Glued vs Bolt On - Pro's Con's?

[ripl3y]

Hi Chaps/Chapesses'

I'd like to have your opinions on glued vs bolt on neck designs.

I know the obvious like bolt on = easy swap for breakage/general change etc... glued means easy dusty end access when planed/levelled correctly (think neck through, NOT Les Paul as that's the profile it will have)

Is there more to it than this? My custom jem is leaning more towards a glued pocket (purely for ease of construction)

Am I letting myself into a headache going the glued route?

Oh! and BTW, I plan to bind the body (mahogany, purple) with maple (only 'cause I've got specific instruction regarding maple binding, otherwise I'd be knackered)
And just one more to add to the confusion.., with the body being purple, I'm thinking of opting for twin colour bucks, ie: black and cream. Would it look classy or just a little too much?

Cheers
Steve

P.S. In all honesty I think I should drop the "custom jem" tag, although it'll have the body, it won't have a middle pup, or a claw, or a grip, it's gonna' have a VS100G trem and a PRS headstock, so let's just call it the "Rip Custom"

(Edited by ripl3y at 2:23 pm on April 20, 2001)

[jem7vwh]

here's the biggest reason I won't buy a glued in neck, especially neck through, what happens if the neck warps? *You must build over again. *if my RG's neck warps or snaps I simply buy another neck and bolt it on.

[Coolstu]

My Patrick Eggle Berlin Pro has a glued in neck and it is excellent But if I ever had any major problems with the neck what then, whereas my RG has a bolt on neck which can be changed with great ease.
How much difference to the sound of the guitar is a glued in neck going to make?

[Turrokk]

This is how it goes:
Neck construction order for maximum sustain:
-Neck-through, Set neck (glued), Bolt-on
Neck construction for better attack:
-Bolt-on, Set neck (glued), Neck-through.

So a set neck is a compromise between the three. However it also depends on the pickups and the wood. For example, my friend has a set neck ESP-LTD Explorer and my RG620's sustain is the same, if not better.

If the a set neck warps - you can buy another one and theoretically have it glued (if you find someone who'll do it). But that's gonna cost a lot. If it's a neck-through - you'll have to throw your guitar away.

Hope this helps

[Exotic Shredding]

Hello,
* * *I've been used glued neck custom Explorers from Gibson for over 5 years now. *I currently own two. *I have bolt-on Ibanez guitars and some others. *I like the glued sooo much better. *I'm also a fan of neck through construction. *Neck getting warped and thats it for your axe??? *Come on. *That's silly. *I live outside D.C. and no one has crazier weather. *One day its 70 degrees outside, and the day after we have blizzards. *Day after that its like 80 and raining hell. *I have my guitars with me normally through all kinds of weather. *I adjust truss rods all the time. *I have actually had better results with my glued necks than the bolt-on. *Now if you are speaking actual wood warping and twisting out of shape... then how long are you speaking???? *Damn, that doesn't happen over night. *You are not gonna buy or make a guitar for it to act like a catortionist over night. *I have never even heard stories of that. *Just my two cents. *

[Turrokk]

I am not saying it can happen over night. My other friend's ESP-LTD Explorer's neck warped in 4 years. And no adjusments could fix it. So he practically threw the guitar away and bought a new one. It's not common, but it can happen ya know. I am just answering the question. I'd never buy a used set neck or neck-through. Only new.

[frankfalbo]

The LTD was made in Korea. I would suggest that as a very broad statement, necks coming out of Japan are much more stable. A good rule is that if the guitar is not of high quality, you are taking a chance with the set neck. But when quality is satisfactory, the real differences are in tone and sustain. I've written articles on this subject and let me assure you they are long and very boring. The main scope is that a bolt on has a more open sound while the neck through has a more compressed midrange and greater sustain. Set necks are somewhere in between. *But all guitars can have great sustain and an open midrange so don't everybody start talking about how their guitar contradicts what I just said. *A bolt joint allows the neck and body to vibrate more independently, so you get the combination of the tones. The glue joint marries the pieces so you have some vibrations cancelling others out, and you get a more defined, specific tone. It's harder to make a glue neck guitar be a jack of all trades. *As far as warping, replacing, etc. I have never met a neck I couldn't correct with a variable compression re-fret. Besides crap guitars or flood damage. But I even did a fully emersed Ric bass with their crappy truss rods and it plays straight to this day.