Electric Guitars: considering neck types...

When purchasing a electric guitar I take into account many details even before I plug it in to play. Necks are pretty high on my list. After all...it's going to be in your paws for a considerable chunk o'time. Guitars are very personal like that and to me the necks are the most personal part of the guitar.

The three types of necks are: Neck Thru, Set Neck and Bolt-On. 

Neck Thru guitar is where the neck runs through the entire body. To build a guitar in this style one would make the neck with a very long tendon (long enough to run through the entire body) You then would attach wing pieces to either side of the neck to make the body. To the right is a picture a flying V styled guitar that I built using a neck-thru neck.

One of the advantages of a neck-thru neck is that there isn't any heel. It's very comfortable to play in the higher fret area on such a neck. Also many claim that a neck thru has superior sustain to other neck types. I have noticed great sustain with this neck type...but in all fairness there are many factors that affect sustain.

One of the disadvantages of a neck-thru or a set neck is that if you manage to break the neck...the guitar is basically worthless. This has never happened to me. I've never broken any neck of any type for that matter...but it is possible.

Jackson (USA Soloists) are a major brand/guitar that uses neck thru construction.

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Set Neck is similar to a neck thru in that the guitar is permanently affixed to the body. There is a tendon that extends from the neck partially into the body. The neck is glued into place. This shares many of the benefits of a neck thru neck AND allows the builder to have one piece top/body woods. Therefore this is a very popular option with many higher end production guitar manufacturers.

Gibson and Paul Reed Smith both have many models using set necks.

To the right is a rear view of a brown guitar with a set neck.

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Bolt-On Necks are the most popular style of neck for one major reason: cost. They are the most cost effective neck to manufacture and are not permanently affixed to the instrument. Break a neck? Unbolt the broken neck and bolt a new neck on.

Fender is the king of the bolt-on neck. Many others have copied their lead as it is a very practical solution.

As far as tonality goes...the larger the piece of wood the more that type of wood will effect the tone. So a neck thru's wood selection affects the tone more than does the wood on a bolt on.

Hopefully this post and my previous post on the tonality of different woods will help you make a well informed selection when you go out to purchase your next pride n joy.