When did Jackson stop their 3 ply maple neck thru ?

[hopkinsWFG]

Just wonder when did jackson stop working on 3 piece maple neck on their soloist in the past ? I heard the master from Jackson said it when he launched the 30th anniversary...

Did the three piece neck thru wood done during only late 80s and had changed on 90s having solid one piece quartersawn maple and less the neck heel ?

[neilli]

I believe that stopped during the SD era. They went to using a 'full depth' centre and a scarf join, and then it evolved into the current method where they have a shallower neck and then a fillet makes it up to the full body thickness. I think that started in the 90s..

[hopkinsWFG]

Interesting.... but whats a full depth centre?

[shreddermon]

They stopped doing this as standard on neck-throughs in 1984-ish, IIRC. It's always been an option for custom shop orders, though.

"Full depth" is where the wood blank they use for the neck and center piece of the body is the full depth - front to back - of the body itself. On the neck side, that obviously wastes a fair bit of wood. (Which is roughly only half as deep.) In the 90s (I think), they started using a shallower neck blank, and glued in another piece of wood for that center piece on the back of the body. You can see this showing on trans finishes near the back strap pin, as the maple neck piece usually shows through the trans finish lighter than the alder or mahogany body wood does.

[neilli]

It's also where the 'join' is on a solid colour, oiled neck guitar. In the old days, the whole heel was left oiled, now only half of it is, in order to hide the join. This shows it on a trans finish:

[JerEvil]

It's also where the 'join' is on a solid colour, oiled neck guitar. In the old days, the whole heel was left oiled, now only half of it is, in order to hide the join. This shows it on a trans finish:

So is this like what ESP calls "Set Thru" where it's more of a set neck contoured to feel like a solid neck thru?

[shreddermon]

No, the maple neck blank runs through the entire length of the body.

[Number Of The Priest]

Some people will argue that the tremolo route interrupts the neck running through the whole length of the body, and are thus not true "neck throughs", but I'm not one of them.

[xenophobe]

Some people will argue that the tremolo route interrupts the neck running through the whole length of the body, and are thus not true "neck throughs", but I'm not one of them.

If that's someone's issue, they can just order a 1 hum and never have to ocd about it again.

[hopkinsWFG]

Ohh.... now i got it.... but the entire old san dimas soloist neck thru style without the back body wood seems am easier process...

Where the new building process has gotta neck thru wood with the body sides and an extra body back "plate" huh?

Thanks guys

[neilli]

Yeah, it probably is 'easier' to do it the older way, but it wastes a lot more raw material.

[1b4n3z]

Mahogany soloists are 'full depth' for some reason

[Aso]

Mahogany soloists are 'full depth' for some reason

I have a mahogany body with maple neck soloist. Wonder which method they use.
Wonder if limba would be the same as mahogany?

[Axewielder]

So which type of maple neck does my KV have?

[shreddermon]

Mahogany soloists are 'full depth' for some reason

No, they're not. In fact, I just got a custom all-mahogany Soloist (quilt top) a few months ago, and it is not full depth. It's a partial-depth mahogany neck with a mahogany body-center piece sandwiched between the mahogany body wings.

However, some early mahogany USA Select models were built with 3-piece necks, which would have been full depth. Some examples - very early SL2H-MAHs, Y2KVs, KV2Ts. These models had a period where they were built with 3-piece necks (no scarf joint), then - briefly - 3-piece necks with scarf joints, then 1-piece partial-depth necks. Both of the 3-piece neck versions would be full-depth. But I'm talking like back into the 90s here.

I have a mahogany body with maple neck soloist. Wonder which method they use.
Wonder if limba would be the same as mahogany?

Again, the default construction method is partial depth. So, unless you custom spec'd a full-depth maple neck-through or a 3-piece neck (both of which would require it to be a masterbuilt order), then it's a partial-depth neck. Doesn't matter the wood type - that's true of all. Wood types and construction methods are wholly separate options to specify.

Of course, there are always exceptions. The custom shop occasionally sends out a guitar with a "bonus" spec like this. But, as a general rule, it'll be partial-depth unless the customer specs and pays for a construction upgrade option.

So which type of maple neck does my KV have?

No way to tell from that shitty pic. LOL Seriously, I can't even tell if that guitar has a scarf joint. (Yes, we haven't even gotten into that "transitional" version from the 80s: 1-piece full-depth necks without a scarf joint. They happened, briefly.) Strangely, your guitar seems to have a flamed maple cap or veneer on the back of the headstock. But the neck itself seems like plain maple. Not sure what's up with that. Kind of cool, though.