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I first did this on an archtop, then on classicals, then on steel-string flattops. It makes the frets over the body easier to play, especially for someone trained in classical technique. It makes binding the board easier; with a neck extension, I glue the board on first and then bind it. I also fret the board after it is glued to the neck with this design. Leveling and shaping the frets over the body is easier, too.
I don't think it can hurt to leave more of the upper bout free, but frankly, some of my best sounding guitars have the board glued on conventionally. I set the cantilevered necks at a negative angle to the top, which I think tends to give a stronger fundamental, since the proportion of up and down motion to torquing motion of the bridge is greater. I have done them with the first couple of inches at the body glued, and with full cantilever. It is certainly easier to reset the neck with the full cantilever. I did one with a fully adjustable hardware joint with three contact points, but haven't bothered to do that again. I do like the way the end of the board looks when it is above the top, and I do an S curve on the end of the board when I elevate it.
Elevating the neck causes greater torque on the headblock. I compensate for this with carbon fiber composite rods going to the sides just below the waist. I do this now on all guitars; I think it is good for many reasons to transfer that load to the sides. One other thing I have noticed: with the elevated neck, the top will pull up more when the guitar is strung than with the conventional design, and that has to be anticipated or you will end up needing to cut the bridge down or reset the neck. I learned this the hard way.
_________________ Howard Klepper http://www.klepperguitars.comWhen all else fails, clean the shop.
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