Neck Inserts On Deep Tenon

[Xanthus]

Hey all, it's graduation time and I can't wait to get back to building the latest creation! I've been doing some brainstorming and decided that I wanted to try a bolt-on with my latest build.

I'm doing a typical RG body (if it ain't broke...) and have plenty of space left on the neck tenon to extend it under the neck pickup. Why not, eh? I wanted to use neck inserts with the four screws in an AANJ format. BUT, I'm putting a 1/2" bevel around the front and back, METAL_MATT style, which will move the position of the screws back and therefore, under the neck pickup.

With the 1/2" bevel, the meat under the neck pocket will be no more than 5/8" (I want a smooth-looking transition), which means a 1-1/8" route. I wanted to direct-mount the pickups, which means a cavity depth of 3/4". When all is said and done, there should be 3/8" of neck wood under the pickup, where 2 of the neck inserts will fall. This seems like mighty tight quarters to me. Anyone else?

All this because I wanted to play it safe if something happens to the neck...

Edited May 3, 2009 by Xanthus

[dpm99]

Hey, you've done this enough to know the risks. It could be good and could be bad. Only one way to find out. GL!

-Dave

[SwedishLuthier]

If the inserts end up right under the pickup it might be a good idea to use brass inserts or any other non-magnetic material. Any ferrous material in close proximity of the magnetic field will change the shape of the field and thus have some (small or big, thats up to you to be the judge of) impact on the sound.

[Xanthus]

Yeah I definitely thought about that, Peter, thanks for the heads-up! I wonder if the neck screws that close will affect anything, either.....

I could only find inserts 3/8" tall, which is exactly how much space I have to play with. At the risk of cutting a shorter pickup route and having to modify the pickup to bring the height down, I don't know if I feel comfortable with tolerances that tight...