The bolt-in neck is commonly confused with the bolt-on neck. A bolt-on neck is attached to a flange that protrudes out from the body of the guitar (as much as four inches). The bolt-in neck actually bolts in through the back of the guitar, which combines the advantages of a bolt-on neck with those of a deep, set neck. Some guitar maker’s assert that this gives the neck better stability, tone, and sustain, plus as an added bonus you can reach higher up the neck of the guitar since the heel of the bolt-in neck is hidden inside the body of the guitar.

Bolt-in necks can be found on guitars made by PRS and Taylor. Fender and Ibanez use bolt-on necks, while guitars employing set-neck construction can be found on models by Gibson, Epiphone, and Guild.