agree 100%...GFS has never let me down...great prices and service. If ya got the skills you can take a body thats a little off and make something really nice out if it!
Did you miss the point? He's comparing. It says so right in the description. You get to decide what is most important.
GFS kicks ass. they ship quick as hell to me too. I dont think the guy was trashing on the body more than just explaining why its almost reasonable to pay almost twice as much. GFS is still a helluva deal for the money though. Warmoth is actually maybe slightly over priced but it aint like your gonna find bodies like that around the net in stock and ready to go. if you want premium, you pay premium. as a regular GFS customer, i can handle that notion. its not that offensive. he may not have gave GFS credit for how solid most of their stuff is though even if its a little rough cosmetically here and there. either way, this isnt that bad of a ripping. its just some things to consider. none of the points of difference concern me but i feel educated at least knowing what im missing out by not buying warmoth and im that much more happier that i saved money over insignificant details that wouldnt have bothered me anyways.
@Garegh62 Actually with all that cupping and uneven thickness and seemingly random thickness changes throughout the wood the GFS body would not even make a very good cutting board.
GFS has Chinese made garbage.
Thanks for the great comparison. It may all boil down to how much time you put into your project vs how much you want to spend.
At my age, time is a definite factor.
Great post - thanks for sharing your experiences
Thanks for that…good comparison review.
If you're going to seal and paint it, GFS is just fine. If you're going with a translucent finish the Warmoth is a much better bet. I'll also agree the tele I bought from Guitar Fetish was pretty heavy.
I am doing two parts guitars/custom projects right now. I used a guitarfetish body for the less expensive build and Mighty Mite for the better build. The bodies, both finished, are very comparable, although the guitarfetish one may need a little extra work around the neck pocket.
Really helpful comparison. Thanks for taking the time to do it.
thank you very much. I've been looking for something like this. the same holds true for factory built guitars. a 2 piece ash body is rare short of the custom shop. but many of those are one piece bodies nowadays which is part of the reason they cost so much.
Dave, this was a great video that was really well done and very informative! I hope you do more like it!
When comparing items, compare them the same way. When you checked for flatness you went directly across the GFS. The Warmoth you checked at a diagonal. I would bet Warmoth is flat but that comparison was different. I am glad you did this review. I think the GFS looks like it is a good value for the money. It would be nice to see a comparison between necks. Good job. Thanks!
The GFS tele body is a better value than a Warmoth tele body. GFS American Spec Series flame maple top in transparent vintage sunburst with binding $89.99, Warmoth in stock tele replacement body with a flame maple top in transparent purple purse, no binding, $545.,
Thanks for taking the time to do this
I’ve bought several parts from GFS to build my PARTSCASTER it plays so different from my other guitars.
Locking tuners , roller bridge and HOT RAILS.
I never bought a body so I’ll consider this .
Please post your final builds. I’d love to see what you did and how they compare .
I have a GF paulownia telecaster with a Warmoth VM Tele neck it is a really really nice sounding guitar!
Great vid. Too bad you don't make this a regular thing. Compare necks, pickups, pots even. Good job!
I put a Wenge Warmoth neck on a Paulownian body and other than being a tiny tiny bit neck heavy it is an awesome guitar!
Seikowski V to me is pretty balanced with a strap, maybe slightly neck heavy, but I have Occipital Neuralgia so I wanted something light, but with a quality neck. If it doesn't hurt to play it works for me lol
Seikowski V I bought the strat kit and put a Gibson conversion Wenge neck which has an ebony fret board. I also put on a Seymour Duncan "Everything Axe." it's super light and plays awesome!
Nice comparison, very thorough. The woods look different to me, imho. The GFS ash grain looks much tighter and darker, more like northern ash, which would be heavier and more color than the southern ash on the Warmoth. Gotta love the lighter, southern ash!!
I actually really like multiple different types of guitar grains when I stain. It adds a cool element
as long as the part with the bridge, pickups and neck pocket is one piece your good to go thats where you get your tone the rest of the body is there just for play-ability, Les Pauls first electric guitar body was just a rectangular piece of wood he glued the rest on just because people were making fun of how it looked lol
Thanks for the comparison. The GFS anomalies wouldn't stop me from buying a Tele body from them. But I'd be afraid to order a neck from them, now. And you're right, doing stain on 4 different bits of wood would turn out to be heinous. Gluing up different pieces would usually correct any issues in the individual pieces, just not this time. I guess the Chinese guy who made it wasn't concentrating.
A really thoughtful and well reasoned review, thanks. It is sort of what I expected and good to know. PS. And, as I am from New Zealand, I love the ENZA box stuck to the wall behind you :-)
Mike Henderson thanks for the great feedback. Glad there were no surprises and I appreciate the feedback. Would love to visit and backpack New Zealand someday! Thanks for mentioning that. Cheers!
that is incredible. Thank you so much for the details
I got a fully assembled Tele from Rondo. ONE PIECE swamp-ash body. I couldn't believe it. It's also got a belly cut and arm-cut. My go to guitar for the last two years. I think it was just at $180 shipped. (it even has a bound neck) :0)
The worst body I have ever received was from Warmoth. A P-Bass Premium Ash body. Someone had taken either a very fine razor blade or X-Acto knife and carved it up. Even though I sanded it very well you could not feel these slicers at all. You could not see them until the stain went on that is. In the end I sanded this body 5 times and even then some of the slices showed up they were so fine and deep. I ended up having to finish that nice Ash body much differently than I intended. I wrote Warmoth about it and all I received back was silence. I bought a swamp Ash Stratocaster body from GFS and it was impeccable especially for the price. So I had to drill a few more holes to route wires differently. For the $225 dollar difference it just wasn't a thing.
That quality difference equals hours of extra labor you DON’T have to do! The neck pocket/bridge set up is critical in term of headaches. With Warmoth parts you can pretty easily build a “custom shop” quality guitar. Not cheap, but for a fraction of the price.
Basically built a Post Modern Strat for $1200, no compromises. All the pieces, pickups, bridge etc. that I wanted. It plays and sounds amazing! Fender’s version is an amazing guitar, but costs $3750...and does say “Fender” on the Headstock.😜
I love this video. You rock my man. I'm building a tele now, so this helps!
Great review!
GUYS Gfs now has a killer fiesta red i got my eyes on and now that the Surfer Green is back,well here i go ,number 14 and 15.So many guitars to build and money...they cost money...well heck you cant take money when you die,but with a guitar you build,you leave a little bit of your soul for others to enjoy.
I now have a neck fetish,marble flamed maple bound neck wow.
good building to all.
Another big difference is if you buy a painted body. I have done 2 warmoth builds and the paint shop has been flawless. I have done 3 GFS builds one with a painted body.The paint job was decent for the price $80 but was not as good as even a squier guitar. I did a better job with spray cans on the unfinished GFS bodies. But at $80 dollars I didn't care. GFS is great for inexpensive fun builds. Warmoth for when you want a professional level build.
Great Video. Thanks for doing this. Most appreciated.
Definite subscribe, very good and thorough video, your work has paid off air, I am your 21st subscriber. I plan to go into luthiery as soon as schools out in a few months actually.
You get what you pay for. That's the general rule.
I know this is a year old, but the GFS one probably just needed a couple light passes through a planer. It would flatten it and bring the weight down slightly. You'd have to hit the edges with a round over bit though. That might not be something everyone can do but for the price it's not that bad of a work investment.
You could plane it to the right thickness and such but the multiple glued boards kills me. I had a original 50's strat white blonde and unfortunately the grain just didn't line up good enough sold that and bought a 1 piece warmoth very very happy