Set neck--essential or no?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Whoopysnorp
  • Start date Start date
Whoopysnorp said:
Now, this may be a ridiculous idea, and feel free to call me crazy, but I was wondering if anybody had ever attempted modding a bolt-on axe by filling up the gaps in between the neck and the body with wood glue or something. I'm sure there would only be a subtle change if any, but it seems like it wouldn't be a terrible idea (assuming you weren't planning on removing the neck). Any thoughts?
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crazy !!!! :D

I think the main difference between a bolt on and a set neck is that the bolt on only has 1 contact surface, whereas the set neck has at least 2 surfaces to "transmit" to the body ... so putting glue on a bolt on doesnt make it "set neck"

its just like putting a "turbo" sticker on your car doesnt make it go any faster ...


bye alfred
 
AlfredB said:
crazy !!!! :D

I think the main difference between a bolt on and a set neck is that the bolt on only has 1 contact surface, whereas the set neck has at least 2 surfaces to "transmit" to the body ... so putting glue on a bolt on doesnt make it "set neck"
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Well, the one contact surface of a bolt-on is the surface that runs parallel to the body, where the bolts actually go through, correct? So that means that there are gaps in between the neck and the body on each side of the neck and just beyond the final fret, right? So if the only surface that is normally transmitting the vibrations is the one where the bolts go through, wouldn't you theoretically be able to fill in those gaps with some sort of compound (wood glue was just what came to mind first) to allow more vibrations to be transmitted across them? This obviously wouldn't make it the same thing as a set-neck guitar, but it should help, at least in theory, right?
 
A decent bolt on neck should be a very tight fit on at least 3 sides. I would say the only good reason to try and tighten up the neck would be if it was actually loose fitting or had some play in the joint. Also, glue is not going to make it fit any tighter in a way which would equal better sound, you would be better off somehow shimming the neck to make it tighter instead of glueing. A loose fitting neck will kill a guitar's sound. Hey guys, on a related note, for alot of great info and rants about guitars and the way they are built check out the web site for ED ROMAN GUITARS in Las Vegas. I think it is called "worlds best guitars" or something like that, a little searching would turn it up easily.
 
OK, that makes sense to me. Even if it would have worked it probably would have been too much bother anyway. When I get the guitar, which should be in a day or two, I'll report on it. I've already gotten a pair of pickups off eBay that were yanked out of an Agile 2800, which aren't DiMarzios or anything, but they should be an improvement from the SX stock pickups. Then I'll start figuring out what other hardware needs upgrading.
 
An interesting thought, if nothing else.

The PRS CE and CU guitars are built with identical necks. You could take a CE and glue the neck in and have the resulting CU setup. The neck joints are extremely tight and very good on the ones I have personally taken apart.

Metalhead, do you have a link to your guitars? Would love to see them.

H2H
 
wait wait wait.

You are choosing to quote Ed Roman, one of the biggest lowlife scumbag liars in the entire guitar industry. He is renowned for his shady business practices and lying to make his products look better and trying to make competitors look bad. Not a cool guy. Not at all. And I would take anything said on his site with the smallest grain of salt, knowing there's an agenda behind every single word.

Choosing to align yourself with him makes me question anything you have to say here.

H2H
 
I agree with mixmkr. Those guitars are a great bang for the buck. I hear nothing but good things about them. Personally, I prefer an authentic Epiphone... brand loyalty, I guess. But I've owned a bolt-on and a set neck Les Paul. I kinda liked the bolt-on more, mostly because it was my first guitar and I had been playing it for almost a decade. I've been playing an Epi LP Standard with Gibson hardware for the past six months. I'm not really picky about tone/sustain. But it feels solid (and a lot heavier).
 
Hard2Hear said:
wait wait wait.

You are choosing to quote Ed Roman, one of the biggest lowlife scumbag liars in the entire guitar industry. He is renowned for his shady business practices and lying to make his products look better and trying to make competitors look bad. Not a cool guy. Not at all. And I would take anything said on his site with the smallest grain of salt, knowing there's an agenda behind every single word.

Choosing to align yourself with him makes me question anything you have to say here.

H2H
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hahaha ... i 2nd that ..

as a matter of fact he had one particular brand of guitars that are "far superior to PRS at half the price " and were handmade (end to end) by 1 single luthier in the US (tho they were selling them by the 100s :-) ... I googled the page, and followed a link to the sales manager ... who was ....

Mr. Ed !!!!!!! :eek: :D :eek: :eek: :eek:

he def. put car-salesperson attitude into the guitar business. ... check out the feedback on his guitars on www.harmony-central.com (also makes a cool reading ... jejejeje)
 
noodles2k5 said:
I agree with mixmkr. Those guitars are a great bang for the buck. I hear nothing but good things about them. Personally, I prefer an authentic Epiphone... brand loyalty, I guess. But I've owned a bolt-on and a set neck Les Paul. I kinda liked the bolt-on more, mostly because it was my first guitar and I had been playing it for almost a decade. I've been playing an Epi LP Standard with Gibson hardware for the past six months. I'm not really picky about tone/sustain. But it feels solid (and a lot heavier).
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I'm not really picky about tone/sustain.

... that puts a lot of things you said into perspective :D ;) :D ;) :D

(cheap shot, but you asked for it :-)
 
Hard2Hear said:
From experience I have found that with the more gain or distortion you use, the less build quality you need in your guitar.
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It really depends on the amplifier. Alot of solid state distortion is going to cover up the guitars tone no matter what, so the build isn't really such a problem there. Even with tube amps, like the 5150 for instance. The body build of the guitar is not such a primary factor in the tone when using one of these amps; another amp I can realte to is the Rectifier. These amps are biased "cooler" than ordinary tube amplifiers - the 5150 biased the coldest I must say, which is why some prefer a bias mod on them to bring the mA up to where it "should be" (most people will agree that a warm bias is one that, even though means shorter power tube life, has a much better tone quality than a cooler bias). The abnormal low bias on these amps give it "crossover distortion", which is pretty much where you get that "buzzy" sound from. This buzzy sound is what masks the tone of a guitar. The tubes don't help either. Ruby's and Groove Tubes are extremely buzzy. They spit out those high 14-16khz frequencies like none other. For alot of people, a decent eq can get rid of alot of that "buzz", letting some of the guitar's colors show a bit; however, a nice rebias is always better. Some people like the buzz, alot despise it. Hell, VanHalens famous "brown sound" came from purposly lowering the voltage through his Marshall. The Bogner Uberschall has enough gain for anyone and yet does not mask the guitars true tone. Guitar build is just as important for clean as it is for high gain, if you have a good high gain amp that is. 5150's and Rectifiers (stock) are great at just covering up the overall character of the guitar, leaving everything up to the pickups and preamp section for the most part. For the best tone (in my opinion), I would think that a pickup and tube amp that both bring out the true tone of a guitar (providing that it's a well built guitar) is the best thing you can have. That's why I like Gibson Iommi pickups. I've heard them in ESP's, SG's, Les Pauls, Jagstangs, Steinbergers, and Jacksons. All of these guitars, played through a H&K TIII (High gain tube amp - around $2500 new at it's time) have their own tone that differs from the other guitar.
 
I appreciate your interest. I am a small timer and basically do things totally one at a time. I don't have a web site but I'm going to try to post a couple pictures of a current project....
 
....by the way, In pointing out Ed Roman, I wasn't saying that I agreed with his ethics or his salesmanship, but I do agree with many of his rants about guitar manufacturing. Not that I ever have or ever would buy a guitar from the guy.
 
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