Neck pockets on new Charvels?

[Joe_Steeler]

They are CNC cut, but they still have to hand sand some of the fine edges before finishing and that is such a delicate area they could have overdone it.
If this is one of the "leftover" EVH bodies (i.e. basswood) a dry fit of the neck could have bumped the wood around. Basswood being a soft wood as compared to alder.

Again, if it plays and sounds good this is a minor, very minor, thing. Keep it.
You just can't putty this and make it look good. They need to rough up the area first to get good adhesion to whatever material they use, then finish it with the exact paint. They have perform this operation on the trebble and bass sides. Needless to say a pain in the arse.

[BLOOD SPLATTER]

No f*cking way did that happen in shipping or is the result of a loose fitting case!!

That's a sloppily cut neck pocket....period....poor quality workmanship on a guitar for that kinda $$!!

Cheesy!!

Send it back....get your $$!!

[StukaJU87]

I would think that if thet happened during shipping, there would be some paint flecked off of there. I would also think that the neck fit in the pocket should be a bit more snug for a brand new guitar.

[shreddermon]

From the pics, looks pretty normal to me. Maybe a little towards the edge of the "acceptable" range, but nothing I'd send a guitar back for. I mean, geez, neck shims can produce bigger gaps than that. If the guitar plays and sounds killer, who cares? That's the kind of thing that only us screw-counting guitar geeks would notice.

[~K~]

Now that the neck is pushed back down into its seat you should post more pictures of the fit so people can make a better determination.

[BLOOD SPLATTER]

"looks pretty normal to me"

If that's normal then build quality is worse than previously thought!!

Neck reseated or not that is far too much room in that neck pocket....sloppy....& not acceptable on a guitar in that price range imo!!

[shreddermon]

I've seen other high-end bolt-on guitars with worse gaps. Or, perhaps, Charvel is being held to a different standard?

[Joe_Steeler]

Now that the neck is pushed back down into its seat you should post more pictures of the fit so people can make a better determination.

I don't think it would help Kevin. He had gaps on both sides to begin with. Any adjustment would make the gap on one side worse than the other.
I've seen worse for sure, but at this price level you expect a little more attention to detail.

[StukaJU87]

I've seen worse for sure, but at this price level you expect a little more attention to detail.

That is all I am really saying too. I am not saying to send it back. That is up to the buyer. I think that if it were me, and everything else about the guitar had me stoked, I'd probably keep it.

[BLOOD SPLATTER]

"Or, perhaps, Charvel is being held to a different standard?"

Nope(nice accusation btw)!!Sloppy is sloppy Pat no matter the manufacturer....& that is sloppy!!

[shreddermon]

You're entitled to your opinion, Chuck. That doesn't mean that everyone else's is wrong, though.

[BLOOD SPLATTER]

& where/when did I ever say anyone else is "wrong" Pat??

(nice accusation again btw)

To defend that neck pocket as anything other than sloppy workmanship is just silly....on a $150.00 Squier Infinity maybe....but a $2k plus "Custom Shop" guitar??....no way imo!!

[shreddermon]

OK, so we're not "wrong". We're "silly" instead.

It's opinion, Chuck. Not fact. That's all I'm saying.

[BLOOD SPLATTER]

Agreed Pat....notice the "imo" in my post!!

[Mickey_C]

Hey - It's the neck that's wrong, not the pocket. With a machinsits block, the pocket is actually squared there. But the side of the neck (tennon?) was sanded too much so it's more like 94 degrees.

Do you think Charvel would cut me a new neck that actually fits under warranty? Keep in mind this wasn't a special order. It was an HRF on sale at Music Zoo.