Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 what kind of difference in tone is there between the models with bolt-on necks and the neck-through models? which do you prefer, and why? I've heard the bolt-ons have kind of a "snappy" sound to it that some people prefer... can you explain that a little bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bumble Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I can only compare my RG520QS with a neck-tru ESP (forgot model but both mahogany, rosewood fretboards, floyd and dual hums). Basically what I felt was the the neckthrough felt and sounded alot smoother, it kinda lacked the immediate attack of a bolt on. Whereas the bolton (not michael ) feels and sounds like its shooting bullets, a bolt on is more like a making ripples in a pool of water that's already there. Could be due to the increased sustain I guess. It's not better or worse, but it's just quite different. You'll immediately be striked by the difference once you try one out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I can only compare my RG520QS with a neck-tru ESP (forgot model but both mahogany, rosewood fretboards, floyd and dual hums). Basically what I felt was the the neckthrough felt and sounded alot smoother, it kinda lacked the immediate attack of a bolt on. Whereas the bolton (not michael ) feels and sounds like its shooting bullets, a bolt on is more like a making ripples in a pool of water that's already there. Could be due to the increased sustain I guess. It's not better or worse, but it's just quite different. You'll immediately be striked by the difference once you try one out. That's kinda what I got from the "snappy" thing.... so neck-thru is more smooth and "woody" sounding.... and the bolt ons have more attack... the notes kinda just snap out? I've always shyed away from bolt on guitars for metal guitars, because I like the feel and construction of neck-throughs... but I'm thinking maybe it's time to try out a bolt on instead. I'm looking for a good shred guitar right now (one that I will hopefully keep for a long time)... so I'm trying to get a good feel here for what I'm looking for... anybody else have comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BAZGUITARMAN Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I personally think there is a minimal difference in tone between all the neck joint types. If they are equally well done the transfer of vibrations should be approximately the same. That said, there can be bad examples of any of the joint types and that would definitaly effect tone in a negative way. I think the biggest difference is from the wood that is used. I find that most neck-through guitars have a brighter and tighter tone. I think this is because most of them use maple for the neck wood. In that case, every tone producing component on the guitar is connected to the maple neck wood. The neck runs through the center of the body so the pickups and bridge are screwed down to the brighter and tighter sounding maple. Of course this would be different depending on what type of wood the neck section is made of. My Juggernaut has a wenge neck through. It has tons of mids with a slightly soft top end and a tight bottom end. IMO, it`s a great wood for a neck through guitar. Keeping the bottom end tight and having a lot of natural mids for body and cut. Of course the high end is softer and more pleasing. It doesn`t get harsh. A lot of set neck guitars use mahogany for the body and neck wood. That should tell you the difference that you will hear with that type of construction. Bolt on necks mostly use maple for the neck wood. Again, maple is a tight and bright wood. So I think that bolt ons and most neck throughs have a similar tonal characteristic. These are just generalizations since guitars are all different. Even guitars made with the same woods and components will sound different. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bumble Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 That's kinda what I got from the "snappy" thing.... so neck-thru is more smooth and "woody" sounding.... and the bolt ons have more attack... the notes kinda just snap out? I've always shyed away from bolt on guitars for metal guitars, because I like the feel and construction of neck-throughs... but I'm thinking maybe it's time to try out a bolt on instead. I'm looking for a good shred guitar right now (one that I will hopefully keep for a long time)... so I'm trying to get a good feel here for what I'm looking for...anybody else have comments? Yeah kinda like the difference between Class A and A/B power amps, the main difference is in the transient response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members purplepencil Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I recently bought a neck-thru Ibanez, and I love it, really good sound and sustain. I also have a cheap strat copy that is bolt on. Not the best comparison I know! What I'm thinking is.... how much of a difference can it really make? I didn't sit down with my neck-thru and think "Wow, this construction really changed the attack!" If I were in your situ, looking for a shredding guitar, I'd look at much more important stuff - ultra low action, tall, smooth frets, effortless upper fret access and a wicked thin neck. With my guitars, I don't so much notice a difference in sound, but boy do I notice a difference in fret access! That huge backplate and chunk of wood make a big big difference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I recently bought a neck-thru Ibanez, and I love it, really good sound and sustain. I also have a cheap strat copy that is bolt on. Not the best comparison I know! What I'm thinking is.... how much of a difference can it really make? I didn't sit down with my neck-thru and think "Wow, this construction really changed the attack!" If I were in your situ, looking for a shredding guitar, I'd look at much more important stuff - ultra low action, tall, smooth frets, effortless upper fret access and a wicked thin neck. With my guitars, I don't so much notice a difference in sound, but boy do I notice a difference in fret access! That huge backplate and chunk of wood make a big big difference! Well, I've already pretty much decided I want a 24 fret prestige with a mahogany body. I'm just trying to figure out the difference in sound between the neck-throughs and the bolt-ons.... playability is very important to me, but honestly I think that's going to be pretty much excellent on any of these.... but the sound is very important to me too, so I'm just asking some questions here to try to see what the difference is. I'm throwing in a set of bareknuckle pickups as soon as I have a shred guitar I'm happy with.... but I want the general tone of the guitar to fit what I'm looking for first before the pickup change.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 bump.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DarkCide Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I have a bolt on 3120 prestige and have played the neckthru models. My bolt on sustains very well and does have the snappy shred guitar tone. Access to the higher frets is a breeze too.The guitar feels very solid. It even feels more solid than my set neck Hellraiser. You can't go wrong with either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nrarocks Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 Fret access on my bolt-on S is really good, the joint is not bulky at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I have a bolt on 3120 prestige and have played the neckthru models. My bolt on sustains very well and does have the snappy shred guitar tone. Access to the higher frets is a breeze too.The guitar feels very solid. It even feels more solid than my set neck Hellraiser. You can't go wrong with either. Thanks. Do you think the notes kinda jump out more on the bolt-on? That seems to be what I've gathered from what people have said about the bolt-ons... that the notes kinda jump out more... or snap out... however you want to put it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I personally think there is a minimal difference in tone between all the neck joint types. If they are equally well done the transfer of vibrations should be approximately the same. That said, there can be bad examples of any of the joint types and that would definitaly effect tone in a negative way.I think the biggest difference is from the wood that is used. I find that most neck-through guitars have a brighter and tighter tone. I think this is because most of them use maple for the neck wood. In that case, every tone producing component on the guitar is connected to the maple neck wood. The neck runs through the center of the body so the pickups and bridge are screwed down to the brighter and tighter sounding maple. Of course this would be different depending on what type of wood the neck section is made of.My Juggernaut has a wenge neck through. It has tons of mids with a slightly soft top end and a tight bottom end. IMO, it`s a great wood for a neck through guitar. Keeping the bottom end tight and having a lot of natural mids for body and cut. Of course the high end is softer and more pleasing. It doesn`t get harsh.A lot of set neck guitars use mahogany for the body and neck wood. That should tell you the difference that you will hear with that type of construction.Bolt on necks mostly use maple for the neck wood. Again, maple is a tight and bright wood. So I think that bolt ons and most neck throughs have a similar tonal characteristic.These are just generalizations since guitars are all different. Even guitars made with the same woods and components will sound different. Eric lol replying because I read your other thread about how people don't answer... well, from what I've heard there is definitely a bit of difference in the sound of bolt ons and set necks/neck-throughs... not necessarily any less sustain or worse/better tone, but different... I just wanted to ask about it and find out what others think, and I agree that the wood is probably the biggest factor.. that's why I'm going for ibanez instead of jackson, although I'd love to get a mahogany jackson soloist if I could actually find one used... but all the used ones I find are always alder.... I like the sound of mahogany a lot better for this kind of music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 eosthestsetpeosijtseo (yet another bump) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeverist Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 Since you've clarified what you will be getting, your pickup choice and also the type of wood you are getting will make more of a difference than whether it is a neck-thru or not. (IMHO) Most Ibanez RG guitars are basswood. Since you've opted for mahogany, be aware it is a little "softer" and deeper sounding than your typical hard-edged RG shredder. More like a les paul sound with hot pickups. Also, if you want to find a bolt on, you'll have to find a used RG3120, they don't make them any more. The RGT320Q is the only mahogany bodied Ibanez with a neck through and 24 frets, so be prepared to spend close to two grand if that's what you want. IMHO, the all access neck joint is one of the innovations that make Ibanez guitars great - not only is the guitar more playable, but it is a tighter joint and more stable in the long run compared to the typical 4-bolt with a metal plate. The difference between this type of joint and a set in or neck through is pretty negligible if you asked me. Godin copied this design and uses it on their high end guitars for instance - guitars that compare very favorable to Gibson or PRS IMO. Personally, if I were in the market for an RG(and I am), I'd opt for the basswood body with the all-access neck joint. Well, I've already pretty much decided I want a 24 fret prestige with a mahogany body. I'm just trying to figure out the difference in sound between the neck-throughs and the bolt-ons.... playability is very important to me, but honestly I think that's going to be pretty much excellent on any of these.... but the sound is very important to me too, so I'm just asking some questions here to try to see what the difference is. I'm throwing in a set of bareknuckle pickups as soon as I have a shred guitar I'm happy with.... but I want the general tone of the guitar to fit what I'm looking for first before the pickup change.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BAZGUITARMAN Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 lol replying because I read your other thread about how people don't answer... well, from what I've heard there is definitely a bit of difference in the sound of bolt ons and set necks/neck-throughs... not necessarily any less sustain or worse/better tone, but different... I just wanted to ask about it and find out what others think, and I agree that the wood is probably the biggest factor.. that's why I'm going for ibanez instead of jackson, although I'd love to get a mahogany jackson soloist if I could actually find one used... but all the used ones I find are always alder.... I like the sound of mahogany a lot better for this kind of music I prefer mahogany for heavier music also. IMO a great guitar would be a neck-through super Strat with a mahogany neck, mahogany body and ebony fretboard. With a 25.5" scale length. The mahogany neck and body would give big, warm mids and a round bottom end. The ebony fretboard would give a little snap in the immediate attack of the picked notes. I prefer the longer scale length because I feel it brings out the best characteristics of this combination with it`s tighter tension. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Strapping_Young_Lad Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 i think im becoming a bolt-on man... i think it's the necks, the smooth satin necks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeverist Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 addendum to my previous post...bazguitarman is right, having the neck-through portion of the guitar made out of maple is going to add a lot of brightness to it. So the RGT320 is likely a brighter sounding guitar than the older RG3120, which would be your choices for a 24 fret mahogany-bodied Ibanez. Looks like we agree that the neck through is not going to add a whole lot of sustain, especially since Ibanez guitars have a very tight fit between neck and body on the bolt ons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members starsnuffer Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 Neck thru guitars are, by nature, brighter instruments then bolt-on neck guitars. This mainly has to do with the primary tone wood of the instrument. In a bolt on neck, the body of the guitar is the base wood which most of the resonance is coming from. A neck-thru guitar is basicaly a solid plank of wood with two little body "wings" glued to it. Since most (not all) necks are of the maple variety, this makes the guitar very bright. Laminate necks are even more bright, even when they have mahogany and walnut pices in them. This is because of how sound waves refract when they reach a plane (a glue joint). You could get a mohagany neck guitar to compensate, but unless you put a thick maple top on it, you're going to get an overly dark instrument. Neither is better or worse then the other, they're just different. I have a neck-thru carvin that is a beautiful instrument with perfect fret access all the way to 24. I also have a j-custom ibanez bolt on. Both guitars have maple necks, mahogany bodies, flamed maple tops, and ebony fretboards. The carvin is the brighter by far. That said, it's nothing the right pickups and a bit of EQ can't equal out between them. -W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members starsnuffer Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 Neck thru guitars are, by nature, brighter instruments then bolt-on neck guitars. This mainly has to do with the primary tone wood of the instrument. In a bolt on neck, the body of the guitar is the base wood which most of the resonance is coming from. A neck-thru guitar is basicaly a solid plank of wood with two little body "wings" glued to it. Since most (not all) necks are of the maple variety, this makes the guitar very bright. Laminate necks are even more bright, even when they have mahogany and walnut pices in them. This is because of how sound waves refract when they reach a plane (a glue joint). You could get a mohagany neck guitar to compensate, but unless you put a thick maple top on it, you're going to get an overly dark instrument. Neither is better or worse then the other, they're just different. I have a neck-thru carvin that is a beautiful instrument with perfect fret access all the way to 24. I also have a j-custom ibanez bolt on. Both guitars have maple necks, mahogany bodies, flamed maple tops, and ebony fretboards. The carvin is the brighter by far. That said, it's nothing the right pickups and a bit of EQ can't equal out between them. -W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeverist Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 Interestingly, my Godin LGX-SA has a mahogany body(with maple cap), mahogany neck, ebony fretboard and a 25.5" scale. Its not a neck-through, but it has an AANJ just like Ibanez guitars. I wouldn't call it very metal, though. One really interesting thing about this guitar is that all the design choices in terms of the wood and the scale were to make the synth tracking work better. By itself it is a very clear sounding guitar with strong fundamental tones that are almost bell-like. This translates into the synth being able to track better. But in doing that I think they made a really great sounding guitar regardless of the synth tracking. Its interesting that your ideal guitar would be constructed much the same way. To tell the truth, I don't know of any other production guitars with this combination of features. I prefer mahogany for heavier music also. IMO a great guitar would be a neck-through super Strat with a mahogany neck, mahogany body and ebony fretboard. With a 25.5" scale length. The mahogany neck and body would give big, warm mids and a round bottom end. The ebony fretboard would give a little snap in the immediate attack of the picked notes. I prefer the longer scale length because I feel it brings out the best characteristics of this combination with it`s tighter tension.Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesa-Maniacal Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I have an RGT220 (Swamp ash wings). I must have the crappiest ears on this forum because I can't hear a thing between the Ibanez and any of my bolt on guitars. Geez, the set up, difference in pick ups, strings, etc would probably make a bigger difference. Oh well. I like my neck through because the neck and the lack of a bolt-on joint kick ass!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 thanks for all the replies guys. just to clarify, for music like that, I like a darker sounding guitar. I like the high notes on the upper frets to have that extra thickness to them that mahogany gives. to be honest, a les paul has the perfect tone for me... that deep, thick chunk, BUT most of them don't play very well at all, which is why I'm looking for a shred style guitar... so the closer to that LP sound I can get, the better... which is pretty much why I decided I wanted a mahogany body... from what you guys said, I think I may go for bolt on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I have an RGT220 (Swamp ash wings). I must have the crappiest ears on this forum because I can't hear a thing between the Ibanez and any of my bolt on guitars. Geez, the set up, difference in pick ups, strings, etc would probably make a bigger difference. Oh well. I like my neck through because the neck and the lack of a bolt-on joint kick ass!! yeah, that is probably a super bright guitar. neckthrough + ash.... ash is supposed to be one of the brightest sounding woods there is lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 one more bump. any other opinions? also, any opinions on the S series, guys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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