Small world indeed!
OK, here goes.....
I've been stealthily working on a version of this idea for almost the past year! I'm almost ready to show my final prototype - I should have a nice playable MJ guitar built with it by the Guitar Festival in August - I'll bring it along with me for show/tell although I don't have a booth. Like others before me, I use carbon fiber tubes to transfer the string tension from the neck plate into the sides of the guitar at the waist and provide anti-twist properties to the neck plate. My neck plate is thin/small compared to traditional neck blocks. There is no external heel at all. Also, since my neck/fretboard floats over the soundboard, the upper bout now adds significantly to the sound of the guitar. The neck is "bolt-in" using two 1/4"-20 allen cap screws. The neck angle can fairly easily be changed to suit any player's desires. The design uses much less wood than a traditional mortice/tennon or dovetail neck joint, hence is much lighter. It's also easier/faster to make and less expensive on materials. My early prototypes sounded pretty good. Here's a few photos of the CF tubes and neck block during glue up. I'll post some more photos and perhaps a sound clip in a week or two.
You can click on the photos to see/download the hi-res versions of them.
Cheers,
Dave F.
