Neck bending

[dbw]

This isn't exactly a question about Warmoth guitars, but I figured it's a good question to ask guys who know a lot about guitar construction.

I'm not a tremolo player, but from time to time, I want to flat a chord a little bit, so I just "bend" the neck by pushing forward with my fret hand and holding the body with my right hand.  I learned this technique from my first guitar teacher, who did it to his $7000 acoustic, but some people who've seen me do that have been horrified and said I was going to mess up the neck.

What do you think?  Can bending a neck damage it, or even knock the intonation off?  Does it matter whether it's a normal Fender neck or a Warmoth "pro" neck?  Does it matter what the neck is made of?

 

[RLW]

I am not a fan of this technique.

Back when this was popular, the few people I would hand my guitars to were told to get their "whang" elsewhere.

Bend MY neck, you're likely to slapped around a bit.

And this is why I do not EVER hand my guitars to a stranger.

Sorry, it's just a STOOPID thing to do to a guitar.

Rich

 

[willyk]

You wouldn't do it to your arm or your leg, so why do it to your neck?  :icon_scratch: Even if you can afford a $7000 acoustic it's not a good thing to do let alone teach. 

 

[guitlouie]

Pete Townsend would do this sometimes, but then look what else he did to his guitars!

 

[dbw]

What are you talking about, Willy, I bend my arm all the time!  ;-)

But seriously, the consensus is don't do it?  Fair enough... I'll still abuse my Peavey but I'll spare my Warmoth.