This is neither a defect nor an artistic intention but a patent pending design by Dean Zelinsky. It's an etching that stretches across the guitar's neck rear supposedly to enhance hand movements by avoiding a sticky situation when sweating takes place.
The hit here is, after a personal experience, I agree that there is a certain amount of enhanced gliding offered by this design for a simple reason; there's less wood in contact with your thumb during play. The miss is that it affects feel for many of us. Throughout my playing time, I simply couldn't ignore the fact that the necks feels different, it's grooved & manifests this apprehension of a missing component. Can you get over this after prolonged playing? High chance of adapting to the feel, no doubt. However, there are already some finishing processes in the mean time to avoid that sticky situation during play; less lacquer overcoat is one of them.
Head over to SV Guitars if you wish to have a go at the Z-Glide experience & on that note, DZPL guitars are now available there for your considerations.
