Bolt on vs Neck thru

[ekalb09]

I've heard people claiming certain advantages of bolt on vs neck thru and I've stumbled upon an affordable USA dinky. Is it worth it to save a few bucks and go bolt on? I love the feel of unpainted necks but don't mind painted. (I have an LTD RL-600, neck thru and unpainted).

[stevoc]

I prefer the unpainted neck. My hand tends to stick on a finished neck.

I've never owned a soloist, but have owned two different DK1's and they were both superb! When playing a soloist at a shop, I did find access to the upper frets is much more unrestrictive, but thats probably no secret to you. I just prefer the bolt on more.

Either way, I'm sure you'll be happy. Good luck!

[Grandturk]

Bolt on necks tend to have more immediacy to the pick attack. A little more ping. I prefer that sound.

[dg]

I agree with GT. I own some of each, but one of the things I love about my bolt-ons is that snappiness they have. I don't think I could ever narrow my guitars down to just one type of construction, because there are things I dig a lot about all of them.

[Axewielder]

Oh noes...it's the BO/NT debate!!

[Sunbane]

On any other forum, this thread would have looked like this:

Guy 1: Bolt-ons ar teh suk.

Guy 2: No u are.

Guy 3: U all suk.

Guy 4: *LULZCOPTER*

Fortunately, this is the JCF.
I've found that the older I get, the more I appreciate bolt-ons. The heel always bothered me before, but now I don't mind it as much, and I generally have no problems with upper fret access. I don't know...maybe my fingers have grown? :think:

[Ben...]

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The Satin finish on my DK2's neck is really nice feeling and I agree with the "snappy" statements. However, I don't find my Soloist's painted neck sticky and I adore the upper fret access. As long as you keep painted necks clean they are just as slick as unpainted or satin finished necks. I do notice a lot more sustain in my Soloist but that may be because of the crappy trem in my DK2 versus the JT-590 in my Soloist.

[straycat]

I'm a swich hitter so I like both.

[DonP]

I'm a swich hitter so I like both.

+1.

If it sounds good I'm not complaining. Tone to me is the most important factor, unless you are talking really F'd up playability. If it sounds good I'm not complaining about the neck attachment.

[Bengal65]

Oh noes...it's the BO/NT debate!!

Not again!:ROTF: I like one piece guitars myself. Neck and all. Expensive though.

[ekalb09]

Thanks for all the great responses. I think I also have to take into account that my experience with bolt-ons is just in sketchy guitars but there are obviously high end bolt ons or the dk1 wouldn't have been created. That logic takes the edge off for me anyways.

[Axewielder]

If you reaaaaally want to have this debate, you need to sort the claims into two bins, one for "can be proven" and one for "cannot be proven". Now that's not to say that the "cannot be proven" claims have no merit, it's just they need to weighted accordingly.

Example of claims that can be proven:

- Better upper fret access
- Fewer neck pocket cracks
- Allows for combination of different neck and body woods

Example of claims that cannot be proven:

- More sustain
- More "snap"
- Harmonics that leap off of the fingerboard (whatever that means...)

[86barettaguy]

I prefer the unpainted neck. My hand tends to stick on a finished neck.

I've experienced this with my non-jackson sl4-similar neck-through (the only nt I've played). I cured this by rubbing the back of the neck down using steel wool. Feels really nice now. Makes me consider leaving the OFR in it, give it a refret and/or scallop the fretboard and try out some new pickups in her...

The main advantage of NT guitars is fret access. Generally, they're superior for this, as long as the body design allows it to be (as it does on a soloist).

The disadvantage? well, it's hard to replace the neck. that's about it.

It's a matter of preference and personally, if I was you and didn't urgently need a guitar (which I don't) I'd save up for a neck-through

[straycat]

I have both but play my bolt-ons more.The NT's just seem dark tone wise but sometimes thats the sound I want.Both feel great to me.

[bombtek]

Mine are both Model series Charvels. One is a Model 3A and the other is a Model 5 FX.
I think of them as cars when comparing them.

The 3 (bolt on), is the equivalent of a late 60's early 70's muscle car that has seen a whole lot of fun through its life. Not beat on just pushed, not fearing to get it dirty. Step on the gas hard and you're rewarded with unrestrained wheel spin from the raw power. Still as potent as the day it rolled out of the factory, just a fun car.

The 5 (neck through) is the equivalent of a modern high powered Lexus/Infinity/Mercedes/BMW or the like. A high level of refinement, as well as unquestionable power. Step on the fuel and you feel a linear power push the car just as hard as the old muscle car, just in a different more refined fashion. Again, fun as hell.

Two different animals accomplishing the same thing. Just feeling completely different doing it. Neither one better, just different.