Neck-through construction on Ibanez Studio guitar

Neck-through or neck-thru (or in full form neck through body) is a method of electric guitar or bass guitar construction that involves extending the piece (or pieces, in a laminate construction) of wood used for the neck through the entire length of the body, essentially making it the core of the body. An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the The strings, fretboard, pickups and bridge are all mounted on this piece. So-called "ears" or "wings" (i. e. side parts of the body) are glued or laminated to the central "stick". The "wings" may be bookmatched in order to give a symmetrical appearance, and are often cut from one piece of wood. Bookmatching is the practice of matching the grain of wood so that the lines of the grain meet one another on ornate objects such as a Violin, Guitar or

History

"The Log", a prototype solid-body guitar built by Les Paul in 1930s, can be considered as a forerunner of neck-through, as he built it by using a 2x4 piece of pine as the neck and body core, and mounted the disassembled part of an archtop onto it. A solid body electric instrument is a String instrument such as a guitar, bass or Violin built without its normal Sound box and relying Les Paul (born Lester William Polsfuss on June 9 1915) is an American Jazz guitarist and Inventor.

Advantages and disadvantages

Neck-through construction is significantly harder to mass-produce than bolt-on or set-in neck constructions and is primarily found on high-end guitars. Bolt-on neck is a method of Guitar (or similar stringed instrument construction that involves joining a guitar neck and body using Screws as opposed to glue as Set-in neck is a method of Guitar (or similar stringed instrument construction that involves joining guitar neck and body pressing them tightly together using some sort of It is somewhat more common in basses than in guitars. Neck-thru construction allows easier access to upper frets, because there is no need for a heel — the thickened area where a neck would "bolt-on" (although technically, 3-4 large screws are used) to the body. Many musicians assert that neck-through construction provides greater sustain and stay in tune longer. There is little formal research on this topic, but what exists does not support this assertion. ^[1]

Repairs to the neck are usually expensive and tedious. In many cases, it is usually easier to remove the old neck completely, either by taking the wings off and putting an entirely new core in, or by converting the guitar to a bolt-on or set neck by creating a heel and affixing the new neck to the core already in place, rather than to try and repair the neck itself. However, thanks to excellent stability and reaction to string tension and pressure, neck through guitars are often much more sturdy than many other guitars on the market.

Usage

This structure is used by many companies, including BC Rich, who pioneered the solid-body neck-through design in 1969, Ibanez (primarily on basses), Jackson, Alembic, Schecter, Carvin, ESP Guitars, Hamer, and Rickenbacker, which was the first guitar manufactured to use this technique, although this was restricted exclusively to semi-hollowbody guitars. BC Rich is a manufacturer of Guitars and Bass guitars started by the late Bernardo Chavez Rico in the early 1970s Ibanez (ˈaɪbænɛz or /aɪˈbænɛz/ is a Guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki and based in Nagoya Aichi, Japan. Jackson is a Guitar manufacturer originally owned and operated by Grover Jackson a partner of Wayne Charvel of Charvel Guitar Repair. Alembic was founded in 1969 and is a manufacturer of high-end electric basses guitars and preamps Schecter Guitar Research, or commonly known as just Schecter, is an American Guitar manufacturer The Carvin Corporation is an American Guitar, Musical instrument and equipment manufacturer located in San Diego, California. located in North Hollywood California, is a manufacturer of Electric guitars and basses, originally from Japan. For the American WWI fighter pilot see Eddie Rickenbacker. For the airport see Rickenbacker International Airport. The Gibson Firebird and Thunderbird also used this technique until they were discontinued. The Gibson Firebird is a solid-body electric Guitar manufactured by Gibson from 1963 to the present The Gibson Thunderbird is an electric Bass guitar made by Gibson. This method of neck-to-body affixation is also popular with independent guitar builders.

References

1. ^ Mottola, R. M. (Fall 2007). "Sustain and Electric Guitar Neck Joint Type". American Lutherie (91): 52.