Neck-through-body construction
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (March 2011) |
Neck-through-body (commonly neck-thru or neck-through) is a method of electric guitar construction that combines the instrument's
Neck-through-body construction is considerably more expensive than the traditional glued set-in neck and bolt-on neck style construction methods. However, it's less costly than the very rare and difficult "one-piece" fabrication out of an entire instrument fabricated out of a single piece of material.
History
The first electric bass guitar, the solid-body "Audiovox 736" created by Paul Tutmarc circa 1937, had a neck-through construction.
"The Log", a prototype
The 1952-57 Harmony H44 had this construction feature.
In 1956 Rickenbacker was one of the first guitar manufacturers to use the modern variant of this technique, although this was originally restricted exclusively to semi-hollowbody guitars.[1]
Pros and cons
Neck-through construction is significantly harder to mass-produce than
The most important benefit for the player of a neck-thru guitar is the reduction in heel mass which is an obstacle when attempting to reach the higher registers of the
On top of easier high fret access, many musicians [who?] assert that neck-through construction provides greater sustain, richer overtones and allows the instrument to stay in tune longer due to the increased stability inherent in the design. Essentially, both ends of the string are tied down to the same piece of wood that runs the length of the instrument, so all the strings energy's running across the entire instrument, with no join to limit or filter the string's harmonic production.
Repairs to the neck are usually expensive and tedious. In many cases, it is usually easier to remove the old neck completely, either by taking the wings off and putting an entirely new core in, or by converting the guitar to a
Use
This structure is used by many companies, including
Many configurations of the Gibson Firebird and Thunderbird are also built neck-through.
The construction method is also popular with independent guitar builders, who can typically devote more time to such a labor-intensive neck joint than a mass-producing company could.
References
- ^ Rickenbacker International Corporation: The Modern Era of the Electric Guitar, retrieved 14 June 2012