Feel free to laugh at my photo editing skills. (or lack thereof)



On the left is what I propose. On the right is the original image.

In my opinion neck attachment like the image on the left ( I call it bolt in rather than bolt on ) has a clear playability advantage. I think it looks cleaner too. ( my photo editing skills not withstanding )

I agree that a change like this to an existing model would probably not be a good idea.

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

You could be right but I haven't read anywhere that Fender ever did any "drop test". PRS increased the heal size on their guitars in the early '90s. Maybe that was why.

However, my suspicion is that it had more to do with manufacturing concerns than neck strength. Manufacturing efficiency and productivity was a concern of Leo Fender as well and that could explain the flange.

There are numerous manufacturers now making excellent guitars with minimal heels and as far as I know they're adequate. It is true that a 'bolt in' configuration shifts the connection point and therefore requires a longer neck (assuming the same scale) which, in turn, will cause more of the string tension to be exerted on the neck. This definitely something to be considered.

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

I've seen enough Strats with damage in that area over the years to guess that's not part of the reason. If anything, it's one of the few weak points a Strat has.

It's just easy to make, and to be honest, when the Strat was designed, compared to 99% of other things out there, top fret access was absolutely superb, not that many people went up there anyway! I'd certainly not like to see Fender ditch the big blocky neck joint, as it's traditional, but I'd certainly not complain if they made the Beck-style sculpted heel available on more (including cheaper!) models as an option, perhaps with nice chunky bolts with threaded inserts in the neck as well rather than the rather awful old screws. If Ibanez can do that (and do it very well indeed!) on the bottom end SA models which sell for peanuts, I'm sure Fender could whip something up which doesn't cost Custom Shop money.

^ ^ ^

Inserts did you say...



Rather than this....

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Purring away... I just had to make my own hardtail with a couple personal mods
Push/pull Vol for single to dual coil, TBX Tone for N+M, TBX tone for Bridge

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Viva la hardtail Strats! Fender are you reading this?

Is the tone of a hard tail closer to a tele?

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

My feelings too....I've played Strats for so long that I never notice it....I can get anywhere I want to in the upper frets.

No, it's still a Strat, it just has a slightly different feel and sustain, due to the absence of the tremolo/vibrato (whatever) mechanism.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

It's definitely not a good idea for an existing model. Especially a change, like I'm suggesting, that destroys existing parts inter-changeability.

I have relatively small hands and have a hard time with the upper registers on a strat. When playing a PRS CE model I'm find it much easier to get at the upper registers.

Cheers,

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

a bolt on neck is fine if you got big enough hand
all i ever owned were bolt ons and i love them and have no problame with the upper frets

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B.C Rich Body Art Warlock "The Fly"--Blacktop Telecaster--ESP LTD EC-100--IbanezRG420EX--into A Fender Mustang III