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A set-in neck (often shortened to set neck) is a traditional form of joining the neck of a stringed instrument with its body. This is typically done with a tightly fitted mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joint, secured with glue. Sonic qualities often attributed to this style of neck joint include a warm tone, long sustain, and a large surface area to transmit string vibration, leading to a "live" feeling instrument. But hard physical evidence for any of these is lacking, and the attribution of long sustain has been definitively contradicted by experimentation. In guitars it also often allows superior access to top frets closest to the body.
It is a common belief that this yields a stronger body-to-neck connection than an inexpensive mechanically joined bolt-on neck. There's also a third method, neck-through construction, which requires more material to provide an even stronger connection.
Set-in necks are the most popular method for acoustic guitars. Almost all major acoustic guitar manufacturers (but with exceptions) use set-in necks and have applied this method also to their ; most notably, Gibson and Gretsch. With hollow body set-in neck electric guitars of the 1940s being rather expensive to buy and repair, newcomer Fender in 1950 introduced electric guitars that were easier to manufacture, combining a simple solid body with a bolt-on neck. Fender also introduced the electric bass guitar by adding a longer neck bolted to a solid guitar body.
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