Dust N' Bones Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 This is probablly a stupid question but I don't want to spend 500 dollars on a part then goof it up. So, could I buy a Warmoth neck without the bolt holes and then glue it on, or does the heel shape on them only ment for bolting on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 You could reshape the heel. But if you're going to spend 500 bucks on a part, then you ought to get exactly what you need, I figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 My question is why would you WANT to buy a neck meant to be bolted on... and glue it on? I'd just go to www.soulmateguitars.com and have him make you a glue-in neck for your body. OR, I know people around here don't like Ed Roman, but he's got ALOT of set-neck options ranging from PRS ones, to Roman ones. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Why bother gluing the neck in? With a bolt on, you get wood to wood contact with nothing in between. Provided you have a good neck joint and pocket (tight), the bolt on should be excellent. If you want a set neck design, the design the whole thing as a set neck to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Another thing is the bolt on neck pocket is much too sloppy (not a snug fit) to make an adequate glue in job. Personally I don't see how you could make it look proper either with that gap all around the heel on the top side. You certainly can shape the heel and body to look like it was made that way, but there's more to it than that. One important thing about a set neck is the neck pocket should be very snug. Less glue between the neck and body the better it will sound. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust N' Bones Posted October 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 (edited) Well, I liked all the options Warmoth gives you but they're missing one crucial choice which is obviously a set neck/bolt-on option. Unless I'm missing something but I've searched high and low around that site and found nothing. However, soulmateguitars.com did look quite interesting. Also, what's anyone got against Ed Roman? Edited October 18, 2005 by Dust N' Bones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goth_fiend Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 (edited) how much time ya got? he builds fake guitars and passes them off as originals, is a total pain in the butt to deal with and many other things, i will try to find a link that will show you some of his stuff. Edited October 18, 2005 by goth_fiend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 I dunno about the whole building fake ones and passing them off as original thing... but he DOES heavily MOD a lot of guitars and attempts to sell them. If he was building guitars and selling them under say the "Gibson" name, I'm sure he would have been sued by now. HOWEVER I DO see. like I said, him retopping things alot, and he does have a suspiciously high quantity of 5A Diamond super flame quilt mojo (the point i'm trying to make is they're REALLY figured tops) tops, especially when Gibson makes VERY few nice tops (IMO). But yeah, check these links out for necks to use from him if you wanna deal with him being a dick (and he IS a dick, I'll agree to that... like if you EVER talk to him on the phone (which I have) you'll see what I mean). PRS replacement parts, including necks As for his total rebiuld and still trying to pull it off as a company guitar tactic, here's a display of it. In this case the ONLY thing left original is between the nut and the last fret... to me it's no longer a PRS... The "Not Quite PRS Anymore" PRS Chris PS: But I'd say go for the soulmate neck, looks MUCH better, and probably MUCH cheaper than you're going to give ED for a PRS neck, or one of his "PRS style neck with "slightly bigger headstock for legal reasons" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goth_fiend Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 he has done it with bc rich guitar's I can tell you that much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Another thing is the bolt on neck pocket is much too sloppy (not a snug fit) -Doug ← Sorry, but when I build a bolt on, the neck doesn't come right off when I take the bolts off. A good bolt on neck should have a snug fit. If it doesn't, the neck pocket to neck heel joint wans't matched properly. Now that doesn't say that gluing in it is a good idea. I think think that wood on wood is better than having glue in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Another thing is the bolt on neck pocket is much too sloppy (not a snug fit) -Doug ← Sorry, but when I build a bolt on, the neck doesn't come right off when I take the bolts off. A good bolt on neck should have a snug fit. If it doesn't, the neck pocket to neck heel joint wans't matched properly. Now that doesn't say that gluing in it is a good idea. I think think that wood on wood is better than having glue in there. ← Every guitar a customer has brought me thus far with a bolt on neck, the pocket has been far looser than a properly constructed set neck. There are a couple good reasons: One, the neck pocket is bigger to allow for finish thickness on the sides of the neck heel and the walls of the pocket. Second the neck was not made for that specific guitar. I have seen this over and over with Fender, Ibanez, Jackson, and numerous others. An American Telecaster I have in the shop right now has 1/8" thick polyester in the neck pocket! Rule of thumb: If you can shift the neck left to right while it's in the neck pocket, then the pocket is too wide. I'm in no way implying that Warmoth builds a substandard product. As a matter of fact they are very nice. I am certain that they would leave a neck pocket with enough space to allow the customer to apply finish to the neck and still have it fit. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Every guitar a customer has brought me thus far with a bolt on neck, the pocket has been far looser than a properly constructed set neck. There are a couple good reasons: One, the neck pocket is bigger to allow for finish thickness on the sides of the neck heel and the walls of the pocket. Second the neck was not made for that specific guitar. I have seen this over and over with Fender, Ibanez, Jackson, and numerous others. An American Telecaster I have in the shop right now has 1/8" thick polyester in the neck pocket! Rule of thumb: If you can shift the neck left to right while it's in the neck pocket, then the pocket is too wide. I'm in no way implying that Warmoth builds a substandard product. As a matter of fact they are very nice. I am certain that they would leave a neck pocket with enough space to allow the customer to apply finish to the neck and still have it fit. -Doug ← I wasn't talking about mass produced guitars... although I found that Godin guitars have amazing fit and finish. I was trying to say that a well built bolt on should have a snug fit in the neck pocket. Additionnally, there should be NO finish in the neck pocket or on the neck where it makes contact with the guitar body. That's why I always tung oil my necks. A good set neck should be the same - snug fit - The only difference is that one is held by glue between the body and neck, while the other is wood on wood with bolts. People tend to think that set necks are superior - In my opinion, that is not the case. They're different designs that each have their merits. The only advantage I see with a set neck is upper register access, although with the Ibanez all access neck joint (AANJ), bolt ons have made a huge leap forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 True. If I were to build a bolt on guitar in my shop it would indeed be a close fit. As far as bolt on vs. set neck, well like everything else opinion rules. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust N' Bones Posted October 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 I'm also checking out Usacustomguitars.com. Has anyone had any experience with them? Really what I'm looking for is gold frets and an asymetrical back contour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Godin is the only company I've seen who makes there necks -very- snug. You could just about put the strings on and forget about the bolts and be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted October 22, 2005 Report Share Posted October 22, 2005 USA Custom guitars necks and neck pockets fit like OJ's glove (i.e. tight). They are perfect. I have two USA Custom guitars "strats", both alder bodied with maple necks (one has a rosewood fretboard). Tommy (the owner of USA Customer Guitars) can also make the pockets tighter if you ask him to. He offered me this on my first guitar when he heard I was going to Tung Oil it (I turned him down, because I ended up going with minwax wipe on poly for the neck). I could pick the body up with the neck slid into place (not bolted). Not sure if my pics are close enough to give you any real detail, but you can see my first USA CG strat at USA CG Strat project. My site is a little slow, but I've got some pictures of the finished guitar and one of the body in process and one of the neck fresh out of the box. Edit: I hesitate to show this directly here, because I don't want to be made fun of for my (lack of) finishing skills and my dumb use of three nails tapped into where the pickguard would be, but here's a good picture that shows you the snugness of the pocket: And please, no crap about the decal, I actually use several Fender products on the guitar, although its not a Fender strat, and I haven't used decals at all on my other guitars. You'll note the Earvana OEM nut and a couple of tuners slightly askew (first time doing Sperzels). The fingerboard edges are worn-in a bit (I can't remember what Fender calls this, but Tommy added it to my neck at no extra charge). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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