Neck thru with glued on side wings VS Set neck with full body

hopkinWFG

Junior Member
Messages
47
Dear Warmoth users !! i have a question which would be posting out of warmoth context which i hope you guys dont mind.. anyway i recently have engaged with a guitar builder which he offered neck thru and setneck types of construction. which without much experienced i have gone for a neck thru maple neck with glued on swamp ash wings... which he have adviced me to be good tone guitar and have told me about neck thru construction would tone out to be mainly from the neck thru wood rather than added on swamp ash wings. wherelse a full bodied swamp ash setneck would have a full swamp ash tone characteristic.... i was aware of how the poppy bright sound yet full bottled sound that the swamp ash would be thus i still felt that i might have made a wrong choice for having a maple neck thru with wings of the swamp ash... would i be better of havving a set neck then in my situation? in terms of tonality of the guitar . thanks
 
I have a handmade neck thru custom  that has been my main guitar for almost 14 years, and the Warmoth Bolt-on construction Z body with the KL/Hetfield Warmoth Pro neck that I put together last year is more resonant.

Set necks and Neck thru's are for the most part, about playing comfort, not necessarily tone.  Some would argue differently, which is fine, but in the end it is all very subjective.
 
i was looking into more of tonality rather than the amount of comfort playability.... lets put it simple and easy if i were to confused anyone here am so sorry take no offence too..
which kinda construction would sound better?

A)  Maple Neck thru with Swamp Ash wings

or

B) Set Neck with Full bodied Swamp ash and glued on maple neck.

would like to discuss only in terms of tonality of this two different types of construction. perhaps people would have different perception of how their guitar to sounds like.
again share me you guys personal view please thank you
 
The neck through should be a bit brighter, but that's because the strings are only going through maple. If it was a set neck, maple body, maple neck, it should sound the same as the neck through.
 
Max said:
The neck through should be a bit brighter, but that's because the strings are only going through maple. If it was a set neck, maple body, maple neck, it should sound the same as the neck through.
+1
 
Max said:
The neck through should be a bit brighter, but that's because the strings are only going through maple. If it was a set neck, maple body, maple neck, it should sound the same as the neck through.


Thanks for the info buddy but still would i be able to hear the swamp ash characteristics?
 
Depends on your ear. It would be there, but body wood doesn't make a huge impact. New strings, practice, pickups, and bridge will impact tone more. (I think the bridge would, at least)
 
+1 to both TonyFS and Max.

On the one hand good tone is incredibly subjective, some like a bright brash sounding guitar, others want mellow softer tones.

And the variability in tone between to otherwise identical hunks of the same wood type can be greater than that between to disparate wood types (e.g. there is often a lot of overlap in characteristics, but every so often you get a real oddball.)

The same principle applies to set neck v.s. bolt neck.  IMO the biggest factor in the neck joint is maximum physical contact.  You might be horrified to see the gaps that are found within a set neck joint.

All that said a neck through is usually going to sound pretty much like the neck wood regardless of  what the wings are.  If you generally like the sound of all maple guitars then neck through is fine and your wings can be just about anything you want.

A maple neck set in an all ash body is still going to sound very maple, maybe a little less so due to the bigger mass of ash, but now we are talking in that realm where individual variations can overwhelm the group characteristics.

As much as I love building guitars it is almost always a crap shoot.  If you stick to the tried and true formulas (e.g. maple neck, ash body, tele bridge, 25.5" scale) you will probably get what you  expect.  Start playing with those specs and there is some, but not a lot of predictability.
 
hopkinWFG said:
i was looking into more of tonality rather than the amount of comfort playability.... lets put it simple and easy if i were to confused anyone here am so sorry take no offence too..
which kinda construction would sound better?

A)  Maple Neck thru with Swamp Ash wings

or

B) Set Neck with Full bodied Swamp ash and glued on maple neck.

would like to discuss only in terms of tonality of this two different types of construction. perhaps people would have different perception of how their guitar to sounds like.
again share me you guys personal view please thank you



Again, the noticeable tonal differences are subjective.  Some people can't tell the difference, some can.  You'll likely be the only one to really notice the difference as you play both types through the same amplification, in the same room, on a continuous basis.
 
Thanks alot for the clarification guys !!! because of my previous experience with my jackson sl2h was pretty much dissapointed sorry to say that if there are any jackson fans out here... thou i like every details of jackson's high quality made guitar but when i mature in tone i thought this is not what i wanted... as i know the sl2hs have a maple neck thru with alder wings... yup it sounded full and very pronounced is at fair ground but still lack of the certain bite and chumps . yet again i understand is subjective and perhaps i would need to attempt another build with a full bodied swamp ash guitar lol cheers!!
 
Keyser Soze said:
+1 to both TonyFS and Max.

On the one hand good tone is incredibly subjective, some like a bright brash sounding guitar, others want mellow softer tones.

And the variability in tone between to otherwise identical hunks of the same wood type can be greater than that between to disparate wood types (e.g. there is often a lot of overlap in characteristics, but every so often you get a real oddball.)

The same principle applies to set neck v.s. bolt neck.  IMO the biggest factor in the neck joint is maximum physical contact.  You might be horrified to see the gaps that are found within a set neck joint.

All that said a neck through is usually going to sound pretty much like the neck wood regardless of  what the wings are.  If you generally like the sound of all maple guitars then neck through is fine and your wings can be just about anything you want.

A maple neck set in an all ash body is still going to sound very maple, maybe a little less so due to the bigger mass of ash, but now we are talking in that realm where individual variations can overwhelm the group characteristics.

As much as I love building guitars it is almost always a crap shoot.  If you stick to the tried and true formulas (e.g. maple neck, ash body, tele bridge, 25.5" scale) you will probably get what you  expect.  Start playing with those specs and there is some, but not a lot of predictability.


Thanks for your full description !! as is still very vague as told because most guitars ended up with maple neck and anyother types of body woods plus fretboard and the lovely tops ... perhaps pickups would spill over a much clearer sense and the way i pick the strings take care !!!
 
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