set-in neck

{{Short description|Stringed instrument construction method}}

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File:Rickenbacker neck.jpg electric guitar]]

A set-in neck (often shortened to set neck) is a traditional form of joining the neck of a stringed instrument with its body. This is typically done with a tightly fitted mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joint, secured with glue. Sonic qualities often attributed to this style of neck joint include a warm tone, long sustain, and a large surface area to transmit string vibration, leading to a "live" feeling instrument. But hard physical evidence for any of these is lacking, and the attribution of long sustain has been definitively contradicted by experimentation.{{cite journal |last1=Mottola |first1=R.M. |title=Sustain and Electric Guitar Neck Joint Type |journal=American Lutherie |date=2007 |issue=91 |page=52}} In guitars it also often allows superior access to top frets closest to the body.

It is a common belief that this yields a stronger body-to-neck connection than an inexpensive mechanically joined bolt-on neck. There's also a third method, neck-through construction, which requires more material to provide an even stronger connection.

Set-in necks are the most popular method for acoustic guitars. Almost all major acoustic guitar manufacturers (but with exceptions) use set-in necks and have applied this method also to their electric guitars; most notably, Gibson and Gretsch. With hollow body set-in neck electric guitars of the 1940s being rather expensive to buy and repair, newcomer Fender in 1950 introduced electric guitars that were easier to manufacture, combining a simple solid body with a bolt-on neck. Fender also introduced the electric bass guitar by adding a longer neck bolted to a solid guitar body.