One piece and two pieces necks

[sixstringoverdrive]

I saw a video interview with Paul from years ago on YouTube saying he believes the best sounding necks are one piece. Yet, I look over at my $2,300 Silver Sky - two piece neck. My McCarty is a one piece and sounds great. Not sure why they did two piece on the silver sky? The thing sound ma great, but I’m just confused.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[Ovibos]

It’s probably a 3 piece neck. (Headstock, neck, heel)

They do it because they can get more necks out of a piece of wood, and because scarf joints are very strong.

Even your 1-piece neck likely has added wings on the headstock.

 

[dogrocketp]

There are no absolutes. Just because somebody makes a statement doesn’t mean they’re right 100% of the time. No one is, anywhere about anything. If you like what you’ve got, relax, take a deep breath, and then play on.

 

[jxe]

I saw a video interview with Paul from years ago on YouTube saying he believes the best sounding necks are one piece. Yet, I look over at my $2,300 Silver Sky - two piece neck. My McCarty is a one piece and sounds great. Not sure why they did two piece on the silver sky? The thing sound ma great, but I’m just confused.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

he’s trying to save you some money — a one piece would be $2499.

 

[mad monk]

A lot of Norlin era "G" guitars had 3 piece maple necks. Taylor acoustics have a scarf joint. S2 guitars have scarf joints.
A single length of wood is more likely to twist if it's one piece than if it's two properly joined pieces. (Properly cut and dried, of course). There are variables. Even the best grades of wood can be butchered by incompetent builders.
I would never fail to consider a guitar because it didn't have a one piece neck. The argument can be carried out so far as to include the neck through body design, where there is a single headstock/neck that continues through the body to the end pin. Pickups are loaded into that same piece of wood.
There is always a joint somewhere on an instrument. Unless you're just beating two sticks together.

 

[alantig]

There are no absolutes. Just because somebody makes a statement doesn’t mean they’re right 100% of the time. No one is, anywhere about anything. If you like what you’ve got, relax, take a deep breath, and then play on.

That kind of sounds like...never mind.

 

[Egads]

That kind of sounds like...never mind.

There are pills for that...

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Strictly every one piece PRS neck is really three-piece anyway!

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Yup...the scarf joint has been discussed a lot in these parts...as strong as, or stronger than the wood itself...You should have no worries at all. Enjoy!!!

 

[merciful-evans]

I have several one piece necks, but I prefer 2 (or more) pieces. The reason is it give me more confidence in its stability.

Tone wise? I have 'same model' guitars, one of which has 1 piece & the other 2. I cant tell any difference at all.

 

[11top]

I have several one piece necks, but I prefer 2 (or more) pieces. The reason is it give me more confidence in its stability.

Tone wise? I have 'same model' guitars, one of which has 1 piece & the other 2. I cant tell any difference at all.

This

Especially If figured:

 

[Outlier22]

I've got no problem with a 2 piece neck - especially if it makes the neck more stable over a long period of time.

My 95 Taylor has a one piece mahogany neck (unless you count the fretboard as another piece) and it's got slight neck compression. I still play it a lot, but the action can't go quite as low as I'd like it, so it doesn't play like it was new anymore. I'm gonna send it to them to be fixed I think one this first wave of the pandemic passes and they are back to work. ...I'm won't say this can't happen on a 2 or 3 piece neck. But I will say that I'd rather have a two piece Taylor neck that plays like new than a one piece one neck that requires higher action. (also rather have a two piece neck than a broken headstock) ...And of course nobody is gonna see the scarf joint when your playing it. My CE24 has a scraf joint and I guess the heel is also glued on. I actually forgot about that. It makes so little difference that I don't think I've even noticed the joint.

 

[jxe]

some of the private stock guitars are now being constructed of two or even more different species of wood, and i’m talking about the bodies! there’s a thread here somewhere with photos of wood and then the guitar and sometimes theres five pieces of differently colored wood (some clearly not even maple) and then at the end it’s only one guitar. paul????

 

[Egads]

This

Especially If figured:

How'd you get all those dark wavy lines on the back of the neck? You playing with cigarettes? You should be more careful around wood. It burns, you know!

 

[sixstringoverdrive]

Very interesting - the more you know, the more you realize how much there is to know.

 

[mookyshoots]

a video interview with Paul from years ago

That part right there. He's always changing things, so going off old interviews of his can be misleading when applying to current day production.

 

[57Strat777]

Paul is great at marketing and he spins the product messaging to support whatever current construction methods/materials they are using. I think guitar players in general find the less pieces of wood used to make a body or neck equals better quality. I tend to follow that thought process as well. I like the way they used to make guitars back in the 50's and I think most serious players agree with that.

 

[Egads]

Paul is great at marketing and he spins the product messaging to support whatever current construction methods/materials they are using. I think guitar players in general find the less pieces of wood used to make a body or neck equals better quality. I tend to follow that thought process as well. I like the way they used to make guitars back in the 50's and I think most serious players agree with that.

I agree with bodies, but not necessarily for necks. It depends on the intent of the design, as well as the execution. A lot of the necks from classic guitars (acoustic and electric) from the 50s and 60s (and earlier) were multiple pieces.

But, who am I? I'm never very serious.

 

[veinbuster]

Sometimes you have to try stuff to see what really works better.

I remember a few PS made with an ebony block under the bridge. It was easy to speculate that it would make a better bridge/body bond. It didn’t do any harm, but turned out not to be magic.

Guitar necks are inherently two pieces of wood. Even the one I have were the fingerboard was sliced off the neck blank ends up being two pieces glued together. Builders mix and match neck and fingerboard all the time, so to me expanding that art/science to making the neck out of more bits is natural. Some look really cool. No guarantee there is a tonal benefit.

 

[mookyshoots]

Sometimes you have to try stuff to see what really works better.

I remember a few PS made with an ebony block under the bridge. It was easy to speculate that it would make a better bridge/body bond. It didn’t do any harm, but turned out not to be magic.

Guitar necks are inherently two pieces of wood. Even the one I have were the fingerboard was sliced off the neck blank ends up being two pieces glued together. Builders mix and match neck and fingerboard all the time, so to me expanding that art/science to making the neck out of more bits is natural. Some look really cool. No guarantee there is a tonal benefit.

And tops get glued onto bodies and then those necks get glued to said bodies. I think a lot of folks put way too much thought into the tone-robbing evil of glue.