Tele Neck Plate Weight Distribution - Body End or Headstock End?

My guess, it wouldn't do much. It's sitting basically in the same plane as the strap button. If it were at the bridge end of the guitar, maybe it'd pull the body down, but where it sits is essentially at the fulcrum between neck and body. Seems like weight there would just make the whole thing heavier, but I assume someone has tried this.

 

???

Maybe I need more coffee, but wouldn’t extra weight at the neck plate increase neck dive if it did anything at all? Which I am sceptical of, given how close the neck plate is to the guitar’s centre. I would think a clip-on tuner on your headstock, or a cable looped through your rear strap button, would have as much effect on the balance, as they are at the ends of the effective lever.

Just pondering. *gets more coffee anyway*

 

Worsen if anything I would think, but it's near neutral.. I imagine your neck/head is about the CG.

 

It should help if you mount it somewhere behind the bridge, but first make sure the screws won't go all the way through the body. Buy shorter screws if necessary.

 

Yea,
hang something from your strap at the end or,
put something at the end of the guitar of several ounces.

I think Reverend guitars used to have either a strap or something you hang at the end of the guitar to help neck dive.
You might check that out.

 

The correct answer is, a wider strap!

 

No.
The neck plate is toward the lighter neck end and will not add weight to the heavier body end.
The tipping or balance point on a 7lb Tele is closer to where a middle pickup might go, so added weight on the neck side of that balance point will worsen neck dive.

 

Don't laugh, but these work extremely well on my SG which is notorious for neck dive. I even have a Lyre-type tremolo and that doesn't balance it. These cured the problem immediately. I don't play much with a strap, so can't say how long they last until they fall off, but it is worth a try - without adding any more weight to your guitar. I had to use two, but most guitars would need only one, if any.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZT1QVE/?tag=tdpri-20

 

Wait a minute, guys. When the the guitar hangs correctly, the balance point is between the strap buttons. Weight on both buttons, and the neck stays put.

When the neck dives, all of the weight is on the front strap button, so any weight to the right of that will help counterbalance a too-heavy head stock.

Your heavier neck plate is too close to the balance point to have much effect, and you aren't adding much weight anyway. Trivial impact.

 

I hear talk of neck dive on teles from time to time. Is that a real thing? I've never experienced it. Seems like bass guitars are all I've had issues with in the past.

 

My Squier Bullet Tele, with its thin, lightweight (basswood, maybe?) body will do it if I use a slippery nylon or polypropylene strap.

 

Bigsby!!!

 

The CoG on both of my Telecasters seems to be under the neck pickup. A heavy neckplate wouldn't help me at all. Try balancing your Telecaster on the heel of your hand to see where it balances.

And even if yours happens to be neck-heavy, I doubt a different neck plate will have any meaningful impact. Putting a metal slug in the middle pickup route (if your guitar has one) might be more impactful.

 

You could relocate the back strap button if you are so inclined. The higher it sits, the more weight shifts to the back.

 

This is just n idea, I've never done this:
If you don't mind altering your guitar and you are handy, remove the jack plate and jack. Take a drill bit that a little smaller than the hole in the body and drill it deeper into the body, then ratchet a big heavy bolt into the body (obviously predrill the hole for the bolt to go in). Put the jack and jack plate back on. No one will know the difference and you added weight.

Edit: and sustain for days!!! lol

 

Really! Keep on pickin!!!

 

Hang the guitar and strap by a single point and so stays level, like on a nail or mic stand. Observe Where the neck plate is in relation to the nail. If it's toward the headstock from a vertical line down from the nail, it adds to the neck dive.

My Thinline Tele with a Strat neck on it still didn't have neck dive. Most SG's do though.