Glue it or screw it? On the fence for my next build

[Dave Locher]

I am about to launch my second build from scratch. I have collected some really beautiful wood and good hardware. The only hitch is I can't make up my mind on a set neck or bolt-on. If I do bolt on it would be like an old Aria T-bird, with two screws near the end of the fingerboard and two under the neck pickup so upper fret access would be the same either way and I rarely venture past 15 or 18 anyway.
It's going to be a walnut neck and chambered walnut body with a thick maple top.
The only reason I want to glue it is that I've always played Gibson-style guitars and set necks just seem more "deluxe" to me. The only reason I want to screw it in instead is so it's not such a big deal if the necks gets warped or damaged.

Any helpful words to push me one direction or the other?

 

[HiFiRebel]

Re: Glue it or screw it? On the fence for my next build

I like bolt personally. But I like a more bare guitar. Deluxe things like set necks don't do anything special for me.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Glue it or screw it? On the fence for my next build

Right now I own two bolt neck guitars, three if you count a First Act Tele I bought on a whim on clearance at Walmart years ago. And I like the security of knowing that if I destroy the neck on one I can just make or buy a replacement.
But I also know that a lot of players (including myself) are a bit biased toward set necks as "better" or at least more crafty than a few screws and I'm just trying to decide which is more important to me. It will also influence the body shape; if I decide to screw it on then I'll make the body more telecasterish because they are "supposed to" have bolt-on necks, whereas if I make it more Gibsonesque then it "should" have a set neck.

I know no one's opinion but my own should matter, and maybe it doesn't. It's more like I'm thinking it through and letting others' input filter through my thinking.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Glue it or screw it? On the fence for my next build

I recently converted a bolt on to a set in neck, I know you're doing a fresh build but imo a glued in or neck through neck just feels better.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Glue it or screw it? On the fence for my next build

Neck-through; they can all be made well but in practice most set-neck heels don't offer a greater amount of access than a good bolt, so in my ideal world they'd all be neck through... Though it's also nice to have a bolt-on with a microtilt, in case you need to mess with things.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Glue it or screw it? On the fence for my next build

I like them both, but there's some part of me that screams 'bolt-on' just in case something happens to the neck that requires a replacement.

 

[BadBen]

Re: Glue it or screw it? On the fence for my next build

I don't think either one "plays better". My number one is a set neck Explorer. My number two is a Tele build with a Warmoth neck and a Samick body that is way better than it has any right to be. The reason the Explorer is number one is because I feel like more of a rock star when I hold it.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Glue it or screw it? On the fence for my next build

I was originally going to do a neck-through but abandoned that plan. I'm simplifying the whole project. And I owned a neck-through once and didn't even realize it. It was no easier to play than a set-neck.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Glue it or screw it? On the fence for my next build

I don't know if one is easier to play than another (I don't think so), although a set neck can probably be sculpted smaller. There are great examples of each out there, so I'd say to just make something different than what you already have (for variety and experience).

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Glue it or screw it? On the fence for my next build

Ah, variety is a very good point! I haven't owned a set-neck guitar for years and years. Dangit, I was just leaning toward bolt-on...now I'm wobbling again.
I really don't know why, but I keep coming back to gluin' that sucker on. Probably because my first several guitars were all crappy, cheap, and had screw-on necks but my first "real" guitars were a through-neck and a set neck. I think in my head I equate a nice smooth neck joint with "quality."