Neck Joint
The three most common types of neck joints are bolt-on, neck-through-body (sometimes called thruneck) and the set neck.
Bolt-on necks typically use 4 bolts to join the neck to the body. It is the most popular type of neck joint. They are convenient to work on and, as long as there is good wood on wood contact between the neck and the body, they are the warmest sounding.
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The set neck is basically the same, but uses glue to join it to the body. There are many popular guitars using this type of construction. Since there is a glue barrier between the two parts, sound transfer could be impaired.
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The neck-through-body design is very stable as the whole guitar is basically the neck with the rest of the body (called wings) glued to the sides. The result is a very solid feeling instrument with a smooth transition from the neck to the heel. From a sound standpoint, they can be thin sounding since essentially the whole body is now made of maple which has a tendency to sound a little harsh and trebly. A common misconception is that neck-throughs give more sustain. Any tight neck joint will sustain well as long as there are no air spaces or shims to act as sound barriers.
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