#167655  by jackson1974
 
Hi all,

I am going to build a Jerry Warmoth guitar and have a few questions for anyone in the know.

What should my base wood be? Also they no longer do Cocobolo it seems so what wood would be best? I lean towards pau ferro.

Should I add the battery cavity and add a buffer? If so what buffer?

TIA
 #167660  by Jon S.
 
Cocobolo is in the genus Dalbergia. Other trees in that genus include Dalbergia nigra (Brazilian rosewood), Dalbergia sissoo (Indian rosewood), and Dalbergia melanoxylon (African blackwood).

The pic below shows a WGD guitar (on the right) I used to own with an Indian rosewood top. I sold that one when I acquired my Philtone Jerrycaster Tiger-style axe (on the left - cocobolo top). It's buyer loved it and so, now, does his heir. Note re: Warmoth that you can likely request a darker shade of rosewood if prefer (or even dye it darker).

Also, have a look at The Wood Database's entry on cocobolo. See especially the section, "Hardwoods > Fabaceae > Dalbergia > Related species."

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 #167661  by Jon S.
 
And BTW, you could always cop some cocobolo yourself. On the theory that you never know when you'll need some, myself, I have these nice pieces on hand now.

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 #167662  by Jon S.
 
jackson1974 wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2020 10:38 pmWhat should my base wood be?
Sorry, I'm realizing now I skipped over this question earlier.

Others can advise you on what solid piece of base wood they think you should choose to come closest in tone to Tiger's hippie sandwich construction.

Myself, I believe the guitar's base wood, while certainly not irrelevant ("everything affects everything," to quote various Zen masters and also the late, great Earl Weaver), is less important to its tone than other factors. These may include the neck materials, scale length, fretboard material, string break angles (bridge and nut), pickup locations relative to the bridge, pickup model(s), etc.

So if it were me, I'd place overall guitar weight (if deemed important) and appearance (i.e., cosmetics, again, if deemed important) over the specific wood species for the body. For example, maple is far more dense, heavy, and harder than some other woods. Choosing it would like make for a heavyweighted guitar indeed.

But this is just me. As the long-timers here know, for myself (only!), I've long maintained that when it comes to emulating Jerry, "the past gets a vote but not a veto." I also believe "to each his own."

Good luck!
 #167663  by lbpesq
 
In my experience the core or base wood on a bolt-on has more effect on the guitar’s tone than the core on a neck-through or even a set neck, as were all of Jerry’s guitars after Alligator. That said, it depends what you are looking for. If you want a bright tone, you might consider Maple of Ash. Ash will usually be lighter, especially if you get Swamp Ash. If you want a fuller, more balanced tone, my personal favorite is Black Korina. Sonically, it is similar to Mahogany with a little more mids. It often has very attractive grain and is light to medium weight. As for the top, Indian Rosewood is the closest Warmoth offers to Cocobolo. I’ve had several very good experiences with ordering from Warmoth. Good luck with your build.

Bill, tgo
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 #167664  by TI4-1009
 
Sonically, maple base with rosewood top should be closest. But, as mentioned, there are so many variables that it's a real pig-in-a-poke. And you have to be happy with the visuals or it just won't make you happy.
 #167665  by Jon S.
 
Korina is an excellent body wood recommendation.

If you want to hear (and feel, weight-wise) guitars made of white korina (AKA white limba), a builder that uses that wood a lot is Reverend.

For info. on limba with photos of white and black planks, sanded, and sealed: https://www.wood-database.com/limba/

Be careful with a maple body. You may love it. And you may find it too bright/immediate/harsh.
 #167666  by jackson1974
 
Thanks for all the help! This will be my fourth Warmoth build. I tend to like mahogany and black limba bodies most ( I use them on all my carve tops and did on my last flying v build) . I do not have any maple body guitars and it seems many do use the maple body for Tiger style builds but I do worry it will be to bright as I like more warm mid tones typically but this guitar is for the fun of it and I do want it to be dialed in for Jerry tones but I am not a madman looking to nail his tone perfectly. I do want to give it every chance though.

On the WGD build what control cavity option did you do? It looks like you added everything Jerry had Buffer, OBEL?) so I assume you had to do some custom routing or does Warmoth do it if you ask? I only see Strat or Les Paul control options and the battery box.

Thanks for the help!
 #167668  by Jon S.
 
jackson1974 wrote: Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:51 amOn the WGD build what control cavity option did you do? It looks like you added everything Jerry had Buffer, OBEL?) so I assume you had to do some custom routing or does Warmoth do it if you ask? I only see Strat or Les Paul control options and the battery box.
I'm sorry, it was so long ago I don't remember! I did add a buffer and OBEL to mine at the time.
 #167669  by Jon S.
 
Pardon so many posts today. This is my area's 24th day in a row over 90 degrees and right now it's 96. So although I worked on my shed in the early morning, it's gonna be a mostly indoor day from here on.

I saw this WGD example on the Warmoth site. Pau ferro does make for a looker of a top!

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 #167672  by jackson1974
 
Yeah, that Pau ferro is what I am looking to do. Just have to decide on maple or mahgony/limba for the core. Then I think I will add the battery box and do the buffer but skip the OBEL unless someone convinces me it is something I should add.

Thanks for the help!
 #167674  by lbpesq
 
I’m not a fan of OBEL. I had my custom Alembic Further built without one. I like to use a wireless. I essentially accomplish the same result as an OBEL by leaving my guitar volume at 10 and placing a volume pedal at the end of my effects chain.

That Pau Ferro grain does look nice! Another cool wood I used as a top on a chambered Black Korina body from Warmoth is Goncalo Alves.

Bill, tgo
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