With electric guitars, it's a common technique to bend the neck of the guitar with your hands to produce a subtle pitch change. It is often used with guitars without a whammy bar. Are there any noticeable side effects that come with doing this too much over time? Would this technique weaken the neck and cause it to snap eventually?
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1Do not do this with an instrument you consider valuable. It is abuse.– KazMar 4 '13 at 4:06
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Looks like the neck of guitar in the linked video will suffer long term adverse effects. :-P– Ulf ÅkerstedtMar 4 '13 at 19:13
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I have seen a nylon strung acoustic guitar neck snap doing this but an steel strung guitar has a truss rod strengthening the neck. However you may damage the neck anyway, or break the fixing to the body.
I do it on my warlock, occasionally but I keep it very minor. I would suggest not bending too far.
answered Mar 3 '13 at 22:00
Actually, in that video it was the body that broke, not the neck. Also, this guitar didn't seem to be really great quality. I remember Tommy Emmanuel commenting on his neck-bending in a piece (on a Martin western guitar): "don't try that on a chinese instrument!".
You certainly won't be able to break the body of an electric guitar, but the neck or headstock... it's certainly possible.
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What seems to give first on an electric is the join between the neck and body:-/– Doktor Mayhem ♦Mar 8 '13 at 2:29
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1@DrMayhem Any difference you experience between bolt-on vs. neck through guitars in this regard? Mar 8 '13 at 19:03
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Not in terms of how much force is required. I just don't have enough data. But in terms of damage, it is much easier to repair the join of a bolt-on than a through-neck.– Doktor Mayhem ♦Mar 8 '13 at 21:22
Years ago I was friends with Adrian Belew, and I remember hearing him say that he once ruined the neck on a Stratocaster after repeated bending. But he kept on using this technique on other Strats.