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set neck engineering...

stevetx19

stevetx19

Sep 28, 2006
748
3
Denton, Texas
#1
ok, ive started topics on set necks before, and i am about to the stage in my build for the work to be done on the neck-body join. i know i can do the gibson/easy way, bassically a bolt on with glue, but i was thinking about it and wanted to know if this would work:

the goal is to make the neck stronger, and reduce neck dive. its kinda like a half dove tail.
if i wedge the treble side of rout, in theory, it would transfer much of the weight through the body more effeciently, hopefully reducing any weight the left hand would hold up. here is a quick drawing i did in paint to try to explain it. sorry...its rough....

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would this work?
is it worth the effort?

peace
s
 
#4
A smooth tight joint that is glued with Titebond is stronger than the wood itself, and will have sufficient strength for your set neck. Maybe a locking rabbit might be more to your liking, or the semi dovetail, but any way you go, will be strong.
 
#5
Nope!

Not worth the effort at all. If anything, the neck joint would be weaker since you're making the neck narrower where it attaches to the body. If you keep everything straight and square you'll avoid a lot of headaches in the engineering of the joint, the added ease of execution will probably yield a more accurately cut joint, and the standard joint is well proven so there is nothing to worry about.

Also, as long as the neck is attached to the body by any method you will have a single unit which will balance according to the distribution of mass, determined by your design. Again, a well proven formula is to put the strap button near the 12th fret. That will make a well balanced bass unless you're making a super huge neck with a tiny body or something.
 
#6
I'd stick with the tried and true way. After all, the traditional Gibson neck joint with the little tab the sticks into the body isn't so easy. Well, the hardest part is getting all of the angles right at that butt joint. Sounds like you're talking about more of a PRS joint.

Is this your first bass? If so I would DEFINITELY say do a traditional neck joint. You can't build a guitar until you build a guitar.
 
#7
The wedged pocket is overkill, simply because once the glue cures, the glue itself sees all the forces, and keeps the neck from squeezing into the neck to "make a tighter joint." What you'd hope to accomplish would be negated by the glue setting and holding on stronger than the force applied to the neck joint by the string tension.

If you really want a "stronger" neck joint, make the block that glues to the body longer, so that you increase the surface area that glue would be applied to. More bonding surface assures a stronger hold. That's more important than the wedge idea.

And if you've ever seen a set neck guitar break at the neck, you'll notice how much splintering occurs. That's cuz the glue is stronger than the wood fibers themselves. If it weren't, you would see perfectly clean breaks, and be able to sand off the old glue and fix it easily. Not terribly splintered shattered fractures where the wood fails before the glued joint.
 
#8
although I usually applaud efforts to make things better, I believe they should do just that ...make things better. A regular set neck like you describe being the 'easy way' works perfect. There's nothing weak about that joint and the improvements you describe, like reducing neck dive, on yours are just in paper. I don't see how a neck joint can increase or reduce neck dive ...from your description of your method I think there's no practical improvement on the regular set neck joint. As a matter of fact, I consider yours a set back, because you'll be forced to cover it up. Sorry.
 
#9
ok, thanks guys

no, this isn't my first bass, it is my first set neck though.

the more i think about it, the more it makes sense to not do the wedge. the larger the neck joint, the stronger it should be.
i have a few other ideas, but not for this bass. i will see how i like the set neck first.

peace
s
 
#10
Are you setting the neck into the top of the body, or from behind? Are you doing a top laminate that would hide the neck joint? Are you painting or staining/dyeing?

If you're gonna paint or cover it with a laminate, then just cut the neck wood long enough to glue all the way into your first pickup's pocket. When you rout out the pup pocket, it'll naturally terminate the neck once the gluing is all set. Even if you're staining, you'll get a neat effect of the neck wood disappearing into the pickup while the body wood naturally exists everywhere else.

If you're setting the neck into the back, doesn't matter!
 

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