set neck instruments have been made for a long, long time. upright basses have set necks and so do Stradivarius violins. it's a time tested way to attach a neck to an instrument body. bolt-on necks were developed to enable mass production utilizing a less skilled labor force. there's nothing wrong with either approach and each has it's 'advantage'. if you love hollowbody basses, do yourself a favor and get one. don't get hung up on how its constructed. if it sounds good and it plays good, how can it be bad?
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Set Necks
- Thread starter _jojo_bass
- Start date
set neck instruments have been made for a long, long time. upright basses have set necks and so do Stradivarius violins. it's a time tested way to attach a neck to an instrument body. bolt-on necks were developed to enable mass production utilizing a less skilled labor force. there's nothing wrong with either approach and each has it's 'advantage'. if you love hollowbody basses, do yourself a favor and get one. don't get hung up on how its constructed. if it sounds good and it plays good, how can it be bad?
+1 I own a set neck carvin for 25 years, an EBO for more than 35 years, and live closer to Galveston than Houston (humidity city). Never had the slightest neck problem with either bass. Whomever said high humidity will mess with a set neck has no idea what they are talking about. A large delta in humidity will mess with your bass (any neck style) far more than just high humidity. My guitardist also owns 4 Les Pauls that also have exibited no neck problems.
I own a matching pair of red set neck BC Rico (early BC Rich NJ Series) Eagle basses.
Tp be honest, I doubt you will hear a difference between set neck and bolt on...same goes for most other people, I guess.
I agree set necks on basses are horrible, they do not work as good as a neck-thru or bolt-on, Just my opinion.
I'm considering a set neck. I"ve owned tons of basses in the past 43 years and my conclusion was that in terms of bass function in a rhythym section that there is a reason that bolt-ons are the choice. I won't play neck-throughs. They have much more consistancy, less dead notes, and more sustain. And much less thump. I've only had a few set necks (Gibsons and Ricks?) My recollections are more sustain than bolt-ons and nearly as much punch. And the C area on the G string isn't dead. Just played a buddy's Sadowsky. Nice bass, but even deader than a Fender on the C and Csharp.
- Feb 24, 2004
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- Endorsing Artist: Phantom Guitars, Eastwood Guitars
How strange!
Now granted, I've only lived in Texas 53 years, and only been playing bass 35 years, but I own/have owned several set-neck basses and hollow-body basses, and gig them regularly.
I've owned lots of all 3 types,and don't have a problem with any of them,as long as they work! But some of my favorite basses have been set-neck,like my '67 epi embassy,and my '74 Ric 4000. I had a modern ibanez bass that was a set neck,too. I really don't notice big differences in sustain,"thump",or other tonal variations between the neck types,although it does seem that my bolt-on basses tend to decay a bit quicker. (they are considerably less expensive than my ric's,so I sort of expect them to be not as good in that area.) you should just check out how the bass sounds unplugged to get the best initial idea of how it will sound.
What do you base your opinion on?
In what way precisely are set necks on basses "horrible"
Is this specific to basses or does that go for guitars also?
In what way do they not work as good as neck through and bolt on necks?
Are you referring to one piece multilam necks or both?
I'm sure this all depends on the construction techniques more than the style (bolt-on, set neck, Neck-through) I have an Alembic with a set neck. Had it for years. Live in Ohio with lots of humidity and temps from 100+ (today!) to 15 below zero in winter. No stability problems at all. The idea of a set-neck bowing up out of the guitar due to weather seems just a TAD exaggerated to me.
Many bolt on necks are less stable but more punchy. I think the looseness of the joint makes them more punchy. My bolt-ons with gobs of screws (or like my SX basses I put threaded inserts in) are more stable and more like a set neck (which makes total sense as the joint is less prone to vibrations etc. But I can't say I've had any stability problems with any of my bolt-ons. Maybe an adjustment every 6 months. For NO adjustments EVER get a graphite neck. My Modulus is like that and I love it. But it costs.
To me the major difference between these neck styles has to do with access up at the high frets. bolt-on is worst and neck-through is best with set-neck falling somewhere in between.
I'm purely for bolt-ons.
I once had a '76 Gibson SG. A friend of mine broke the neck of it in a horrible spiral fracture that ran from about the third fret to the twelfth fret. At the time, repairing it would have cost more than the guitar was worth. And it never really would have been the same again. Other than a couple of acoustic guitars, I've only ever owned one set neck instrument since then, and I have no intention of buying another.
I know it's paranoia to a large degree but in my experience, any alleged differences in tone, sustain, etc. between bolt-ons and set necks (or neck throughs) is so negligible as to be immaterial to me. And it's a heck of a lot easier and cheaper to just replace a neck on a bolt on.
I once had a '76 Gibson SG. A friend of mine broke the neck of it in a horrible spiral fracture that ran from about the third fret to the twelfth fret. At the time, repairing it would have cost more than the guitar was worth. And it never really would have been the same again. Other than a couple of acoustic guitars, I've only ever owned one set neck instrument since then, and I have no intention of buying another.
I know it's paranoia to a large degree but in my experience, any alleged differences in tone, sustain, etc. between bolt-ons and set necks (or neck throughs) is so negligible as to be immaterial to me. And it's a heck of a lot easier and cheaper to just replace a neck on a bolt on.
apart from the feel and looks, i really dont see anything that different from bolt-on, set neck and NT's.
given a blind test, i dont think anyone can tell which would be which.
or even a blindfold "feel this bass" test between an NT and a set neck lol
given a blind test, i dont think anyone can tell which would be which.
or even a blindfold "feel this bass" test between an NT and a set neck lol
