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Post by Hohn on Sept 28, 2006 13:21:22 GMT -7
I thought mahogany was too soft to bolt on... I mean look at all the mahogany neck guitars out there, and they are all set neck, as far as I know. Conversely, all the bolt-on necks seem to be maple. What other woods besides maple can be used in a bolt-on neck type guitar?? How about a solid Rosewood neck? Is rosewood tough enough to screw into to the degree needed for a neck joint? Again, all the rw necks I've seen were glued in (PRS). I'd like to have more wood options in building a parts guitar. I suspect that if I want to build a LP-sounding guitar, a maple neck won't do it
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Post by billyguitar on Sept 28, 2006 13:45:26 GMT -7
Glue-in or bolt on wouldn't seem to make much difference to me. Check out Tom Anderson guitars. He uses maple, mahogany and solid rosewood, for different sounds. I also think bolt on guitars can and do sustain just as well as set necks.
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Post by Hohn on Sept 28, 2006 13:48:03 GMT -7
I agree that the method of neck attachment is often overhyped. If it's secure, it's secure-- what more does it need?
JH
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Post by tele1962 on Sept 28, 2006 17:54:17 GMT -7
Boy, every once in a while someone just nails a topic and you guys are right! If it's secure, it's secure. And this sustain thing has been a thing of legend for far too long. Yes, in hard theory, a set neck should carry a minute amount of sustain through the body. That's hard theory. Better question would be " What does it do in reality, and what can I truly hear?"
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Post by taswegian on Sept 28, 2006 18:18:15 GMT -7
My set neck has unbelievable acoustic sustain, I haven't heard another guitar like it. Whether it has to do with the set neck, or the fine woods used, or Don's expertise, who knows?
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Post by flem on Sept 28, 2006 18:51:16 GMT -7
I agree that as long as its secure it doesnt make a big difference. Both ways can be done right and wrong, too much glue in a set neck acts like an insulator, not having a tight neck pocket for bolt on and you loose resonance from the neck. Try a Godin LG or LGX. Mahogony bolt on neck. IMO they sound great.
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Post by garyh on Sept 28, 2006 19:26:29 GMT -7
Mahogany is not quite as hard as maple but it is still a hardwood. I see a lot of PRS guitars with rosewood necks BTW; gorgeous looking things.
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Post by Laroosco!! on Sept 28, 2006 22:57:36 GMT -7
I didn't think that Mahogany was soft at all.
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Post by Matt H. on Sept 29, 2006 5:19:58 GMT -7
Some people describe mahogany as a soft-hardwood and yellow pine as a hardwood. I dont know where the line is drawn, but mahogany is definitely softer than maple and definitely strong enough for a neck. I've always heard that neck through bodies have more sustain than bolt-on necks, but I think that this is due to the fact that most neck through body guitars have fixed bridges. I think there is a bigger diference between tremolo and fixed bridges - fixed ones have noticably more sustain to me. I do agree though that neck through bodies are structurally stronger than bolt on's due to the nature of their structure and glueing.
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Post by guitarstan on Sept 29, 2006 7:16:25 GMT -7
you could "google it" and investigate the characteristics of relative tensile and compressive strengths for the wood in question. Then make an educated guess as to whether "it is a difference that makes a difference?" I am not a wood specialist but wood is a material commonly used in construction thus structural parameters for wood are readily available.
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Post by sonicgator on Sept 29, 2006 10:31:31 GMT -7
Carvin builds necks out of Alder, a relatively soft wood, but all of their necks are reinforced with a truss rod and two graphite support rods.
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Post by Hohn on Sept 29, 2006 12:23:31 GMT -7
My concern is aimed specifically at a wood's ability to keep threads in it when you screw on a neck. I suspect this is a function of the wood's hardness. The harder the wood, the stronger the threads in it will be.
Another way to pose the question is this: how tight can I torque the screws without stripping the neck holes? With maple, you need some kind of huge power tool to do that, and even then it's not likely.
So, if I want to make a parts guitar with a bolt on mohogany neck, I have no need to worry about the screws stripping in the neck holes? That's all I really worry about.
It would seem that the Andersons prove that mohogany is perfectly acceptable as a bolt-on neck wood with respect the thread strength.. jh
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Post by Matt H. on Sept 29, 2006 13:18:15 GMT -7
The neck should be pre-drilled to the correct size to accept the screws. Don't worry about power tools. I would think that if the neck were to be taken off the guitar and put back on several times, the wood holding the screw threads in place could become compromised. Even then, some wood filler or actual wood and redrilling for the screws would work.
I have a good amount of experience woodworking, and I wouldn't worry about it. -
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Post by skydog958 on Sept 29, 2006 19:30:41 GMT -7
Or you could bypass the issue by getting the Vintique neck kit, which puts in metal thread anchors for stainless steel screws. That's if you can actually contact them
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