EGC Bolt-on Neck Projects

[JonnyAngle]

Like 2 weeks-ish until my RGI neck is here!!!!!!

now it's today!

[JonnyAngle]

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#nailedit

[whoismarykelly]

Finished this one today with a 27.7" baritone neck

[codetocontra]

How is the neck dive on that? Is it a solid neck or do you know if it was hollowed out?

[whoismarykelly]

How is the neck dive on that? Is it a solid neck or do you know if it was hollowed out?

Pretty sure all the bolt-ons are solid since there is no fretboard seam and no middle dot at the 12th fret (which covers a screw they use to attach the fretboard.

There is some neck dive but its not bad. Jazzmasters balance reasonably well with these necks. Probably even better with a normal scale length.

[codetocontra]

That's what I figured but I was hoping he put some actual effort into weight distribution on the longer scale necks.

[whoismarykelly]

That would mean more machine time, more labor, etc... and you’d end up with a $1000 neck.

[codetocontra]

That's one way to look at it. Aluminum is relatively cheap. Bastin necks were only $650 IIRC. Give a little more effort, charge more, sure.

Kevin told me on the phone that he chose the thicker neck profile so that the bolt-ons felt more familiar to what people already play. Altough last I knew the normal full builds with a thicker Denison neck or even basses will have a two piece neck to help with weight distribution. Not doing anything about the weight for a bolt-on is problematic. See the number of people who have flipped their builds on Reverb or complained about it elsewhere, such as the FB aluminum axes group. Using a thicker strap is a common "solution" for some.

I would have liked to see EGC offer thin bolt-on necks or hollowed out necks with the thicker profile he chose to use. If it costs more, then so be it. As it is now I cant help but feel like he jumped into the neck replacement game because there was a big enough demand and he could make some easy money fairly quick.

[codetocontra]

image0.jpg

#nailedit

This is so hawt.

[whoismarykelly]

That's one way to look at it. Aluminum is relatively cheap. Bastin necks were only $650 IIRC. Give a little more effort, charge more, sure.

Kevin told me on the phone that he chose the thicker neck profile so that the bolt-ons felt more familiar to what people already play. Altough last I knew the normal full builds with a thicker Denison neck or even basses will have a two piece neck to help with weight distribution. Not doing anything about the weight for a bolt-on is problematic. See the number of people who have flipped their builds on Reverb or complained about it elsewhere, such as the FB aluminum axes group. Using a thicker strap is a common "solution" for some.

I would have liked to see EGC offer thin bolt-on necks or hollowed out necks with the thicker profile he chose to use. If it costs more, then so be it. As it is now I cant help but feel like he jumped into the neck replacement game because there was a big enough demand and he could make some easy money fairly quick.

The actual cost of aluminum has very little to do with the price of necks. The labor and machine time involved are much more significant than raw materials cost. Most 'affordable' EGC products are reactions to other companies making a product that fills a void in the market. EGC bolt-on conversion necks WERE $1000 when they were custom products. Then Bastin made a production line bolt-on neck for $650 so EGC cranked one out real quick to try and get back the market and snub out competition. Bastin made a $2000 tele-deluxe style neck through aluminum guitar and put a few up for sale and within a couple weeks EGC announced the Tyranny to again try and reclaim market share and snub out competition. Developing Nations makes $2000 neck throughs with a neck that mounts into a slot in the top of the body and EGC just announced that they will also make a $2000 neck through with a neck that mounts to a slot in the top of the body. This is the pattern they follow and its happened enough time that its obvious it isn't a coincidence.

So basically, someone will have to make hollow bolt-on necks at a competitive price that lots of people buy before EGC does it. If you do want a hollow bolt-on the Aluminati necks are hollow because they're made with 7071 which is stronger and can be machined thinner.

I have seen some dumb builds like Vs and stuff that will have terrible neck dive but my guitar isn't bad at all. Most aluminum necks dive to some extent unless you have a very heavy body. I don't think the hollow necks actually make a dramatic difference because the balance of the neck itself just tips further toward the headstock with less mass in the shaft. You can generally adjust strap mounting points to make the balance close to neutral.

[starmansam]

Short scale neck going on a walnut mustang body from warmoth that showed up today. Should be a fun little guitar

[imJonWain]

Nice! Looks good.

+1 on what whoismary kelly said though.

Manufacturing sucks. Overhead (electricity holy shit $$), Machine time, tooling, & scrap costs are things people forget about. Gotta pay all that before you make any money.

[oldangelmidnight]

I didn't know anyone was making short scales. Who built it? I've been thinking about an aluminum neck Jagstang for a long time.

[kosta]

EGC sold a few short scale bolt-on necks a few years ago. Not sure if anyone else has been making them since then.

[starmansam]

yeah, its one of those old EGC short scales. snagged it when it popped up on the verb a couple months back