A Screwy Newbie Question

[Crassius]

A very basic question.

Since Guitars are wood, and the screwholes aren't sleeved, won't removing and re-screwing into the wooden body... like changing Trems and pickguards and such ream out the original holes and make the screws loose over time?

 

[bagman67]

If you do it a lot, yes.  Some folks screw threaded inserts in and use machine screws, particularly for necks.  But many of us will never take a guitar apart once it's set up, so it turns out to be a non-issue most of the time.  Also, many of the woods involved are very dense hardwoods, so reaming out the holes will take a lot more effort than it would with a piece of soft pine.

Not a dumb question, though.  Welcome aboard!

Peace

Bagman

 

[line6man]

I take it you're newer to guitar?
I've filled and redrilled the holes for the control plates on my basses more times than I can count. I suppose stripped holes aren't a problem if you don't modify things often, but if you mod a lot, everything will strip sooner or later. Take a look at some well worn guitars and basses. It's very common to see screws ripped out, or stripped.
A lot of pros don't care to get them fixed properly, so you end up with fixes like this:

 

[Kaoskadosk]

And soon enough a replica of that bass will be released as a new reliced guitar  :laughing7:

 

[erogenousjones17]

Is that a "famous" bass? Dunno if it should, but it just doesn't ring a bell...  :dontknow:

 

[mayfly]

Is that a "famous" bass? Dunno if it should, but it just doesn't ring a bell...  :dontknow:

It's Billy Sheehan's bass.  He's famous to some people...

 

[Crassius]

Thanks all for your answers.

@Line6Man -

I take it you're newer to guitar?
I've filled and redrilled the holes for the control plates on my basses more times than I can count.

Sounds terrible if the guitars wood has anything to do with its sound, which I believe it does.

Even if the effect on sound is negligible, what are you filling with?  Are you then screwing back into that stuff?

 

[erogenousjones17]

Is that a "famous" bass? Dunno if it should, but it just doesn't ring a bell...  :dontknow:

It's Billy Sheehan's bass.  He's famous to some people...

Thanks. I actually know who that is!  :hello2:

 

[line6man]

Thanks all for your answers.

@Line6Man -

I take it you're newer to guitar?
I've filled and redrilled the holes for the control plates on my basses more times than I can count.

Sounds terrible if the guitars wood has anything to do with its sound, which I believe it does.

Even if the effect on sound is negligible, what are you filling with?  Are you then screwing back into that stuff?

:icon_scratch:
How would it have any effect whatsoever on the tone, unless you're talking about neck and bridge screws. Are you one of those people who buys titanium pickguard screws to make your guitar sound better?

 

[line6man]

Is that a "famous" bass? Dunno if it should, but it just doesn't ring a bell...  :dontknow:

It's Billy Sheehan's bass.  He's famous to some people...

Thanks. I actually know who that is!  :hello2:

Most are not familar with it. It's his "Wife" P bass, used extensively in the '70s and '80s with Talas.
Here is a video of it in action, but before anyone bitches: This is the wanky-shred side of Billy, and all YouTube videos of Talas have poor sound and video quality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeDD2bXnACU
:headbang1:

 

[Tipperman]

That was a wild bass solo. Hair was even wilder!  :laughing3: Pretty cool stuff Line6Man. Got any more bass solos? I like Les Claypool a lot myself. I like his slap bass sound. I dunno if he's very good or not though.

 

[Crassius]

[/quote]

:icon_scratch:
How would it have any effect whatsoever on the tone, unless you're talking about neck and bridge screws. Are you one of those people who buys titanium pickguard screws to make your guitar sound better?
[/quote]

Bridges by way of trems is exactly part of the original question,  But don't bother responding, only an azhole would have included the last part of your quote. 
I don't have time for azholes.

 

[JimBeed]

I would say for pickguards and control plates and such, the amount of wood is so minimal that it would not make any difference.

Bridge and neck holes, possibly but i doubt it, its still not much compared to the entire mass of the body.

Line6Man was just messing around with his last point,

 

[line6man]

Bridges by way of trems is exactly part of the original question,   But don't bother responding, only an azhole would have included the last part of your quote.  
I don't have time for azholes.

You quoted my post about filling control plate holes, you didn't say anything about tremolo bridges and neither did I.

And FWIW, it's in poor taste to go around calling people "azholes" for no reason, let alone on your third post.

 

[line6man]

Even if the effect on sound is negligible, what are you filling with?  Are you then screwing back into that stuff?

To answer the question:

I've found the best way to fill stripped control plate, output jack plate and pickguard screw holes is with baking soda and CA glue.
Put some baking soda in the hole, then drip some thin CA over it until it soaks in. Repeat two or three times until the entire hole is filled, then redrill.

 

[Cagey]

I use toothpicks and CA, because most fillers are just too friable to run a screw back into, or even nearby.

Of course, I'd never do it for "tonal" reasons. I'd wager you could put a 12ga. sabot round through a solid body and not affect it's tone any, so the only reason to worry about screw holes is for structural, mechanical or cosmetic issues.

sabot round