Deep-Set Neck Tenon
A deep set neck tenon is an extremely stable way to build a guitar. It also helps the tone and sustain characteristics. Currently, we are carrying several brands of guitars that are built this way: Jaros, Centurion, & now Quicksilver's are available in a deep set neck tenon.
How Guitars Are Usually Built.
Most archtop style guitars are built by taking a rectangular piece of Mahogany and laminating or "gluing" a rectangular piece of Maple to the top. Then the basic shape is cut out on a bandsaw and carved from that. Of course Mahogany and Maple are the common woods used, but guitar builders aren't necessarily limited to those two woods. I am just using them as an example for the sake of simplifying this explanation. For example, Gibson, Paul Reed Smith, and even my own Quicksilver guitars are constructed from rectangular laminated billets of wood. (Now The Quicksilver's are available with Deep Set Neck Tenon, They sound totally different from an original Quicksilver.
Very Few Guitars Are Constructed Differently.
When James Jaros designed his guitars he decided to use a deep mortise and extra long neck tenon design. This would totally eliminate dead spots on a neck and give the guitar a tremendous amount of stability. This type of construction would also serve to add volume, tone, and incredible sustain. He also makes a fitted archtop that gives him the ability to install his neck at the correct angle underneath it.
3/4 Deep-Set Neck Tenon
This idea in itself was not completely original. Other builders, such as, Grover Jackson, BC Rich, Alembic, myself, and even Gibson, with the Firebird, had built guitars with a neck-through body design. When Les Paul originally designed the SG, he had intended it to be a neck-through body. Of course, Gibson did not produce them that way. Gibson opted for the much less expensive set-neck style like the Les Paul or a PRS Custom.
Over the years, I have learned a lot of things from some of the industry's best and most innovative builders. People like Bernie Rico, Paul Reed Smith, Dean Zelinsky, Grover Jackson, and Joel Dantzig of Hamer, have proven themselves to be worthy mentors. For example, in my conversations with Joel Dantzig, I gained valuable insight regarding the construction of guitars. I questioned Joel about the reasons why Hamer never did a neck-through body. His answer was, "He didn't want to break the soundboard, tone-board, or the top of the guitar." The normal construction method for a neck-through body involves using a neck slightly longer than the one in the picture with glued-on "sides" or "wings" on each side. This method of construction does not lend itself well to an archtop because the main soundboard or "top" of the guitar is broken in half and separated by the neck itself.
How can this be prevented? Jim Jaros surmised the ultimate construction technique would be to have a neck-through body with a one piece archtop. No other manufacturer does this except Rick Gledura, who has collaborated with Jim and myself. This type of collaboration is responsible for many of the great innovations presented on this website.
Insurmountable Construction Problem
Q. How can you get the 3/4 deep neck tenon set into an archtop style body?
A. It simply can't be done using any normal or even computerized woodworking tools.
This of course means that PRS, Gibson, Ibanez, Jackson, BC Rich, Hamer, Fender, G&L, or any of the other mainstream companies will never do it. (It's way too expensive.)
To accomplish this feat you have to make a separate body and a separate top. (Twice as much work.) Then you have even more work to attach the two. First the pre-made body with a 12" mortise is attached to the vacuum table. Then the pre-made neck with the 12" tenon is fitted directly into the body. When that is all glued up, you then attach the pre-carved archtop directly to the guitar.
James Jaros uses only quartersawn Maple, Korina, Mahogany or Premium Sapele for neck wood. He does not offer Quilted Maple. Slab cutting (cutting the tree up into pancake style pieces) works well for tops, backs, and veneers; but, it simply isn't straight grained, strong or stable enough for a neck. If you ever see a guitar with quilted neck avoid it like the plague. No matter how pretty the wood is, I guarantee there will be huge problems with the neck.
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It doesn't take a college degree to see which neck design is the best. The Fender is a bolt-on neck. It attaches to a large flange that sticks out from the body. It was designed half a century ago and it is the hardest one to reach the top frets in the picture. The Gibson Les Paul neck is not pictured here because I simply didn't have a loose one to photograph. (What you need to know...) The Gibson Les Paul neck is by far the shortest and stubbiest of all of them. It butts up against the guitar at only the 16th fret. The remaining 6 frets lay on top of the body. I personally hate that design. Look at a Les Paul from a side view. You will immediately notice how incredibly short the neck is. This neck was also designed 50 years ago. It's even harder than the Fender to reach the high frets.
Quicksilver Guitars are available in a set-neck, bolt-in neck, and even deep-set neck tenon. The Quicksilver & PRS necks are both designed in a similar fashion. The Quicksilver neck is improved because it employs a hard mount pickup cavity right in the neck; whereas, the PRS pickup only floats on springs above it. PRS necks and Quicksilver necks are both 25" scale and they are completely interchangeable.
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Leslie West with his Jaros Bluzeman.....
Look at this gorgeous example of a Jaros Bluzeman TM! The neck tenon actually extends to well below where the bridge and tailpiece are positioned. It is available in solid body, hollow body, or hollow body with an F hole. The F holes are available in many different styles. I have been selling Jaros guitars for almost six years at the time of this writing. I am thoroughly convinced that this guitar is one of the best guitars ever conceived. I recommend this guitar as an all-around, top quality guitar. Jim Jaros is the person primarily responsible for the Deep-Set Neck Tenon TM and The Set-Through Neck TM.
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No Charge Quilted Back Option
The Quilted back is standard equipment on all Bluzeman Plus TM models, Hellfire TM models, & the Flatliner Plus models. I don't know of any other guitar company that offers this as a no charge option! The reason this can be done is simply because James has to cut out the tops separately anyway. Most of the time there will be enough thickness to cut a veneer for the back. That extra labor charge is already figured in so why not throw in the beautiful back at no charge.
(**PRS charges $1,500.00 additional for this option. It is called a double 10 top. **)
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Notice The 5 piece super stable neck, you can see it extending through the tremolo cavity
There Are Many Types of Neck Construction.
| Bolt-On | Cheapest to manufacture, it has a unique tonal capability and
is very
common. Not recommended because the heel is too big. The design is very old and
the neck joint is cumbersome. Tonal abilities are excellent as long as the
neck is a very tight fit. (Sometimes you have to play 30 of them before you
get one that sounds good.) That will be the one
with the tight neck joint. Fender, Ibanez, G&L, ESP, Musicman, Washburn, Charvel, and most imported guitars. |
| Bolt-In | Excellent alternative to bolt-on. Same tonal ability, plus many of the set-neck abilities. Much more expensive, so very few companies offer it. Highly recommended because the heel is buried in the body. In fact, I highly recommend it over just a plain set-neck. (Works best acoustically coupled.) Currently no other companies have this except PRS & Quicksilver. Best for tone & sustain if the neck is tight & pickup is mounted directly in the cavity. (Call for information--702-798-4995) |
| Set-Neck | Less expensive and most common. I am not a fan of this one. Are millions of Les Pauls poorly designed and wrong? (A very Definite YES !!!!) Not recommended as highly due to limited tonal abilities. (Glue does not transfer sound well.) Plus, set-neck guitars are the ones that always break easily. Gibson, McInturff, Hamer, Warrior, Epiphone, Guild, Heritage, & many more. |
| Neck-Thru | Expensive and uncommon, I used to like this type the best until I
discovered Deep-Set Neck Tenon. (Pictured Below) Highly recommended, due to much more sustain, plus pickups are mounted right in the neck. BC Rich, Jackson, Rickenbacker, Jacobs, & Abstract. |
| Deep-Set Neck Tenon | Most expensive to do, but definitely the best sounding and the most cosmetically appealing. Very highly recommended due to same reasons as a neck-through, but with the added attraction of keeping the top intact. You may sacrifice some Strat and Tele tones but the blues tone is awesome. James Jaros, Rick Gledura, Centurion, Viking, & Quicksilver. |
Quicksilver Neck Joint (middle)
PRS Neck Joint (on each side)
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see which one is the better one!
