Paper Label

[Mickguard]

Yes, I use the search function...but my questions must be too weird. So I apologize for the seemingly endless series of questions I ask, maybe they'll help someone else further along...

Anyway, today's question is pretty simple: I have a neck from an MIM Standard (judging from the tuners). The heel has a paper label, part of which has a second label with a bar code superimposed.

Now I'm thinking this label is only getting in the way--it's pretty thick--and I'm thinking it's acting as a shim. (I've just 'corrected' the pocket for my metal shim--the pocket itself wasn't completely flat)

Should I just remove the label?

Easy one, right?

[Mattia]

Yes, and yes.

[JoeAArthur]

Yes, I use the search function...but my questions must be too weird. So I apologize for the seemingly endless series of questions I ask, maybe they'll help someone else further along...

Anyway, today's question is pretty simple: I have a neck from an MIM Standard (judging from the tuners). The heel has a paper label, part of which has a second label with a bar code superimposed.

Now I'm thinking this label is only getting in the way--it's pretty thick--and I'm thinking it's acting as a shim. (I've just 'corrected' the pocket for my metal shim--the pocket itself wasn't completely flat)

Should I just remove the label?

Easy one, right? 

←

I know what you mean - that second label with the bar code. On mine it was

inbetween the mounting holes, I thought that both labels would come off easy, but that second one was actually under the poly. It didn't seem that thick to me, like you say, it's just a piece of paper.

I mounted the neck with it on... knowing I could always remove it and sand it off. It hasn't caused any problem with the neck alignment - it's flat.

[frank falbo]

Not to hijack, but it brings up another point that I'd like to rant about. Companies like Warmoth (well, they're the worst) burn a huge logo/Fender license into the neck and body, so that you really have about 30% less wood to wood contact overall. A dark, wet ink would penetrate just as deep, and still leave contact.

The thing about the Fender neck is that it has a thick finish. So it really doesn't matter what's under there, be it paper, a guitar pick, dust, etc. You're making contact with poly. So unless you sanded the finish off the heel, you can leave whatever's under the poly. Or sand the heel until you get through most of it, but still leave a little on there to keep it sealed, and so the amber color blends with the rest of the neck. If you take it to bare wood it will be a lot whiter.

[Mickguard]

I ended up slicing off the bar code and sanding down the heel --i figure whatever sealer they use has seeped into the wood enough to keep it stable, if that's an issue.

In my case, this just puts the heel in better contact with my metal shim.

[Mattia]

The wood contact loss is tiny, MAYBE 10-15% at worst, and I challenge you to tell the difference between a neck with and without the branded logo in a double-blind experiment.

[frank falbo]

I'm referring to a Warmoth body/neck combination. They brand both of them, and with the misalignment you're losing contact from the neck in some areas, the body in others, and both at points where they meet. I don't care about any double blind experiment with it because it's a stupid practice. It wouldn't matter if no one could tell the difference, it's the principle. It's like getting the sound of a shimmed pocket in a way, and there's no good reason for it, just like there's no good reason for a paper label to be in there. (Hey paper is a wood based product though, haha) Other companies use ink stamps. I realize you can't bar code with that, but they get by somehow. I also realize that factory guitars are what they are. Some loss of the craft is to be expected to increase efficiency in a factory environment. But Warmoth is making parts, supposedly so the guitar handyman can make a "better than factory" guitar.

Luckily, Warmoth cuts their neck pockets a little shallow for my tastes, so in the past if I've ever gotten a Warmoth body I'll completely redo the neck pocket, sometimes adding an angle, but removing the indentations entirely.

-Kudos idch. Flat and raw is the best, even with that metal shim BTW, with that metal shim, be sure to countersink the holes in the neck. Perhaps a little on the body, and the shim itself, too. The neck holes will tend to lift a little right when the threads bite. On a wood to wood connection, that usually just compresses indentations in the body wood. The metal shim will not be forgiving. So as long as you have a flat neck heel, keep it flat by countersinking those holes a little. Once the neck holes lift a little, screwing in harder won't press them back down because the threads have the Maple locked in between them. If you shim holes are really oversized, then I guess it's not an issue either.

[soapbarstrat]

Putting a label there is also stupid, because you can only see it when the neck is off the body. I'd much rather have the "good name brand/additional info", on the back of the headstock. You know, so when I go into the guitar shop, I don't have to hear the salesman say :

" that neck is a Warmoth neck, you just can't tell because the logo is hidden".

Better yet, they should make a little hologram logo thing which would be hard as hell to make a fake copy of (I guess ?)

[Mickguard]

Frank: yes, I see what you mean--good idea.

While I was scraping off the bar code, I also cleaned up the screw holes --as you say, they burst out a bit with the screws.

Also, when I'm attaching a bolt on neck, I usually use one of my pump-action clamps (one of my favorite tools, in addition to double-sided tape) to set the neck in place. Not so tight that it'll crush anything, but enough so the neck doesn't lift up at all while I'm screwing things together.