Set-through neck

Set-through neck (or Set-thru neck) is a method of joining the neck and the body of guitar (or similar stringed instrument), effectively combining bolt-on, set-in and neck-through methods. It involves:

• A pocket in the instrument's body for insertion of neck, as in bolt-on method. However, the pocket is much deeper than usual one.
• Long neck plank, comparable to the scale length, as in the neck-through method.
• Glueing (setting) the long neck inside the deep pocket, as in the set-neck method.

The result is usually told to have combined advantages of all these methods, mostly eliminating their disadvantages. Luthiers frequently cite:

• improved tone and sustain (due to deep insertion and body made of single piece of wood, not laminated as in neck-through),
• brighter tone (due to set joint)
• comfortable access to top frets (due to lack of hard heel and bolt plate),
• better wood stability.

The main disadvantage is relatively complex construction that leads to higher manufacturing and servicing costs. Another cited disadvantage is the inability or relative complexity of adding a double-locking tremolo to the guitar, as the routing for cavities would interfere with deeply set neck.

Manufacturers

Set-through necks are relatively uncommon, and few manufacturers produce such neck joints. Sometimes, especially if neck extension inside a body does not fill full scale length, such neck joint is marketed as an extended pocket set-in neck or deep-set neck.

David Thomas McNaught claims to be the first who proposed a modern version of set-through neck joint. "Set-Thru" is a registered trademark of McNaught Guitars in United States since February 25, 2003.^[1]

Despite the trademark, some other companies use the term to describe their products. ESP Guitars offers several models with set-through necks:

• ESP MH, and variants
• ESP Alexi Laiho LTD
• LTD DJ-600 (Dan Jacobs signature model)
• LTD F-400
• LTD AX-400
• LTD AX-401FM
• LTD V-401FM
• LTD H-1001
• LTD H-401
• LTD H-351NT
• LTD H-308
• LTD M-401
• LTD M-1000FM
• LTD MH-1000FR
• Edwards Forest Series
• Grassroots Forest Series

Ed Roman Guitars offers the following guitars with "deep-set tenon neck joint", which is a version of set-through neck:

• Quicksilver (since 2005)
• Centurion
• Viking
• Jaros

B.C. Rich guitars offer so-called "Invisibolt Technology" since 2006, which is effectively also a version of deep-set neck, bolted underneath the pickups. As of 2007, B.C. Rich offers 3 models in SE series with Invisibolt Technology:

• I.T. Beast
• I.T. Jr. V
• I.T. Warlock

Toone Guitars has offered multiple "neck-into-body" options since 1993, including an asymmetrical sliding dovetail joint:

• Dove
• Orchid
• Starfish

As opposed to popular neck-through designs that emphasize the neck as one piece of wood and the body wings as (laminated) separate pieces by using transparent or semi-transparent finishes and contrasting woods, there's no such trend for set-through guitars. Usually, it's hard to determine if the guitar has set-through neck or neck-through body judging only the general outlook. B.C. Rich's Invisibolt Technology is one notable exception that uses black ("shadow") body and contrasting light neck wood. A second example would be Toone Guitars' deliberate emphasis of the neck joint as an aesthetic choice, in particular the exposed asymmetrical sliding dovetail joint.

References

1. "Set-thru" neck trademark information, serial number 78014000, registration number 2690889 at US patents office server.

• Explanation of "Set-Thru" Neck at David Thomas McNaught Guitars.
• Guitar Neck Construction at Ed Roman Guitars.
• Deep Set Neck Tenon construction details and photos at Ed Roman Guitars.
• Neck-Into-Body Construction detailed variations at Toone Guitars.