MattW Posted December 17, 2021 Share Posted December 17, 2021 Hi All, I recently bought a second hand relic Limelight Jazz - absolutely love it. However where the bridge has been reliced and rusted, the grub screws have seized slightly in the saddles, and about half of the slotted heads have now broken during adjustment as they need a fair amount of force to turn, and so need replacement. They are about 12mm long but no idea whether the are metric or imperial, and don't have suitable calipers to measure diameter. Does anyone happen to know the likely spec of these, or how best to go about working out what thread the are? Thanks! Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted December 17, 2021 Share Posted December 17, 2021 (edited) Order some from Spalding Fastners of the bay... A2 stainless so the new ones dont rust...Hex Head Grub Screws 3mm me thinks...go for Dog Point... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DOG-POINT-A2-STAINLESS-STEEL-METRIC-SOCKET-ALLEN-GRUB-SCREWS-M3-M4-M5-M6-/293221192240?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 Intonation screw may be 4mm... or do they fit all the holes only a couple of quid delivered... ive had 3 lots from them to replace saddle screws in cheapy bridges. Soak the oks saddles in plus gas or WD40 for a bit... Edited December 18, 2021 by PaulThePlug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattW Posted December 17, 2021 Author Share Posted December 17, 2021 19 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said: Order some from Spalding Fastners of the bay... A2 stainless so the new ones dont rust...Hex Head Grub Screws 3mm me thinks...go for Dog Point... Intonation screw may be 4mm... or do they fit all the holes only a couple of quid delivered... ive had 3 lots from them to replace saddle screws in cheapy bridges. Soak the oks saddles in plus gas or WD40 for a bit... Thanks Paul - the intonation screw is the same size/thread as the grub screws. Will order up some M3's and see if they fit 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 I’ve never understood why someone selling or owning a 700£ bass from new wouldn’t think of putting a smear of Vaseline on those threads; I recall ages ago someone from limelight saying here at BC that screws seizing was an effect of the relic process. Why not unscrew the intonation screws or grub screws a bit when it’s freshly done and put some Vaseline on ? That’s a whole five minutes spent 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattW Posted December 18, 2021 Author Share Posted December 18, 2021 8 hours ago, Geek99 said: I’ve never understood why someone selling or owning a 700£ bass from new wouldn’t think of putting a smear of Vaseline on those threads; I recall ages ago someone from limelight saying here at BC that screws seizing was an effect of the relic process. Why not unscrew the intonation screws or grub screws a bit when it’s freshly done and put some Vaseline on ? That’s a whole five minutes spent Absolutely, functionality should be key. Personally I'd have kept the grub screws out if the relic process entirely, they hardly show so don't need to be aged anyway! Also a new Limelight is £1100 these days, so not exactly a budget bass. Replacements are cheap but just a pain to have to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 Hi Matt, I remember someone here had the same problem, I’d get in touch with limelight, I’m sure they will send you a replacement 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattW Posted December 18, 2021 Author Share Posted December 18, 2021 2 minutes ago, Reggaebass said: Hi Matt, I remember someone here had the same problem, I’d get in touch with limelight, I’m sure they will send you a replacement 🙂 Cheers, I wondered about contacting them direct, but as I bought it second hand I didn't feel like I could pester them. Will maybe fire Mark an email and ask for the spec at least! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 23 minutes ago, MattW said: Cheers, I wondered about contacting them direct, but as I bought it second hand I didn't feel like I could pester them. Will maybe fire Mark an email and ask for the spec at least! They might be able to signpost you to replacements. @Reggaebass seems to remember the same event as me 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 When I reliced my bass I left everything metal well alone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattW Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 Just thought I'd update this thread as had a reply from Mark. Wasn't able to help with thread size but did comment on the seizing issue which thought might help others considering a Limelight. Mine was an early one apparently so they have changed their methods now! "Re the saddle screws - unfortunately we tend to use several suppliers, and I know from experience that the threads can differ, so I can't give you a definitive answer sorry. Incidentally, we do the ageing on the bridges (in fact all metalwork) in a different way now so that the screws don't seize in like they used to." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 (edited) That wasn’t very helpful really was it , I thought they might have sent you a few to try Edited December 20, 2021 by Reggaebass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 (edited) 53 minutes ago, MattW said: Just thought I'd update this thread as had a reply from Mark. Wasn't able to help with thread size but did comment on the seizing issue which thought might help others considering a Limelight. Mine was an early one apparently so they have changed their methods now! "Re the saddle screws - unfortunately we tend to use several suppliers, and I know from experience that the threads can differ, so I can't give you a definitive answer sorry. Incidentally, we do the ageing on the bridges (in fact all metalwork) in a different way now so that the screws don't seize in like they used to." ...sorry for the inconveniance, and I'll put a set of saddles and associated screws in the post... thankyou for your custom... Would be what i would of expected... I'd be sending em an email back with a link to this thread... Sh!t-Show... Ya get better service from the budget likes of Harley Benton... Edited December 20, 2021 by PaulThePlug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattW Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 To be fair I bought it second hand, and the bass was made in 2014, so I wasn't really expecting anything other than advice. What I didn't show was that Mark also gave loads of details about the bass and it's build, so that was really helpful and interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 On 17/12/2021 at 23:03, MattW said: They are about 12mm long Matt I had a look in my parts drawer and I’ve got an old bridge off a fender jazz that I replaced because someone had changed one of the saddles , the intonation screw is 42mm long, if it’s any good to you I’ll pop the saddle and screw in the post to you 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattW Posted December 21, 2021 Author Share Posted December 21, 2021 15 hours ago, Reggaebass said: Matt I had a look in my parts drawer and I’ve got an old bridge off a fender jazz that I replaced because someone had changed one of the saddles , the intonation screw is 42mm long, if it’s any good to you I’ll pop the saddle and screw in the post to you Thanks mate, that's really good of you to have a look for me! I've actually got some on order arriving in the next day or two (for the princely sum of £2.09 from eBay) which I think are the right ones, but if not then I may well give you as shout and give yours a try! Cheers!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 5 minutes ago, MattW said: Thanks mate, that's really good of you to have a look for me! I've actually got some on order arriving in the next day or two (for the princely sum of £2.09 from eBay) which I think are the right ones, but if not then I may well give you as shout and give yours a try! Cheers!!! No problem, your welcome 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincbt Posted March 25, 2022 Share Posted March 25, 2022 Just reopening this thread to confirm I had the exact same issue on my Limelight built in December 2021. I was told they have indeed changed the method they use to relic their metal parts but when I tried to adjust the action today none of the grub screws would move and two broke in the process. The intonations screws at least seem to move freely. I'll email Mark and hopefully he'll be able to help, if not I'll get back to get some advice on where to find some replacements! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattW Posted March 26, 2022 Author Share Posted March 26, 2022 Good luck! I took the saddles completely off the bridge and used a bit of WD40 and pliers to remove mine. In the end they were 6/32 UNC threads, but mine is a different design so won't necessarily be the same. Hope you get it sorted quickly! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMoon Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 I had the same issue with the volume and tone control knobs on a Limelight P bass. Grub screws were rusted solid. I tried penetrating oil, heat from a big soldering iron, and finally a careful whack with a centre punch when I realised that the screw heads had both broken. Stuck solid!! I ended up drilling out the original grub screws with a pilot hole and carefully enlarged drill bits until I was able to ream out the remaining crap that was gumming everything up. I managed to reuse some grub screws from some old Gotoh control knobs. I guess that suggests that the original threads were metric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincbt Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 Thanks for the tips. I got a similar reply about how they use different supplies and are not sure about what screws my bass mounts so it’s not possible to send replacements, so I’ll get going with the wd-40 and/or the drill and try a few options, I should have some Gotoh parts in the drawer so hopefully those fit my bass too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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