Let's say I had a les paul, and I took the pickups and put them in to the exact same guitar, but with a bolt one, would there be any differences?? Sorry, I just really like the feel of a Fender-style bolt on, but I want that HB crunch.. 8)
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I doubt that that adds any noticable sonic quality to the instrument.
Now, if you hooked it up to a spectrum analyzer, I'd believe you could see clues in the sound wave. I just can't imagine being able to hear it.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
I doubt that that adds any noticable sonic quality to the instrument.
Now, if you hooked it up to a spectrum analyzer, I'd believe you could see clues in the sound wave. I just can't imagine being able to hear it.
Thanks man! :)
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zero, none, zip, zilch, nada, nil, naught and goose egg.
If there are any, you'll not notice once you use anything but crystal clear amplification.
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Let's say I had a les paul, and I took the pickups and put them in to the exact same guitar, but with a bolt one, would there be any differences?? Sorry, I just really like the feel of a Fender-style bolt on, but I want that HB crunch.. 8)
They do make Strats with HH set ups
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Let's say I had a les paul, and I took the pickups and put them in to the exact same guitar, but with a bolt one, would there be any differences?? Sorry, I just really like the feel of a Fender-style bolt on, but I want that HB crunch.. 8)
They do make Strats with HH set ups
I know, but I always hear people talking about "that LP Crunch" or whatever, but i don't feally like set necks except on SG's and acoustics....
Thanks again! :)
Stairway to Freebird!
yoyo286,
What feels different with a "bolt on" neck vs. a "set" neck? Just curious...thanks in advance!
Mike
some people dislike the difference in the "heel" (sure it sounds good enough) on set necks and bolt ons. i personally don't really notice either way. i have an SG and a tele and the differences have never bothered me. i have played a few les pauls, and the "heel" area does feel a bit different when you get up the neck, but not enough to be bothersome
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-Led Zeppelin-
Set necks help increase sustain since the vibrations can more easily be transferred through the instrument.
True, but unless you have a a $500 bridge, more vibration is going to be lost through the bridge than the neck, you'll NOT be able to see the difference.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
Set necks help increase sustain since the vibrations can more easily be transferred through the instrument.
Is it me, how many comments can we come up with to prove that wrong............
First, on topic: The spacing and locations of the pups along the strings are also important, as this plays a role in determining the harmonic characterics of the notes as delivered directly from the guitar. As Joe may point out, this can be very effectively reshaped using equalizers (a Variax does EQ among other things to get LP crunch tone from piezo pups!).
Set necks help increase sustain since the vibrations can more easily be transferred through the instrument.
True, but unless you have a a $500 bridge, more vibration is going to be lost through the bridge than the neck, you'll NOT be able to see the difference.
(rant on)
I wouldn't even say it's true. First of all, in a ideal vibrational system, rigidity and mass of the frame (guitar) that supports the string are important for sustain, not transference of vibration through the frame (instrument). However, because a guitar cannot be even close to perfectly rigid or infinitely massive, certain complexities of contruction can make it act that way over at least some frequency ranges or harmonically-related note familities. The dynamic mechanics are a little more complex than the usual neck-through, set neck, bolt-on sustain hierarchy that is commonly espoused by saleman to noob guitarist. There are guitars where gluing a bolt-on would actually decrease its sustain for some notes. Why? Because the sustain is affected by many aspects of the construction -- headstock design, neck/body/fingerboard/hardware materials, neck-body joint, bridge type and coupling, neck reinforcement (truss rod), tuning machines, scale length, string break angles plus much more. Lots of variables, and like so many systems, they do not optimize simply or in the same directions for various combinations. And they do not optimize for all notes at the same time. The guitar ends up "simulating" the high rigidity (that it doesn't have) and infinite mass (ditto), by employing selective energy storage and dissipation in various components of its structure. Where and how is different in every design and also varies from axe to axe. And sometimes, a "poor" joint in the right place actually helps the overall system.
Yeah, a LP tends to have more sustain than a Tele, but the differences are many beyond the neck attachment. Even a bolt-on Epi LP and a "real" Gibby LP have many other differences that would contribute to sustain differences. And get this: Not all LPs have killer sustain. There's a lot more going on than anyone can explain in correct detail. This is why so many guitars follow approximate tried-and true formula types, and are so similar to many of the Gibson and Fender solidbody designs -- through trial and error these designs have been generally shown to work.
Get out there and play the guitars to find what works for you. Anyone who buys a LP (or any other model) because some "expert" told them that's the axe to have is cheating themselves out of finding the guitar that feels and sounds right for them. And the sustain may not be as good at that Ibanez hanging right next to it (if sustain is all you care about :? )
(rant off)
-=tension & release=-
Set necks help increase sustain since the vibrations can more easily be transferred through the instrument.
True, but unless you have a a $500 bridge, more vibration is going to be lost through the bridge than the neck, you'll NOT be able to see the difference.
(rant on)
I wouldn't even say it's true.
You're absolutely right that it's far more complex. I was thinking from a "theory versus reality" perspective. In theory it's true. In messy real life any sustain lost due to the neck construction is going to be so miniscule compared to far more practical construction considerations (such as the bridge) that it's meaningless to talk about it as a contributor to sustain.
You, however, explained it much better than I did.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
Set necks have a deadening layer of glue in them. Bolt on cinches wood directly to wood.
Am I serious? No. Do I have proof? No.
Can you hear the difference? No.
Anyway, the vibration is in the string, not the neck. A solidly attached neck using either method will sound about the same.
Here is Frank Ford on the subject:
" it's now considered by many, if not most guitar makers to be a standard neck attachment method because it's easier to do, works as well, sounds as good, and facilitates repair."
Italics are mine.
99% of sound quality is in your fingers. Forget about everything else.
And I wasn't piling on. It seems everyone was posting at the same time. :D
