ibanez, Neck through or bolt on

[Poontang_clan]

Now I'm thinking of either getting an ibanez RGT42DX with a edge pro II locking trem and neck through construction and two humbuckers or an RG370DX with bolt on neck edge pro II locking trem and h-s-h pickup configuation i think the neck through is about 200$ more than the bolt on what would you suggest

BTW i play lots of metal and plan on shredding soon enough

[Lordathestrings]

Neck-through construction is considered to be higher-quality construction, but really, it's a matter of personal taste. Bolt-on necks offer the possibility of replacing a damaged neck, and the tone is usually brighter. If everything else is the same, choose the one that gives the tone you want.

[PonyOne]

yep, both have their ups and downs.

you'll hear a lot of "experts" make comments about bolt-necks and how they are inferior to set necks or neck throughs, but... tell that to Clapton, Hendrix, Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Muddy Waters, Danny Gatton and thousands upon thousands others. it's all just preference.

NECK THROUGH
PROS
-tuning stability
-sustain is improved
-less or lack of a heel = often superior access to upper frets
-structural rigidity; often very, very sturdy and resisliant insruments
CONS
-sometimes sustain isn't what you want
-if neck is broken, guitar goes in dumpster. a repaired neck on a neck through is the brakes.

BOLT NECKS
PROS
-easier adjustments
-easily replaced or broken down
-tends to give more of a "snap" which is a well-known advantage for country and blues and a less storied advantage for speed metal and other fast music
-cost effective
CONS
-on cheaper guitars tuning stability and reliability can be an issue
-sometimes snap isn't what you want

these are just rough, off-the-top-of-my-head answers. i own guitars of both types and love both. especially with bolt necks there is such a huge variety of instruments out there that a bolt neck doesn't necessarily mean it has to be a strat or tele sound. there are bolt-neck semi hollow bodies that nail a dead-on Les Paul sound and even one up it.

[Poontang_clan]

the rg370dx has a H-S-H pickup configuration but for metal do i really need a single coil? and i think the neck through might be better because im planning on doing some crazy solos on the frets way up near the body so what do you think i need

[Lordathestrings]

A single-coil pickup can add to the sounds available to you, but you may find that you never use it. Not for me to say. I think you need to spend some time playing the actual guitars you're considering.

[Raskolnikov]

I think you need to spend some time playing the actual guitars you're considering.
Words of wisdom right there.


You would probably also do yourself a great service trying out a lot of other guitars in the same price range... you never really know what's best going to work for you until you've had your hands on it and you've heard it with your own ears.

[Poontang_clan]

i have a few music stores near me but i dont think they have the models im looking for. i live in pickering ontario canadaso i don't know where i could try them out though. and i cant drive yet and my parents don't want to spend alot of time in a music store so it would be hard to go to a music store thats a little further that might have what i want but i think im gonna go for the neck thru i just wanna give it a whirl. because iv'e played an ibanez bolt on and it plays really really fast on the RG321MH but you cant reach the high frets as easily as you would with a neck thru but there is an rgt42 at a near music store i think its an old model because its not on the site anymore but i think the only difference is the inlay and maybe some small changes that i dont know about but should i try this and also something similar to the rg 370dx or should i try the exact one i want to get

[Lordathestrings]

... or should i try the exact one i want to getTry any guitar you can get your hands on! I went downtown one day in 1984 to get a Gibson LP Custom, and came home with a Yamaha SBG1000. I've still got it. Check my avatar.

[GuitarPsy]

I got the RG370DX and I love the thing, the only problem I got is the edge pro II locking trem-system, it's sound is really good for metal though you can't tune it in a different tuning that easily, it takes some hours sometimes..

[Poontang_clan]

i Guess my real question is what would be better for metal and shredding a neck thru or bolt on and why they are good for metal or shredding?

Just to give you an idea of what i will be playing it will be a mix of children of bodom, metallica, racer X and iron maiden

[Lordathestrings]

WTF?

We can't choose for you! Try some out and pick one!

[Raskolnikov]

i Guess my real question is what would be better for metal and shredding a neck thru or bolt on and why they are good for metal or shredding?

Just to give you an idea of what i will be playing it will be a mix of children of bodom, metallica, racer X and iron maiden
The real question is "what is better for you?"

Alexi from CoB is playing either a set neck or a neck-through (not sure about the other guitarist), Metallica use about every neck joint imaginable, and the guitarists in Iron Maiden seem to gravitate towards Fender Stratocasters and Strat copies.

There is no magical formula of "X type of [neck joint/pickup/body style/bridge/whatever] is best for Y type of music."

The last time I went to a large hardcore show, the most populous type of guitar wasn't made by Gibson, Ibanez, ESP or any of the usual suspects you would expect for that type of music... it was the Fender Telecaster -- a "Country" guitar.

Another good example would be my basses; my best "Metal" bass isn't my five string Deluxe Active Jazz Bass V, it isn't my neck-through Peavy Grind with two humbucking pickups, it's a semi-hollowbody Dean fretless with flatwound strings -- it looks like it belongs in a Jazz quartet, but I'll tell you what, that bass SNARLS when you lay into it with your picking hand.


What you need to do (as much of a pain in the heiney as it may be) is try out every guitar you can get your hands on. You'll know it right in your gut when you feel and hear that you're playing the right guitar for you.

Maybe this time you go out and get a neck-through or a bolt on... you're not commiting to this one guitar for all of eternity. In fact, chances are that in a few years, you'll own both types of guitar.

[Poontang_clan]

yea i think im depending on this site too much when i should be trying stuff myself.

thankss for the advice

[aschleman]

I'm a little late on this one... but neck through bodies give you more sustain because the whole body and neck both resonate sound... with a bolt on neck you generally lose a certain amount of resonance in comparison to a neck through. But it's almost a fact that no two bolt ons will sound exactly the same... since it depends on 3 or 4 screws, how tight they are, if theres a rubber gasket, what type of metal it is, how long the screws are, etc... For metal and shred... I would reccomend a neck through. For bluesy, more down to earth type playing I would recommend a bolt on, namely a Strat.