Why I Don't Like Laminated Guitar Necks

A sandwich construction is one of the best known and most important principles in construction of any kind, 100% backed by physics and math. There's no discussion that laminated is incredibly superior in strength and stability. My building engineering dad taught me that 50 years ago already. Today I depend on it in the construction of super light single-end suspended X-ray tables which can hold 660 pds patients x 4 safety factor with minimum deflection. They simply cannot be designed from any material without the sandwich construction. Sorry buddy, but you are really wrong about this one.

I’ve seen many warped necks and they were all one piece. I can honestly say I’ve never seen a warped lam neck.

Nice video. Actually its not hypothetical that properly laminiated wood is stronger,, stiffer and more stable, its simple physics in materials engineering. There have been studies on laminated woods (and other materials) versus single boards, not necessarily guitar related though but the principles are the same. The early aerospace industry used laminated woods for varous parts because a properly laminated board is stronger and more stable than a single board. A propeller made of a single board will fail, so laminated propellers were used with great success. As for as seams, I've actually never seen problems in better quality instruments having issues with seams but have seen this on lower priced instruments. Probably due to lower quality wood and poor seasoning prior to building. I have seen way more seam issues with fingerboards creeping on any instriment than multi laminated necks creeping and developing seams. Probably due to a bass fingerboard being about 2.5 inches wide, but the neck thickness being an inch or less. Most of my experience is with basses. I've played for 40 years and have built many of my own basses. The additional string tension and longer necks need a stiff and stable neck. Solid carbon fiber like my Steinberger is my favorite as far as stiffness, then I'd rank laminated 2nd, quartersawn 3rd and flatsawn 4th.

I like the look of multi-laminate necks more than anything. They might be more stable if done well. They are certainly not cheaper to manufacture even if the wood is cheaper. There are lots of cases where different species of wood are glued together without issue. Maple tops on mahogany, ES335 plywood guitars, inlays on fretboards, every acoustic guitar. I wouldn't think it would be a big issue if the wood is dried properly.

I have made over 250 necks, approximately half is 1 piece, the other half is multi piece. I even used the same blanks to make 1piece as well as multi piece necks. Multi piece is, by far, the most stable. I need to adjust the trussrod with the single piece necks, all the time, even with carbon rods, where the multi piece necks require at least 5x less adjustment. I also did some other tests with glue and how much they add to the overall weight of a neck, as a percentage of the neck. It's less than 0.5%. I think, I can handle a bit of glue in exchange for added stability.

I do like the way laminated necks look with the contrasting woods. I had never considered that the changes over time could cause the seams to be felt. Good info!

I have 2 ibanez guitars with laminated necks and I have a Les Paul and a SG I gig most Friday and Saturday nights and some Sunday afternoons in bars and I live in North of Chicago I have not had any noticeable rasing of the grain in the Ibanez necks. I have noticed all the necks have problems going from the car to the stage in the summer or winter. But it is never unplayable but I can notice the difference and I make the necessary trust rod adjustment.

As a Cigar Box Guitar builder, a stable and strong neck is of utmost importance to me, as CBG's normally have no truss rod. Therefore, I use quarter sawn oak, which stays very stable. But, more & more CBG builders are now laminating 4 mirrored contrasting woods together for their necks. All woodworkers know that a glued joint is always far stronger than the wood itself. Good video!

I haven't felt any glue seams in laminated necks, and that's here in Minnesota where we swing from dessert to jungle humidity twice a year.

I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I can go either way for my purposes. However, if it is to be believed, that a Titebond glue joint is stronger than the original wood, how can a laminated neck fail to be more stable? Especially with that join multiplied over every square inch of it's application? I do believe it as i have ripped apart Titebond glue joints many times and it always rips up the fiber under the join. The point you made about different species expanding and contracting at different rates is well noted tho. I have to believe the conditions would have to be severe for that and might reflect faulty applications of adhesive. I mean that stuff is so rough to seperate once cured 😝 Imagining any shift over all those sides is mind boggling.

Always nice to have a luthier’s perspective on controversial subjects in the guitar industry. It would interesting to see your perspective on neck through vs bolt on and set neck constructions

Well, I have to say that I have thousands necks made from one piece in my hands but majority of them had a problem, twist, warp, banana arching. . . . after a time. Laminated necks, I could see it don´t have it. This is my experience. A note- the negative things were happened on great cut wood too.

If I get one board from a tree, I'm only responsible for the use that I put that board to. If everyone else who got boards from that tree puts them all in the smoker, that's not on me. If anything, that's even more motivation to make the best use of my board. But in reality, trees are renewable, and wastage is expected. I make stripey necks because I like how they look, and if I can rip one flatsawn board into two quartersawn boards, with something pretty in the middle, then I'm happy. Not that quartersawn is necessarily more stable, it's something else I like the look of. My 14 year old bass with a 5 piece neck of maple and purple heart, is still straight and twist free as it ever was, and it's not had an easy life. It's all subjective and reasonable people can disagree. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

You did provide food for thought. I never really gave it much thought that no actual scientific tests have been made, to prove or disprove those commonly accepted theories.

12:05 "I rarely shy away from controversy when it comes to my opinions on guitar building." No truer words have been spoken on the interwebs. ;-)

I received as a 'spares repairs' 1967 Eko 12 string recently. Usual 5 piece laminated neck which was almost perfect after all this time. I installed a 'Bridge Doctor' due to sinkage and re-glued the detached back. The neck just needed a quick tweak of the truss rod and fret work but I think in this instance Eko had the right idea. I can though see where it may have an adverse effect in uneducated hands. Thanks for the vids. Steve

You have a good point at least with the last argument. It also help rejects an Idea I had from your previous video that was to try and do a laminated neck including carbonfiber instead of wood for some laminations

It is very refreshing to hear you say most people think their conclusions are factual, when they actually aren't. Nowadays there are few people who have the intelligence to realize they are not as smart as they think... Otherwise everyone would be successful AND IN HIGH DEMAND. :) In the real world true artists and craftsmen are the minority and NOT out to show the world how smart they are, but more to do what they enjoy doing for their own satisfaction and NOT notoriety or self promotion.

I believe you are right. Carbon fiber probably is the best way to reïnforce a neck. It would be a solution to laminate the neck, with a one-piece underneath. So that you'd get the contrasting wood above but just one where you put your thumb. So you'd laminate like half the thickness of a neck and then glue on a piece underneath.

I might not always agree with everything you say, mostly because I enjoy a different perspective, I can always appreciate what you've got to say and enjoy your perspective! This has definitely given me some things to think about! I harvest my own trees, log, mill, and do everything to them so I have every option available to me, and I still like the idea of lamination but much more in the traditional style you described vs the new ones that are clearly just about looks, I can't imagine more layers doesn't increase the risk of that seem development, I would think you would need woods that are pretty much the same hardness.