neckplate mystery.....

[Orange Adam]

I treid several music man guitars today....in a local shop. And I discovered interesting facts.

I played:

1 New Sillo Spec with matching headstock(dark cherry sb)
1 Used Axis HTail Super Sport Match head. 2HB (blue sparkle)
1 Used Axis Sport Sunburst 2HB
1 New Luke
1 New S.U:B.

Only one of these guitars had a recessed neckplate...you know the one level with the heel.Dunno if "recessed" is the right word....

Well only the older one, Axis Sport, had the neckplate level with the guitars body all of the other guitars had it installed the same way youd find the neckplate on any bolt-on guitar(Fender....)

How come this is happening?
Has MMEB started cutting corners or they simply decided not to feature this neat detail?
I have to tell you that that Axis Sport was more playable on the upper frets than the rest of the guitars I tried.
Also the fretboard edges on the Sport were more rounded.....nicely finished.
The other Axis I tried had rolled edges up to the 7th fret and after that .......pretty much sharp. Same thing I noticed with the Silo Spec.

If anyone would care to enlighten me....?!?!?



Thanx

 

[Jimi D]

I too love the recessed neck plate; it was standard on all EBMM guitars for a couple years, but they discontinued the process about seven years back. As I recall, there were some finish wear issues involved in the decision over and above the cost/effort associated with the process, perhaps possible chipping along the edge of the recess? I could be wrong about that, though... At any rate, I really like the recessed neck plate that I have on two of my EBMMs - it's got a great feel, and looks very slick, and I have often wished that they would re-introduce the feature...

 

[Big Poppa]

Jimi D
I love the recessed neck plate as an owner but as a manufacturer it is a recipe for disaster. The issues involved are a little in the manufacturing and a lot in the field.

When laquer was legal we could finish a guitar with a very thin "build" as environmental regulations escalated the finishes got thicker making it harder to get the exact pocket. The other problem is in buffing....anytime you run up against a sharp corner ;you have a very high risk of buff through. We could live with that What we couldn't live with is the customer or tech that took the instrument apart and overtightening the neck causing finish cracks that would be blamed on us.

oh well

 

[Orange Adam]

Thats real interesting to know.
Anyway...still a neat detail!!!