Warmoth made their name in the eons where they were almost exclusively the only game in town doing custom builds at middle class pricing.
With the advent of CNC machinery, they've had to pivot toward pricing and market strategy as though they're the ultra-premium option. For me, that puts them into a manufacturing echelon that I'm not willing to spend in.
As for other options (if you'll indulge me), one of my COVID projects was assembling my own '72-inspired thinline telecaster, albeit with major deviations. I went with BYOGuitar to CNC me a body from spec, from scratch. I got a mahogany body with alder top + cream top binding for <$300 at the time. Found a Fender Deluxe-series neck on Amazon Warehouse for another $200, found Fralin wide range humbuckers cheap locally, and the rest was just spare parts.
I did my own finishing in my kitchen using a home-built isolation box, using a Home Depot large packing box with ports for spraying and keeping a filtered vacuum. Finished it in Daphne Blue with nitro on top, but goldtop-style leaving the sides and back with a matte tru-oil finish.
Not perfect by any means, but I was shocked how do-able it was for someone like me with no real tools or experience, and only the loose guidance of the internet for steering.
Results (keep in mind it's in playing condition, I just grabbed the thing off the rack right now to make photos with zero cleanup):
I got finish cracking almost immediately at the top and bottom of the F-hole, where stress concentrations are bound to develop, and it's been a slow and steady chipping of finish and paint along the edges too. When I finally got to open up my amp and play this one LOUD, a lot more microchecks developed on the face. Suppose that's to be expected when you're playing and your picking forearm can feel the air moving in and out of the F-hole.
Anyway, you can assemble yourself an excellent guitar for WAY less than what Warmoth is asking. That's what I really meant to say with this post.
