Neck through guitars.

RDeraz

RDeraz

Experienced
been doing some reading on this for a while.mostly due to thinking of buying a Carvin st model.
the going consensus that i have found is the neck wood determines the guitar sound,while the upper and lower bouts do almost nothing for the sound.in other words if you order a maple neck through guitar with mahogany sides,you've basically got a maple guitar.
maple is great for necks,but as part of the main block of the body,i'd imagine it would be way too bright.
have i got this right?
 
If that were to be true, then manufactures would be using the cheapest wood possible for the upper and lower bouts.
 
I'm of the other camp when it comes to this. I believe that the electronics have a much bigger impact on tone when your plugged into an amp. Not saying that woods don't make any difference, just that the difference being made can be dealt with through different pickups and EQ'ing (with the Axe). The acoustic sound is somewhat different but the sustain is where I think you see the benefits of using different woods.

I have played an ST300 and it's a great playing guitar but it had the Hog neck and body option with a flame maple cap ebony fret board.
 
I recently played a guitar made entirely out of 2X4s - cnc machined neck and body, single single-coil pup. Damn thing sounded AMAZING. Made me re-think the whole 'tone wood' argument.
 
I have a Collings 290 that survived a music store fire. It sounded pretty good stock but when I installed a Callaham cold rolled steel ABR-1 bridge and studs the guitar came alive. It became louder, brighter, harmonically richer and the sustain increased. The Callaham bridge and studs are a better "interface" between the strings and wood, which confirms in my mind that the wood matters (including the body).

Terry.
 
that's a cool chart machoff,thanks.i've seen that before.looks like Basswood or Koa is where i want my guitar to be tonally.or maybe mahogany sides and neck with a maple top to offset the dark sound of mahogany.

let's not devolve into a tonewood argument,i just wanted opinions on how much the upper and lower bouts contribute to the sound on neck through guitar.

i'm sure the cnc 2x4 guitar worked great,but for how long,pine tends to dry out and warp rather quickly.
 
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RDeraz said:
that's a cool chart machoff,thanks.i've seen that before.looks like Basswood or Koa is where i want my guitar to be tonally.or maybe mahogany sides and neck with a maple top to offset the dark sound of mahogany.
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I've always wanted a koa wood guitar. Let me know how it turns out, I like your ideas.
 
I had an all maple Gibson L5 back about 30 years ago. It was dirt cheap in a music store. I found out why. Crazy, insanely bright and it sounded good through nothing. I think I ended up giving it away.
 
Tone Seeker said:
I have a Collings 290 that survived a music store fire. It sounded pretty good stock but when I installed a Callaham cold rolled steel ABR-1 bridge and studs the guitar came alive. It became louder, brighter, harmonically richer and the sustain increased. The Callaham bridge and studs are a better "interface" between the strings and wood, which confirms in my mind that the wood matters (including the body).

Terry.
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I agree Terry, every part of the guitar matters and contributes some percentage to the overall tone, what you do with that tone after the guitar gives it up is entirely up to you and the axe offers a multitude of options. The Calaham block and saddles made a huge difference in the overall level and sustain of my strat. Even more so though, was the loosening of the neck bolts a 1/4 turn at tension and then retightening and reintonating. Yes, there was a loud cracking sound, but the overall tone of the guitar was greatly increased. It seems doing this with a bolt on neck seats the butt of the neck into the cavity for a more effective join. But don't do this on a JEM, there is no cavity.
 
Sixstring,i have always thought of it as the wood sort of determining a slice of EQ where the guitar would be the strongest tonally.iv'e taken the same pickup and switched it from an Alder bodied guitar to a mahogany bodied guitar and it was different.same body style same set up.not drastically different,but enough that i noticed it.
 
scorch said:
I had an all maple Gibson L5 back about 30 years ago. It was dirt cheap in a music store. I found out why. Crazy, insanely bright and it sounded good through nothing. I think I ended up giving it away.
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that's precisely what i would be worried about with a maple neck through.
 
RDeraz said:
Sixstring,i have always thought of it as the wood sort of determining a slice of EQ where the guitar would be the strongest tonally.iv'e taken the same pickup and switched it from an Alder bodied guitar to a mahogany bodied guitar and it was different.same body style same set up.not drastically different,but enough that i noticed it.
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I think it has to do with phasing. As the sound travels through the different components of the guitar, the sound is modified by the rate at which the sound travels through the individual components. These can cancel each other out or build on each other.
 
I've got several Carvins in my stable, all great guitars. The biggest advantage to the neck through construction, IMO, is a much smoother neck heel joint with the body. When you're playing up on the neck (where there's no money, so I hear lol) it is a lot easier on the hands than most of the traditional joints, such as the Les Paul. In my un-scientific experience, it seems the fretboard material, strings, and electronics have as much effect on tone as anything. Ebony or maple a bit brighter, rosewood less so, etc. All in all, I don't really think the slighter tone differences in body wood are anything to be concerned with if the axe feels good to you. Especially with the Axe Fx in your arsenal.

One oddity, though. Again, in my own experience, I have played some high dollar guitars that sounded sort of, well, dead before I plugged them in. And guess what... they sounded dead when amplified. No explanation, really, just an observation. I guess you can't amplify something that isn't there in the first place.
 
Rick said:
One oddity, though. Again, in my own experience, I have played some high dollar guitars that sounded sort of, well, dead before I plugged them in. And guess what... they sounded dead when amplified. No explanation, really, just an observation. I guess you can;y amplify something that isn't there in the first place.
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same exact thing happened to me at last years NY amp show.$3,000 plus guitar just felt.....as you say.....DEAD,lifeless.2 different models by the same manufacturer both seemed dead.
but what eye candy they were.
 
The biggest advantage to the neck through construction, IMO, is a much smoother neck heel joint with the body.
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A Set neck's joint is just as smooth.
And it has the advantage of combining the sound of a bolt on neck with the smoothness of a neck through construction.
The fit has to be very tight though. Some famous brands' joints were filled up with glue and sawdust.
Have a look at his:
39%252520-%252520itfits.jpg


128%252520-%252520smooth.jpg


It's from a thread I posted of the construction of my Larkin 7-string:
Larkin ASAD 7-string - The Gear Page
 
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Get a Mayones or Vik with every wood you could want in the neck! Or... a bolt on. Personally going through set necks, throughs, and bolt ons, I've found bolt ons the most pleasing to my ears.


Edit: It's hard to see but the names of the companies link to their pages for you :)
 
That's why I love Hamers- set neck construction. I have a couple neck-thru and bolt ons in the stable, but those vintage set neck Hamers just sing to me and the upper board playability is smooth as glass. My faves have maple caps (thin enough you'd think it wouldn't make a dif but it does just so perfectly) on the mahogany bodies, that combo is a tonal winner for sure to my ears.
 
I like bolt on- only out of fear of breaking it- $100 on ebay for a used Ibanez RG neck and I'm set- also cheaper than a refret

I did get a few new basses at namm and have been screwing around with those- ones bolt on, ones set neck, ones neck thru
 
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