Gap between neck and body on j custom.

I did work a few years for a local luthier and I did build many guitars, necks etc. and we let never leave an Instrument with a gap like that.
I disagree with that it’s only cosmetic but if the guitar sounds fine and plays fine and you are ok with the gaps then keep it. Otherwise return it.
 
Want a good idea how negligible a little gap is on a bolt on RG? Watch this video from the 7:00 minute mark on. I'd say this tech is probably one of the most respected and knowledgeable in the business.

Great video, makes me appreciate my own skills for maintaining my guitars, though, must be really nice having a tech master to change your guitar strings!
 
Do what feels right but tbh never paid attention to that before this thread, also not a guitar tech and can only speak to my guitars but if alignment is right wouldn't bother me personally. The pink jcustom is 3 sheets on one side, the blue is two... Out of curiosity checked my other bolt ons which are a mid 90s RG & a couple Jackson's from that time and they were all similar. Have a few cheaper guitars and they were the ones with tightest fits.
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very interesting. have you had any issues with neck slipping etc, or has everything been great.
 
Want a good idea how negligible a little gap is on a bolt on RG? Watch this video from the 7:00 minute mark on. I'd say this tech is probably one of the most respected and knowledgeable in the business.

wow that is crazy how his guitar wont even go out of tune with such a big gap
 
I find it hard to believe that the J custom would send out that guitar as brand new and make you pay full price, my guess is someone working in the warehouse shipped it not noticing it had a serious imperfection, shame on Sweetwater for sending it they are suppose to have the 55 point inspection, https://www.sweetwater.com/about/guitars/ that just goes to show that the inspection is bull... imo.. you might be better off giving up on SW instead of Ibanez...
I agree with you regarding Sweetwater's 55-point inspection. There are things on their list that can't be inspected on most guitars - like a 13-pin pickup.

Anyhow, I stopped doing business with SW a while back, after over $25k in purchases over about 20 years. I posted about my experience with them that was the last straw for me here:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/picked-out-my-next-guitar.171775/post-2075975

I know that others have had similar experience with SW, but many others have had a great experience. I just finally had to say "enough ".
 
Give it a few weeks man wood shrinks and expands it is a dead tree but like gutting a snapping turtle, thing never stops moving even after u separate it into piles. Don't panic. See what it looks like after a few weeks in its new environment. Worst case scenario, u can hide that with some shim work if you possess the skill set. \m/
Good suggestion, but he may want to watch out for the return period ending.
 
The neck/body joint should be tight-fitting. Period. Several things could contribute to taking the accuracy of the CNC out of the equation. Cutters need to be sharpened from time to time, which reduces their diameter. If the CNC wasn't recalibrated to the cutter after sharpening, that would cause a loose fit. Someone putting the wrong cutter on it would give the same result. Someone may have sanded too much off the sides of the neck.

Short story, a fit like that is unacceptable QC, no matter if it affects the sound or playability, especially at that price point.
If I had it for five minutes you wouldn't spot it. On a AA neck joint all the play is to the space. position it properly and you have nothing to see.
 
The problem with relying on neck bolts to hold the neck in alignment is that the neck can still shift on you. That tends to happen at inopportune times, like just before (or during) a gig. Even a tightly-bolted neck can be muscled around by hand.



I can't agree here. The screws should be hand-tight. Especially if the neck pocket is loose. You want the neck to be tightly pressed against the floor of the pocket.
How tight really depends on the body wood. You absolutely must not crush the body wood and that doesn't require it to be that tight on some woods. Hand tight goes from about right to damage so care to avoid any crushing is needed.
 
How tight really depends on the body wood. You absolutely must not crush the body wood and that doesn't require it to be that tight on some woods. Hand tight goes from about right to damage so care to avoid any crushing is needed.
You can't crush the body wood by tightening four screws by hand.
 
Not even possible. The threads would strip out way before the wood would "crush."
Kinda what I was thinking. I've had to plug quite a few necks over the years. Now one thing I have seen are neck plates tightened so tight that they dig into the body. Moral of the story: we like 'em tight but not toooo tight. Lol
 
Kinda what I was thinking. I've had to plug quite a few necks over the years. Now one thing I have seen are neck plates tightened so tight that they dig into the body. Moral of the story: we like 'em tight but not toooo tight. Lol
Sure! An individual screw has a lot of power. But when distributed over the surface area (even with 4 screws) of the neck/body joint, just ain't gonna happen!
 
Sure! An individual screw has a lot of power. But when distributed over the surface area (even with 4 screws) of the neck/body joint, just ain't gonna happen!
I'm not saying it can't cuz some special people can really do some special "how the F did they do that" shit...I've just never seen it happen when using the correct beveled washers that Ibanez uses on their AANJ. Throw a washer from Lowes in there and you may have issues. Lol
 
Now one thing I have seen are neck plates tightened so tight that they dig into the body. Moral of the story: we like 'em tight but not toooo tight. Lol
I’ve seen that too, but it’s always the finish that shows the impression — never the wood itself.

And it’s only on older guitars. I think the finish flows a little over the years. I’ve only seen it on poly finishes, not on lacquer.
 
I’ve seen that too, but it’s always the finish that shows the impression — never the wood itself.

And it’s only on older guitars. I think the finish flows a little over the years. I’ve only seen it on poly finishes, not on lacquer.
Nope...I've seen one corner of a neck plate sunk into what I'm guessing was cheap basswood...no way the finish was that thick. I honestly don't know how they did it. Unless they were using a power drill and installing one screw to finish torque at a time. Or maybe a bent plate. Idk...it was a cheap pos that needed a shim to correct neck angle. Or maybe it was made on a Monday or a Friday. Lol
 
Nope...I've seen one corner of a neck plate sunk into what I'm guessing was cheap basswood...no way the finish was that thick.
One corner? They'd have had to bend the neck plate to do that. That's brutal. Way beyond hand-tight.
 
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