Has anybody ever compared neck plates on strats?

SquireJapan

I just bought a body to go with the rest of my strat parafernalia, but realise I’m missing a neck plate. 

I see Callaham do a stainless steel one, which is very expensive. Other people make ones to suit every pocket. 

Question is, has anyone compared them?

Any recommendations? Given the supposed importance of the neck join to the body, I thought it might make sense to investigate. 

ICBM

As in whether they make a difference to the tone?

They don’t. Choose one you like the look of.

tony99

stainless steel ones allow the wood to breathe

p90fool

tony99 said:

stainless steel ones allow the wood to breathe

And they interfere with the magnetic field of the neck pickup less than a steel one. 

Sorry you asked yet? 
 

Seziertisch

Changing neckplate will make a difference insofar as any removal and reattachment of the neck of a bolt-on guitar can impact the coupling between neck and body.

Another potential factor is that where the new neckplate is thicker than than the old, depending on the depth of the countersink for the screw heads this could also potentially change the coupling.

And finally, theoretically at least, if the new neck plate is significantly heavier that the old one it would alter the mass of the instrument. I put a brass pickguard on a Telecaster and it changed the sound a bit both acoustically and electrically. Of course, a brass guard is significantly bigger than a neck plate, so what impact the smaller neckplate could have is hard to quantify.

In terms of modifications to the neck/body coupling relationship, switching over to threaded inserts from wood screws makes a much bigger difference. Insofar as I was able to compare before and after, I have liked it on every guitar I’ve done it to. It also means that I don’t have to worry about screw holes stripping from removing and reattaching the neck.

WezV

Seziertisch said:

Changing neckplate will make a difference insofar as any removal and reattachment of the neck of a bolt-on guitar can impact the coupling between neck and body.

Another potential factor is that where the new neckplate is thicker than than the old, depending on the depth of the countersink for the screw heads this could also potentially change the coupling.

And finally, theoretically at least, if the new neck plate is significantly heavier that the old one it would alter the mass of the instrument. I put a brass pickguard on a Telecaster and it changed the sound a bit both acoustically and electrically. Of course, a brass guard is significantly bigger than a neck plate, so what impact the smaller neckplate could have is hard to quantify.

In terms of modifications to the neck/body coupling relationship, switching over to threaded inserts from wood screws makes a much bigger difference. Insofar as I was able to compare before and after, I have liked it on every guitar I’ve done it to. It also means that I don’t have to worry about screw holes stripping from removing and reattaching the neck.

A metal plate around the pickups will have some measureable affect, and its nothing to do with the mass of the metal you are adding.


Neck plate is the thin end of a very finely honed wedge here.   It just needs to hold things in place nicely and not deform too much.   Dofferences between two neck plates won't affect the coupling between neck and body in any significant way.... but I accept not having a neck plate could.

Seziertisch

WezV said:

Seziertisch said:

Changing neckplate will make a difference insofar as any removal and reattachment of the neck of a bolt-on guitar can impact the coupling between neck and body.

Another potential factor is that where the new neckplate is thicker than than the old, depending on the depth of the countersink for the screw heads this could also potentially change the coupling.

And finally, theoretically at least, if the new neck plate is significantly heavier that the old one it would alter the mass of the instrument. I put a brass pickguard on a Telecaster and it changed the sound a bit both acoustically and electrically. Of course, a brass guard is significantly bigger than a neck plate, so what impact the smaller neckplate could have is hard to quantify.

In terms of modifications to the neck/body coupling relationship, switching over to threaded inserts from wood screws makes a much bigger difference. Insofar as I was able to compare before and after, I have liked it on every guitar I’ve done it to. It also means that I don’t have to worry about screw holes stripping from removing and reattaching the neck.

A metal plate around the pickups will have some measureable affect, and its nothing to do with the mass of the metal you are adding.


Neck plate is the thin end of a very finely honed wedge here.   It just needs to hold things in place nicely and not deform too much.   Dofferences between two neck plates won't affect the coupling between neck and body in any significant way.... but I accept not having a neck plate could.

I know that, but this is comparing the bridge pickup, which the brass guard isn’t really near or around.

The brass guard really is quite heavy, and comparing the unplugged sound there is also a difference.

WezV

Seziertisch said:

WezV said:

Seziertisch said:

Changing neckplate will make a difference insofar as any removal and reattachment of the neck of a bolt-on guitar can impact the coupling between neck and body.

Another potential factor is that where the new neckplate is thicker than than the old, depending on the depth of the countersink for the screw heads this could also potentially change the coupling.

And finally, theoretically at least, if the new neck plate is significantly heavier that the old one it would alter the mass of the instrument. I put a brass pickguard on a Telecaster and it changed the sound a bit both acoustically and electrically. Of course, a brass guard is significantly bigger than a neck plate, so what impact the smaller neckplate could have is hard to quantify.

In terms of modifications to the neck/body coupling relationship, switching over to threaded inserts from wood screws makes a much bigger difference. Insofar as I was able to compare before and after, I have liked it on every guitar I’ve done it to. It also means that I don’t have to worry about screw holes stripping from removing and reattaching the neck.

A metal plate around the pickups will have some measureable affect, and its nothing to do with the mass of the metal you are adding.


Neck plate is the thin end of a very finely honed wedge here.   It just needs to hold things in place nicely and not deform too much.   Dofferences between two neck plates won't affect the coupling between neck and body in any significant way.... but I accept not having a neck plate could.

I know that, but this is comparing the bridge pickup, which the brass guard isn’t really near or around.

The brass guard really is quite heavy, and comparing the unplugged sound there is also a difference.

The metal plate affects the magnetic field of the pickup, mostly the neck pickup in this scenario. 

The magnetic field affects the way the string vibrates.... you have changed that.

Okay, a significant mass can change the way the body vibrates, and it all has an affect on some level.

Using it as an example of how a heavy neck plate  might change the tone is taking things a bit far for me.

ThePrettyDamned

I have an expensive wudtone one and a really cheap cast one from my jazzmaster. I tried both and there is no tone difference.

This is true for a lot of things I've found. Get one that looks nice and be happy it has zero effect on tone  

Danielsguitars

Just get a gotoh one, they look good and cheap enough imo

Sassafras

I always magnetise my neck plates because it aligns the electrons in the same direction as the strings.
Or so I've read on the internet.

axisus

For most of us they make no difference, although I'm pretty sure that Eric Johnson had a 35 year quest to find the right one.

SquireJapan

Danielsguitars said:

Just get a gotoh one, they look good and cheap enough imo

That’s a winner for me, less than a tenner and looks sensible. Thanks!

Seziertisch

WezV said:

Seziertisch said:

WezV said:

Seziertisch said:

Changing neckplate will make a difference insofar as any removal and reattachment of the neck of a bolt-on guitar can impact the coupling between neck and body.

Another potential factor is that where the new neckplate is thicker than than the old, depending on the depth of the countersink for the screw heads this could also potentially change the coupling.

And finally, theoretically at least, if the new neck plate is significantly heavier that the old one it would alter the mass of the instrument. I put a brass pickguard on a Telecaster and it changed the sound a bit both acoustically and electrically. Of course, a brass guard is significantly bigger than a neck plate, so what impact the smaller neckplate could have is hard to quantify.

In terms of modifications to the neck/body coupling relationship, switching over to threaded inserts from wood screws makes a much bigger difference. Insofar as I was able to compare before and after, I have liked it on every guitar I’ve done it to. It also means that I don’t have to worry about screw holes stripping from removing and reattaching the neck.

A metal plate around the pickups will have some measureable affect, and its nothing to do with the mass of the metal you are adding.


Neck plate is the thin end of a very finely honed wedge here.   It just needs to hold things in place nicely and not deform too much.   Dofferences between two neck plates won't affect the coupling between neck and body in any significant way.... but I accept not having a neck plate could.

I know that, but this is comparing the bridge pickup, which the brass guard isn’t really near or around.

The brass guard really is quite heavy, and comparing the unplugged sound there is also a difference.

The metal plate affects the magnetic field of the pickup, mostly the neck pickup in this scenario. 

The magnetic field affects the way the string vibrates.... you have changed that.

Okay, a significant mass can change the way the body vibrates, and it all has an affect on some level.

Using it as an example of how a heavy neck plate  might change the tone is taking things a bit far for me.

I think it unlikely too. I got a couple of regular thickness stainless steel neck plates, as much for aesthetic reasons as anything else, and found that they made no difference to tone. They were only slightly more expensive than an off the shelf one from Fender/Gotoh etc. I think some of the boutique neck plate sellers are absolutely taking the piss with their pricing, even if it could be shown that they definitively made a difference.

There are guys out there who swear neck plates matter, I’m just trying to come up with some sort of reasonable explanation for what they might be hearing, presuming that it is not something that they are imagining. The whole stiffness argument thing, particularly considering that the connection is screws into wood and as such potentially subject to change every time you screw and unscrew it, doesn’t really make sense.

WezV

I do think stiffness in a neck, and quality of a join are big factors . . . Just not that neck plate can affect it much as long as it fits

I think the difference in two neck plates stiffness will become pretty meaningless once they are pressed against the body.  

Having said that, I don't really like using those plastic washer/shims some guitars have under the neck plate.   I do prefer a solid connection.

tony99

flathead or philips screws though? I'm of the flathead equates to more resonance camp myself, dunno bout you guys

Voxman

C'mon guys, be serious.

As if it's not micro scrutiny enough to discus  micro differences in tone as between rosewood and maple fingerboards,  the type of glue used to fix a neck, and nitro finishes allowing wood to breathe, we're now talking neck plates? You guys have definitely been too early on the egg nogs and brandy snaps if you really think you'll hear a noticeable tonal difference 're the neckplate.  Sophisticated analytical scientific equipment might show something miniscule . ..but the average human ear even in a quiet room (let alone a live mix)...never in a million...not unless you're a Vulcan!  

And if you think you can, your mind is tricking you. In a blind test, never ever!! 

But thanks for cheering me up...this thread gave me a laugh! 

tony99

polyester finishes should be banned, for suffocating wood

axisus

tony99 said:

polyester finishes should be banned, for suffocating wood

Yeah. And condoms as well.

SquireJapan

tony99 said:

flathead or philips screws though? I'm of the flathead equates to more resonance camp myself, dunno bout you guys

Is that cos there’s less metal or more? I’d guess flat head screws have slightly more than Philips. Pozidrive is whole other can of worms. 

I think that’s why I don’t like Les Pauls - no neck screw resonance. 

gazrichards

When I first read this thread this morning (with just a couple of comments) I thought to myself “surely this can’t turn into a discussion on the merits of neck plates on tone”
and so I come back a few hours later and waddaya know!!!!