Hole Under Pickguard

[tbplayer59]

I just don't see why they would have to have that hole though. Plenty of basses are CNC routed and there's no ugly hole in the body to show for it.
Fender craftsmanship at it's finest

There are people who fill the hole up with coins, so that could be an option if you decide to go nekked

There's no "craftsmanship" here. These are mass produced, factory made instruments. The less people have to touch them, the better and cheaper they'll be. I'll go one further. These basses aren't just CNC routed, they're CNC cut and shaped. I'm sure Fender knows what they're doing. The ugly hole doesn't show.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

Vacuum tables eliminated the need for that hole a long time ago.

 

[Spidey2112]

Candle holder.

Hilarious!

 

[Spidey2112]

Think of it as 'single space chambering'...

 

[tbplayer59]

Vacuum tables eliminated the need for that hole a long time ago.

I don't believe it's for holding the wood as much as it is for indexing all the measurements. I believe that hole is essentially (0, 0, 0).

 

[MotorCityMinion]

Still, you could reference a pin on the table for that.

 

[tbplayer59]

Still, you could reference a pin on the table for that.

Assuming your blank is perfect, no? I imagine they don't worry about the sides to save money. They're going to be carved away anyway. They plane the top and bottom, get that hole in there, and that hole indexes the CNC machinery at various operations. It doesn't move so tolerances don't build up. I'm assuming the blank has to go through at least a couple of machining steps. Body shaping and routing of cavities at least. So they all use that same point to control the cutters.

 

[Pirate Captain]

 

[Thehound]

The hole means it's female.

 

[tjh]

I thought I heard the holes were on everything except USA fenders. Maybe not though

Some of your USA Fenders, Hwy 1 and One, Am Specials, etc will not have the CNC hole under p/g ... but the P's will have the channel routing anyway ...

 

[Watchootognbout]

There are many,many CNC made basses WITHOUT pickguards that don't have these holes.
Mine for instance.
Why is Fender behind the times?

 

[TrustRod]

There are many,many CNC made basses WITHOUT pickguards that don't have these holes.
Mine for instance.
Why is Fender behind the times?

I think it's because this is quicker and easier for untrained workers to get correct. Fender has always been about shortcuts and pinching pennies. It's certainly nicer without the hole but if it adds $0.40 to the cost they're not going to do it.

 

[Watchootognbout]

I think it's because this is quicker and easier for untrained workers to get correct. Fender has always been about shortcuts and pinching pennies. It's certainly nicer without the hole but if it adds $0.40 to the cost they're not going to do it.

So Fenders untrained workers are less skilled than KHL.Co's(the maker of my seven string bass) untrained workers???
My Wolf.

 

[TrustRod]

Wow, such insight. And I love how you added 3 question marks to a statement.

 

[aeb414]

Great input from most of you.
Only response I have is to John m:
John - you make an excellent point.
But think about this: If "they" clamped every piece of wood and moved the clamps several times during the process, that would put a lot more personalized craftsmanship into the bass and would qualify the bigger price tag.
I'm just sayin'.
For this bass - guess I'll keep the pickguard on to cover the stash hole and fill in the little screw holes.

 

[MEKer]

might be a pie-hole or a place to stash those foldable picks......


after more thought am thinking it could be an extra screw hole for the pickguard if one gets lost or damaged.

 

[Paulabass]

It's just an attempt to save wood. The wood they take out of the hole is used to make strat bodies. It also reduces weight, those grams count!

 

[Searay]

It appears to me that Fender Mexico could easily produce without that hole. Perhaps it is more important as a differentiator between domestic and low cost region product.