Stringed Musical Instrument Neck and Body Structure with Metal Stiffener and Releasable Joint

This patent describes a guitar neck reinforced by an elongated metal stiffener embedded in the main neck part, which carries a tension rod held in a bowed condition to resist bending under string loads. The stiffener's lower end includes a tongue that fits into a conforming recess in the instrument body, with laterally extending flanges that engage the outside surface of the body to provide resistance to neck movement in any direction. The joint design allows the neck to be readily assembled and disassembled from the body while maintaining a firm, acoustically sound connection and a neat, close-fitting joint line between the neck and body.