Tension Free Neck

[degradacija]

Hi, I'm not sure if all of you heard about tension free neck,

so I'll give a brief explanation.

With standard truss rod you get compressed neck when strung

so it doesn't resonate and sustain that well,but with tension free neck like on bunker guitars (you can find explanation on http://www.bunker-guitars.com/tf_neck.html)

neck doesn't get compressed so it resonates more naturally and sustains better.

I would like to build this kind of neck but I can't find real explanation on how it's done

I need explanation on how to actually put the truss rod and where to put steel rod

I need more details.

so if anyone has tension free neck or has some theories on how it's done please share

it with me.

[frank falbo]

I'm pretty familiar with those, between repairs and talking to them personally. There's no truss rod, just a huge steel rod that's attatched to the headstock. It pivots near the neck joint, rather than arching along the whole length of the neck like a truss rod does.

I think it's value has nothing to do with the neck resonating, etc. It has good sustain because it's a virtually immovable steel rod that doesn't absorb string vibrations. But the whole theory behind the neck resonating more is bunk IMO (ha, "bunk" pun intended-so that makes them "bunkers") Acoustic resonation does not directly translate into pickup output, since the strings are heard magnetically. So the whole discussion centers around how it makes the string vibrate differently to have no tension on the wood on which you're fretting it. I prefer tension on my neck. It's that interplay between the wood being torqued and the string vibrating that makes notes swell and decay in a vibrant and "vintage" way. See, with a neck that has healthy tension, I can pick real soft, and then pick real hard and that actually causes variance in the way the neck reacts. There's more bounce to the dynamics. You can think of it like a bow and arrow. Every time you tug on the bow's string, the bow flexes a little.

Every TF neck I've played sounded lifeless. Perhaps more importantly, if felt lifeless in my hands. The Bunkers are a super nice family, and I feel bad saying any of this because I wish them the best. The truth is, I don't like carbon fiber or steel rods in necks either, so maybe I'm the wrong guy to ask. For everyone like me, there's someone out there that likes the TF neck. (okay maybe for every 1000 of me there's one that likes the TF neck) But it's the same pattern as Steinberger, Parker, old graphite Brian Moores, Kramer aluminum necks, etc. They want to take the tension away. They want to use materials and techniques that lessen the degree of the affect the neck has on the tone.

So back to the effect on the string vibrations, you're basically fretting a dead fish. There's no varying response to your playing dynamics (other than the dynamics themselves)

[javacody]

I'm another guy who prefers vintage type tone and I don't play with much gain, so keep this in mind when interpreting my opinion. My experience leads me to believe that when a neck is under compression, it sounds much better.

While not being even remotely close to any kind of scientific evidence, I've had guitars that came with their trussrods almost completely loose, and they sounded much better once the truss rod was tightened down.

However, I'm looking forward to pics of your project and your experiences. You never know until you try.

[degradacija]

Well I've decided to hold on with the project until I play the tension free neck

but it won't be anytime soon because Bunker guitars are hard to find,I'll try to find

some 90's Ibanez that were built with tension free neck and see how it plays.

Until Then I'll be working on my SG neck thru project.