Transforming Budget Guitar Into My Dream Guitar | Jackson JS32 Warrior

Ever since I started dreaming about getting new guitars, the Jackson Warrior models have had my interest, and now I finally decided to get one, but I couldn't find a compelling offering in terms of specs vs looks. There are some older or custom shop models, but the former are impossible to get and the latter are many £££££s. So I decided to make my dream Jackson Warrior.
I also thought I may aswell document the whole process, from stripping down the guitar, through to sanding, finishing the body and headstock, replacing the electronics and upgrading the pickups, bridge, nut and tuners, and evening out and polishing the frets.
Upgrade parts used (and how much I paid for them):
Seymour Duncan Nazgul Bridge pickup (£114.99)
Seymour Duncan Sentient Neck pickup (£100.99)
Gotoh Tunomatic bridge (£62.90)
Graphtech nut (£10.50)
Materials used for finish:
Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil (Body finish)
Nakoma Rit Dye Black, Wine (Body + Headstock Colour)
Polar Flawless Lacquer Clear Gloss Spray (Headstock Finish)
Jackson waterslide decal from eBay
Baroque Fret Erasers
MusicNomad Frine Fret Polish
0:00 Intro
0:10 Why I'm doing this
0:51 Dismantling guitar
1:00 Sanding
1:13 Dye application
1:37 Headstock sanding
2:02 Headstock dye application
2:14 Finishing the body
2:43 Binding scrape
2:58 More finish coats on body
3:11 Body re-finish result
3:36 Headstock finish
4:14 Decal application
5:20 Shielding electronics
5:52 Wiring
6:25 Re-assembly
6:56 Fitting new nut
7:14 Adding bridge saddle notches
7:37 Fretwork
8:09 Finalising assembly
8:22 Retrospective
10:32 Sound demo
11:58 Complications I faced
My instagram: / bedroom_guitar_hero
My band: / @bringtobearband
#metalguitar #guitargear #metalband

[@richardspillers6282]

Jackson really treats the warrior like an unwanted stepchild

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Unfortunately true XD

[@MaaZeus]

Indeed. They should bring back the WRXT hardtail version, midrange guitar. Same goes with with Ibanez Xiphos and BC Rich Stealth which are similar shapes to this one. It seems like X shapes are out of fashion or something but I disagree. They were awesome and still are awesome! Only one who is actively producing an X shape is Ola Englunds Solar but that is a bit too high end for my blood.

[@richardspillers6282]

@@MaaZeus I got 3 of the wrx24s. Best quality at an accessible price they've had in a long time.

[@Goose21]

@@MaaZeusdjent kids ruined pointy guitars for a while. It’s good to see stuff like the iceman somewhat coming back in a modern metal style

[@MaaZeus]

@@Goose21 Yeah for years all electric guitars you saw on the market were super strats. Super strats after super strats with a few odd Single cut/les paul and Telecaster in the mix. Nothing against Tele and LP, I like those, but super strats were so over represented that it was ridiculous. V's and Explorers were probably the only pointy style that did not dissappear into the void completely.

[@yantz8281]

The JS32 series is actually really good with a few upgrades.

[@itsybitsyzombie]

That finish is really, really cool looking. Looks like Dave Davidson's signature Warrior. Sounds great as well. And you're a beginner too? Impressive.

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks for the kind words! Yeah Dave’s signature is what kinda inspired the look :)

[@crosafix]

Killer job. Your string pull is supposed to be under the tuning pegs to maintain string alignment through the nut. If you ever have tuning problems, that's probably why. You've inspired me to want to re-crown one of my guitars. 🤘🏽

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Yeah, winding the strings the right way made the high e pop out of the nut, thats why I wound them like this, but with this nut there are no tuning issues :)

[@crosafix]

@@BedroomGuitarHero That's what up, learned something new. Love your stuff 🤘🏽

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks so much! 😁

[@DeathMetalDevin]

Love the color of the finish. Good job on doing a full run through when doing this

[@dryzd]

This warrior looks stunning! Great work mate.

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks so much! :)

[@AlisterTate]

cool project, man. love that you did all of this inside of your apartment, reminds me of when I started modding my old guitars in highschool, lol.

[@HD28Hailey]

Didn’t expect it to come out this good, but if I saw this, I’d buy it. Fantastic job!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thank you so much :D

[@jfoquendo]

Dude you are a far better man than me the level of patience you have is amazing ! Well done my man ! im getting one and just getting my tech setting it up and loading up with some duncans !

[@wasslewis2244]

Probably my favourite video for diy guitar. Awesome post! Dig the color and well it’s a Jackson 🤘

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thank you so much! 😁

[@solanis369]

Thanks for making this so in depth. I was actually looking at this model for the exact same reason, to just hot rod it with my own setup and specs. Great job on the oil finish and headstock, that’s not typically something most people would try to do themselves, but you nailed it! Definitely gonna be getting my hands on one of these in the near future. 👏🏼

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks man, glad it was useful! 😁

[@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076]

Wow! That guitar looks great! Excellent video!

[@jairocerritos3213]

Looks amazing man. Great job!

[@stephenorme2831]

Looks great man. Well done

[@panterametal333]

Awesome work. Looks great 👍

[@m3m3sis]

How have missed a warrior upgrade, i search these weekly on youtube. So f cool

[@chosenone2964]

You did an amazing job ! Impressive

[@tankdarla637]

Man that looks superb! Sounds great too!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks so much! :)

[@Ethersis]

That looks awesome dude!

[@Krazywizard301]

this is an amazing video holy 💩 very nice bro !!!

[@COU51N.]

Bro, This looks amazing!!!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks! :)

[@nothing55rk]

Dude, looks awesome man!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thank you!

[@BusyAir]

That came out great. The effort makes me even more content with the natural finish mine came with, though.

[@TheLowest]

I like the honesty in messing up and explaining why you need to do certain steps. The decal issue is one of those things I could see myself being annoyed and confused by. Nice job, the finished product honestly looks like a factory finish

[@buck7477]

Give me a break! Man nobody just wakes up one morning and becomes a Luthier!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thank you so much, there are definitely imperfections, but its certainly better than I have any right to expect doing this first time XD

[@vdalism_x_]

This is so satisfying 😍 The guitar looks soo good. Impressed 👏🏻

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks! I'm honestly surprised it looks that good myself xD

[@Abzshred]

Amazing project

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks so much! :)

[@AbnormalDissection]

I really like your build brother 🤘 Looks amazing 👌 I'm actually in the process myself of customizing my Jackson Randy Rhoads

[@arthurnunez970]

Very underrated custom job, suscribed! Cheers!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks! 😁

[@EC-ol8nz]

Gives me hope on my Warrior :)

[@Dragonflytube]

looks amazing, to me is one of the best looking jacksons

[@thepessimist9043]

Dude u're a legit hero! I have the absolute identical thinking, I want the warrior shape without the floyd and with only six strings. I also decided to build one myself out of the JS32t with repainting and new hardware some time ago, but when I was in doubts on my ability to do something with my hands, I had to move from my apartment. I can't afford to buy a lot of tools right now, but you definitely paved the way for me with this project. Your guitar looks killer, I'm very jealous in a good way and motivated to do mine as soon my situation becomes stable enough. Thanks for sharing this!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Hey man, thanks so much for your comment, I’m glad to hear my video was of help to you. Thankfully I had the resources to take a leap of faith with it and experiment a bit, and luckily it worked out, and the fact it’s useful to others is fantastic 🤘

[@ManowarMasino]

Yeah same, but if i can i just pay a dude to do all this stuff. Repaint the guitar, install new pickups etc.

[@jasonbates2687]

Good job, I almost tuned out when I saw you sand down the headstock but I like what you did. I just bought a JS32 mahogany Rhodes that has no finish at all, I plan on doing some mods as well.

[@yantz8281]

Super sick!!!

[@brandonfurtado380]

uve done such an amazing job on this guitar, kind off looks like a pro series

[@walterharris4681]

You know, I hear that Jackson Guitars seems to treat the Warrior model like a stepchild but I have a feeling that the Dean ML was in the same place until Dimebag Darrell came along and made it cool. Now the Dean ML series are the most sought after in the whole Dean Guitars product line - especially Dimebag's signature ones. Somebody will come along and do the same for the Warrior models.

[@walterharris4681]

@@chopholtz4950 No way dude. The Dean ML design was already popular because of him by the time Far Beyond Driven came out, Dimebag had a lesson column in Guitar World magazine and Washburn was basically using the same designs as the Dean ML while he was with them. Dean guitars was out of business during this time. Dean became a bigger company after he returned and they once again started pumping out more of his signature models that sold even more online (while he was living). I've never heard of certain guitar models becoming popular after the guitar player known for using them is no longer walking the earth. I believe Dean guitars would still be in business if Dimebag was still alive though. Not the way I would like to see a guitar brand pop off because someone who was known for using them got killed. That's terrible. History has shown that most players like Nita Strauss and Jim Root earn their own signature series while they are alive and still musically active. I personally prefer it that way.

[@walterharris4681]

@@chopholtz4950 TBH, most Pantera fans / guitar players were after the ones made by Washburn back in the mid-90's - which have become very rare today. They weren't called ML's - at least I don't believe so. Those Washburn models had ads plastered all over those Guitar World issues back then. Sold so many.

[@ManowarMasino]

Maybe me in 10-20 years, i hope

[@Goose21]

Dave Davidson is the one

[@MsDamageDealer]

Good job, man! Oil is cool! I used white carbon to wrap my EX guitar but... Now I figured out that oil is the coolest finish, because you have the wood structure)

[@Gxvin]

my god that is beautiful.

[@The_JustJoshing]

Looks awesome man

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks so much! :)

[@TheAtariCreep]

Turned out rad man.

[@dc3763]

Sick job dude!! \m/

[@blacklabelpa]

Damn nice job man!!!

[@davidblueeyes9156]

Sick! I bought the same guitar recently and am fixing to do similar mods/upgrades to it.

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Nice, I can say from my end its totally worth it :D Warrior shape ftw! \m/

[@tamasalfoldi9575]

The steel wool trick really helps when you are staining a figured top (like flamed maple). When you rub the stained top with a steel wool, it will remove the stain which hasn't been soaked in, but sitting on top of the body. And it won't scratch the surface like sandpaper, that's the best thing about it. So basically the steel wool will make the figured top "pop" more, it will look much better. Also, your guitar turned out great, congrats!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Useful info, thank you :D

[@mackdaddprod]

Nice work!

[@sgtrock6213]

Great job on your custom guitar build..lol you are probably hooked now. Guitar max mentioned you in his video 👍👍

[@davidkervin]

What a great video! I've been eyeing that model Warrior and was wondering how well it plays.

[@MrBikboi]

You did a fucking fantastic job. This looks so daunting, I've never used a saudering iron before or even changed pickups.

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks so much! Neither have I until a couple of weeks before this project and just once 😁

[@JacobNates]

This is awesome!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks! :D

[@blackmetalbreadstick]

You should be proud, that’s awesome. Also light guitars are wonderful on your back haha

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks so much! I know they are, I am just a very tactile person, so the way the instrument resonates or the stability it provides while playing makes a difference to me :)

[@yakov7207]

Such a charismatic and entertaining video to watch! Very much impressed with your wiring and crafting skills as well! “Action measuring devices” omfg I truly cringed on that one dude, its called a filler gauge 🤣 Really really cool video and most importantly the build!👌👌

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks bro! ❤️

[@Furiora]

Can't lie, I was begging you to oil that fretboard because that fretboard is BEGGING for a drink. The actual guitar looks great though, sounds pretty awesome with those duncans too!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

I have oiled it the same evening of the filming :D

[@articoband5435]

Really cool

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks! :)

[@Nicholas-sg7qk]

The Tides! Currently working on the solo from that song.

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

NICE! Yesss, oh thats a tough one, that solo was mostly what got me into guitar :D

[@Zombie_13x33]

i want one with a hardtail too. the floyds are cool and all but its just one more guitar with parts you have to maintain. the hardtail is just more reliable in the long run when you start getting more and more guitars lol. great job man. edit.. also, i never thought to sand the headstock for stain when refinishing. thanks for that lol.

[@TheGreatBaronOBeefDip]

Couple things: I think you wound the strings the other way, they are supposed to be going under the posts not over, 2nd if they are locking tuners, pull the string all the way, no slack, lock it down, and tune to pitch, it doesn't need winds, you can put tape on the back horns to protect their points and give the guitar a bit more weight, when standing you can swing the strap around the largest horn and it balances pointy guitars much better.

[@DJCJ999]

Great first attempt!.. tip for next time is to mask-off your fret board before levelling as the fretboard can get messed up... a long levelling file is also a must if you want the best job but buying all these tools add cost.

[@myekuntz]

dudee that was your first? you kicked ass !

[@fartspoo4244]

That’s beautiful

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks! So is your name 🤣

[@gkerwanderer2793]

Awesome hoooo yeah 👍👍👍

[@hangman960]

fretboard looks abit dry

[@fartspoo4244]

Little fretboard oil… I agree. But he did a great job

[@wheatboy206]

I think I'm the first here to recognize The Tides by Darkest Hour @10:35! Nice! One of their less popular albums, you must be a big fan. \m/ Sweet build by the way, love how the finish turned out.

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Oh man, nice! Yeah thats one of two songs that made me pick up the guitar, so that album has a special place in my heart, and yeah I am a pretty big fan :D

[@kvankessful]

Would be cool if the pickups had covers on em, i love that look

[@thatoneguy229OG]

This thing looks fucking sick! I want to do something similar to my 7 string, but it's a fully painted body and I really don't have the confidence lol. Good job, man.

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

A proper original finish will be quite a pain to remove :D

[@fabian7463]

I have a white warrior Floyd Rose. My first guitar my dad bought me was a Red Jackson V back in 2006. I wanted a Black version but hey it was a bad ass guitar for a 14 year old.

[@JesseLeeKing]

Shit being that you just got your newbs at every step it looks pretty freaking professional

[@jonathanray5974]

So fuggin cool

[@BoltXThrower69]

I love the warrior, have an older Japanese model. I’ve wanted to get another one so bad to just customize without touching my old one

[@user-ec2xu7nc4y]

Great result! How did you manage to get the bridge studs and the string through ferrules out without damaging the guitar body? I'm about to start a similar project. Thanks!

[@CristianSurvive1]

The JS32 line of guitars with natural wood finish are the perfect DIY projects. I don't think your guitar feeling lighter should be seen as a downside. IMO it's actually better for stage use. As long as it feels and sounds good to you then you're good.

[@3dartstudio007]

I've you ever seen the movie "Galaxy Quest" you'll know my reaction when he sanded the Jackson emblem off the headstock. It was the same reaction the aliens had when humans suggested to just "activate the Omga 13 to see what it does". Ah ah ah ah ah ah ahhh!!!

[@ardiandhani]

Looks nice man. Quick question, did you wound the string in the wrong direction ?

[@mrhamburgler480]

darkest hour for the win. i always use "With a Thousand Words..." for a warm up tune

[@zoomzoom3950]

Interesting. I thought about refinishing a JS32 Warrior, but decided to just get the stock JS32 models... I have a few Jackson JS32; luckily I like the standard colors. All my Warriors have the trem, and I have a JS32T Rhoads with a hard tail. I own more expensive guitars (Including a Warrior WRX and a Rhoads CDX Concorde). I'm really impressed with the JS32 series; even more impressive given the price. Would be great if Jackson offered more finishes and other options for Warriors in the JS32 and WRX series. Congrats and enjoy your personal Warrior!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Yeah I’d really like more finishes for warriors in general at all price levels 😁

[@noodlehair6566]

now I wanna buy a rhoads in the same finish and do the same thing lol. this looks sick

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Haha, yeah I kinda forgot how much work it took now, and wanna do another guitar xD

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

I wanna try to convert my friend's beat up king V into a Rhoads V - probably insane but what the hell 🤪

[@ahmadakbarsyah8959]

Very2 badass🤘🔥

[@oskarivangarciaalvarado5357]

Hi man, I am thinking of upgrading the fixed bridge on my jackson js32T king v , what model of bridge did you use for the upgrade?

[@saiyanstoic]

Would it be possible to use the gloss spray you applied to the headstock on the body instead of the true oil?

[@616rico]

Such a sexy guitar, hopefully the blueprint for a signature model? Would you do another guitar transformation in future?

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Haha thank you so much! I am already thinking about it tbh! Might be a gloss finish. I'm also considering using this guitar for live, and maybe putting more layers of oil on it for a bit more resistance to stage wear :D

[@m_zbrv3967]

wonder if the are noticeable change in tone if you cut the body top and replace with premium wood like mahogany or something

[@Trojanarchist]

heyo, awesome build! could you link which graphtech nut you used? it's so confusing with all the models available

[@zynosgd9982]

The name of the song is "the only song I expected to hear from a Jackson Warrior"

[@kevingrabowski]

that warrior is sick, but did you wind the strings the other way at the end? really inspiring video hope there were more shit like this on youtube

[@kamilkarpinski1018]

Oryginalny przetwornik jest zwykłych rozmiarów, czy pod floyd rose? Wczesniej most pasowal?

[@davidblueeyes9156]

Just a quick question: do you have a link to the specific nut that you got to replace the stock one? Thanks in advance! I honestly keep coming back to this video because of not only the sick mods you did to this guitar but also how well made the video itself is.

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

This is it: amzn.eu/d/bpKPcbb

[@davidblueeyes9156]

@@BedroomGuitarHero thank you! You're a total Chad and I love the channel 🙏

[@rosskrause3926]

Great job on your Warrior ! Can you tell me which Graph Tech nut you used for this ? I am about to do the nut on a Slat 3-6 with a Graph Tech nut but I just want to make sure I get the right one this time...I have done several before but on a ESP LTD EC 1001 the stock original nut install was horrible from the factory on a $1000+ guitar so I had one heck of a time but finally got it.. I think the PT-6143-00 is the one I want to order for my Jackson.

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Sorry for late reply, the one I used is PT-6643-00

[@mathias6423]

I think the finish turned out great! Those Gotoh turners did not look like locking turners If my eyes do not fail me, any reason for not not going with locking tuners ?

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

There isnt much difference to me, and these were easier to get considering price and delivery time :)

[@prepareforadventure6247]

You should check out citristrip, I use it on my gun stocks to strip them. No sanding! No lost material!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Oh sounds interesting, thanks for the tip! :)

[@rabbithowls71]

This is so similar to my first project. Mine was a mahogany neck through tele shaped guitar. Different color but same finish, a Nazgûl too. Nice work.

[@jesseparrish9198]

Sick mods man! You should of put some lemon oil on the fret board. It looks thirsty lol.

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Thanks! I have done since :D

[@nocheckmarkgames]

I dont know, I kinda like the stained finish better. I mean if you smoke it off the edge of a desk or something, it might leave a notch. But its better than a notch AND a gigantic white spot.

[@kevinowens2886]

nice

[@psychicer5022]

just bought one to do the same. I kinda want to do the back of the neck also to match the body anybody know if the neck will cause problems?

[@tomasomiadhachain2411]

What tuners did you use? The stock ones or replacements? :)

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

I used gotoh tuners, they are great :D

[@jaminjimlp]

Probably should of hit that body with lacquer too because that head stock looks STELLER!!! GREAT JOB!!!

[@Broccoli_Highkicks]

End result looks good, but yeah, stands to reason that dye/oil is not going to be a very protective finish, that's not what it's for. If you want protection, you need a clear coat. I'm curious how much sanding it took to prepare the body initially for refinishing, as I've wanted to try something like this myself.

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

I've since bought an electric sander, but doing that by hand with a sand block was not too terrible, but only because the original finish was very light, a regular glossy finish on a guitar would be a serious pain to remove by hand, probably hours of work

[@tyler_davies]

Only criticism is that it would be a good idea to throw some fretboard oil on it. Other than that, fucking so sick

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Yup, got that one a few times, actually put oil on like a few minutes after recording. Thanks! :)

[@DaMustaine]

why did you string it like that?

[@learningisgrowing]

Thank you so much for this vid! I was thinking of doing this exact thing after drooling over Dave Davidson's sig models, but tbh, the time it would take to achieve what you did, would cost me more than buying a Dave sig model Warrior. Or maybe I'm trying to justifying buying a new guitar? Cheers

[@learningisgrowing]

Also, is there not some fancy product on the market where you can just go straight over the existing finish?

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

Hey thanks so much! I was also debating time investment vs money, but I reckoned its nice content anyway, and the Dave Davidson model is what inspired this, but it doesn't come in the configuration I wanted, ie 6 string fixed bridge, otherwise I would have definitely just bought one :D Regarding something that goes over an existing finish, I reckon you could technically do that with anything, but it wouldn't be reliable and probably will just crack and pop off with a minor bump. But also I'm a total newb at this stuff so don't take my word for it :D

[@Lordbaccus]

I got your link from Guitar Maxx ~ I would like to convert one of those into a Bass Guitar... Just like I am doing with my Js30 RRV

[@midoridragon3105]

Guitar looks great, but i think it would look better with that white strip around the edge. Similar to how the neck has the white strip, you should do the same with the body!

[@BedroomGuitarHero]

I was heavily considering dying the neck or buying a new one to get rid of the binding, but it was not that easy... I think wood-textured red would not go well with an untextured white, plus the edges are belevelled.