construction musings

TomThumbs

Why aren't necks more integral to the body of a guitar? The accepted method of neck installation just seems to me to be an engineering fubar, introducing a pivot point and manifesting itself in humps at the neck/body join leading to fret buzz, etc. This also seems to be compounded by the practice of gluing the fretboard extension to the top.....which we all know is subject to the vagaries of the weather. The accepted practice of using shims to compensate for changes in the top, etc., only seems to introduce an added layer impeding the transfer of string vibration.
My knowledge of guitar construction is limited to be sure, but wood is wood and glue is glue, and I do know that these two items are not static by nature. Why not use some method of mechanical attachment? I know there are bolt on necks and that makes a lot of sense to me...at least more so than a dovetail joint. In archtop guitars the fingerboard extension is somewhat isolated from the top, and that seems to be a good thing.
I understand trying to keep to the original specs when duplicating a Selmer, but I can't help but think that for today's guitars, things could be done a bit more logically, eliminating the normal problems with necks.
Just thinkin' :-)

frater

A friend of mine (who was acquainted with Maccaferri) thinks that old guitars like Selmer or Stella sound "right" just because of their flaws while new guitars sound "wrong" because the level of craftmanship is too good! More thinkin' matter...

TomThumbs

Yes, clearly, I wouldn't want my GJ guitars to sound like my Taylor (one of my life's big disappointments, BTW). But, having spent some time this last weekend working on my, albeit cheaper GJ guitars, I became annoyed and curious about their construction and its inherent weaknesses.
Maybe other methods have been tried without the desired results in sound and projection, etc. I'm sure I don't know.
The whole set-neck system just seems so wrong to me, though. Oh well, guess I'll just keep filing and humidifying to keep the humps to a minimum.

Tom

BluesBop Harry

The Dupont Nomade has a bolt-on neck and very good sound

TomThumbs

Good example. Forgot about those. I imagine Dupont could use duct tape and make a guitar sound good. :-)

GregLewis

Check out William Compiano's site. He has started using a mechanical neck joint that looks very good, and apparently works very well. Certainly worth a look.

Greg

TomThumbs

Thanks Greg, but couldn't find anything on him. Do you have a link?


Gotta say that I thought my initial post would spark some dialogue on this topic. I am truly interested in the whys and wherefores as to guitar construction. Would love to hear some builder's explanations and insights.

Tom

Jazzaferri

From a woodworker's perspective for guitars that are built with the neck being attached to the neck block IMO the best and easiest joint in this day of routers and good router bits is the dovetail joint.


I think the spelling of the name referred above is Cumpiano if the reference is to the author/luthier

TomThumbs

Interesting quote from Mr. Cumpiano that allays some of my misgivings regarding neck to body joints. He is using a mechanical fastening system and glue.......the whole thing transparent to the consumer.
From his website:
http://www.cumpiano.com/Home/Articles/S ... block.html.

William R. Cumpiano replies: This is quite a testimonial given that the actual stress across the joint is applied along the pull of the strings. So if you do a vector diagram of the forces acting on the joint, you'll find that most of the stress is compression of the neck INTO the guitar, and only a minor portion is tension actually acting on the bolt and the wood surrounding the dowel. So it appears to be far stronger than it needs to be.

When one thinks of all the old Harmonys and Kays, etc. and their inevitable need for a neck reset, I am not completely convinced that the "tension" part of the equation is minor, but I do now feel better about the whole separate neck and body thing. Now about the gluing of the fretboard extension.........

Ken Bloom

I used the Cumpiano bolt on neck joint on the seven string Selmac that I built. It was easy to do and get the neck angle right and works just fine. I have built with dovetails before and they are a pain to align. I find no difference in tone. It makes construction so much easier and if you have to go back and repair something, that is also much easier. Just my 2p.

Ken Bloom