The conflict about neck tenons

When you first venture into the world of the les pauls, one question would probably be: WHAT THE HELL ARE NECK TENONS?

Neck tenons are basically the part of wood on the guitar neck that joints the body.

Long neck tenons are used in Gibsons when they made guitars in Kalamzoo, Michigan.

Short neck tenons are used in Gibsons when they made guitars in Nashville, Tennessee.

Is that all ?? @#$!!#$

The answer is No!

From the top you can see that the wooden section that is in contact with the body is larger, and this is usually found on Gibson Historic Reissues. For the one that you see that the wooden section in contact with the body is smaller, this is generally found on epiphones and gibson standards/custom (not custom shop, mind you!)

What does the long neck tenon do better than the short one does ?

Basically a long neck tenon increases the area of contact between the body and the neck of the guitar, hence giving it increased sustain and making the tone sound smoother. By increasing the area of contact, the guitar is allowed to resonate better, hence giving it a better tone!!

However, does it justify the cost of $2,000 for the neck tenon (and better quality, possibly) to get a historic reissue? The answer is up to you :)