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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.
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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.
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.
- Dean Kerry King V Black Satin
ESP Guitars offers several models with set-through necks:
- ESP MH, and variants
- ESP Alexi Laiho LTD
- LTD BB-600B (Ben Burnley signature model)
- 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
Samick JTR (John Thomas Riboloff):
- Elvira EV20, EV30
- Sylvia SV20
- Veronica VN20
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[update], 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.
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