Bolt-on neck is a method of
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
(or similar stringed instrument) construction that involves joining a guitar neck and body using
screwA screw, or bolt, is a type of fastener characterized by a helical ridge, known as an external thread or just thread, wrapped around a cylinder. Some screw threads are designed to mate with a complementary thread, known as an internal thread, often in the form of a nut or a object that has the...
s as opposed to glue as with
set-in neckSet-in neck is a method of guitar construction that involves joining guitar neck and body with a tightly fitted mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joint, secured using some sort of adhesive...
joints. The term is a misnomer, introduced mostly by Fender whose guitars traditionally had "bolt-on necks". Real
bolted jointalign=right | | | |}Bolted joints are one of the most common elements in construction and machine design. They consist of cap screws or studs that capture and join other parts, and are secured with the mating of screw threads....
s (i.e. using bolt coupled with a
nutA nut is a type of hardware fastener with a threaded hole. Nuts are almost always used opposite a mating bolt to fasten a stack of parts together. The two partners are kept together by a combination of their threads' friction, a slight stretch of the bolt, and compression of the parts...
) are uncommon in guitar production. However, at least one aftermarket manufacturer offers a replacement for Fender neckplates and screws which uses captive nuts — embedded in the guitar body by means of an external self-tapping thread — and M4 bolts.
Bolt-on neck is a method of
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
(or similar stringed instrument) construction that involves joining a guitar neck and body using
screwA screw, or bolt, is a type of fastener characterized by a helical ridge, known as an external thread or just thread, wrapped around a cylinder. Some screw threads are designed to mate with a complementary thread, known as an internal thread, often in the form of a nut or a object that has the...
s as opposed to glue as with
set-in neckSet-in neck is a method of guitar construction that involves joining guitar neck and body with a tightly fitted mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joint, secured using some sort of adhesive...
joints. The term is a misnomer, introduced mostly by Fender whose guitars traditionally had "bolt-on necks". Real
bolted jointalign=right | | | |}Bolted joints are one of the most common elements in construction and machine design. They consist of cap screws or studs that capture and join other parts, and are secured with the mating of screw threads....
s (i.e. using bolt coupled with a
nutA nut is a type of hardware fastener with a threaded hole. Nuts are almost always used opposite a mating bolt to fasten a stack of parts together. The two partners are kept together by a combination of their threads' friction, a slight stretch of the bolt, and compression of the parts...
) are uncommon in guitar production. However, at least one aftermarket manufacturer offers a replacement for Fender neckplates and screws which uses captive nuts — embedded in the guitar body by means of an external self-tapping thread — and M4 bolts. This is claimed to permit a higher fastening torque than ordinary woodscrews, and hence a better coupling between neck and body.
This method is used frequently on solid body
electric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker. The signal that comes from the guitar is sometimes electronically altered with guitar effects such as...
s and on acoustic flattop guitars. In the typical electric guitar bolt-on neck joint, the body and neck cross in horizontal plane, the neck is inserted in a pre-routed "pocket" in the body, and they are joined using 4 (rarely 6) screws. As screw heads damage the wood and could put extra stress on it, typically a rectangular metal plate or a pair of metal plates are used to secure the joint and re-distribute the screw pressure evenly. Such a plate is usually criticized for making playing on top frets uncomfortable, so, manufacturers sometimes employ some kind of more intricate method to hide a metal plate, smooth the angles and make access to top frets easier. However, a visible metal plate is usually considered as a part of "vintage" style and they are a popular place to emboss manufacturer's logos, stamp out serial numbers and put other artwork.
The typical acoustic guitar bolt-on neck as popularized by Taylor guitars includes threaded inserts in the heel of the neck. Bolts inserted through the neck block of the body from inside the instrument attach the neck to the body.
Luthiers and guitar players cite both advantages and disadvantages of bolt-on neck construction. Note that most of these views are highly subjective and relative. It is not easy to measure most of the claims objectively or even compare objective factors, as guitars differ considerably.
Bolt-in neck
Some sources differentiate
bolt-on and
bolt-in neck construction.
The difference is that a
bolt-on neck involves constructing a protruding flange that fits inside a routed pocket in the guitar body. Then the neck is secured inside this pocket using screws that run
perpendicularIn geometry, two lines or planes , are considered perpendicular to each other if they form congruent adjacent angles . The term may be used as a noun or adjective. Thus, referring to Figure 1, the line AB is the perpendicular to CD through the point B...
(at right angles) to the surface of the guitar. In contrast, a
bolt-in neck doesn't need to have such a flange inside the guitar body, and screws or bolts run
parallel-Mathematics and science:* Parallel , an imaginary east-west line circling a globe* Parallel circuits, as opposed to series* Parallel * Parallel evolution* Parallel transport-Music and entertainment:...
to the surface of guitar, entering the back of the heel.
Usually (but not always), in bolt-in variant, a neck pickup is mounted directly on the extended neck wood underneath it, not on the guitar body. This has been referred to as "direct coupling", because the pickup is mounted on the neck and not the body, in other words, directly coupled to the neck, and is considered superior by some in terms of tone.
Bolt-in neck is used in acoustic guitars on regular basis, but on electric guitars it is somewhat rare, harder to produce, but it is considered superior by some in terms of sound and playability. However, given a relative uncommonness of bolt-in necks in electric guitars, most luthiers call both neck joints "bolt-on".
Advantages
Typically cited advantages of bolt-on neck include:
- Easier and cheaper to mass produce
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
and repair if damaged. Necks that allow Fender "standard" 4-screw joint are frequently interchangeable provided they are intended for the same style of guitar (e.g. Stratocaster or Telecaster): for example, one can order custom neck (with personal profile or radius) and change one by just removing one neck and attaching the other. A Stratocaster neck can also be fitted to a Telecaster body, although the reverse is untrue unless some minor modifications are made. Less traditional versions exist, such as 3-screw plate (with easier micro-tilt adjustment) or even 6-screw plate bolt-on joint, but they may differ widely in the shapes, sizes and position of screws. Which one is better is debatable, but budget guitar manufacturers often choose 3-screw joints for its minimal cost, notwithstanding the quality.
- Easy to control: sometimes bolt-on neck includes some sort of adjustment screw that can control neck-to-body angle, such as the Fender
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster. The company, previously named the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, was founded...
Deluxe American Stratocaster's "Micro-Tilt" adjustment.
- More resonance due to wood-to-wood contact in high quality bolt-ons, no glue allows better coupling. However, since most necks already have a large glue joint between the fingerboard and the neck, any tonal effect from a neck/body glue joint is subject to debate.
- More attack and "snap", slightly brighter tone, but this advantage is frequently debated.
Disadvantages
Typically cited disadvantages of bolt-on neck include:
- For solid body electric guitars, harder access to top frets, especially if screw plate is used and visible. Slick heel with hidden plate (such as depicted one) makes playing the top frets more comfortable and special neck joint techniques, such as the Ibanez
Ibanez is a guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki and based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in the United States and Europe.-History:...
AANJ, Music ManMusic Man is an American guitar, and bass guitar manufacturer. It is a division of the Ernie Ball corporation.-Early years:The Music Man story began in 1971 when Forrest White and Tom Walker talked with Leo Fender about starting a company they would call Tri-Sonic, Inc...
Silhouette and Stephen's Extended Cutaway mitigate this problem.
- Less sustain, due to the bridge and nut being on two different pieces of wood, but this disadvantage is subjective, frequently debated, and not supported by formal research.
- Sloppy construction or assembly of a bolt-on guitar exacerbates any of its inherent disadvantages.
Manufacturers
Notable manufacturers of guitars with bolt-on necks include:
- Fender, a company known for its dedication to bolt-on neck construction.
- Music Man
Music Man is an American guitar, and bass guitar manufacturer. It is a division of the Ernie Ball corporation.-Early years:The Music Man story began in 1971 when Forrest White and Tom Walker talked with Leo Fender about starting a company they would call Tri-Sonic, Inc...
.
- Ibanez
Ibanez is a guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki and based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in the United States and Europe.-History:...
- Taylor Guitars
Taylor Guitars is an El Cajon, California‐based luthier, specializing in hollow-body acoustic guitars, as well as semi-hollow and solidbody electric guitars...
is known as a manufacturer of acoustic guitars, though they use special patented bolt-in construction process with 3 bolts. Two steel bolts pass horizontally through the body and into the neck, and a third bolt passes vertically into the fingerboard extension.
- Seagull, an acoustic guitar brand manufactured by Canadian company Godin Guitars.