Bolt-on Necks - Neck Plate Vs. No Neck Plate

[dansk]

hey guys,

i'll be attaching the neck to my first project soon and this has come up. should i use a neck plate?

i'm thinking no, seeing as i want to keep this guitar as minimalistic as possible, as to better showcase the nice wood i got (imbuya). it is a fender style neck/joint...

so what are the advantages/disadvantages of using a neck plate and not using one?

thanks a bunch

[Miro]

I prefer no plates. They're useless. If you dont use any, make sure the screws have plenty space to hold on the body!

[rhoads56]

use some ferrule washers under the screw heads, recess them down, and it will look cool as.

[Hughes]

i think plates look perty

[thegarehanman]

I haven't ever seen this, but you should route out the area under the plate so you can use a plate, but its edges are flush with the body. I like the look of plates, but I don't like how they stick out. That would be the best of both worlds.

[Hughes]

great idea, i will give that a try at my next attempt/bring the old one back from the dead

[Hughes]

great idea, i will give that a try at my next attempt/bring the old one back from the dead

[Mickguard]

hey guys,

i'll be attaching the neck to my first project soon and this has come up. should i use a neck plate?

i'm thinking no, seeing as i want to keep this guitar as minimalistic as possible, as to better showcase the nice wood i got (imbuya). it is a fender style neck/joint...

so what are the advantages/disadvantages of using a neck plate and not using one?

thanks a bunch

←

Well, one way to highlight the wood is by offering a contrasting color to 'frame' it--a neck nice shiny neck plate can give you that.

I think it depends on whether you want that kind of heel --personally, I think the bolt-on heel is too bulky, I prefer a set neck --so I'd go for a recessed ferrule/washer thing that will let you shave down the joint.

[Mickguard]

i'm thinking no, seeing as i want to keep this guitar as minimalistic as possible, as to better showcase the nice wood i got (imbuya). it is a fender style neck/joint...

←

Well, one way to highlight the wood is by offering a contrasting color to 'frame' it--a neck nice shiny neck plate can give you that.

I think it depends on whether you want that kind of heel --personally, I think the bolt-on heel is too bulky, I prefer a set neck --so I'd go for a recessed ferrule/washer thing that will let you shave down the joint.

[thegarehanman]

what's w/ the double, double posts?

[jmrentis]

what's w/ the double, double posts?

[gun]

I seen here a guy made 2 custom Tele, he used the recessed plate for bolt on attachment. They look cool also if I prefer the AANJ à la Ibanez.

[Mickguard]

what's w/ the double, double posts?

←

Dunno, think my DSL connection hiccupped...

[GodBlessTexas]

I haven't ever seen this, but you should route out the area under the plate so you can use a plate, but its edges are flush with the body. I like the look of plates, but I don't like how they stick out. That would be the best of both worlds.

←

I had actually considered doing that as well, but haven't done it because I don't have a plunge router base. I think it would be an awesome look.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

[thegarehanman]

You don't have to have a plunge router to plunge route. You could drill your starter hole using a depth stop. Also, you can gently lower a router, while moving it side to side,taking away about 1/32" at a time until it's at it's final depth. On that note, it's not really a good idea to route out any deeper than 1/2 the width of your bit. For insance, you're using a 3/4" bit, then you route away 3/8" at a time.

[unclej]

i used to use plates on everything but after i did my first one with recessed ferrules i never used another one. just remember to use shorter screws..those pointy ends stickin' out of the fretboard make it hard to play.