is this acceptable custom work.

[gemini8026]

After half a year, my custom neck is almost done.


So the luthier just sent me some pics. Keep in mind I specially sent him the body so that he could properly fit the neck in.

I wont lie, it looks amazing, but those gaps bother me. I've been lead to believe that a large neck pocket is never a good thing...

Cosmetic issue, or should I be concerned?!?!

[Super_shredder]

it looks amazing and the gaps wouldnt bother me really but if it bothers you i would get him to do somthing

[Flatpicker]

As long as the neck is tightly attached to the body, the gaps don't matter.

[j2379]

if you sent the body for sizing then to me it would NOT be acceptable. IMHO a tight neck joint is one of the signs of a quality guitar. especially on an ibanez which doesnt hold the neck at the heal only on the sides of the neck. Thats my main problem with ibanez's, make a damn neck pocket not just a slot. if your rough on guitars you will notice the neck shifting around over time.

[RobRR]

Not AT ALL acceptable. The work itself looks amazing, but theres no reason for those gaps if he had the body in hand the whole time.

[Axewielder]

Unacceptable for a custom fit

[RobRR]

Unless... did you just have a new fingerboard put on the neck, or is it completley new? If the board was just replaced, then there really wasnt much he could do. If its new, as I said, totally unacceptable.

[z1n]

I would not accept that either. where did the neck come from? Did he just change the fret board? I do know that the Prestige neck pockets are wider than the non prestige. 58mm vs 56mm so you would have a gap if that neck was from a non prestige.

[lerxstcat]

If you're going to make an issue of it, do it before he sends it back to you, certainly. Did you specify to him that you wanted it tight with no play? I don't mean "I sent him the body, he should know what that means".

As you can see on this thread, some people wouldn't sweat it and others find it unacceptable. So you have to speak up and not make ANY assumptions when you order work like this.

I would mention it, but at this point if the neck is made he may not be too happy about making another because of something you didn't mention before. And if he put a new fret board on an existing neck for you, and you knew it, then I don't really see you having a gripe.

NEVER assume ANYTHING AT ALL when ordering custom work, that's how trouble starts in these situations. He may well have thought the inlays were your only concern since it looks like an ordinary maple board neck otherwise. Also, since it's an Ibanez he might figyre you don't care about QC anyway! Just kidding!

And now that it may be an issue, discuss it calmly with the guy. Don't let the "unacceptable" votes here jack you up into getting ugly with the guy or you will probably get a bad result. Even if you feel that you did communicate your requirements clearly, still be tactful to get best results.

After all, your guitar is still in his hands....

[fett]

Call me wrong, but a bolt on neck has to make contact everywhere in the pocket to get the whole guitar to resonate. I can live with gaps in my cheapies. But, on a custom job that looked like this, I would not be happy at all.

[MountainDog]

Isn't this guitar (or body) originally an Ibanez RG2620CBK?:

https://cs.hoshinogakki.co.jp/i-public/faces/images/RG2620_CBK_00_01.jpg

(I have the blue one, the 2620CBL).

In the pics with the rosewood fingerboard and the business cards, is that your original body with your original neck? (if that's not your neck, it looks just like the neck that goes with the body). The fact the business cards are in there tells me there were gaps between the original parts before he made the new neck for it. The gap looks wider with the new neck though (I'm assuming new neck as the headstock on the original 2620 has no 'white line swoosh thing', it just says Prestige, while the maple board neck has the RG style graphics).

I'm assuming all these pics came to you from the Custom luthier? (Christopher Woods, right?). I'm curious as to why he sent all the 'business card' photos? Did he explain what those pics are intended to represent?

[gemini8026]

Good question, no he didnt explain. He just sent mentioning the gaps......

Thats the original neck with the dots. When I placed the order, he mentioend it would be best to send him the guitar to ensure a tight fit. Well, as you can see with the new neck, there isnt a tight fit..... The worst part is that I have waited half a year for this, and now I am FAR from excited about getting it. The neck is custom specc'ed out just for me. Im not sure if this is just a poor body from Ibanez, but either way, is this good for a 1200$+ guitar!?!? Or should I ask him to do anything?!?

Not sure what to do, I'm just bummed out as this was my first custom and I wanted it to be perfect.

[blindmuddy]

if you sent the body for sizing then to me it would NOT be acceptable. IMHO a tight neck joint is one of the signs of a quality guitar. especially on an ibanez which doesnt hold the neck at the heal only on the sides of the neck. Thats my main problem with ibanez's, make a damn neck pocket not just a slot. if your rough on guitars you will notice the neck shifting around over time.

+1 Totally unacceptable. It will shift and you'll have to fill it in with something and rig it that way. Maybe ok if you make something out of spare parts but definitely not for a custom.

[rjohnstone]

I'd be pissed.
The whole purpose of you sending the body was to ensure a tight fit.
This is far from "tight".
Tell him it's unacceptable and NOT what you paid for.

[MountainDog]

How much are you into him for? According to his website, I'm coming up with around $435 for the neck, inlay material, floyd nut, headstock paint & logo. He's probably also charging you for assembly too.

The RG2620 goes for around $700 to $800 (theres one on ebay now BIN $800), so you are correct in having $1200 or more into this when you are done.

The easiest way to fix the gap would be for him to make thin wood shims for each side (glued to the body) to bring the pocket tightness back into spec. He could stain them black so they aren't as visible. You'll still know they are there, which is a bummer, but at least things would be tight (to get back the resonance as Fett mentions) and the neck won't shift over time as J2379 mentions.