SN, BO, NT and $$

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Saga

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Okay, maybe a stupid question, but what the heck is the difference between a setneck and a bolt on?

And what is the sound-difference (excuse my bad english) of the SN, BO and neckthrough?
I know one is more expensive than the other, but why? :)

Also, what does the $$ mean/stand for? How is it pronounced? :shock:

Curiosity killed the cat, but luckily I'm human.. sort of.. :twisted:

Thanks in advance for your patience. Please don't throw things at me :wink:
 
NT is more expensive than BO because of the construction techniques used. It's far more labour intensive to make a NT than BO.

As for sound differences, I can't comment as I only have NT basses. My advice is buy what you like the sound of regardless of construction type.

:)
 
hi there! there are no such things as stupid questions here, so don't worry; noone will throw things at you. :)

The set-neck design means that the neck is glued into the neck pocket of the bass. this is not the same as neck-trough, where the neck runs through the full length of the bass' body. (look at the backside of a streamer or thumb NT and you'll see what i mean.) bolt-on necks are exactly what it says; the neck is held in place by a number (four usually) of bolts against the body.

the $$ is pronounced "double-buck" because of the double humbucker pickup configuration. the dollar sign is used since an american dollar is usually referred to as a "buck".

hope this helps!
 
A bo will have more "pop" or "snap" to the tone and will be a bit punchier than a nt... A nt will have more sustain than a bo... I find that for faster playing/slap bass a bo will really bring out an awesome tone... Thats just my opinion though.
 
The differences between necks,& the sound/feel etc is a pretty personal thing.I like NT's mainly but there's some BO's & SN's that are just as good.
 
Surprisingly I'm possibly one of the VERY FEW that prefer a bo thumb :P

I brought home a nt 5 string thumb while waiting on my 6 string bo to arrive and it had a bit more neckdive than mine (which has none :D) and the tone had a little less midrange growl (atleast to my ears) plus I like the option of being able to hunt down a fretless neck and swap it out later on if I want to :)
 
I was also wondering what are the sound characteristics of a SN. I never had a chance to try one. It actually looks fragile (the SN joint)
 
Doomchild said:
I was also wondering what are the sound characteristics of a SN. I never had a chance to try one. It actually looks fragile (the SN joint)
Click to expand...

they might look fragile, but you'd be amazed at how strong one can make glued joints! especially in conjunction with wooden plugs. i bet one could easily stand on the neck joint of a warwick SN without causing damage. not... that... i would try though. :)
 
to give an idea how strong warwicks are there is a picture around here somewhere of hans peter wilfer standing on the neck of a warwick (a fortress i think it was) while it was placed on two chairs (with the neck over the gap!) :D
 
Doomchild said:
I was also wondering what are the sound characteristics of a SN. I never had a chance to try one. It actually looks fragile (the SN joint)
Click to expand...

I don't know about any SN other than mine but I'd say it is most certainly not fragile by any stretch of the imagination. As for sound, it's got the feel of a NT and most of the sustain as well. As there isn't a BO Infinity for me to compare it to and the NT Infinity's are completely different in woods and construction, I don't know how to be any more specific about it. It's smoother than a Bolt-On Thumb - not so much pop to the attack. Hmmm... If only there were a solid body ovangkol Infinity SN... :roll: ~M~
 
Thanks for all the answers :)

Here in denmark you have to be lucky (like REALLY lucky) to find anything warwick other than vettes, but now I think I have a better understanding of the sounds 8)

So, as I understand it - If I have to choose between a particular model that comes in BO, SN or NT, and I want lots of harmonics/overtones, tone and sustain I'll go for the NT --- right??

And if a want a more attacky, hard sound I'll go for a BO or SN ??
 
Stroud said:
to give an idea how strong warwicks are there is a picture around here somewhere of hans peter wilfer standing on the neck of a warwick (a fortress i think it was) while it was placed on two chairs (with the neck over the gap!) :D
Click to expand...

I'd love to see that!
 
Found it! :D



The guy's (standing next to the chair) face expression is priceless.
 
I dont know if that pic is a good endorsement,I mean,look at the neck.It looks like it's sagging towards the floor but I think the photo is playing tricks on my eyes. :shock:
I saw Ned Steinberger do this,I think everyone's done it at some point.
 
So weve discovered that Warwicks withstand house fires and serious neck strain...

Warwick tough.
 
Ahah...

The other day I went out of the bus, with the bass in its bag but only on one of my shoulders, not both... I suddenly missed a step and fall right on my butt... The bass falling outside the bus...


I quickly stood up, reassuring people that I was ok, and then took the bass out of the gigbag... Not a single mark, dent, nothing.

Not only Warwick basses are solid, but Rockbags are too 8)



(But please, don't laugh at me :lol: )
 
I think I also read that the advantage of SN, is that it has got the feel of a NT, because it has got no heel, but the attack of a BO.

I have to mention this as well: my first Warwick bass is a Thumb BO. When I got myself the Thumb NT as well, I expected that the differences would only be "technical" ones, like attack and sustain. I really didn't care too much about this, because I just love the sound of the Thumb........
Now it turned out that the main difference in sound, in my opinion, has very little to do with the construction of the neck, but in the woods that are used: the BO has got Wenge fretboard and Ovangkol body, the NT has got Ebony fretboard and Bubinga wings.........

Generally, woods used for BO basses, NT basses, and SN basses are different, hence the difference in sound cannot just be accounted for just by the construction of the neck. And as I stated before, I believe woods play a more important role in "presentation" of the sound than neck construction........
 
thumperton said:
Was that the Thumb NT you oiled? :shock:
Click to expand...

Yep :P Not just oiled... I sanded the body a bit and smoothed out the seams on the back of the neck (dont tell guitar center!!) I also took off the strings and boiled them, etc. etc. etc. set it all up and it played great... If GC knew... they would of killed me :P
 
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