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Through Body Necks: Contact with lid or no

I haven't built to many guitars yet and the ones I have have all been different. I've carved most all the necks but plan to make a few more traditional cbg's with the neck through the box. My question to everyone is whether the neck is attached to the bottom of the box or to the lid? Please take into account that the lid will be the top and the bottom will face the player....well, their belly. Is there a sound/resonating difference or is it negligible? The first electrified version I made, the neck had contact with the top and the bottom. Are there advantages to keeping the neck from contacting one or the other? I'd like to hear some opinions. Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Roosterman on January 30, 2012 at 11:38pm

I kinda do mine the same - I trim the part of the neck that is inside the box from 5mm (tail) to nothing (where fretboard starts) to give some neck angle.

However, I dont use a cut out. Often my necks are touching the box lid inside, but are not fastened to it - they are screwed in from the back. I admit Im not concerned by acoustics so much as I always electrify them, and even if I were, I dont believe that a cut out is neccesary.

There are so many other factors that affect how your guitar will sound. Box construction, box size, soundholes (sometimes a box is louder without soundholes), strings used, type of bridge, string tension, neck construction... the list is endless.

If you took a scientific approach you would probably find that the ideal way of building and fitting a neck was different from one box to the other, so my advice would be not to worry about it too much!

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Permalink Reply by Kimmer Olesak on January 31, 2012 at 2:15am

"Not worry too much about it"....thanks for bringing me back to that mantra. That's why I haven't been building as much as I've been cyphering and a-thinking; the thought process is becoming the thing and my guitar rack is thin of work.

The responses have been incredibly helpful so far. Once I get home from this job, there's a load of wood acclimating to the shop air waiting for me to get off my ass and build. If I remember right, I learn a little something on each build anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on January 31, 2012 at 4:00am

Badda Bing baby!. This method works REALLY well.

-WY

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Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on January 31, 2012 at 4:03am

You know, its amazing that [at least those on this thread] can live and build completely isolated from one another and short of learning from others ad hoc, and can come up with exactly or at least very similar solutions to the same problem -- including modification to that such as the neck angle with shims.

Amazing

-WY