Contoured heel

[dNA]

Yeah, i know you've heard it before. But my question wasn't exactly answered by any of the old posts I saw and bringing back a post from 2007 didn't seem constructive.

So my frustration with design concepts has led me to consider just pulling the trigger on a showcase body and stop thinking so much! But almost none of the showcase bodies have contoured heels.
What I'm wondering is at about what fret range will I start being obstructed by the standard heel? I'm not really a solo playing guitarist. I do some leadwork higher up, but really the most I need is some melodic riffs I do up to like the 17th fret at the most. Is the contoured heel gonna matter much?

 

[JaySwear]

i wondered the same thing when i bought my second body (first had contoured heel, second did not) but the heel is really hand sanded and only has about a quarter of an inch to maybe a half an inch off of the regular heel. i'll try to take a picture to show what i mean. be back in a minute

 

[JaySwear]

the difference is really small. contoured heel comes to about a rough measurement of 3/4"(on the small side, obviously). the non-contoured heel comes to about 1 5/32". so 24/32" versus 37/32". a pretty minor difference. the way i reach the high frets it doesn't bother me one bit, with or without the heel contour. i'm glad i didn't let that stop me from ordering the bodies that i did. somebody else may tell you otherwise, but i say don't let it stop you. plus i learned to play on an old Ibanez RG570 with a huge block heel, and it had 24 very reachable frets.

here are the pictures. not the best camera or best angles, but i think you can kind of tell the difference

 

[Finch]

I think it must depend on the body, my bass has a contoured heel and its a pretty substantial drop that blends in at the bottom of the cut out (SG body).

 

[Kostas]

.. my bass has a contoured heel and its a pretty substantial drop that blends in at the bottom of the cut out (SG body).

I see a difference too. My LP has it, strat and thinline don't have it. I hope it would be standard someday on all showcase bodies.

 

[DangerousR6]

the difference is really small. contoured heel comes to about a rough measurement of 3/4"(on the small side, obviously). the non-contoured heel comes to about 1 5/32". so 24/32" versus 37/32". a pretty minor difference. the way i reach the high frets it doesn't bother me one bit, with or without the heel contour. i'm glad i didn't let that stop me from ordering the bodies that i did. somebody else may tell you otherwise, but i say don't let it stop you. plus i learned to play on an old Ibanez RG570 with a huge block heel, and it had 24 very reachable frets.

here are the pictures. not the best camera or best angles, but i think you can kind of tell the difference

hahaha, 37/32 isn't actually a real fraction...it would be 1 5/32"... :icon_biggrin:

 

[Doughboy]

Although the Warmoth contour heel option does make it easier to play, I still find it rather blocky. I order my bodies unfinished & contour the heel to resemble the Ibanez All Access Joints & this gives it a near neck through body feel. getting up to the high frets is now a breeze.

 

[JaySwear]

hahaha, 37/32 isn't actually a real fraction...it would be 1 5/32"... :icon_biggrin:

it is! just not in it's simplest form :icon_biggrin: i just typed it out like that because it's easier to imagine than saying 1 inch and 5/32 versus 3/4 of an inch. easier for me to imagine in my head than the drawn out version

 

[Cagey]

What I'm wondering is at about what fret range will I start being obstructed by the standard heel? I'm not really a solo playing guitarist. I do some leadwork higher up, but really the most I need is some melodic riffs I do up to like the 17th fret at the most. Is the contoured heel gonna matter much?

To answer your question directly, on a Strat-style guitar you'll start to run into the neck joint with the heel of your hand when you start playing with the root at about the 12th fret. Most people don't have a problem with it, and you can count Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaugn, Robin Ford, Robin Trower and various other greats among them. Of course, that doesn't mean you have to suffer too, but clearly banging around the joint isn't a detriment to fantastic playing. Those guys knew where the notes were that they needed to play, and found ways to hit them <grin>

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Although the Warmoth contour heel option does make it easier to play, I still find it rather blocky. I order my bodies unfinished & contour the heel to resemble the Ibanez All Access Joints & this gives it a near neck through body feel. getting up to the high frets is now a breeze.

I love how the wood grain follows the new contour.  :icon_thumright:

 

[dNA]

that is cool!

 

[Doughboy]

What I REALLY wish is that Warmoth would have an All Access heel option. It would be a breeze to do with the CNC Machine & I bet a lot of people would like that.

 

[DangerousR6]

What I REALLY wish is that Warmoth would have an All Access heel option. It would be a breeze to do with the CNC Machine & I bet a lot of people would like that.

Really, I don't understand the lack of interest in them being creative with the availability of cnc machines... :dontknow:

 

[Dan025]

the difference is really small. contoured heel comes to about a rough measurement of 3/4"(on the small side, obviously). the non-contoured heel comes to about 1 5/32". so 24/32" versus 37/32". a pretty minor difference. the way i reach the high frets it doesn't bother me one bit, with or without the heel contour. i'm glad i didn't let that stop me from ordering the bodies that i did. somebody else may tell you otherwise, but i say don't let it stop you. plus i learned to play on an old Ibanez RG570 with a huge block heel, and it had 24 very reachable frets.

here are the pictures. not the best camera or best angles, but i think you can kind of tell the difference

hahaha, 37/32 isn't actually a real fraction...it would be 1 5/32"... :icon_biggrin:

which he said before he converted 3/4 into 32nds. the idea is to show that 37 isn't much more than 24, even though it is, but to many people fractions on an inch seem small untill they really feel the two things they are comparing. and yes 37/32 is an "improper fraction" but that doesn't mean it's not real. improper just designates it as not the preffered format but is often used to add and subtract fraction. remember as a machinist you (and I) call a thousandth a thousandth but we call one ten-thousandth (or one tenth of a one thousandth) a "tenth." and one tenth of an inch we call 100 thousandths. we never refer to the tenths or hundredths place but always count in the thousandths place. a hundredth can be used to describe one one-hundred-thousandth but many dont use that and say ten millionths as in 10 one millionths not one ten millionth.

basically who are we to critisize what format someone expresses something in, our system is a bit goofy and not "correct" as it would be taught in grade school. it's like when someone says one million billion because many people dont know what comes after a billion and they want to make something clear, one million billion is one quadrillion but many haven't heard of quadrillion so it is common to use an incorrect form to express it.

 

[dNA]

err. yes. that was an extremely confusing paragraph.
regardless, i'm pulling the trigger on a showcase neck and body and skipping the contoured heel. Here's to hoping I don't kick myself later.  ccasion14:

 

[Dan025]

What I REALLY wish is that Warmoth would have an All Access heel option. It would be a breeze to do with the CNC Machine & I bet a lot of people would like that.

Really, I don't understand the lack of interest in them being creative with the availability of cnc machines... :dontknow:

i dont either, but in this case they may not want to have different bolt patern as they are fender replacement parts. they have come along a bit though with the carved tele and stuff. working in an aircraft and equipment repair type of environment i often had to quickly throw programs together but many people make it sound like some big effort to start a new procedure or modify an existing one, the production mentality is very different from what i'm used to, i hope to start my own shop in the future because i think i can provide things others cant with less wait. i wouldn't turn these types of things down. i'm not happy unless i'm doing something new.

 

[DangerousR6]

the difference is really small. contoured heel comes to about a rough measurement of 3/4"(on the small side, obviously). the non-contoured heel comes to about 1 5/32". so 24/32" versus 37/32". a pretty minor difference. the way i reach the high frets it doesn't bother me one bit, with or without the heel contour. i'm glad i didn't let that stop me from ordering the bodies that i did. somebody else may tell you otherwise, but i say don't let it stop you. plus i learned to play on an old Ibanez RG570 with a huge block heel, and it had 24 very reachable frets.

here are the pictures. not the best camera or best angles, but i think you can kind of tell the difference

hahaha, 37/32 isn't actually a real fraction...it would be 1 5/32"... :icon_biggrin:

which he said before he converted 3/4 into 32nds. the idea is to show that 37 isn't much more than 24, even though it is, but to many people fractions on an inch seem small untill they really feel the two things they are comparing. and yes 37/32 is an "improper fraction" but that doesn't mean it's not real. improper just designates it as not the preffered format but is often used to add and subtract fraction. remember as a machinist you (and I) call a thousandth a thousandth but we call one ten-thousandth (or one tenth of a one thousandth) a "tenth." and one tenth of an inch we call 100 thousandths. we never refer to the tenths or hundredths place but always count in the thousandths place. a hundredth can be used to describe one one-hundred-thousandth but many dont use that and say ten millionths as in 10 one millionths not one ten millionth.

basically who are we to critisize what format someone expresses something in, our system is a bit goofy and not "correct" as it would be taught in grade school. it's like when someone says one million billion because many people dont know what comes after a billion and they want to make something clear, one million billion is one quadrillion but many haven't heard of quadrillion so it is common to use an incorrect form to express it.

True, sometimes I forget most other people only know numbers they way they are taught in books from school, and not as you and I as used in the real world... :dontknow:

 

[Cagey]

which he said before he converted 3/4 into 32nds. the idea is to show that 37 isn't much more than 24, even though it is, but to many people fractions on an inch seem small untill they really feel the two things they are comparing. and yes 37/32 is an "improper fraction" but that doesn't mean it's not real. improper just designates it as not the preffered format but is often used to add and subtract fraction. remember as a machinist you (and I) call a thousandth a thousandth but we call one ten-thousandth (or one tenth of a one thousandth) a "tenth." and one tenth of an inch we call 100 thousandths. we never refer to the tenths or hundredths place but always count in the thousandths place. a hundredth can be used to describe one one-hundred-thousandth but many dont use that and say ten millionths as in 10 one millionths not one ten millionth.

Yeah. But I cut it three times and it's still too short! <grin>

 

[Kostas]

Really, I don't understand the lack of interest in them being creative with the availability of cnc machines... :dontknow:

Being a Fender licensed company is good for them because many people (I suspect the majority of their clients) buy replacement parts for their Fender guitars. It is bad for people who are not stuck in the 50's, do not want vintage correct instruments and want versality in their guitars.

It's a shame in 2010 a mid priced guitar or quality replacement body not have a contoured heel.

 

[Doughboy]

I'm no expert on CNC machines, but couldn't it be programed to do serveral different jobs? They can still offer the regular Fender heel, their present semi countourerd heel & then an All Access super contour. People can choose that they want & they can charge extra according to the option.

I have 6 Warmoths with the 7th is on the way & I always get them unfinished & contour the heel here. now, if I could get it pre-contoured from Warmoth, I would also get them to finish it as well. It would save me a lot of time & put a few extra $ in Warmoths pocket as well. It's a win win situation.