Subject: The Guitar Neck Joint
You are getting this e-mail because you subscribed to it on www.learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com. If you don't want to receive these e-mails any longer, go to the bottom of this message and click on "unsubscribe." Hey there Friend, Argh!!First off, I need to make a quick correction from the last email about Dropped D tuning. I realized about ten minutes after sending that email that I notated the wrong Dropped D power chord. I showed the G5 chord to be played at the third fret. That is wrong - that chord is actually the F5 power chord on Dropped D. The G5 power chord is actually played at the fifth fret. I have corrected that, and if you go back to view the email the image should be fixed now, but since I'm non the topic, I'll show the tabs here again. This was the tab I showed originally, except I've corrected the name of the chord to F5.  This is the actual G5 power chord in Dropped D.  Let me know if you have any questions about it - sorry for the screw-up! Let's do a definition today. If you are primarily an acoustic guitar player but have been toying with the idea of getting an electric, you might not be aware of the different options available with regards to the guitar neck joint. The neck joint is, very simply, the point where the guitar body and the neck meet. There are essentially three ways the neck is connected to the body:
The design is certainly effective. Fender's Stratocaster and Telecaster models are among the most popular guitars worldwide. Many manufacturers rely on this design with their guitars as well. Fender has remained with the bolt-on neck design for all their major models - the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Mustang, Jaguar and Jazzmaster. The Fender Bass lines - The Precision and Jazz basses - also feature bolt-on necks. Fender guitars being made On the plus side, a bolt-on neck allows for relatively easy replacement if for some reason you want to try a different neck profile, or God forbid, you break the neck. Guitars get dropped, fall over and sometimes have other unfortunate accidents. What it comes down to is you need to determine for yourself what the best option is for you. Personally, I have always preferred a neck-through design, followed closely by the glued on neck. For myself, the Fender bolt-on neck feels blocky and uncomfortable, and not very pleasing aesthetically in my mind. Doesn't seem to be a deterrent to some of the most famous guitar players in the world, though. Guys like Eric Clapton, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eric Johnson, David Gilmour and the list goes on… I'm not saying I would never play one of these, just that I don't prefer them. And other bolt-on designs have taken that blockiness into consideration by creating more contoured neck joints. Often in a recording or performing situation, you choose the right tool for the job. Because each type of guitar has different tonal qualities, you might use a Fender Strat or Ibanez in one situation and a Gibson Les Paul in another. Speaking of the Les Paul, these are probably the most well-known guitars that have glued-on neck. The neck joint is designed to allow more comfortable access to the upper frets on the neck. The neck blank (block of wood used to craft the neck) starts at least as thick as the guitar body and is tooled down to a smooth, rounded. This video shows much of the process of building the necks. While it is a much more difficult process, you can change out a glued-on neck. This can entail a pretty extensive amount of downtime, as you'll most likely have to have the guitar repainted in addition to the neck replacement. With the neck-through guitar, the entire length of the guitar from the top of the headstock down to the end of the guitar body is an uncut length. The body wings are then glued to the length. The tuners and bridge unit are attached to the neck length. Here is a video of a Carvin Jason Becker Signature model guitar being made. One of the reasons this design came about is the belief that having the entire string mechanism attached to a single length of wood increases the sustain (how long a note rings out after being played) of the guitar. Another thought is that with a bolt-on or glued neck, you open up to the possibility of introducing a buzz between the neck and the body from a neck joint that isn't perfectly tooled. I like the smooth neck joint of the neck-through design. This is one of my main reasons for liking BC Rich guitars. They were my first real exposure to a neck-through design, as well as the fact that nearly all the early models had a twenty-four fret neck. I remember going through a catalog of guitar gear and reading about the 24 fret neck-through design and thinking that two full octaves of frets is a good thing. I was pretty well convinced after having the opportunity to play a BC Rich and eventually bought a Mockingbird model. Since then I've had the opportunity to play the Eagle and the Bich models, and my opinion has never changed. I just like 'em! You are potentially in a world of hurt if you break the guitar with a neck-through design. I know about this from personal experience. My first BC Rich got knocked off its stand and cracked the neck at the headstock. Fortunately, the shop I took it to had a master craftsman/luthier on staff. He was able to insert wood block reinforcements to strengthen the neck at the break. Once he had it put back together and repainted, the crack was almost imperceptible. Try out a number of different styles to determine which neck joint works for you. At the end of the day, the more comfortable you are playing your guitar, the more you will play it and the better you will become. Any questions? Comments? Guitar neck horror stories? Send 'em here. Have a great one! Peace~ Dave Dave "Eddie" Vance is a rock guitar enthusiast and gear nut. He has been playing guitar for over 30 years and enjoys tormenting the neighbors every chance he gets. When he's not slaving for the man, you can find him rocking out with his B.C. Rich Bich guitar, a cold beer and some sweet tunes. He also runs Learn-To-Play-Rock-Guitar.com, but you knew that already! Follow Learn To Play Rock Guitar:I welcome your feedback! Did you like today's message? What other topics would you like to see covered in my e-mails? Please let me know at: dave@learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com As always, please feel free to forward this email to a friend! I review products before recommending them. If you buy a product based on my recommendation, I will receive a commission. However, my emails also contain links that don’t require any investment on your part and are jam-packed with "juicy, guitar learnin' tastiness". We don't rent or share your name with anybody. Feel free to forward this issue to any friends you think would enjoy its contents. They will thank you. So will I.
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