NT vs Bolt on

[chemojay]

I went back 10 pages on the forum and couldn't find a NT vs bolt-on thread. Nor is there one in the sticky section. I didn't really find anything with the search here either. What do you think?
Advantages or disadvantages. Personal preference. Favorite?

 

[JRA]

i like bolt-ons because i can mate a neck i like with a body i like. for me, it's the simplest way to get a great playing ax.

 

[FRoss6788]

Some think bolt-on is more punchy and NT has more sustain.

I'm not sure those generalizations are always true though. The two basses with the most sustain in my arsenal are bolt-on. Go figure.

Really the only real difference I can see is neck heel, there's no way for a bolt-on to get as smooth as a NT.

Neither is better IMHO, some of the top builders use bolt-on exclusively, they'd know.

IME, as much as I think NT is sexy, to me, they sound a little compressed compared to my bolt-on basses and have since been moved on.
To be fair, there were other reasons unrelated to neck attachment design...

 

[Whale]

I've had several bolt on necks that ultimately suffered from the "ski jump" issue (where a hump develops around the 13th or 14th fret). This is a somewhat common issue with bolt on necks (not all, of course, but many) and can often be remedied by certain luthiers who heat up and readjust the neck.

On the other hand, my neck through '74 Rickenbacker had issues with the glue on the wings separating… which caused the neck piece to bend.

Last year my band played 132 gigs. This year we are on schedule to play more. Even being careful, that's a lot of wear and tear on instruments. It's nice to have the option of swapping necks should something traumatic occur.

 

[alembicbones]

A great bass can either have a bolt on or a NT neck. I would say most of my basses are bolt on but my Alembic is a killer version of a NT.

Bones

 

[Snert]

some of the top builders use bolt-on exclusively, they'd know.

I could easily make the argument for tradition, ease of manufacture etc.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I'm a bolt on guy. I find them to have a bit more punch/snap to their notes. Only exception to this was my old Spector.

 

[krall]

Always preferred NT, regarding both guitars and basses.

 

[FRoss6788]

I could easily make the argument for tradition, ease of manufacture etc.

I would say you're mistaken.
Michael Tobias, for example is plenty skilled at NT, used to build them. I believe he mostly builds bolt-on.

Maybe some builders actually prefer the performance of bolt-on construction, not just because it's "easier"

 

[bumble yeti]

IMHO… doesn't matter. I own bolt-ons, neck-thrus and set necks. When I connect with a well-made instrument and I love the way sounds, plays and inspires me, it's all good.

 

[Water buffalo]

Apples vs oranges. I prefer bolt on basses. Why? I honestly don't know. I have no proof that one is better than the other.

In the end your ears like what your ears like. YMMV.

Don't sweat the details. Go play your bass, you'll feel better.

 

[Killing Floor]

Set necks are fine too.

 

[arbiterusa]

ease of manufacture

Good bolt-ons, in my somewhat extensive experience, are somewhat more complex to build well. Where bolt-ons shine if you're manufacturing them is that they are a hell of a lot easier to fix.

 

[ctmullins]

Which is better, cumin or paprika?

Seriously, this is a worn-out generalization that ignores all of the complexities of instrument design and manufacture. Every instrument is the sum total of all of its elements. The only reliable differentiator is the ease of neck removal and replacement.

 

[DaveParker39]

There's no reason a great Bolt-On bass can't be built. It also just so happens that it is very easy and cheap to build a not-so-great Bolt-On bass.

I love both of my Precisions.

Neck-thru, depending on the instrument, may offer you a different experience. My Spectors, which are both neck thru, feel particularly balanced and since they are both made of different wood types but have similar unplugged tonal profiles (that translated plugged in), I have to chalk it up to the construction itself.

There are also bolt-on basses that are built in a less rudimentary way than the classic Fender construction. Spector makes bolt-on basses where the neck is set (with bolts) so deeply into the body that it mimics a lot of the neck-thru characteristics. PRS guitars does something similar with their "bolt-in" construction, where part of the neck is actually so far "in" it is under the neck pickup.

Long story short, there is no winner.

 

[J Wilson]

I like them both. Over many years I played NT Yamaha BB's and Alembics, and alternately BO Yamahas, Peaveys, and now Squiers.

Ultimately, my favorite platform would be a 24-fret NT. Here's why:

Any solidly built bass set up properly and using reasonably new strings will sustain just fine. The difference in my experience is that NT's carry through more fundamental and the first several harmonics; BO's tend to skip over them and tend to get their push from the lower harmonics alone. It is indeed a subtle difference that you can't always hear due to the variation in wood(s) or construction, but you can find it if you know where to listen.

For me, the real difference? No ?-)::7+!+(&:'";-:!!!!!! neck block for the neck screws to catch your hand and suddenly make the neck thickness instantly so much fatter.

24 fret axes tend to have deeper treble cutaways, and with the smooth blending into the body and more frets clear of the body (think Alembic Series, or 4000- Rics, to name a few shapes), if you want to play 'up there', it's far easier.

This is what I've found after many years of playing both.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

You could come up with a lot of analogies to compare bolt-on vs NT; VHS vs Beta in the days of video tape cartridges, Apple IOS vs Android OS in cell phones, etc.

The bottom line is that Leo guy & his Precision bass got the bolt-on neck off to good start. The tone achieved by this method of bass construction became a standard in recordings & live music that still exists to some degree.

Neck-through and set neck are both less common than bolt on for a few reasons, one of which is tone, or more precisely, tone that is known / common for B-O construction. Bolt on also enjoys more flexibility to mix and match bodies & necks by the owner.

B-O is probably cheaper to make than NT, but might be about the same as set neck, which is a similar and could be called glue-on.

I have a couple NT basses, one of which I like a lot (Carvin LB75) and the other, which is sort of a dog (Gibson Thunderbird). I have several B-O which I play most and prefer.

 

[FRoss6788]

B-O is probably cheaper to make than NT, but might be about the same as set neck, which is a similar and could be called glue-on.

I don't know about that, ESP LTD and epiphone make plenty of cheap neck throughs, and MTD, Dingwall, Wal make plenty of very pricy bolt-on basses.
I don't buy that generalization.

 

[GIBrat51]

I currently own 24 electric basses. Of those, 10 have bolt-on necks; 5 of them are neck-thrus; and, 9 - including the 4 most expensive basses I own - have set necks. Although my most favorite, #1, go-to bass is a neck-thru bass (my '73 Rick 4001), it has a lot more going for it than being a neck-thru, to make it my favorite. Rick 4001's and 4003's are neck-thrus; like it - or buy something else...
To be honest? I don't really care what kind of neck a bass has, nor do I consider one to be "better" than another. They simply are what they are. If you want a Gibson Thunderbird? You'll take a neck-thru; and like it. Want an Epi Jack Casady Bass? Set necks only, I'm afraid. And I'm pretty sure that all Fender P-Basses have bolt-on necks... my '78 P-Bass does, anyway.
Again, to be honest? IMO, the only advantage that a bolt-on neck has going for it, is production-line ease of construction. Your ability to change the neck, if the one you buy is a dud- or you just don't like it - is just an after-effect of how it was made. The manufacturer didn't make it easy for you to play "mix and match" out of the goodness of their heart. They did it to make the bass cheaper and easier to make...
In any case, regardless of the type of neck they have, I like all my basses. Like I said; they simply are what they are...

 

[CletusMarley]

I chose bolt on because all my basses are bolt on. It wasn't by design. Just kinda happened that way. Lol.