Contoured Heel Question

Malo Strat

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I was wondering if a Strat with a contoured heel loses some tone, sustain, and has more dead spots?  Does anyone have this experience? According to old Ed Roman, the guitar builder on this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy85Wl7ef1I
having a contoured heel with less mass will create dead spots on the neck...  I just ordered a Strat with a contoured heel :doh:  Im hoping this old guy doesnt know what he is talking about.
Thanks for your input
 
Ed Roman is not the most popular person in guitar land, and I am convinced he makes up crap on the spot!
I would take everything he says with a pack of salt.
 
Not sure if we're talking about the same thing here.

Ed is talking about the heel of the neck itself which is extra long on PRS' later models.  What he is doing is shaving down the neck heel by carving wodd from the neck itself.  The warmoth contoured heel option is carved into the body, not the neck.  The neck stays the same no matter what body heel option you've selected, therefore neck "mass" is never an issue with a warmoth.

Got 2 contoured heels by the way - no problems whatsoever with either.
 
Thanks elgravos for shining some light there.  It makes sense that neck mass is related to the neck not the bodies heel. 
 
Markoooooo said:
I am convinced he makes up crap on the spot!

And based on this video, i agree.


You gotta love how he elaborates on how his guitars are so much better than anyone else's.

And the part where he drops the pickup. Jesus, can't he do another take to ensure his video is professional?
 
I think Ed Roman is pretty cool, but he's WAY, WAY too famous for what he is... and it's seriously gone to his head.  I would take willyk or CB's advice over Ed Roman's any day.
 
Marko reminded me that we saw him last year at the dallas guitar show.. he was sitting all alone, no one went to talk to him..  :laughing7:
 
Contoured heel on bolt on neck guitars is cool, really makes guitar playing easier in the low frets. I hope W makes it the default option and people stop paying extra about it. I really don't see why someone would not choose the contoured heel option except he/she's a "vintage correct" freak :icon_scratch:
 
Kostas said:
Contoured heel on bolt on neck guitars is cool, really makes guitar playing easier in the low frets. I hope W makes it the default option and people stop paying extra about it. I really don't see why someone would not choose the contoured heel option except he/she's a "vintage correct" freak :icon_scratch:

I chose not to have a contoured heel, mostly due to its cost.  The other reason is that I don't really find it too difficult to reach the high frets (I find it more difficult to squeeze my fingers between the smaller gaps between frets), but maybe I just have long fingers or something.  I dunno, I just don't think it's a big deal, and it was nice to save the 35 bucks.
 
I'll try a more positive response to Ed.
He's REALLY good at marketing.....

The end.
 
" Paul Reed Smith builds a pretty good guitar"........"You'll notice the pickups are bolted in, it's the way they build 'em"........

Hahahahahaha  :doh:

 
Contoured heel = good.  As Kostas said, the only reasons not to get it are if you are a "vintage" guy or on a really tight budget.  The contour is not very extreme, 90% of the wood is still there.  I call bullshit on anyone who claims to be able to hear the difference.

It's already standard on LP bodies, and a lot of showcase bodies have it too.
 
I will definitely not create dead spots. Dead spots comes from hitting a natural resonance frequency of the neck itself.

However, I'm a strong believer in having as much contact with as much wood as possible between neck and neck pocket.

Plus it is a resell problem, many "vintage snobs" on ebay and forums shy away from the contoured heel. Why would I limit my resell ease for a very questionably improvement in playability?

I sure wished that less bodies in the showcase were contoured. Why not contour them when ordered?
 
uOpt said:
However, I'm a strong believer in having as much contact with as much wood as possible between neck and neck pocket.
......
I sure wished that less bodies in the showcase were contoured. Why not contour them when ordered?

Showcase bodies have already been finish sanded, including radiuses.  There's more work than just slapping a body on the CNC to add a contoured heel.

I'm not sure I see the correlation between contoured heel and neck pocket.  They're on opposite sides of the body!  I would agree solid contact between neck heel and pocket is important though.  A contoured heel does not change the neck pocket itself.
 
uOpt said:
Plus it is a resell problem, many "vintage snobs" on ebay and forums shy away from the contoured heel. Why would I limit my resell ease for a very questionably improvement in playability?

Um, are you serious? What kind of resale value were you expecting from a Warmoth?
And in either case, build a guitar for YOURSELF, not the person who is going to buy it later.

uOpt said:
I sure wished that less bodies in the showcase were contoured. Why not contour them when ordered?

This would only be possible on unfinished bodies.
Adding the contour to a finished body would render you with a huge bare wood spot that would require you to repaint the body.
 
dbw said:
It's already standard on LP bodies, and a lot of showcase bodies have it too.

I think not even half of the showcase bodies have the contoured heel. It's a shame because if you buy an expensive body this should be included. I like figured tops and I like to see what I'm getting so all my bodies have been bought from the showcase and cost from $570 - $1150! I had a strat, then a tele and then a LP. The LP is the only one with contoured heel and I realized how good it is.

It would be fair to be standard in all showcase bodies with figured tops. These bodies are unique and most times expensive. You can't order a body with the same top but you can order a body with a solid colour in the rare case someone does not want the contoured heel. I think vintage guys are not into figured tops anyway...
 
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