Bolt on neck question

crguti

Active member
Why some companies (Jackson for example) put a piece of plastic underneath the metal plate of bolt on neck? :dunno:

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Re: Bolt on neck question

I've wondered the same thing a few times. I always figured it was for protecting the finish behind the plate. I'm probably way off though.
 
Re: Bolt on neck question

To protect the finish from the cover plate in case you ever need to take it all apart.
 
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Re: Bolt on neck question

I use them because I like the finished framed look it gives a neck plate instead of just having a slab of metal there, that's all really.
 
Re: Bolt on neck question

the plastic has a lower sound transferrence coefficient than the bare metal or even the minute quantity of air that must exist between the plate and the finish in the case of no plastic spacer. Ergo, the plastic spacer allows the plate to vibrate more freely, contributing valuable tones to the instrument. Without it, the metal plate butts up against the body, and since there is a high sound transferrence coefficient, the vibrations are reflected back into the body, causing crossover distortion and unwanted artifacts to be deposited in the finish.

So basically, always eat your oatmeal or porridge when you are a child, otherwise the loch ness monster will continually come to your house, asking for about three fiddy in change, and starvin' marvin will bring his entire extended family to lay waste to your sanity.
 
Re: Bolt on neck question

^ Fender doesn't use plastic underneath the metal plate, and AFAIK bolt-on butik guitars doesn't even use metal plates.
 
Re: Bolt on neck question

the plastic has a lower sound transferrence coefficient than the bare metal or even the minute quantity of air that must exist between the plate and the finish in the case of no plastic spacer. Ergo, the plastic spacer allows the plate to vibrate more freely, contributing valuable tones to the instrument. Without it, the metal plate butts up against the body, and since there is a high sound transferrence coefficient, the vibrations are reflected back into the body, causing crossover distortion and unwanted artifacts to be deposited in the finish.

So basically, always eat your oatmeal or porridge when you are a child, otherwise the loch ness monster will continually come to your house, asking for about three fiddy in change, and starvin' marvin will bring his entire extended family to lay waste to your sanity.
Yes, but the plastic is more likely to be amorphous and therefor likely to dampen sound transference. The steel plate by itself is more resonant, and therefor more likely to transmit more high end. Even with whatever crossover distortion is created, the resultant high frequencies will give more "air" to the tone. The lessor will sound more compressed.
 
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Re: Bolt on neck question

bumping old thread.

So if the bolt-on plastic is for protecting the finish, why there is no plastic underneath the bridge saddles?
Both parts transmit vibration from the strings to the body and viceversa.
 
Re: Bolt on neck question

bumping old thread.

So if the bolt-on plastic is for protecting the finish, why there is no plastic underneath the bridge saddles?
Both parts transmit vibration from the strings to the body and viceversa.

Yes but which one of those would likely affect the tine with a plastic gasket?
 
Re: Bolt on neck question

I always thought it was for looks. Maybe there is a real reason for it, I don't know. I can't imagine it would allow it to sound better.
 
Re: Bolt on neck question

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...But on a more serious note: gaskets "to protect the finish" always seem like an oxymoron to me; what, the finish that is rendered totally invisible by whatever is bolted on top of it anyway?

The layer of paint that will probably be pulled up the minute you try to remove the gasket?

Gasket for gasket for gasket is the real way to do it :)
 
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