# Luthier Trick: Increase Sustain On Bolt-Neck Guitars



## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

I saw this on YouTube earlier this evening. He does say in the video that this is anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt. On the other hand if it really does work. that's cool.


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## bileshake (Aug 18, 2014)

Nice trick, worth trying.


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## bigboki (Apr 16, 2015)

I've read about this before and I think it makes perfect sense. I will post my findings here once when i get rid of this stubborn flu


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## Ronbeast (Nov 11, 2008)

I've seen this trick before; I'm pretty sure it was featured in old G&L manuals for a long time, maybe it still is?

Not sure whether it makes a difference or not, but it's worth trying as it's easy to do.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Hmmm. I'll have to try this on my Tele. The neck fit is very tight, but it can't hurt to try.


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## LPhilippe (Jan 6, 2016)

It's make perfect sens if we approach it in term of sound propagation. More contact to as surface better the transmission will be.
Also, all guitars, specially new one need to be retuned, recheck after few months since all the pieces react to the strings tension before take their final place.

So from my point of view, this is a manipulation that all luthiers should do or at least share with their customer. I will even say that it probably better to do it during winter since the air is dryer than summer. A dryer wood is "smaller" in volume than moister wood. So to have optimal result, be sure to have your guitar set in controlled temperature room.

My two cents


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Tried this on my Strat. It pulled the neck in so far I'm now playing a Gibson scale length


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

I believe Leo Fender thought that neck heel/body contact was the most important part, for vibration transfer/sustain

makes sense

also you can add mass to the headstock...this should work for any guitar. recall those brass plates they used to sell?


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

I think Fender sells this ugly thing called a Fat Finger for that very purpose.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

1) The principle of maximizing contact between the neck and body at the pocket is a sound one (no pun intended). That's one of the reasons why a set neck delivers great sustain. I've felt for a long time that an ideal bolt-on neck would be one that used a machined sideways-W pocket (with complementary-machined neck heel), such that the neck would slide into the pocket, and then be bolted in to place. The rationale is that such a joint/pocket would do two things. First, it would increase the total surface area where the neck contacts the body. Second, when the bolts pull the neck down to the body, it would make verical contact along multiple surfaces. Keep in mind that the tightened bolts pull the neck heel towards the back of the pocket, but do diddley to pull it to the sides. So if the only direction you can tighten it directly is downwards, then you want to give it more downwards to be pulled towards, and the articulated joint does that. The downside is that there's some precision machining involved, and you can't just plunk any neck into the pocket.

2) Adding mass to the headstock works...sometimes. The question is whether the mass of the neck and body are a good complement to each other. Adding mass to a neck that is already too heavy, or alternately well-matched to the body won't do very much, while adding somemass to a neck that is maybe a little on the light side can help. A quick and easy test of whether more mass will help your guitar is to stand in a doorway and press the headstock against the door-frame. Not hard enough to bend the neck, but firmly enough for the door-frame to absorb the neck vibrations. If the extra mass contributed by the door frame noticeably improves your sustain, then perhaps more headstock mass (e.g., a Fathead or Fat Finger) can help.


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## Ronbeast (Nov 11, 2008)

Another reason to add mass to a headstock is to get rid of dead spots, or to shift them to another spot on the neck. I've never had any terribly noticeable dead spots, but a lot of those devices seem to cash in on that idea.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

Yamaha is doing this on the Billy Sheehan (and now others too) Attitude line of basses. They put in a pair of screws at an angle that pulls the neck firmly into the pocket. Billy says in one of his rig rundown videos that I makes a world of difference.

I have noticed on multiple cheaper guitars that I have that installing Fender neck screws in place of the cheap wire-grade screws that came from the factory makes a big and noticeable difference. Using stainless steel screws a la Callaham makes an event bigger difference, to the tune of "wow, that's amazing!"

I haven't found any titanium neck screws......yet.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

Rollin Hand said:


> Yamaha is doing this on the Billy Sheehan (and now others too) Attitude line of basses. They put in a pair of screws at an angle that pulls the neck firmly into the pocket. Billy says in one of his rig rundown videos that I makes a world of difference.
> 
> I have noticed on multiple cheaper guitars that I have that installing Fender neck screws in place of the cheap wire-grade screws that came from the factory makes a big and noticeable difference. Using stainless steel screws a la Callaham makes an event bigger difference, to the tune of "wow, that's amazing!"
> 
> I haven't found any titanium neck screws......yet.


Titanium isn't a great screw material IMO. It tends to flex too much


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