Comparing a Neck Thru With a Bolt on

[Mazz]

Appreciate any feedback/recommendations.

Yeah, Drop the attitude

[straycat]

Holy shit cool your heels newbie don't be a dick.
The folks here are great people and will help all they can when you have a question.
Copping an attitude will get you nowhere but out the door.
If you have the need to put folks on a "list"maybe its YOU that has the problem.
Back to your original question there is no clear answer.Its all subjective.
I have neck thrus and bolt ons and I love them all.I prefer to play bolt ons live and neck thrus at home.
One is not better than the other just different.

[ozzuk1]

I have an SL2H Im pretty sure it's a MAH as the neck grain doesent look like maple and matches the body perfectly...

Plugged in they may be fairly equal in terms of sustain, im not a fan of the JB so neither the dk2 or sl2h wins in that department...

However All of the bolt on Jacksons i've played arent as good as a USA they arent bad guitars but there are certain very subtle things that set the USA's a part to more experienced hands/ears. my SL2H unplugged has some rediculous sustain...

But im not sure weather someone who cant really tell the difference in quality between those two guitars, would benifit from the more expensive and higher quality SL2H...

[Tricky]

I prefer to play bolt ons live and neck thrus at home.

Don't want to mess those neck-thrus up dragging them around.

One thing I've learned, its easier to warm up a bright sound, than to brighten up a worm sound.

[Newc]

To be honest, the sustain of my guitar without the sustainiac is pretty poor and that is more important to me when judging the quality of the instrument.

Another thing, I WILL ASK WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT TO, if you don't have anything to add or find it useful in any way, then don't respond, it's that simple.

First off, if neckthrough construction was inherently superior by virtue of itself, we'd all be playing 1980's Arbors.
*[/neckthrough-is-better-discussion]*


There's several factors that govern the natural sustain of any guitar. "Pretty poor sustain" for you might be "just enough" or "more than I need" for someone else, so that becomes subjective.

The setup (action, neck straightness, frets, bridge angle, pickup height) contributes to or detracts from the sustain. This is true for neckthrough and bolt-on and set-neck.

A poorly set-up neckthrough USA Jackson vs a bolt-on Hondo with a good setup will result in the Hondo having a better tone, and better playability.
It'll still be a piece of shit, but it'll sound and play better than the USA.


If, as you say, your DK has "poor sustain", there's several things you can do to improve it, like replacing the trem with a real Floyd Rose or Schaller.

Also, with the strings taut, slightly loosen the neck bolts until the neck seats further down in the pocket, then tighten them back up.

If the pickups are too close to the string, the magnetic field will actually dampen their vibration, thus creating the illusion you're not getting sustain.


As for the second part of your comment, this has all been discussed in great detail over the last 10 years on this board. Search for those threads and read up on them rather than contributing to the pile of threads on the subject.

[KBRR]

Newc is bang on the money.

[Ben...]

Did I qualify into that section? All except the silly rant about the local guitar shop

Yes, you qualify. You contribute and don't act like a jerk.

Edit: Wow, I just realized I've almost been here two years already. Yikes! Time goes too fast.

[micha]

just wanted to say patmac3 and I got things sorted out already.
everythings's fine now. no need for bad blood at all.

[Spivonious]

If the pickups are too close to the string, the magnetic field will actually dampen their vibration, thus creating the illusion you're not getting sustain.

+10000000

I thought I had some fret problems since my notes were dying out quickly above the 15th fret on the high E, but I took a closer look and the string was practically touching the pickup pole when fretted. I lowered the pickup and have a much better sound now.

[Sunbane]

What? No blood?

*puts down knife*

[Newc]

What? No blood?

*puts down knife*

Yeah, fuckin killjoys around here. Kinder, Gentler, JCF. WTF is this, a Republican Presidential campaign?

[RacerX]

Here we go, Newc: "Fuck patmac!" - new JCF catchphrase?

[DonP]

Group hug

[j2379]

This topic has been covered plenty of times here, it's that simple. Maybe use the search fuction. Whether a guitar has a bolt-on, set or through-body neck doesn't matter... the sustain CAN be the same on all three.

its also perceived sustain. boltons have a snappier louder attack, so the notes seem to decay quicker. on set necks & neck thrus its more of an even sustain not as drastic initial attack. i think this is even more evident on short scale guitars. but the length of time of the actual sustained note is nearly identical.

[toejam]

Good point, Jamie. Also, maple neck-thrus tend to be a little brighter than bolt-ons.