Idk man
I hear something like a compression difference on my bolt on cirrus compared to my neck through
I hear something like a compression difference on my bolt on cirrus compared to my neck through
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screw-on (bolt-on) neck vs. neck-through, can you hear the difference?
- Thread starter Killed_by_Death
- Start date
I cannot hear the difference... too many other variables in play to even know what to listen for. That said, I can feel a difference when I’m playing the instrument, both in terms of ergonomics and resonance.First of all, they're screwed on, not bolted
Yes, there is a difference.
Secondly, can you hear the difference?
A while back I was comparing two very similar basses & the thought never occurred to me, at the time, that part of their difference in timbre was due to the neck-through vs. screw-on designs.
Now I'm rethinking every time I tried a neck-through Ibanez BTB & wish I'd taken that into account.
I'm also wishing I could get a SR505E (screw-on) & BTB740 (neck-through), both with Bartolini BH2 pickups, side-by-side for a comparison.
Yes, I know there's been much discussion in the past, I'm reading those threads now.
However, I don't think there was a poll.
Actually.. yes, I can tell the difference. I strongly suspect that there are other, more significant factors at work here, besides a simple "neck-thru vs. bolt on", though...
My 3 neck-thru's: Rick 4003s, Epi T-Bird IV Classic Pro and Spector Euro 4LX have more sustain than my bolt ons. YMMV. Cheers!
When I bought a bolt-on neck Ken Smith 5 string in 1992, the only difference I could really tell on all the instruments I tried between bolt-ons and neck-throughs was price. I bought the bolt-on. I grew up on neck-thorough basses (Gibson EB-2 and then an SG) and now also play Rob Allen, Ken Smith, Fender Mustang and Sadowsky bolt-ons and couldn't care less.
I believe people can hear differences between instruments. What I don't believe is how someone can attribute the difference they hear TO the bolt-on vs. neck through. It's very unscientific.
First of all, they're screwed on, not bolted
You know how I know you’ve never seen a bass whose neck was secured with threaded inserts?
btw does anyone remember the experiment Fodera did a few years ago where they built three “identical” [sic] Basses whose only difference was the neck mounting method? Same woods, same body & neck construction, same hardware and electronics... only difference was one was bolt-on, one was glue-on, and one was thru-body.
And then they posted sound samples on line and asked listeners to try identifying which was which. A week or so later they published the correct answers. iirc some folks even got it right...but many at least agreed there was an audible difference between sound samples.
Not sure how much of that can be attributed to Expectation Bias...
First of all, they're screwed on, not bolted
Yes, there is a difference.
Secondly, can you hear the difference?
A while back I was comparing two very similar basses & the thought never occurred to me, at the time, that part of their difference in timbre was due to the neck-through vs. screw-on designs.
Now I'm rethinking every time I tried a neck-through Ibanez BTB & wish I'd taken that into account.
I'm also wishing I could get a SR505E (screw-on) & BTB740 (neck-through), both with Bartolini BH2 pickups, side-by-side for a comparison.
Yes, I know there's been much discussion in the past, I'm reading those threads now.
However, I don't think there was a poll.
I can not Hear a difference, But I deffinitely can Feel one! neckthroughs IMO have a lot more sustain. and they resonate more! so I can feel it more than hear it. My neckthrough also has a thicker neck profile( idk if all N-T are like that.but mine is baseball bat like).I think it's for stabilty. So Yes i feel the difference more! I like having the adjustability that bolt-ons' offer. but, as for my preference, I like both. My #1 has a warmoth replacement neck( a really fantastic neck!) it's as sturdy as my neckthrough! with great sustain! and it has all the versatility of a standard bolt-on! my neckthrough is an active bass, and my #1 is passive. I love both, but I prefer the#1 it's just more comfortable. Both basses sound awesome! i like the bolt-on more though. imho there's no clear cut winner.but it's not really an apples to apples comparison tho'. you got to get your hands on them to really know. I can't hear any tonal difference other than increased sustain.
First of all, they're screwed on, not bolted
Yes, there is a difference.
Secondly, can you hear the difference?
A while back I was comparing two very similar basses & the thought never occurred to me, at the time, that part of their difference in timbre was due to the neck-through vs. screw-on designs.
Now I'm rethinking every time I tried a neck-through Ibanez BTB & wish I'd taken that into account.
I'm also wishing I could get a SR505E (screw-on) & BTB740 (neck-through), both with Bartolini BH2 pickups, side-by-side for a comparison.
Yes, I know there's been much discussion in the past, I'm reading those threads now.
However, I don't think there was a poll.
It is my belief, based on the wide variety of basses that I own, that a neck through seems to have a longer sustain than either a bolt-on/screw-on or set neck.
31 Set Necks (mostly ABG and Hollow/Semi-Hollow/Chambered)
31 Bolt-On/Screw-On
11 Neck Thru
It could be that my own judgement is biased though because one could argue that I know which is which when I make the comparison. However, a digital stop watch seems to agree with me. Some would argue that sustain isn't important. I would offer that it is important depending on the type of music you're playing or like to play.
Other than this, I don't think there is much difference other than maybe no apparent dead spots or half-dead spots on the fretboard.
I also think you can feel the difference in your hands and against your body.
It is with some trepidation that I press the reply button concerning this topic....
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A high quality NT and a high quality BO will sound different, absolutely. They both have their benefits and I don't think one is better than the other.
I've never passed on a bass because it's one or the other, but i believe certain basses need to be one or the other. A jazz bass will always make more sense as a bolt on, whereas a Ken Smith or Fodera just makes sense as an NT.
Between a Warwick thumb 6 BO or NT, I will always pick the NT.
I've never passed on a bass because it's one or the other, but i believe certain basses need to be one or the other. A jazz bass will always make more sense as a bolt on, whereas a Ken Smith or Fodera just makes sense as an NT.
Between a Warwick thumb 6 BO or NT, I will always pick the NT.
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Basses tend to have an emphasis in that range, but it has nothing to do with neck through or bolt on - the location of the pickups along the strings' lengths results in an emphasis in that region (neck pickups - bridge pickups move things a bit higher). The emphasis is different on each string - it's a wavelength filter, and tuning affects it - retune your bass to D standard, and it sounds different, because the filters' peaks and dips move. A Rickenbacker sounds different from a Fender for a bunch of reasons, but one of the biggest is that the pickups are in very different spots, which changes the filtering/emphasis you're talking about a lot.
I've had a neck through (Rickenbacker), a few bolt on aluminum necks, a few set necks, a few bolt on wood necks, a few bolt on roasted wood necks with graphite reinforcements, etc - I've sampled a variety of different constructions. Yes, there are some things that construction definitely does (aluminum necks are the bomb for sustain), but in my opinion, while bolt on or neck through does affect things, people tend to put too much emphasis on that one detail.
That was my conclusion after finding a few screw ons and a couple neck-throughs to compare.
Same model, pickups ect. new in store so same strings assumed.
Turnaround
Commercial User
But the threaded inserts are screwed in. So does that make the bass bolt-on or screwed on?You know how I know you’ve never seen a bass whose neck was secured with threaded inserts?
I literally only read the thread title and voted.
I said "absolutely" not because I can hear on a recording, but I can hear the sound from my amp being that which I intend on bolt on necks and not on neck through.
I said "absolutely" not because I can hear on a recording, but I can hear the sound from my amp being that which I intend on bolt on necks and not on neck through.
If you unscrew the screws on the screw-on, then yes, I can hear the difference.
