Thunderpaws Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 Hiya. Now I have a bass that I need to at least loosen the neck plate/bolts to access the truss rod, I have a question. When tightening the four neck bolts back up is it important that they are all torqued up the same? I’m guessing that in the factory this will be the case. If for example I tighten the bolts unevenly then will vibrations be reduced unevenly across the neck altering the sound/volume of each string in relation to the other? Is hand tight with a screwdriver good enough? We all have different hand strength and feeling on what is right/not tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 Here's some ideas; Maybe email the manufacturer of the bass in question? Ask them if they use a specific torque setting. Have you an electric screwdriver/drill with a torque setting? Work out what the tightest setting is that you can undo by hand and use that- it's what I do when assembling furniture etc. It'll give consistent results, and most drivers will let you tighten it up gently. Otherwise, I'd venture to suggest that as tight as you can without damaging the heads or stripping the threads is best. I'd adjust action and intonation after the neck is good and tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 I just Pinch the screws up equally by hand , and finally tighten as tight as I can so as not to damage or strip the screw head , which is normally about half a turn 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 17 minutes ago, Reggaebass said: I just Pinch the screws up equally by hand , and finally tighten as tight as I can so as not to damage or strip the screw head , which is normally about half a turn 🙂 Me too. I wouldn’t worry about it too much... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danuman Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 (edited) 17 hours ago, Burns-bass said: Me too. I wouldn’t worry about it too much... Years ago a luthier told me something that came as a bit of an epiphany at the time... He was mainly talking about Fender guitars, but I suppose it goes for most mass-produced bolt-on models: these guitars were designed to be put together easily. I would say make it nice and tight, but don’t overdo it. If you’re not careful, an electric screwdriver can really wedge in a screw, so I prefer to do it by hand. (I’ve seen a few bent bridges and neck plates) However, if you apply some common sense it’s really quite difficult to break a bolt-on. Edited April 5, 2019 by Danuman Tried to fix weird formatting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 Just tighten them until there tight with a screw driver and move on with your life. 🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 Always hand tighten neck bolts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 With very little pressure I tighten the screw until it stops moving - correctly or incorrectly I think that if I tighten it any further then I'll be tightening it further than it was originally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderpaws Posted April 5, 2019 Author Share Posted April 5, 2019 Thanks everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, Danuman said: Years ago a luthier told me something that came as a bit of an epiphany at the time... He was mainly talking about Fender guitars, but I suppose it goes for most mass-produced bolt-on models: these guitars were designed to be put together easily. I would say make it nice and tight, but don’t overdo it. If you’re not careful, an electric screwdriver can really wedge in a screw, so I prefer to do it by hand. (I’ve seen a few bent bridges and neck plates) However, if you apply some common sense it’s really quite difficult to break a bolt-on. Yep, I bought an old Fender from a reputable dealer a few years back. He took the neck off to show me the stamps etc, and when he put it back on I was really surprised that he didn't appear to be putting in any effort. I asked him about it and he said as per the above, they didn't leave the factory all that tight and they don't have to be any tighter than he'd tightened them to be stable. He was right about the latter for sure, neck never gave me any problems. Edited April 5, 2019 by Beedster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 Yep Thing to remember is that the body holes are glide holes, the screws should only bite in the neck to allow the 2 to compress and be tight, it’s why it also looks easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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