Very first use of the Gotoh side adjuster?

[stubhead]

I saw this Ebay listing for a Tokai Talbo aluminum guitar, and in the 1st, 7th and 11th picture it's easy to see the side-adjuster hole.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tokai-97-made-Talbo-A-123-Aluminum-Guitar-288-Freight-free-USA-AUST-/320808838944?pt=Guitar&hash=item4ab1b26720

So I first though it had to be a fake, because Warmoth wasn't using the side adjuster then - I have a W neck from 2001 that's adjuster-free. But then I looked at a few more Talbos and they all have it, and Gotoh will sell them to anybody: 
http://www.g-gotoh.com/international/?btp_product_category=side-adjuster

So not every use is a Warmoth, though they don't appear very popular elsewhere.

 

[stubhead]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyFJ_7DcNAw&feature=player_embedded


(!) :hello2:

 

[Cagey]

It's not an exclusive Warmoth feature, but they do seem to be the only ones using it on a regular basis. Not sure why - seems like a great idea to me and I've taken advantage of its utility more than once. Personally, I think it beats the snot out of the heel or headstock adjustment schemes, which are either inconvenient, unsightly or both.

I'm sure that's what drove the development of the thing, and I suspect we'll see more of them as time goes on because they make good sense. It'll just take time because guitarists are an ultra-conservative group that borders on insanity when it comes to changing their hardware. I mean, you can still buy Kluson tuners and 6 point trems, fer crissakes! That would be fine and is certainly desirable from a renewal parts point of view. Lotsa people still have old instruments. But people put that crap on new guitars! It's like buying a half million dollar house in the 'burbs and putting in an ice box instead of a refrigerator, or an outhouse and hand pumped well instead of indoor plumbing and a flush toilet.

 

[tfarny]

I have no idea what advantages the side adjuster has over the headstock adjust - and I've owned maybe six of them. All else being basically equal, simpler = better 99% of the time. See tube amps, acoustic guitars, violins, and women for examples of the principle.

 

[bagman67]

I think the headstock adjust on Fender-type necks is associated generally with the CBS era, so it scares some folks off.  I agree, however, that it's a simple idea and thus preferable.  If you're going with the heel-adjust truss rod, however, the side-adjust version of that is easier to use.

 

[Cagey]

The advantage over a heel adjust is pretty clear - you don't have to remove the neck to make an adjustment. The advantage over the headstock adjuster is less so - it's more a question of aesthetics. At one time, it was cheaper to do it that way, but at the cost of guitars these days I'm pretty sure we're not seeing any savings there.