Do Neck-Through Basses Need Tops

[VegasCustom]

Wondering, my goal here is to build a bass that will seriously make my musician friends jealous. That being said, I want to avoid anything tacky. Current build is a neck through with a walnut body. Walnut is decently figured but definitely not so high end that it could be used on a $15,000 table. Real concern is the stripes from neck through looking tacky. Several possible solutions: #1 Add a luxury top (this would require surfacing the entire bass, which I am already doing, but also specifically cutting a perfect shape so the top fits on the level that fits the neck. Just need the two shapes to be so accurate that it fits without flaw). #2 Do not add a top, leave the wood as is with the stripes from the neck.
A similar issue I am facing is that I want the headstock veneer to be two different woods with a random shape connecting them. #3 Basically the second solution but add a block for my fingers to rest that covers the majority of it anyway..

Obviously #2 is what I want, but I don't think I have the skill or know how to do it quite yet, maybe on a future build. Definitely a skill I want tho, that way I can combine multiple woods for a really wild looking top

 

[VegasCustom]

If I already have a really good router sled table, would it be easy to simply surface a specific part of the guitar so adding a top would be easier? Would I be able to get perfectly square edges, or close enough to chisel the rest of the way?

 

[smart51]

If you add a top, the audience won't know it is a neck through. Plus, stripes make you go faster.

 

[VegasCustom]

Well I would leave the back alone so people could still tell what it was, also wondering if it will help create a more even tone given I used 3 different woods on the neck

 

[smart51]

On solid bodied instruments, tops are for decoration. The tone doesn't change.

 

[ardgedee]

Well I would leave the back alone so people could still tell what it was, also wondering if it will help create a more even tone given I used 3 different woods on the neck

The audience won't see the back of the instrument unless you make a point of showing it.

 

[VegasCustom]

Im just going to make both and see what happens

 

[MotorCityMinion]

I like fabric tops.

 

[Jazz Ad]

I love neck through basses and I prefer them with a top. It looks better to me.

 

[Jazzdogg]

I've never owned a neck-through bass, largely because I dislike the appearance of a skunk stripe disrupting the appearance of the top. Painting and veneering are both options. Do what makes you happy.

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

I had an old neck-through Carvin (it only had TWO different kinds of wood). I thought it looked gorgeous (I wish it sounded as good).

 

[Snaxster]

Do Neck-Through Basses Need Tops(?)

Hello, and welcome to TalkBass. The answer is "No, they do not."

Just for example, consider the Fodera Lincoln Goines Signature model.

 

[Rabidhamster]

I like when the neck shows thru but I’m sure you can find other people that don’t. Some NT basses have “tops” but only on the wings.
What do you want it to look like?

 

[Big B.]

Making a neck thru with a solid top can certainly be done but it is not easy and requires some precise layouts. The most common approach is to add a top to the wings and still let the neck lamination show on the front. If you are set on a full top this is a build of mine from a couple of years ago that has a full top.

Special Edition Build Off: Why Are You Staring At My Crotch Like That?

The section dealing with fitting the top starts around page 4 but the pages before that deal with cutting the neck blank to both fit the top and to allow a small neck angle to keep the bridge functioning properly. It's not an exhaustive account of how I did it but maybe there's some stuff in there that will inspire you.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

I want to avoid anything tacky.

Processing...processing...processing...apparent username and goals mismatch detected! Might work if your friends are not tacky, though?

 

[VegasCustom]

I love neck through basses and I prefer them with a top. It looks better to me.

Yea, im really thinking it will look better. Something inherently tacky about the stripes on the front of the bass.
Im just trying to figure out how to do that given the entire bass has been surfaced so its flat. Im thinking re surfacing the parts of the bass that will need to be reduced to fit the top.

 

[VegasCustom]

Hello, and welcome to TalkBass. The answer is "No, they do not."

Just for example, consider the Fodera Lincoln Goines Signature model.

Seems like it would make sense if the colors are more uniform. My neck is currently Purple heart, walnut, maple, purple heart. Total of 7 boards varying thickness. I think with that many it will be best kept to the back of the instrument. And yea, Fodera is a HEAVY inspiration.

 

[VegasCustom]

I like when the neck shows thru but I’m sure you can find other people that don’t. Some NT basses have “tops” but only on the wings.
What do you want it to look like?

Something that could perceivably be sold for upwards of 10-15k, which means beauty and nothing weird. And I am one weird dude.

 

[VegasCustom]

Making a neck thru with a solid top can certainly be done but it is not easy and requires some precise layouts. The most common approach is to add a top to the wings and still let the neck lamination show on the front. If you are set on a full top this is a build of mine from a couple of years ago that has a full top.

Special Edition Build Off: Why Are You Staring At My Crotch Like That?

The section dealing with fitting the top starts around page 4 but the pages before that deal with cutting the neck blank to both fit the top and to allow a small neck angle to keep the bridge functioning properly. It's not an exhaustive account of how I did it but maybe there's some stuff in there that will inspire you.

YES THANK YOU this is what I was looking for. Thanks man, keep up the good work!

 

[Videojunkie]

Stripes and a top! I also built a neck through guitar that has a top and back covering the one piece maple neck.

Showing off the stripes at the headstock.