| my guess.. not going to affect your tone one bit. The only reasons to use one would be to protect the wood and finish of the body by providing a cushion to keep the neck plate from scratching the body, and also to spread the pressure out evenly across the wood to prevent denting/finish cracking.
As long as the screws are tight enough there would be no tonal difference.
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"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:" Matthew 6:20
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