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Should I sand down the heel of Les Paul Neck?

hundred.billion

New member
Joined
Nov 1, 2021
Messages
1
Take a look at the heel of the neck on this guitar

W17101089-backbody-large.jpg


This is a Line 6 JTV-59 Variax.
I like the way the neck joins the body. It is a smoothly sanded joint, and it makes it much more comfortable to play.

I am thinking of sanding my Les Paul Studio neck to have a similar joint where the neck meets the body. This would remove a lot of wood, but it's a pretty basic modification. I have searched the forums to see if anyone else has done this modification, and haven't found anything.

Does anyone know if this modification will compromise the neck joint and result in the neck snapping off the body?
 
Last edited:

El Gringo

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2015
Messages
5,657
I would not do it . You will seriously devalue the instrument and say you want to sell it down the road apiece you will not get a decent price . Plus would you consider buying a guitar that has been compromised in this manner ? I think not . Why not sell or trade the guitar (Les Paul Studio ) that you want to do this to for a guitar that has this feature you like already built in .
 

fred dons

Active member
Joined
Jul 20, 2001
Messages
318
the way the neck is glued into the tenon of a les paul makes it near impossible to do , you will soon sand through the body and hit the tenon whch could cause the neck to break loose. The LP Acces has a different tenon which makes such a heel possible but it will not work on regular LPs unless you add some pieces of wood and do a black refinish to cover the "repair" , Ace Frehleys 70ties lp had its heel shaved but not this dramatic and it had to be painted black to cover up the mess
 

somebodyelseuk

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 10, 2020
Messages
454
Assuming the neck doesn't just fall off, you'll weaken the neck considerably. I'd be surprised if it didn't twist or even snap when you strung it up.
It's not as simple as just making it look the same. They have probably aligned the grain in a different plain or even used two pieces to make the neck, in order for it to be strong enough.

After all the structural considerations, there's no telling how it will affect the sustain and tone of the guitar.
 

jrgtr42

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
2,308
short answer is, I wouldn't do it.
Longer version is that like others have said, you'd likely weaken the joint, possibly leading to breakage.
Though there was someone a little ways back that had an LP modded with that, belly cut and | think arm cut. |Looked awful, IMO.
If you're really needing better access up there, and speaking for myself, I have no issues getting up to the 20th fret, I would think about selling this one and looking into others that have that cut. I think |Gibson has done it a couple times - maybe the Access, I know on the High Performance a couple years ago.
Les Paul HP
Maybe think about looking for one of them used or NOS.
LP HP on EBAY
 

Injam

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2021
Messages
88
Take a look at the heel of the neck on this guitar

W17101089-backbody-large.jpg


This is a Line 6 JTV-59 Variax.
I like the way the neck joins the body. It is a smoothly sanded joint, and it makes it much more comfortable to play.

I am thinking of sanding my Les Paul Studio neck to have a similar joint where the neck meets the body. This would remove a lot of wood, but it's a pretty basic modification. I have searched the forums to see if anyone else has done this modification, and haven't found anything.

Does anyone know if this modification will compromise the neck joint and result in the neck snapping off the body?
No. It will probably make the guitar more valuable. I suggest a heavy duty electric belt sander.
 
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