the point of neckthroughs?

[UCSDBoy]

Sorry for the flamebait title... =)

I always liked the idea of neckthroughs, since I've never heard of a neck going bad on a good guitar anyway and the bolt on neck is klunky at times. I think though, that a neck thru made of maple with ash, alder, or mahogany wings would be just way too bright though - I mean, the pickups are mounted into a piece of maple - how much brighter can it be? Do the wings make that much of a difference? (not exactly a rhetorical question...)

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

I've always found neck-thrus a bit bright for exactly the reasons you suggest. Too much maple running through a critical part of the guitar. The exception would be the Gibson firebird, due to it being mahogany neck-thru.

It's interesting to note that premium Strat-style makers Tom Anderson, Grosh, Melancon and Suhr don't do neck-thru at all, preferring glued-neck construction or bolt necks with reduced heels. I have a feeling they've come to the same conclusion.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

Do the wings make that much of a difference? (not exactly a rhetorical question...)

It would seem that you could have wings of plywood and it wouldn't make any difference tonally, because in addition to the pickups being mounted in the "neck", the bridge & tailpiece are, as well.

 

[nudnic]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

I think the Firebird has a set neck. I also think the fret board has an effect on tone. I have a neck through Carvin and it sounds really good unplugged compared to my strat and tele unplugged. The Carvin also has the strings mounted through the body and the strat has a trem. Even a friend, who is very picky and will play nothing but Strats, remarked how good the Carvin sounds unplugged.

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

If that were really true, I bet the cheapass neckthru LTD's wouldn't be that bad!

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

I think the Firebird has a set neck. I also think the fret board has an effect on tone. I have a neck through Carvin and it sounds really good unplugged compared to my strat and tele unplugged. The Carvin also has the strings mounted through the body and the strat has a trem. Even a friend, who is very picky and will play nothing but Strats, remarked how good the Carvin sounds unplugged.

The original firebirds and more expensive ris are definitely neck-thru. Epis and Cheaper models made recently have been glued.

I've only played a couple of Carvins, and that was way back around 1990, but they definitely had that 'too much maple' thing going on. Ebony boards, which didn't exactly help. Of course, this is all subjective. One person's 'over-bright' is another's 'clear with nice presence'...


I see that Carvin is pushing the hell out of it's new Californian Carved top, which has a set mahogany neck, which is a radical departure for them. I'm guessing they felt they needed to get nearer the PRS/Gibson tone recipe in order to sell more guitars.

 

[kherman]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

Actually the Carvin CT models where a result of two years of the Carvin forum petitioning for a carved top model. As well as a set neck option. The CT is a result of both.

Carvin also offers mahogony, 5 piece laminated (your choice, maple with two mahogany stripes, or mahogany with two maple stripes, maple with Koa stripes , Koa with maple stripes, maple with walnut stripes, walnut with maple stripes).
They also offered a Alder neck for a while. This may still be a available as a hidden option. Meaning you must call and ask for it. Alder neck with Alder wings gave the guitar a very light weight similar to the weight of a Parker Fly Deluxe.
Rosewood fretbaords are also a new option offered now. Another result of forum petitions. As was the new C22B pickup.
Just recently they did a limited run option on the Carvin pointy headstock do to requests by forum members.

I much prefer neck thru. Access to the upper frets is effortless. No bulky heel. Just feels more solid. Sustains great.
All my Carvins have the maple neck. My two '89 Carvins are all maple neck and wings. Those are my main guitars.

Something new around the last couple years with custom builders is SET-THRU.
Combination of set neck and neck thru. It's where the the body is still one piece. But, the neck tenon extends 1/2 to 3/4 thru the body.
Gives you the resonance of a set neck with the sustain of a neck thru.
(ESPs LTD Set thru is not the same thing. Theirs just refers to thier set neck having a contoured heel, or no heel, like a neck thru)

Kent

 

[Hoss]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

my Brian Moore is neckthru mahogany/mahogany with rosewood board...so brightness doesn't seem to be an issue...i think that would really depend on the wood...and as to what has been said...i think maple would be really bright!?

 

[lex666]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

Of course, this is all subjective. One person's 'over-bright' is another's 'clear with nice presence'...

I have an ESP KH602 that is neck-thru maple with maple wings with a rosewood fretboard. I never thought it sounded "over bright". I think it has very good balance for leads and solo's. It can sound very heavy if I use the neck pup or roll back the tone. I think this adds to the versatility of the guitar.

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

Sometimes the trem posts go outside the neck block.

Not all necks are made from maple.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

I still hope to have a neckthrough or set-through one day....until then my set neck will do. I think the reason we mainly see maple neck through is b/c maple is cheaper than Mahogany, harder than alder, and generally preferred on necks. I've never seen a neckthrough with maple wings though.

My buddy's Jackson soloist sounds great, but too bright for my amp (Floyd in alder). So one day if I go with jackson mine will be mahogany (it's a slight up-charge) and that should solve that problem.

As far as manufacturers rarely using the method, I think it is b/c it is more expensive, which makes it prohibitive. The other reason is companies like Anderson and compamny just want a strat/y sound, but with higher quality. Having a neck through changes the tonality and thus the personality.

Luke

 

[Hellion]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

I have a Washburn Falcon from about 1979 or 1980 from their "Wing" series which has a neck through construction. It's an extremely solid instrument and weighs about as much as my LP Custom from about the same era. They had a bit different method of manufacturing instruments though. The entire guitar is a series of laminations, alternating maple with walnut. It's not overly bright and sustains like a railroad tie, which, in fact, is kinda what it is! The body doesn't resonate at all, so the only thing that you really hear is the string. Some would consider that bad, others, good. I don't know myself, but it does seem to work for the instrument.

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

I still hope to have a neckthrough or set-through one day....until then my set neck will do. I think the reason we mainly see maple neck through is b/c maple is cheaper than Mahogany, harder than alder, and generally preferred on necks. I've never seen a neckthrough with maple wings though.
Luke

I think that an old LTD M-1000 had maple wings. I never saw it in person or heard any clips, just saw it on their site.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

I have an all maple Carvin and a Carvin with alder wings. The one with alder wings sounds more "Fendery" to my ears. Both sound good, but the all maple version is brighter and tighter, which is good when playing with a lot of gain.

 

[JacksonMIA]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

Hellion,

I think you answered it perfectly. Sustain is one of the main reasons for a neck-through. Someone that has never played one, though, would not necessarily pick up on that.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

why would someone need THAT much sustain though? Just finding a really good base tone for a guitar that isn't harsh, plus a high gain amp is good enough for anyone's mega metal needs.

What good is that much sustain? So you can vibrato a note to death at the end of a song? LOL. J/k

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

why would someone need THAT much sustain though? Just finding a really good base tone for a guitar that isn't harsh, plus a high gain amp is good enough for anyone's mega metal needs.

What good is that much sustain? So you can vibrato a note to death at the end of a song? LOL. J/k

yeah, I find the sustain argument a bit weird, too. what's the point of having a note sustain if you have to use such dense woods that the note itself just sounds nasty?

It's interesting that the main makers of neck-thrus seem to be metal-oriented brands like Jackson, ESP and BC Rich. I think metal's where you'd find the most use for a tight, aggressive sounding instrument like a maple neck-thru.

 

[Fresno Bob]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

I don't think Ive seen many neck-thru guitars with just one piece of maple throught them. Usually I see a thin slice of another wood (walnut, rosewood, mohagony) sandwiched between the maple running through the neck, into the body.

 

[kherman]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

Carvins maple neck is a solid 1 piece neck. all Koa and all mahogany necks are 2 pieces.

Here are my two '89 Carvins. All maple.

DC127

DC200

Kent

 

[Gary Ladd]

Re: the point of neckthroughs?

I had a Schecter C-1 Artist I bought on a whim (neck-thru) and I just couldn't get into its tone, and after trying MANY other neck-thru designs I decided it doesn't work for me, and here's why:

Having a joint between the main mass of the bodie and the end of the neck has totally different tonal properties than attaching wings to an extended neck...

Moreover, having a fairly large, one-piece (or tightly constructed) near equal proportioned sounding surface (uniform thickness radially located equa-distant from bridge-posts) from which to transmit tone into the body creates another unique tonal pattern not exhibited by neck-thru.

That's why neck-thrus will NEVER exactly replicate that classic Gibson or Fender tonality and that's that.

They have their own unique tonality, which is OFTEN tinny and bright due to a note sustain decay much different than bolt-ons or set necks...

Les Paul's original electric guitar design was neck thru and he abandoned that, for the same reasons I stated.

My 2 bits on the subject...