Bolt-on neck is a method of guitar (or similar stringed instrument) construction that involves joining a guitar neck and body using screws or bolts, as opposed to glue and joinery as with set-in neck joints.
Bolt-on neck is a method of guitar (or similar stringed instrument) construction that involves joining a guitar neck and body using screws or bolts, as opposed to glue and joinery as with set-in neck joints.
The "bolt-on" method is used frequently on solid body electric guitars and on acoustic flattop guitars. In the typical electric guitar neck joint, the body and neck cross in horizontal plane. The neck is inserted into a pre-routed opening in the body (which is commonly called a "pocket"), and then joined using three to four screws. Certain designs may use more than four screws.
As the pressure of screw heads damages the wood surfaces, and the undistributed stress could put the instrument body at structural risk, typically a rectangular metal plate (or a pair of smaller plates) is used to secure the joint and re-distribute the screw pressure more evenly. The plate can then be used to emboss a manufacturer's logos, stamp serial numbers, or include decorative artwork.
Some makers of electric guitars with bolt-on necks (Fender in particular) write a production date on the heel of the component neck, where it is hidden when the neck is attached to the body. The neck can then be removed to check the date, which is often cross-referenced with the serial number to accurately date and identify the guitar. [1]
The term "bolt-on" is usually a misnomer, introduced mostly by Fender whose electric guitars and basses have largely had component necks held to the instrument's body with wood screws. Actual bolted joints (i.e., a bolt coupled with a nut) exist — particularly in acoustic guitars — but are less common in electric guitars. [2] One particular example of a bolt-on neck using an actual bolt is Brian May's homemade Red Special, which uses a single bolt held in place by the guitar's truss rod and secured with a nut on the rear of the body. [3]
An acoustic guitar bolt-on neck 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. [4]
Some sources [5] [6] differentiate bolt-on and bolt-in neck construction.
The difference is that a bolt-on neck involves constructing a protruding flange, called a "Heel", that fits inside a routed pocket in the guitar body. Then the neck is secured inside this pocket using screws that run perpendicular (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 to the surface of guitar, entering the back of the heel. [7] This requires the instrument to have a deep, preferably hollow body, which restricts the use of this method to acoustic guitars. However, given that bolt-in necks are relatively uncommon in electric guitars, most luthiers call both neck joints "bolt-on".
Luthiers and guitar players cite both advantages and disadvantages of bolt-on neck construction. Many of these views are highly subjective and relative; instrument manufacture varies widely and, lacking parallel objective factors, any particular claim might not be applicable generally.
Cited advantages of bolt-on neck include:
Disadvantages of bolt-on construction include:
Manufacturers of guitars with bolt-on necks include:
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickups to convert the vibration of its strings into electrical signals, which ultimately are reproduced as sound by loudspeakers. The sound is sometimes shaped or electronically altered to achieve different timbres or tonal qualities from that of an acoustic guitar via amplifier settings or knobs on the guitar. Often, this is done through the use of effects such as reverb, distortion and "overdrive"; the latter is considered to be a key element of electric blues guitar music and jazz, rock and heavy- metal guitar playing. Designs also exist combining attributes of the electric and acoustic guitars: the semi-acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars.
The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously manufactured the Stratocaster since 1954. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top "horn" shape for balance. Along with the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, and Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most-often emulated electric guitar shapes. "Stratocaster" and "Strat" are trademark terms belonging to Fender. Guitars that duplicate the Stratocaster by other manufacturers are sometimes called S-Type or ST-type guitars.
The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is an American manufacturer and marketer of musical instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment; however, it is best known for its solid-body electric guitars and bass guitars, particularly the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Precision Bass, and the Jazz Bass. The company was founded in Fullerton, California, by Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender in 1946. Andy Mooney has served as the chief executive officer (CEO) since June 2015.
Neck-through-body is a method of electric guitar construction that combines the instrument's neck and core of its body into a single unit. This may be made of a solid piece of wood, or two or more laminated together. The strings, nut, fretboard, pickups and bridge are all mounted on it, with additional body side components filling out its full shape glued or mechanically attached are referred to as "wings". The technique is also used on electric bass guitars.
Superstrat is a name for an electric guitar design that resembles a Fender Stratocaster but with differences that clearly distinguish it from a standard Stratocaster, usually to cater to a different playing style. Differences typically include more pointed, aggressive-looking body and neck shapes with increased cutaways to facilitate access to the higher frets, an increased number of frets on the fingerboard, a contoured heel at the neck joint facilitating easier higher fret access, the usage of humbucking pickups, and locking vibrato systems, most commonly the Floyd Rose.
A headstock or peghead is part of a guitar or similar stringed instruments such as a lute, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and others of the lute lineage. The main function of a headstock is to house the tuning pegs or other mechanism that holds the strings at the "head" of the instrument; it corresponds to a pegbox in the violin family. At the "tail" of the instrument the strings are usually held by a tailpiece or bridge. Machine heads on the headstock are commonly used to tune the instrument by adjusting the tension of strings and, consequently, the pitch of sound they produce.
The truss rod is a component of a guitar or other stringed instrument that stabilizes the lengthwise forward curvature of the neck. Usually, it is a steel bar or rod that runs through the inside of the neck, beneath the fingerboard. Some are non-adjustable, but most modern truss rods have a nut at one or both ends that adjusts its tension. The first truss rod patent was applied for by Thaddeus McHugh, an employee of the Gibson company in 1921, though the idea of a "truss rod" appears in patents as early as 1908.
Inlay on guitars or similar fretted instruments are decorative materials set into the wooden surface of the instrument using standard inlay techniques. Although inlay can be done on any part of a guitar, it is most commonly found on the fretboard, headstock—typically the manufacturer's logo—and around the sound hole of acoustic guitars. Only the positional markers on the fretboard or side of the neck and the rosette around the sound hole serve any function other than decoration. Nacre, plastic and wood are the materials most often used as inlay.
A set-in neck is the traditional form of joining the neck of a stringed instrument with its body. This is typically done with a tightly fitted mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joint, secured with hot hide glue. Among its qualities are a warm tone, long sustain, and a large surface area to transmit string vibration, leading to a "live" feeling instrument. In guitars it also often allows superior access to top frets closest to the body.
A solid-body musical instrument is a string instrument such as a guitar, bass or violin built without its normal sound box and relying on an electromagnetic pickup system to directly detect the vibrations of the strings; these instruments are usually plugged into an instrument amplifier and loudspeaker to be heard. Solid-body instruments are preferred in situations where acoustic feedback may otherwise be a problem and are inherently both less expensive to build and more rugged than acoustic electric instruments.
The neck is the part of certain string instruments that projects from the main body and is the base of the fingerboard, where the fingers are placed to stop the strings at different pitches. Guitars, banjos, ukuleles, lutes, the violin family, and the mandolin family are examples of instruments which have necks. Necks are also an integral part of certain woodwind instruments, like for instance the saxophone.
Set-through neck is a method of joining the neck and the body of guitar, effectively combining bolt-on, set-in and neck-through methods. It involves:
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Blade Guitars is a manufacturer of electric guitars and bass guitars founded by luthier Gary Levinson in 1987. Levinson had been repairing guitars since 1964 and, in 1977, during his graduate studies at the University of Basel, Switzerland, he founded Guitars by Levinson. Using the experience he gathered from his work, he decided to start Blade Guitars in 1985. By 1986, he was refining the idea of a line of guitars based on the concept he defines as "Classic Design, Creative Technology"; at this time, he was also determining the features that would characterize his range of guitars. In January 1987, a manufacturing deal was reached for the production of the guitars. Blade Guitars made their debut in October 1987, at the music show of Tokyo. Their presentation at the Frankfurt Musikmesse in 1988 signalled their European launch.