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Compare/Contrast Neck Thru with Neck on Top Builds?

Hello,

Can anyone who has built/played both a neck through (or thru) and neck-on-top of box style (Crow style), compare and contrast the pros/cons of each way, sound-wise? I'm especially interested in how these distinct styles sound acoustically.

Also, one of the major charms of the Crow style is the simplicity of the build. Has anyone had any luck with a "hybrid" Crow build, where you screw/glue the neck to the back of the box instead of screwing it to the top of the box? This way, I would assume, would take advantage of the more stable cigar box back (one of the reasons Crow stated he uses the back) and would be easier to attach than using the top/lid notch. I know it's superficial, but I like the neck thru simply because it allows more of the cigar box to be seen...

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Dave on May 8, 2013 at 1:30pm

I build both. You are right, the through-neck shows more of the box, but the Crow-style can look good too. Crow-style is a little easier to build and looks a little more rustic. Both sound good. It all depends on my mood, or the eye of the beholder.

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on May 8, 2013 at 2:09pm

This build here I ran the frame under the box, it has a great sound.

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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on May 12, 2013 at 1:30am

I did a crow build a while back and while it is a blast to play and I kind of like the look, it does not have the acoustic volume of my "neck almost through" builds that let the top vibrate. So to me the pros are, Crow style is very fast to build, neck through with top free sounds better acoustically. Cons, Crow style has less acoustic volume, neck through is whole lot more work. To be fair, I have never built two side by side with the same boxes and materials so my results are not very scientific.