When did Ernie Ball start NOT recessing all their backside plates???? Aweful!!!

I also prefer the control and bridge cavity covers to be recessed, but it seems that most manufacturers find it too expensive to justify the benefit.
 
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I had to convince myself to by this... not only is the spring plate not recessed neither is the control plate... its a $2600 guitar. I'm not sure, but I think is more of marketing thing to sell more $4000 guitars. after all much can that save in costs... you can find plenty of < $500 guitars with recessed plates.
 
As someone who has run a business in which labor was my biggest cost, I can say that it's the little things that can add up. I was always looking for places where we could save time on things that didn't matter, so we could invest more time on the parts of the job that really do.

I remember meeting some of my former guys who had gone into business for themselves, who used to gripe about how I focused on so many details that made guys more productive, tell me that once they had their own business, they now understood.

Plus, you never look at one particular job. Just because I hit a grand slam on an easy job, and made a lot of money, (or more correctly, knew I would as soon as I got the job) didn't mean I could do things differently on that job, because there'd be another one in which I may only make wages, and no profit. So I can see a guitar company being concerned about where they can save costs, even if it's on a more profitable guitar, in order to help make the models with tighter margins, also be profitable.

Employee labor in the US is a business cost you have to stay on top of every step of the way. I couldn't imagine trying to attract people for an entry-level job that probably pays not much above minimum wage, doing what I consider the very boring, repetitive task of hand sanding.
And personally, I couldn't care less that the back plates aren't recessed on my EBMM guitars. I'd rather they spend that money on something more important anyway.
 
I’m sure they save a step and some cycle time on it. It can’t be much though. You need someone to drive the screws and install the plate(s) either way. The rout would be cnc so what they’re saving can’t be much.
 
I’m sure they save a step and some cycle time on it. It can’t be much though. You need someone to drive the screws and install the plate(s) either way. The rout would be cnc so what they’re saving can’t be much.
Could be a yield optimization in addition to time. As in, routing for the recessed plates causes enough yield issues and having to junk bodies because of these routes that doing fewer of them has a meaningful impact on the overall yeild rate for bodies.
 
imo the cost savings arguement makes sense for low / mid priced guitars - not for premium priced ones - I'd be quite dissappointed if I was ready to buy a $3K+ guitar and noticed a change like this - If I'm paying for the ultimate, I don't want to see visible signs of cheesy nickel and diming relative to the instrument's price.
 
PRS also started doing this a few years ago on the $2k + USA CE models. I think it‘s complete BS to charge that much for a guitar and not recess the plates. Such a turn off for me that I’m buying a used CE instead of a new one.
 
Yep... recessed back plates give an instrument a much cleaner look. However if done poorly it's also very noticeable. Ibanez seems to nail it on the RG models from all price ranges. I much more prefer routed and recessed back plates.
 
Probably between 2009 and 2012...
I own two MM guitars. The one from 2009 (25th Anniversary) has a recessed backplate, the one from 2012 (Y2D) doesn't.
 
I just checked my Strat and it isn't recessed either. When the hell did Fender start this shit as well?

/sarcasm
 
PRS also started doing this a few years ago on the $2k + USA CE models. I think it‘s complete BS to charge that much for a guitar and not recess the plates. Such a turn off for me that I’m buying a used CE instead of a new one.
+1
but…I absolutely cringe at their inlay design…(personal pref!)…which is why I wouldn’t even buy one.
 
My $500-600-ish Indonesian PRS guitars I got a few years ago have recessed plates. Must be a relatively recent change. The cover for the control cavity on the 245 is super tight. I scratched it the first time I tried to get it off. Maybe the extra time spent to ensure a good fit is the savings? I'd think it would be a CNC machine's job, but who knows?
 
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