What happens if I remove the neck?

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Dmitry7

New member
Hello there. I have an Ibanez RGA32, 2012 model. It has a mahogany body (probably cheap asian mahogany called Nato, I believe), a 3-piece maple bolt-on neck and DiMarzio pickups (original active pickups were replaced with passive). The finish is called "mahogany oil". Just a cheap and nice guitar. I actually like how it sounds and resonates even unplugged and I want to keep it. I was wondering about replacing the bridge and repainting it in the future. The finish is nice (or the idea of the finish), but the painting works are not that good. The oil is not spread evenly in some places (sorry for my English :D) and on the back you can see that the body consists of 5 pieces.

I suppose if I bring it for a repaint to a guitar shop they will have to remove the neck. But I was wondering, will it affect the tone of the guitar? I know there are a lot of factors that affect the sound (pickups, amps, wood type, my guitar skills), but I think the neck construction is also a very important thing. Does the "connection" between the neck and the body on bolt-on guitars becomes better in time? It seems logical for me that in time the neck and the body might become more and more "lapped" (I used a translator for that word, hope you'll get the idea) which leads to better sustain and resonance. Is it a big deal to remove the neck and put it back or am I just imagining things?

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Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

Neck removal does not normally change the sound of the guitar, provided it's put back on correctly.

Refinishing is far more likely to change the sound of the guitar.
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

I have to take the neck off my Schecter to adjust the truss rod, like ICTG said, it won't affect anything if a little common sense is used. And yes, the refinish will probably affect the tone some, but like you said, it's an inexpensive guitar so a good one to experiment on, a decent pain job will probably cost more than the guitar is worth unless you are doing it yourself, and then it is a lot of work.
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

No, unless it's put back on wrong (missing shims, unevenly tightened screws)

A proper setup on a bolt-on often includes neck removal

Also thats not uneven oil finish, thats just how the wood looks. Not sure if it has clearcoat on it, if it does that needs to come off first, but if it doesn't (rare in guitar but common in bass), then you can just rub in some more oil (boiled linseed or tung)
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

The quality of the joint between neck heel and body is very important, and even more on those AANJ Ibanez'es. So it has to set-in, and I too believe that it will only imporve with time. With my uv70p I got like 2 secs of sustain 1st string, 24th fret, now I can get a consistent 4 secs, which is great. This was partially thanks to a major overhaul on this part of the neck (heel), wood screw threads through body and neck, and secondly I believe just by maturing, seting in as time passes by :)
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

I think that guitar is gorgeous
I would just buff it with some scotchbrite or something
And add another coat of oil
That's what I did with my SR500
Loved the satin oil look but it was awful thin

Tung oil two coats
Buff in between
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

In the normal course of life the neck and body do not improve in connection. Your theory would require continual movement, or at the least a huge crush force enough to compact wood.
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

AlexR said:
In the normal course of life the neck and body do not improve in connection. Your theory would require continual movement, or at the least a huge crush force enough to compact wood.
Click to expand...

Drying glue
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

Don't know of too much drying glue in the neck interface of a bolt-on.
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

Dmitry7 said:
I suppose if I bring it for a repaint to a guitar shop they will have to remove the neck.
Click to expand...

They could maybe protect the neck with adhesive tape (like when they dress the frets) ?
Then no need to remove the neck.

(Personally I think it looks OK with its current finish.)
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

Thank you guys for your replies! Buffing and applying some oil seems like a cool idea. I could do this myself without removing the neck, even if my point doesn't make sense still I won't have to worry about putting the neck back correctly.
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

Dmitry7 said:
Thank you guys for your replies! Buffing and applying some oil seems like a cool idea. I could do this myself without removing the neck, even if my point doesn't make sense still I won't have to worry about putting the neck back correctly.
Click to expand...

I didn't take mine off
Just pulled the knobs painter's tape on all the hardware
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

Obsessive Compulsive said:
(redacted)
Click to expand...

1st off, learn how to write in public. How old are you? 15? Second, experiments never prove, only confirm or disprove. I wrote about the result (2 sec increase), and the parameters that changed between before and after. Also I didn't know that noobs are gonna get hurt for fixing a lousy neck joint. Also I haven't done any study. If I had the time I'd spent it on something much more "scientific" than measuring guitar sustain.
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

I think some guitars improve with age. Typically, I think it's a result of the thing being played. Whatever the reason, I really don't care why.

As far as the neck thing, I do think my bolt-on guitars sound better after loosening the screws slightly and retightening them under tension. The idea is that it more securely seats the neck in the pocket. Again, I've never been the slightest bit scientific about it, but I tend to be pretty skeptical, and they all seemed to improve afterward.
 
Re: What happens if I remove the neck?

Great looking Ibanez guitar you have. I shimmed the sidewall of my neck pocket on my Fender MIA Strat guitar for a real nice and tight fit. I could pick up my guitar by the neck and it would hold onto the body without any neck screws. I believe a tight connection between the neck and body is crucial for a better sound transfer. Here's an interesting video that shows a unique way to reinforce your neck to the body. I wouldn't really try it on my guitar but maybe a cheap pawn shop find.




;>)/
 
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