whats the benefit of a set neck vs. a bolt on?

giggity.

I have 3 guitars and all are set neck or neck through. I think it creates a more balanced instrument and possibly better tone. Plus it just looks purtier.

set neck as in neck through? If your talking about neck throughs the big difference is sustain. That's pretty much it, but it's a big difference as far as sustain is concerned.

Thanks. I figured it was something I wouldn't care about.

Set Neck and Neck Through are NOT the same thing...

bolt on = fender strats

set neck = les pauls, SGs, PRS

neck throughs = BC Richs, Jacksons, etc....

many brands make guitars with all these style necks but generally thats how it is, I guess...

neck through = lots of sustain
set neck = good sustain
bolt on = weak sustain

Damn, I need a new guitar.

Honestly, with tons of distortion from a good amp and reasonably good pickups, any piece of shit guitar can sound great...

sometimes shitty pickups and shitty amps sounds great, it all depends on what sound you're looking for.

Somewhat off topic, but I was playing my father's Martin acoustic last week and it was the most beautiful feeling/sounding acoustic guitar I've ever played.

bingo

Martins are fantastic. What model was it? D28?

I prefer Taylor's to Martins because they are brighter and play so easily but Martin definitely makes an incredible acoustic.

I have a 70's Gibson acoustic what plays and sounds incredible which is odd because I generally thin Gibson acoustics suck.

I couldn't tell you the model number off of my head. Both Taylor and Martin acoustics are the best IMO. Martin's have a warmer sound and Taylors are brighter, like you said. I wish I had the money to buy some Martin and Taylor guitars.
I've got a Martin "travel guitar" which is pretty goofy but it's good to bring to a campfire along with some mead and other intoxicating stuff.

Yeah, the Martin Backpacker. I have one of those sitting around somewhere...

You should come out to our annual Solstice party a week from Saturday...

Lots of mead drinking from horns, a bon fire etc...

Shit man. How come no one informed me of this? Haha! Where is it?

the past 3 years it's been at the PanzerBastard bassist/singer, Keiths house....he has a nice big back yard.

last year:

Haha, random acts of Pam with the giggity.

[Dec 12,2008 11:14am - arilliusbm]
Somewhat off topic, but I was playing my father's Martin acoustic last week and it was the most beautiful feeling/sounding acoustic guitar I've ever played.

My dad has a mid-range priced Taylor accoustic, and it sound the fucking BALLS. Best accoustic sound I've ever played. I'd go so far as to say it's better than any similar Martin.

Absolutely right. I have 2 guitars that are set neck and 1 that is neck through. The other benefit I find other than the increased sustain, is the smoothness of the set-neck or neck-thru when you are soloing (or in my case, just making horrendous noise) on the higher frets.

bolt ons - the neck is bolted onto the body. this is the least expensive and quickest way to make a guitar since no glueing or neck angle need to be done. neck angling is typically done with a shim. This can be a pain for upper fret access, since the heel of the guitar needs to be bulky to bolt the neck on.






set neck - the neck is glued and clamped into the body with aliphetic resin. slightly more expensive for manufacturers to use since the neck and body need to be cut, angled, and pegged for proper fit. it offers a little more neck-to-body resonance than bolt on if done properly. Although, most production line guitars with set necks aren't going to be perfectly angled and pegged. the result is gibson telling you thier set necks are better then bolt ons, even though if you cut the guitar up the middle, you would see gaps, shims, and glue everywhere. I would try and avoid set necks unless they are being hand made by a reputable builder. Also usually has the 'bulky' heel drawback.






Neck through - the neck and middle of the body are the same piece of wood with wings attached on either side. this is the best for neck-to-body resonance and the hardest and most expensive to build. doesn't haveto have a heeljoint, so upper fret access is never a problem.



anyone feeding you a line about sustain has been reading too much. you will never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever notice a significant difference in sustain between the three neck builds assuming they are all properly built with the same quality controll and in the same market level.


and if anyone replies to this calling bullshit and saying boltons don't sustain for crap and they know because so and so has a blah blah blah and it sustains wayyy better then blah blah blah I'm not going to believe you and I'm going to call you a liar.

HS angle, neck angle, bridge, setup, intonation, nut, and wood choices are going to effect your sustain. neck construction makes such a small difference that you shouldn't worry about it when thinking about sustain.


neck construction is mainly for resonance and comfort.

I just bought a BC Rich on my lunch break. All I really care about is looking good on stage playing with no shirt on so I can get laid a lot.

that should be your new screen name on here