Partscaster builders, your advice please!

[VH4_BigRig]

Hey guys, been contemplating doing a partscaster build for a the last little while since custom guitars are so pricey. At its core, basically my dream guitar is an all maple Fender strat neck on a Gibson body (either Les Paul double cut or SG)....but the problem is since both types of guitars normally have different scales, even the spare parts you can find do not necessarily match or play friendly together!

The Ibanez AX120 has a basswood body and is dirt cheap with a bolt on construction, so I was leaning towards getting that and putting a Warmoth neck on it with new pickups and hardware too (as well as a new paint job...the default colours are FUGLY). However, before going too far down the rabbit hole in terms of specific specs, I thought I'd throw it out there to see what you guys think in terms of these models and things to consider when doing a partscaster (red flags to look out for, places to get parts, how to get things not necessarily made to be combined to work well enough together, etc). I'm sure you guys have some pointers that would come in handy!

I've looked into other cheaper models lately like the Epiphone DC pro and Hammer Slammers and the like, but it seemed like I might be better off slapping something together to get what I'm after...however, I realize in certain cases it could just be like putting lipstick on a pig, so trying to figure out what the best balance is!

Thanks in advance, cheers!

 

[cardinal]

I think you can do this with all Warmoth parts?

With random parts, even if the scale of the body and neck match, the heel and other things likely won't match and you'll end up needed to move the bridge or neck pocket route at least a bit.

 

[SpiderWars]

I would keep your first build simple and ime don't expect to build your dream guitar on your first try no matter what parts you use.