Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on January 1, 2013 at 7:44pm

Thought you were supposed to keep your eyes closed when necking.

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Permalink Reply by Mark on January 2, 2013 at 1:20am

It will definitely make a difference to the sound - the question is whether it's a difference that matters. And that's something you have to choose for yourself.

My experience is that if you want to have a good acoustic sound (particularly for lower notes) then have the soundboard free - ie. not touching the neck.

But even if you have the neck in touch with the soundboard then there will probably be some acoustic response and that might be enough for you. If you have a pickup fitted and your sound is going to come through an amp then it matters a lot less. You might possibly find that having the neck solidly glued to the top gives you a better sustain.

However, I don't buy the idea about more energy being transmitted if the neck is glued to the soundboard. Energy transfer from the strings to the soundboard is generally the job of the bridge.

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on January 2, 2013 at 6:03am

I would expect this has as much to do with your wood choice for the neck as anything else.  That is, an oak neck and a poplar neck will likely produce different results in each choice of recessed or glued to the soundboard.  I know I can feel the oak necks vibrate when played and that's energy that isn't doing much of anything for sound if not fixed to the soundboard.

But I've followed the "conventional wisdom" and recessed all the necks of my guitars.  If you make a one-piece neck then it would be better to recess the neck inside the box so you don't get any uneven contact with the soundboard and a harsh buzz.

Like Rand said, I would recommend if using a drum or license plate that these be allowed to freely resonate. 

Going forward, I think I will not bother recessing inside the box on future guitars that use a fret board glued over the neck.

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on January 2, 2013 at 1:19pm

Very good responses.   I usually make the neck not touch in the region of the bridge.  But I've done a couple simple quickie builds where it touched.  And sounded good.   I will vote no.  But I will say it's kind of like Forrest Gump and a box of assorted chocolates.  You never know what you will get until you bite into it.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Saraceno on August 11, 2015 at 12:08pm

I tried an experiment with putting a dowel stick between the neck and the lid and found that the sound was dampened considerably. I used a section of 3/8" dowel between the neck and lid right under the bridge.

Here's a video of my experiment... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F31SJo9Xd70&feature=youtu.be

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Permalink Reply by Graeme L on August 11, 2015 at 4:10pm

Boy this is a great question, I have built about 15 CBG's so far and have always had a "relief" between the neck and the box lid.   Some have sounded better than others but I have always put it down to the different types/styles of boxes.    But after reading this and a few other similar posts my next build will be a "neck glued to cbg box lid".   Love this forum for all the TIPS and TRICKS and just general knowledge that is gleaned......... 

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