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Is there a significant difference in tone between neck-through and bolt-on basses?
- Thread starter capnsandwich
- Start date
If anyone is curious as to why Foderas cost so much, watch this video all the way through. Very good info on their process and attention to detail.
25 basses later.....and I still have never had a broken neck.
What are you guys doing to get necks broken?
Anyway...I will choose a neck through solely because I like this....
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For me personally, yes. I prefer the feel of NT, especially on designs where the heel disappears (Ken Smith for example). I also prefer the artistry/ aesthetics that go into NT designs. I've never experienced enough difference in attack for that to be a factor, although as far a sustain goes I did have a couple NT that nothing else I've owned has come close to (that could also just be coincidence though). Right now my bass guitars are bolt on.
In my experience, neither affect tone directly, however, the perceived loudness and compression are the key differences. Bolt-ons typically have better harmonics and overtones where neckthroughs tend to have a better or more solid fundamental for each note. I personally like setneck or dovetail construction as it's the best of both worlds.
Bolt-on will always be louder but neckthroughs will have more compression.
Tone wise...very similar.
Bolt-on will always be louder but neckthroughs will have more compression.
Tone wise...very similar.
This is a tough one, because of the hundreds of basses I've owned and played, I'm having a hard time remembering a model that was identical in every detail except it was offered in both NT and bolt-on so I could A/B them in a more scientific way.
All I can say is, I have played NT's that were real dogs with tone and sustain, and I have played bolt-ons that had amazing tone and as much sustain as any NT I've played. That's about as scientific as I can get.
All I can say is, I have played NT's that were real dogs with tone and sustain, and I have played bolt-ons that had amazing tone and as much sustain as any NT I've played. That's about as scientific as I can get.
Not really. A properly executed boot-on neck pocket isn’t easy to do by hand even if CAD and modern CNC machinery has made it a pretty exact process for those shops that can afford to implement it.
From my admittedly limited experience with woodworking, doing things right is seldom fast or easy. No matter what you’re doing.
Bolt-on necks on a bass are like extra cheese on a pizza. I'm not paying 2,000 bucks for extra cheese, even though I prefer it.
Edit: I meant neck-through. /shrug
Edit: I meant neck-through. /shrug
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We can convince ourselves of almost anything. If the amount you paid for your instrument is high enough, it’s likely you’ll tell yourself it sounds better because if it doesn’t, you’re the guy who paid too much for a crappy instrument.
No matter how it’s made.
No matter how it’s made.
No difference at all when solo'd. Let alone when your entire band is playing. Nobody in the audience is going to say "Damn, they sound good. But it's a shame the bass player has the bolt on version of that bass. Only if he had gotten the neck thru version - they would have sounded SO much better....."
Yeah, I have been playing bass for 50 years and have never broken a neck. I was wondering the same thing????
I know there is a huge difference in tone for Zon basses between the two construction types. Surprisingly so. I have always found the set necks to have more overtones and more even sound, and the bolton's seem punchier with a more apparent low end.
Of those two Fodera, I'd go neck through, as it has that red oak neck and mahogany body with the alder tone block. I just think that wood combo would sound more rich and complex than the typical alder Mable combo of the bolt-on. The woods used and added construction steps also add to the price over just bolt-on or neck through. If you did the same options as the bolt-on, but in a neck through, the difference would not be as great.
Of those two Fodera, I'd go neck through, as it has that red oak neck and mahogany body with the alder tone block. I just think that wood combo would sound more rich and complex than the typical alder Mable combo of the bolt-on. The woods used and added construction steps also add to the price over just bolt-on or neck through. If you did the same options as the bolt-on, but in a neck through, the difference would not be as great.
The can fix a headstock with Luthiers glues. I had a guitar that was fixed that way. Sounded fine and you can only they the break up close.
After 24 authentic German bolt-on Warwicks built from 1993 to 2003, all of which were great basses, my 25th was a neck-thru Streamer Stage II and it's in an undeniably different league. I can't say whether or not it's because of the NT, but I had a bolt-on Streamer LX before that I upgraded with the electronics from a Stage II and had the same pickups (this was the closest model to the Stage II that I had), and it was a phenomenal bass, but still a tier below this one. I know the "tone wood" debate is always raging, but the only 2 features of this Stage II that are different from the other Warwicks I've owned are that it has an Afzelia body and that it has NT construction. So, one or both of those things are setting this one apart. Since I don't hear a difference between any other body woods, I doubt it's the Afzelia. That leaves me thinking the neckthru has something to do with it. For what it's worth. YMMV
I'm too old for that kind of stuff. I can play the guitar behind my neck. I use strap locks.
basically - No
having had both , ... maybe a bit more sustain ... but that is hard to pinpoint as to exactly why ? was it the neck joint , or many other variables .. !?
a bolt on change be changed out ... whatever the reason . !
having had both , ... maybe a bit more sustain ... but that is hard to pinpoint as to exactly why ? was it the neck joint , or many other variables .. !?
a bolt on change be changed out ... whatever the reason . !
