Quality Control / Design Improvements / Cost

Eagle said:
Even in neck through design there is a point where all you do by removing material is undermine the structural integrity required at this most critical point.
Look at the Soloist, three versions;
View attachment 30880
The original and my favourite for stability and feel.
At the point the neck was a full depth quarter sawn maple centre section running the full length of the body with a scarf joined head.
View attachment 30881
Version 2 (1990) still full depth maple centre section with scarf head. This adds nothing to playable or comfort.
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This is how it is now BUT the centre section is only half depth with an alder piece sandwiched on the back ( and a scarf head) this is no longer quarter sawn and nowhere near as rigid as the original. This version has now added carbon fibre rods to compensate but this is recently and there are a large number without.
Also the truss rods were changed to a hex key when Akai bought the company and no account was taken for the interaction with the truss rod access and the Floyd nut fixing screws. This left one screw less than a mm away from the truss rod access rout. Avoid these guitars. Fender only just recently fixed this issue by replacing the hex key rod with a spoke wheel.
All this to finally get back to the stability of the original and superior design. The original however was dependent on a much more expensive construction.
I am a huge fan of the soloist but I avoid the hex key at the head version because the lock nut just comes loose unless you glue it on.
This is why it took me so many years to find an 80s custom shop original in mint condition with a Floyd at a reasonable price.
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Does this apply to other Jackson neckthru models from the same eras?

I'm thinking of getting a Jackson RR or King V at some point and am wondering if I need to think about this sort of nonsense.
 
laxu said:
Does this apply to other Jackson neckthru models from the same eras?

I'm thinking of getting a Jackson RR or King V at some point and am wondering if I need to think about this sort of nonsense.
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yes
 
FuzzyAce said:
Loving the wood choices on that Skervesen. :chef
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I honestly went a bit overboard on that one with the rosewood neck, Macassar ebony fretboard, black limba body, burled/flamed maple top etc.

If I were to spec it now, I'd pay for the chambered body for lighter weight as it's certainly not the lightest headless out there. Would also pick a different bridge pickup as I'm not loving the Bare Knuckle Juggernaut but it's pretty expensive to replace as it's angled.
 
laxu said:
I honestly went a bit overboard on that one with the rosewood neck, Macassar ebony fretboard, black limba body, burled/flamed maple top etc.

If I were to spec it now, I'd pay for the chambered body for lighter weight as it's certainly not the lightest headless out there. Would also pick a different bridge pickup as I'm not loving the Bare Knuckle Juggernaut but it's pretty expensive to replace as it's angled.
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How heavy you think it is?
 
laxu said:
About the same as an average Strat, haven't measured. So it's not heavy, but the chambered Strandberg I had was lighter for sure.
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That's not too bad. But yeah, pickup change would be limited I imagine.
 
FuzzyAce said:
That's not too bad. But yeah, pickup change would be limited I imagine.
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Yeah I could get the right angled pickups from Bare Knuckle at least, probably from Seymour Duncan but it's always custom orders so it'll be extra expense. Can't just walk into a store and buy a set so I've just stuck with the Juggernaut and made it work. It's a very fat sounding pickup that I wish was a bit brighter in character.

I've been contemplating changing the pots to 1M to see if that helps.
 
laxu said:
Yeah I could get the right angled pickups from Bare Knuckle at least, probably from Seymour Duncan but it's always custom orders so it'll be extra expense. Can't just walk into a store and buy a set so I've just stuck with the Juggernaut and made it work. It's a very fat sounding pickup that I wish was a bit brighter in character.

I've been contemplating changing the pots to 1M to see if that helps.
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You could get it rewound, it would be less expense than buying a new pickup from bare knuckle.
 
Honestly the neck heel on a Fender is something I’m so used to feeling after 30 years of playing them that I don’t even notice it.

I guess for newer players who aren’t used to it maybe it feels weird?

I don’t know, that’s one thing I’ve never cared about. Whatever neck/body connection a guitar happens to have always is fine for me
 
paisleywookiee said:
I'd love to meet the person that can correctly identify by hearing the LP every time, when played back to back.
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Yeah, it's not about ID'ing them in a blind test. It's the experience of playing them, what the player can hear and feel in how it responds.

I've had a beautiful Core 594, and while it was an absolutely killer guitar, it was definitely not an LP and did not play or respond like one, even with identical Bare Knuckle pickups I put in it and 50s wiring installed.
 
TubeStack said:
Yeah, it's not about ID'ing them in a blind test. It's the experience of playing them, what the player can hear and feel in how it responds.

I've had a beautiful Core 594, and while it was an absolutely killer guitar, it was definitely not an LP and did not play or respond like one, even with identical Bare Knuckle pickups I put in it and 50s wiring installed.
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I completely agree with that. It's definitely not the same playing experience.
 
As for QC, it was amusing and timely we had a brand new (but 2023 model year) LP Standard Modern come in. Swapped in the EMG HetSet, but also did a setup. Required a full fret level, because the frets were jacked with high spots in several places on the neck. However, by the time our tech got done, it was a very nice guitar. It's disappointing that Gibson can't get it out the door with that last 10% completed.
 
metropolis_4 said:
Honestly the neck heel on a Fender is something I’m so used to feeling after 30 years of playing them that I don’t even notice it.

I guess for newer players who aren’t used to it maybe it feels weird?

I don’t know, that’s one thing I’ve never cared about. Whatever neck/body connection a guitar happens to have always is fine for me
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I have several block heel guitars. It's not that I can't get used to it or work around it...but when a better design exists, wtf do these old bad solutions persist?
 
laxu said:
I have several block heel guitars. It's not that I can't get used to it or work around it...but when a better design exists, wtf do these old bad solutions persist?
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Because “better” is a vague and subjective concept. Better to one person may not be better to another.
 
metropolis_4 said:
Because “better” is a vague and subjective concept. Better to one person may not be better to another.
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There is a point where the opinion part becomes more objective.
IMG_3959.jpeg

🤣
 
metropolis_4 said:
Because “better” is a vague and subjective concept. Better to one person may not be better to another.
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I think you could call a neck heel that gets less in the way to be objectively better. Even the Fender Ultra version.
 
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