NiteFly Neck on MaxxFly/DF Body?

[vjmanzo]

I’m curious if anyone has tried this or simply knows if a NiteFly neck would fit in the contoured neck recess of a MaxxFly/DragonFly (or PDF) body. I don’t own a MaxxFly/DragonFly or a PDF, but, from photos, it looks like they share the same neck joint as the NiteFly.

No mod forthcoming, but I’m curious.

[billy]

Not sure but I was wondering the same.

[vjmanzo]

Seems like those guitars do have some expanded wood variety compared to NiteFlys, so a neck with the usual carbon fiber magic and stainless steel frets that retrofits those guitars could be an interesting upgrade.

[plexicube]

I tried this, but there's a lot of mods needed. The bolt hole spacing is different, the neck pocket is a bit shallower on the DF, and the Nitefly neck has the truss rod wheel located at the bottom so the DF body needs to be routed to accompany it.

[vjmanzo]

Thanks @plexicube; confirms my suspicions!!

[Bissa Verde Guitars]

All true but it can be done. Here's the prototype Nitefly neck on PDF70 body. I have matched the Nitefly neck bolt pattern to the PDF body. This is at the first mating stage, bolts need to be shortened, holes counterbored and PDF mounting holes plugged. I will add a layer of carbon to the pocket and bind liners to the new pattern holes to serve as crack prevention.
Yeah am putting in dimarzios and stacked controls because... .
Will swap in the Nitefly piezo bridge when I get closer to completion.

[Bissa Verde Guitars]

I don't see the photos yet. I'll troubleshoot and try and get them posted.

[Bissa Verde Guitars]

Here we go

[Bissa Verde Guitars]

The body cavity required removal of ~1/8 material to seat the neck and get the fingerboard height and angle correct. I used a variety of hand tools--removing about 0.010 in at a time and checking the fit with sharpie on pocket and sandpaper on the neck to identify high points.
Donor neck came from a worn Nitefly with a very clean neck. Body is otherwise stock PDF70 being routed for Dimarzio pickups with hidden mounting to lose the mounting rings. (and screw holes eventually)

One thing I discovered during this is that the Nitefly neck has threaded inserts. I was prepared to put some in and saw threads in the bottom of the bolt holes! I really like this. PDF radial mount necks are threaded into the maple - - works fine but I have seen failures tearing out the neck. Part of the problem may be the very thin neck on the PDF series guitars. They work fine as intended, but mishandled they are the weakest link.

Robert.
Bissa Verde Guitars

[mmmguitar]

Love it. Your firsthand mod notes are invaluable. Please keep us updated as the project progresses.

[Bissa Verde Guitars]

I'll share my mistakes and near misses too!

For example, while both necks are same scale and number of frets, the PDF neck has a small overhang. So relative to the pocket, the frets are about 1/8 inch closer to the bridge than the Nitefly neck. So the pocket has to be extended accordingly.....i made the pocket reshaping several months ago and forgot to record that compensation had been implemented. I literally woke up in the middle of the night worried that I had forgotten about it!

It's gonna be a a light guitar---a LiteFly!

2.4 kgs or close to 5 lbs

[vjmanzo]

Nice, @Bissa Verde Guitars! I’m very excited to see this!! Thanks for the helpful info!! I love the LiteFly!!!

I literally woke up in the middle of the night worried that I had forgotten about it!