Jump to content
Heritage Owners Club

Has there ever been, is it possible.. ?


JAM

Recommended Posts

Posted

A Set-Neck H-535 ?

 

Would this be Good, Bad, Interesting..??

 

TIA

 

Cheers!

 

Jim

 

 

Posted

Do you mean 'neck through'? All 535s are set neck, they're not bolted on.

 

To do neck through with a 535 could be done by making the centre block an extension of the neck I suppose. I don't know what the Heritage blocks are made of but I doubt it's mahogany. That could colour the sound as well as add weight.

 

What advantage do you see in it?

Posted

Yes... sorry... I did mean a neck-thru.

 

Hadn't considered weight, but you're right.

 

I just wondered if being one solid piece w/ no joint would make it sound 'brighter' and possibly give it greater sustain...

 

Cheers!

 

Jim

Posted

I never played an NT guitar that I liked but they were all off brands like Carvin (or was it Charvel?) and Ibanez. But that could have been the pups more than the wood. Given a maker like Heritage or Gibson I would imagine that they shouldn't sound much different than a solid body?

 

I have a Fender Showmaster that's "called" an NT but it's not, it has a Z shaped neck joint attaching the neck. It's a great sounding guitar but it's a Fender with custom wound pups for that model.

Posted

The 357 is a neck through design... Would it make a difference? No... When the neck is glued properly in the neck pocket, the neck is one with the center block.

Posted

I think a neck thru might make a difference with something like a fire bird I model

 

Otherwise the wood you remove for the neck pickup routing etc kind of defeats the purpose you're breaking the structural continuity

 

A 535 already has a center block so I can't see a neck thru making much of a difference?

 

It would be interesting to try though

Posted

I don't know if the neck through design really affects tone in most cases. Here are some pix.

 

http://www.cpthorntonguitars.com/thinline-hollowbody-guitars/hollowbody-innovations/

 

 

My Thornton guitar is a small hollowbody that is a neck through. The idea of the design was to reduce feedback and improve stability. I vote that it does reduce feedback some, comparing it to other small hollowbodies. It's too soon to tell about stability.

 

My guitar is the one shown on the bottom of this page.

 

http://www.cpthorntonguitars.com/15-archtops/the-improv/

Posted

The basic train of thought with a neck thru is, better stability and sustain, I happen to agree with that theory. I have two old Firebirds that have had the hell played out of them, still very stable axes. I've a 660 Rick that is the same.

Posted

Would a neck through Strat sound better? I doubt it. Would a bolt on Firebird sound better? I doubt it.

 

Actually, Fender has produced a number of neck-through Strats throughout the years, mostly through their Custom Shop.

 

While I haven't seen any totally empiral studies, most everyone who owns/played one swears that they have improved sustain.

 

Stability is more a longterm quality and haven't seen anyone comment on this.

 

Many also claim 'improved' tone, but to me, these are the most subjective or anecdotal claims.

 

cheers!

 

Jim

Posted

Actually, Fender has produced a number of neck-through Strats throughout the years, mostly through their Custom Shop.

 

While I haven't seen any totally empiral studies, most everyone who owns/played one swears that they have improved sustain.

 

Stability is more a longterm quality and haven't seen anyone comment on this.

 

Many also claim 'improved' tone, but to me, these are the most subjective or anecdotal claims.

 

cheers!

 

Jim

I agree that it's subjective. If I have a customer ask me to build a classic sounding L.Paul or Fender type guitar I wouldn't change the fashion in which the neck joins the body. More sustain with neck through? Not in my experience. I'm not speaking of a Firebird type guitar, but only of a Tele or Strat type. The notes may swell up at a different rate giving an impressiion of added susutain, but neck through Fender type guitars don't act like the classic Fender most of us love.

Posted

All I know is .... I wouldn't want a bolt-on neck 150 or 535!!!! Argh!!!!!!!!!!

Posted

I don't know if the neck through design really affects tone in most cases. Here are some pix.

 

 

My Thornton guitar is a small hollowbody that is a neck through. The idea of the design was to reduce feedback and improve stability. I vote that it does reduce feedback some, comparing it to other small hollowbodies. It's too soon to tell about stability.

 

While I find this a fascinating design, I wonder how much it actually acts like a neck through style guitar like the 357. The way the neck joint steps down to the point that the top of the pickup route is at or below the back of the neck seems that it would negate the advantage of a neck through design, where the grain of the neck would be continuous from the top of the neck to the end of the body. BTW, I love the way Thornton sculpts the neck joint.

 

inn-02.jpg

Posted

Yes... sorry... I did mean a neck-thru.

 

Hadn't considered weight, but you're right.

 

I just wondered if being one solid piece w/ no joint would make it sound 'brighter' and possibly give it greater sustain...

 

Cheers!

 

Jim

the sustain is already good enough.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...