Thicker necks / neck joints = thicker tone? WTF?

varador · #1 01-17-2008, 05:25 PM

I just saw the video posted on the Paul Gilbert Reverse Icemans thread where PG praises his custom Reverse Icemans and a newly designed PGM301 for having thicker necks (Reverse Icemans) and a thick, old-school block neck joint (PGM301). Why? Because these thicker parts supposedly give thicker tone... Now, I love PG, but I'm a bit confused... do thicker necks and thicker neck joints really give a thicker tone like PG says they do?

What is he trying to say, that Ibanez should start fretting baseball bats like those guys over at Gibson in order to get thicker tones out of their guitars? Does a guitar with a thinner neck inevitably have thinner tone? Can't a pickup change fix this?

Please advise, for I am concerned.

LonePhantom · #2 01-17-2008, 05:35 PM

Well more mass usually adds to tone, so yeah PG is on the right wavelength there. A number of people have said they've noticed a difference between the AANJ and the block joint, and now that I've got an RG20th I tend to agree.

Roryrockslinda · #3 01-17-2008, 05:45 PM

It's more of a subtle change, having a thin neck won't make you sound weedier than that skinny ginger guy everyone used to bully when you were at school but it'll slightly thin the tone, the rule with guitars are pretty much, if it's thicker, it'll sound thicker.
And yes there are ways to substitute this, be it with pickups, pedals, messing with the EQ etc.
You aren't doomed if you want a thick sound but you have a thin neck.

P. Aaron · #4 01-17-2008, 05:47 PM

Hmmm, I've got a '91 570 that's got 'the block'. I kinda like the my 'Joe' more for warmth & thicker tone.

'Can't knock the 570, it's a great stand-by.

Crazy_Guitar · #5 01-17-2008, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LonePhantom

Well more mass usually adds to tone, so yeah PG is on the right wavelength there. A number of people have said they've noticed a difference between the AANJ and the block joint, and now that I've got an RG20th I tend to agree.

I agree.
I have played on AANJs and old-style neck joints and I still think the sound on the "good oldies" tend to be "thicker", just as Paul Gilbert said.
Plus, I think the old-style neck joints tend to be more stable as the years pass and the guitar gets abused.

CosmicDebris · #6 01-17-2008, 09:24 PM

Heh, all you guys want it thicker.

kotornut · #7 01-17-2008, 09:28 PM

I think many people get confused about guitars. We Ibanez players love the design and talk about it being so great. They definitely are great but, they aren't the holy grail of tone, they are probably the holy grail of playability and usability.

I would say that we do sacrifice a little tone in order to achieve the best playing and working guitar. Just a tiny bit. I have played Les Pauls that have tones that blow your socks off, but the guitar weighs 15 pounds and hurts your shoulder, not to mention the neck.

I am fine with it, my guitars tone is more than enough, but I know it isn't a 10 out of 10, its like an 8.5. But put that with a 10 out of 10 for everything else and, to me, you got a winner. Whereas a good LP might have (for humbucking tone) a 10 and a playability and comfort rating of 5. Plus we get more than one tone style because we can have single coils and humbuckers.

AmazinAzian12 · #8 01-17-2008, 09:39 PM

Thats when you go get yourself a carvin guitar. those things have awesome tone!!!

nuno · #9 01-18-2008, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LonePhantom

A number of people have said they've noticed a difference between the AANJ and the block joint...

i'm one of them. i made A/B comparisons with many RGs, unplugged of course, and all from '92/'93, right when they switched from old-school joint to AANJ. same strings, same string gauge, same everything. they all had Wizard necks, but different bolt-on joints. i'm not anal at all about tone, but i could hear quite a lot of difference. i noticed it before PG said that, but didn't dare telling it anybody

Eggy · #10 01-18-2008, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varador

do thicker necks and thicker neck joints really give a thicker tone ?

Yes.

That's the simple answer. The more wood (mass) there is on the guitar the more tone you get.

varador · #11 01-18-2008, 06:07 AM

So if I'm in the market for a second guitar I should try finding something with at least a block joint (hahaha that sounds like something you could smoke... blunt

... That's good to know, thanks guys.

Does a thicker neck / joint add sustain, too? Or is that more dependent on the body?

metalgod72 · #12 01-18-2008, 09:09 AM

I am all about good tone also, but let me tell you, if I had hands like Paul Gilbert, I would like a thicker neck too. His pinky is a long as my middle finger.
The prestige neck is my favorite, with the wizard running just behind and then my Zion neck. Strats are a little thick for me. just my 2¢

HeavyMetal4Ever · #13 01-18-2008, 10:02 AM

Tone is such a subjective thing, i'm sure there are plenty of people (besides me) who think think Ibanez necks with AANJ's provide better tone than fat Les Paul set necks.

It seems to me that more/thicker wood in your guitar means more natural wood tone, and thinner necks/thinner bodies means the pickups colour the tone more than the body wood.

Just my 2 cents.

Rock on!

Crazy_Guitar · #14 01-18-2008, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmicDebris

Heh, all you guys want it thicker.

The neck joints, yes.
:P

screamndemon69 · #15 01-18-2008, 01:03 PM

I agree with the more mass more tone theory.

Thin necks with floyd style trems can be a tone killer in alot of respects. I notice a MASSIVE difference between my hardtails with thick necks, string thru with set necks and neck thru with fat necks as well as bolt on thin necks with a trem. My RGA with a semi-thin neck and hard tail seems to have more tone and sustain than say one of my RG mongrels with a bolt on and a trem.