I went to look at one today, lovely it was, frets need a polish, neck is very straight with no relief but it didn't seem to buzz any and had a nice low action.
Then I had a look at the back of the neck and there seemed to be a scarf joint right below the head stock, it was really really neat and symmetrical, all the way around from the binding on one side to the binding on the other side, it looked way to neat and symmetrical to be a repair but I wasn't sure so asked the seller if I could find out about it first, he was a nice chap and said he would hold it for me until I found out.
Now, I have read about 3 piece necks but have never seen one, it also had what looked like 2 pieces of wood at the heel inline with the body, is this a 3 piece neck? Guitar is a 1995 Standard. I have only ever seen LP's in solid colours so Ive never seen this before.
Are there any pros and cons to a 3 piece neck (if that is what this is)? Are they all like this?
A Deuce , a Tele and a cup of tea.
Comments
I don’t know if this makes them stronger than Gibson necks, but the headstock angle is 4 degrees (I think) less steep, which might also make them less fragile.
It's done to save wood - as is building the heel up separately - but is also stronger than a one-piece neck if it's the proper type where the join runs up at an angle to about the 1st-2nd fret, rather than a flat piece glued on at the back with the join about at the E machineheads.
Multi-piece bodies are also normal on them.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
There are ways to disguise the scratch but they probably are not worth fussing over very much. If you are one of those guitarists who likes to rub down the finish on necks to a satin feel, this would probably obliterate most of the scratch from view.
Personally, if I were going to go to that much trouble and expense, my funds would be directed towards better machineheads and, if necessary, the nut.