Quote:
Originally Posted by cpabolting
Mortise Tenon joints are lame.....
Kidding
Dovetail from what I understand is a more efficient and comprehensive way for the intonnation to pass from the neck to the body of the guitar. Has to do with resonance.
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IMHO that's kinda true, but it's not just a DT/ M&T thing. The way Martin does their M&T necks has a tight fitting neck joint, that's also glued. The makes the neck/body act like one piece, just like a dovetail. The bracing in Martins guitar with Dovetail necks is quite a bit different than their M&T guitars so a tonal comparison between them would not have much, or anything to do with the neck attachment. Neither would be more or less likely for a neck reset, that's got more to do with internal construction of the "box" than the actual neck joint itself.
My views on neck joints. A tight fitting neck joint, like a (properly fit) Dovetail, or a tight fitting M&T will be tonally similar. (IMHO a M&T doesn't have to be tight fitting, so I didn't use the term "properly fit") A neck joint that's looser fitting, meaning the tenon doesn't fit tight in the Mortise, or a butted bolt on, will be tonally different than a Dovetail, or other tight fitting joint. these differences are subtle, and neither is tonally superior, they're just different. With a tight fitting joint you can expect slightly more overtones, and slightly less sustain. This it due to the dampening cause by the neck and body acting as one big piece of wood. With a looser fitting joint, the neck doesn't absorb as much from the top so the top is left to resonate longer, but some overtones are lost. These differences are subtle. Looser fitting doesn't mean, "bad" or "sloppy" it's just different methods. By "looser fitting" I mean that the neck just isn't tied to the body in as many dimensions.