Great setup tweak for bolt-on neck guitars
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 27 фев 2024
- Usually perceptibly effective, quick and completely free if you own a screwdriver. No risk or downside, works for me and everyone I've introduced to it, try it for yourself.
Actually a remake of a previous video which I refer to often but which RUclips has lost 🤬 Enjoy and please feed back 👍 
Видеоклипы
If you try this on your screw-neck guitar, check both E strings at the neck heel when you're done to make sure they are equidistant from the edges of the fretboard. Loosening the neck like this can allow the neck to scoot a little out of alignment and one oof the E strings may slip off the ends of the frets up the neck if it's too close to the edge. They are indeed screws...not bolts.
Very good point and great build, thank you 👍
@@RockbeareguitarsThis is super important. Several years ago, I did this trick on a guitar and my high E ended up too close to the edge. I thought it was a manufacturing flaw. I did it as soon as the guitar came in without playing it much, so I didn't realize it was from doing this trick. I even bought a new, very expensive bridge to make my strings closer together. Then I did it to another guitar and the same thing happened which is when I realized what had happened... But I had already spent $400 on the bridge for the other guitar.
@@XChristianNoirX Thanks for this. I replied to another similar comment a few days ago. It’s in the thread. This has it happened to me on Al the guitars I’ve done so far but I do a have a couple whose necks sideways angle can move slightly if I’m not careful and keep them tight.
I have several guitars that I put inserts in the neck so they would sound better , & they do!
@@ericwright6672me too, working out great.
Its wild how 35 years ago I was embarrassed that I had a Squier Strat and not an actual Fender. I would always call it a Fender and never refer to it as a Squier for that reason but now a days its actually cool to have a Squier. I wish I still had it.
I'll take the Pepsi taste test with squier standard strats and teles any day of the week
Mid 80s MIJ Squiers were made by Fujigen plant, some of the best vintage-spec strats ever made. Highly collectable, nothing to shame about, miles apart from today’s Squier. Remember, they were made during US Fender shutdown.
Great tip, I have a couple of inexpensive bolt on guitars …..and tried this tip ..and it definitely worked wonders..even heard the crunch!!! Thank you.
First time I've heard of this. The logic makes sense...and IT WORKS!!!!
Thank-you. I've bought a few set-ups that should have included this. Excellent presentation style , cheers!
I’ve done this for years. Dan Erlewine gave this tip in one of his books. It closes the gap in the neck pocket and improves the contact between the neck and body to improve sustain.
Great tip that all guitarists should know - thanjs for sharing. Yes, it makes a big difference, particularly on basses in my experience.
I think also, it's good to mention the neck screw holes in the body. On just about every cheaper guitar, the neck screws actually thread into the body as well as the neck. I think it's because of a production shortcut where the neck is clamped in the neck pocket and the screw holes are drilled in one go. Quicker and in line. However, to get good clamping pressure, there must be clearance in the body holes for the screw to move freely through, so on any setup I check a re-drill as necessary. Having those few microns of clearance also benefit this 'knuckle cracking' procedure, as well as allowing some adjustment to correct kneck misalignment.
Was skeptical at first. Tried it and now I’m a believer. Thanks for passing this along! Cheers
I learned something today. Thanks! If someone happens to have a stripped wood screw, simply remove the screw and dip a toothpick in some wood glue (Elmers glue works too) and insert it in the hole and trim flush. Reinsert and tighten the screw. That should do ‘er . Toothpicks are likely softwood, so alternatively , you could take a sharp knife, cut a hardwood shaving and do the same thing. Theoretically, you wouldn’t even need the glue, the taper of the screw should compress it in there just fine. The glue would just give you a little more permanence.
Don’t actually even need the glue.
You can pack saw dust into the whole then use superglue But even a better solution is to put sand, yes sand into the whole pack it down with pressure of a wooden match stick end put superglue. The sand soaks it up making the area very firm. Measure the screw thread and chose a smaller sized drill bit with a brad tip. Put tape around drill bit tip a little shy of the total length of the screw. Drill hole to tape and reinstall the screw. Only do this for a neck with a major loose screw hole. I've custom built and repaired guitars for years and have done this on many guitars. If it's a more expensive guitar and holes are lose I drill a larger hole and ute a dowel rod in. Buy I use a dremel to cut a thin line going up each side of the dowel, this allows for excess titebond wood glue to come out if it needs to. Re-screw doing the same measurements as I said above. More work but better than using toothpicks. And if there is a time to use toothpicks find bamboo. They sell them in the same area of toothpicks and home repair.
I used to do this, and actually forgot about it for awhile. Thanks for bringing it back to my attention!
I've doing this for years and believe me it makes a difference
Mind officially blown. I've been "playing" for 50 years and have never heard of or tried this. I've just massively improved 4 of my guitars including a severely poor neck-joined mid 70s Made in Japan Diamond brand junior double cut. Its worked amazingly well on all of them. Thanks for this info.
This makes so much sense, great tip. Just tried it on my MIM Strat & J Bass, worked as described.
Great tip that I learned years ago!! I'd like to add that when doing this I have found that once you have loosened the screws to lightly tap the guitar on the floor at the bottom strap button while only holding the body ( not the neck) vertically. Once or twice should do it. I've found it seats the neck in the pocket a little better than just using the string tension to do it. Has worked for me for years.
I just let the strings pull the neck into the pocket, but this sounds even better. I’m gonna do my Telly asap.
That does work, I've found. The only thing I'd caution against is to not tap the strap button because that can crack the finish around the button or mess up the strap button screw. You can get the same result by getting two 2x4 wood blocks or maybe saw horses and pushing them together on the floor, leaving enough space for the strap button in the middle so it doesn't hit the floor, and tap both sides of the bottom of the body simultaneously, which will achieve the same thing but without damaging the guitar.
Nice, thanks guys 👍
Books if they still existed.
So basically its the same principle as you would seat an axe head. Quite ingenious.
Was a bit sceptical...but tried it on my bolt on neck guitars, and I swear I can hear a difference on almost all if them - more zing and treble or something - very cool!
I've been doing this accidentally, just as a side effect of how I would square up the neck with the strings on. Now I know to do it on purpose! 😁
I bulilt a Tele partscaster a few years ago and I believe I did this quite accidentally.
After I first put it together I wasn't happy with the resonance, so I thought I would simply check the tightness of the screws, so I loosened them and retightened while it was strung up.
Like I said, I was shooting in the dark but since then it is one of my most resonant guitars. A true joy to play.
Sounds like you discovered this excellent tweak by fortunate accident. Probably worth repeating to see if it yields even further improvements!
@@Rockbeareguitars
I am going to try it on my other "bolt on" guitars. I hope I get similar results.
carrying out this operation on a full moon evening is even more profitable
This is an amazing “hack”! I love it& I’ve taken it a tiny step further & NOT re-tightening the bolts, I just hear the “snick” sound when I relieve the pressure on the screws& stop there. Way less than a quarter turn of the Philips head. All my fenders, squires & danelectros feel like new, loose, funky chimey guitars now. Absolutely incredible & so simple! Thanks again!
Beautiful concept--it's always the simple things that have been in front of our eyes all this time. Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Brilliant. I am grabbing my screwdriver and heading for the cases!
Congratulations 🎉 you've got yourself a real winner here. Thanks for sharing. Tried it immediately. Impressive.
Such a handy tip
Unreal how much difference it made on some of my guitars
Thanks so much
I have a cheap MIM Telly that hung on the wall for a while. When I started back playing it, it sounded strange. So after another 6 months hanging I took it down, loosened the neck screws, and heard a loud click. Now it plays soooo much better and intonates perfectly. Same here, it went dead. I bought it due to the resonance it had in the shop.
Incidentally, this tip is one of the reasons why I don't hang my guitars. I know a lot of people do it, but what I've found is that if a 4-bolt guitar hangs long enough it can pull the heel of the neck away from the body. Just do the adjustment like he says here, and if you hear that click sound it's a good thing. Then tighten up the screws diagonally just like in the video, but store the guitar in a case, on a stand, or lying flat and you'll never have to do the adjustment again.
I've done this on all mine for years and it works like a dream. Highly recommended.
Just did it and it works. I even heard the crunch you mentioned. Right on!! Thank you dude!!
Pleasure listening to what you have said, I kind of did this too , but not in such an organized fashion, thanks for the structured advice!
It’s 10.30pm. It’s a school night. But I just had to get up out of bed and go try this on my Tele.
That all makes sense. How satisfying. Subscribed.
It works! Great tip. I've just done three inexpensive bolt ons and all were brought to life. Many thanks!!
Glad it helped
Amazing !!! ... I had it done, noted the improvement, liked, and subscribed, before the video was even over.
Great advice. I would add still to clean dust, filings, paint residue if you remove the neck to make a better resonant contact. If theres a shim, it's usually not a good one. Correct screwdriver helps not damaging the screws (phillips 2 usually).
Bob, saw this some years ago on a video from Guitar Guts, probably the same as you saw. I concur, it works. Another thing the anti-bolt neck people never acknowledge is with a bolt neck you can change the neck angle of your guitar with a screwdriver and shim material. And in a matter of minutes.
Bolt on is a superior design.
Just is….
Come at me Gibson
@@silverjaw138 Agreed.
I have always been a Gibson guy but recently bought a Pro II Strat and quite like the micro tilt feature that allows me to adjust neck angle with the turn of a screw and no shims necessary. Also, my Taylor acoustic has a bolt on neck and I can’t believe how easy it was for me to do my own neck reset. So I guess I have to concede, as a Gibson enthusiast, I’m not prepared to come at anyone praising bolt on necks. They’re much easier to work with in every way.
I’m looking forward to trying out this set-up tip on my Strat!
I heard about this tweak many years ago but I never tried it. Now I have a couple bolt on neck guitars that I didn't have then. I tried it and it works great! Much more acoustic output! Thank you!
This made a huge difference in the tone of my guitar! Thanks for the tip. I am glad i ran across this video. My guitar sounds so much better after doing this.
Works great. Just did it to one of my bolt ons and it helped the sustain. I just loosened each screw about 1/8 to 1/4. Heard the neck set popping as described. Tuned it back up did the procedure again. Tightened and tuned and it’s working great. Thank you for the set up advice.
Nice tip Bob. Thanks mate..I've learnt that from our great late friends Andy and Rupert long time ago ..works on Fender basses too
That is a true lightbulb moment. Thank you very much.
You're very welcome. It was for me too, and for everybody I’ve passed it on to. And I must admit, I love the idea of an effective, zero-cost tweak 👍
Makes perfect sense! I am headed over to the studio to tweak a soulless Strat that has set in its case since I purchased it. You rock!
Yes. Ive done this to all of my bolt ons, as well as every bolt neck i work on. In all of my set ups Its a must! Ive actually tried it with tuners as well. Loosen the collar nut on the front of the tuner, and the location screw on the back. Then tighten them again. It helps seat any tuners that may have a loose fit.
Never knew it, gonna do it! Thanks!
nice trick, will give it a try on my squier tele custom II from 2010. An absolute budget but nice guitar
Great tip!
I'll certainly give it a go on my bolt-ons, but how you explain it actually makes a lot of sense...
😎👍🙏
Glad I came across this video. I have a lot of bolt on guitars and I absolutely love them. Can’t wait to try it out and see if it makes any of them better.
This WILL NOT affect your "hooked up" tone AT ALL.
It rings beautifully
Good to hear it worked for you. It’s repeatable periodically too, albeit with diminishing returns. Had a few snarky comments from people who likely haven’t tried it but got out of the bed on the wrong side so extra gratified to hear your success 👍
Good tip. Thanks for sharing.
I drilled out the holes on the neck made by the wood screws. Added brass threaded inserts ( Home Depot) . Why ? so I could replace the wood screws with machine screws. This enables me to remove and reattach the neck for my travel guitar without damaging the neck wood. It’s metal on metal. Works like a charm!
What sizes did you use for brass inserts ?
I recently saw a video of a recording artist (I don't recall his name) who did the same with his Strat. He was constantly flying and nervous about his guitar if they made him gate check it. He decided to do that so he could remove the neck for the flight and carry it on the plane in a drafters tube and pack the body in his carry-on bag.
Brilliant!
@@kevinnsevinn799 the screw size is 10/24. Insert thread is the same of course. I drilled the neck holes to be slightly larger diameter than the narrowest part of the wood thread valley. So long ago I can’t recall the drill diameter sorry. I did lubricate the insert thread with soap. To ensure the the insert was square I ground the head off a bolt placed the threaded part into insert and locked it with a jam nut. Placed this assembly into the drill press chuck. I used the drill press as a press while turning the thread faster with a small wrench on the jam nut. Once the insert was well engaged I finished installation with a screwdriver blade that I had ground to snuggly fit the slot of the insert and it’s diameter . I didn’t want to crack the neck ( maple) or install it on an angle. There might even be a special insert tool designed specifically for the insert. I didn’t have one so this was my installation method.
That makes sense. On all bolt on neck.
I do this on all of my bolt on guitars. I would say about 75% of the time, it makes a difference. In general, if its out of tune when you tighten it back up that means that the neck was pulled into the pocket further. Also double check your intonation after you do this as this can shorten the nut to bridge length slightly.
"double check your intonation after you do this as this can shorten the nut to bridge length". This was truly my first thought when he loosened the neck screws under tension.
Then I noticed your screen-name. Engineers know how stuff works!
Thanks for that! Definitely gonna try it!
Tried this on my new Sire S3 . Heard some movement and re tightened screws . Had to adjust intonation. Made a big difference. Thanks for the tip!
I might have watched the same video you did! I forgot all about this trick until I watched your video. Thanks for the reminder, my Strat sounds great.
If you strip the holes try gently glueing in tooth picks around the wall of the hole so you can get some traction when they dry.
Great trick!! I've seen this before and can't remember who it was that shared this. So now, when I tell folks about this, you are getting the credit! Thanks for the share!! 😎👍
Great tip, thank you!
Trying this for a squier and a sterling…
Simply BRILLIANT😎
Just tried it.great tip
Nice tip, I did this on my Ibanez. After re tighten I also did a truss rod adjustment and it plays like a dream.
I'll try this today on my squire tele. thanks for the tip
It's over a hundred pounds of clamping force better than any clamp a luthier could hope to use for this application haha.
GOOD JOB, WELL DONE. THANK YOU
Good tip Bob! I am going to try this on MY Squier Cabronita Telecaster(although mine is a thinline) and then on my other bolt on Fenders! thank you
This should also increase tuning stability. Great idea, thanks for sharing.
This was a great tip , it makes sense thank you ,subscribed ! 👍
just did it - works like a charm! cheers Bob
So glad to hear it’s not just me and my imagination!
Cool idea-I’ll give it a try.
I've heard of this! Beautiful! I've got a $300 new/used squire to try this on! Thank you so much!
I just stumbled across this video. Sounded interesting. Tried it on my PRS SE CE. Works! Thanks for sharing sir. Subscribed. Cheers!
I don't know if we saw the same person doing this ins a guitar setup but I saw it in one of *PERFECTO DE CASTRO's* videos a couple of years ago.
Plus 1 for this, thanks for the video! I started doing it in about 2014, made that noticeable difference to tone quality and (not often mentioned) the vibration of notes thru to the body. The practice is yet to damage / crack a neck joint (ie where the body made of budget timber and / or with a thin section between the neck and the neck pickup rout) so I can reasonably safely recommend the mod.
The only different thing I do is perform the mod with the instrument tuned up to D rather than E. (Just for safety especially with soft timber guitars). Then proceed to tune up higher and check harmonics intonation (important to have accurate).
Thank you! Cheers!
I had the opposite issue with my Squier Classic Vibe. I had owned it for some time and never noticed that it had been fastened far too loosely. It played okay, but once I tightened it the playability shot through the roof.
What everyone calls 'bolt-on" neck is a misnomer, if fact they are screw on necks. As stated (and commonly known) they use wood screws to fasten the body and neck. I use machine type threaded bolts, small dia. I install machine screws by imbedding metal inserts (permanently) in the neck. I use a Bridgeport vertical mill for this procedure to assure a precise installation. The bolts are the same length and diameter is a slight few thousandths of and inch larger than the wood screws. Bolts are flat head (not oval head) countersunk, and are Alan head drive and not phillips (which are fairly easy to strip and look ugly). Allen heads you can apply more torque and the machine screw threads do not wear out the wood each time you remove your neck because they screw into the metal inserts, and they look better. I feel this is a far better, more solid true bolt up neck joint, certainly more durable and precise. I wonder why Fender Custom shop doesn't offer this? Likely then they would eventually have to include it on production level guitars?
Surprise! Surprise! Suprise!.....Watched your video, and it made sense. So, I was expecting a really minor improvement. Can't believe how big of a difference it made! Brightened it up, and much better resonance! Thanks!
Great tip.
oh my... this worked GREAT!! Thank you
You're welcome!
What a fantastic video have you enjoyed playing guitar Bob have a wonderful day ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Well I’ll be damned! Tried that just now on my old tele - heard the little crunch - tightened it up again and wow! Thanks Bob!
Just done this on my Burns. Brilliant sustain. Thanks. I have 30 guitars many with bolt on. I will be doing them all. Just stopped writing this and did my fender telecaster. Big difference again in sustain. Top tip.
Wow, fantastic, so glad it works for you 👍
Yes, I did this around 2014 when I saw a RUclips video on it. My Tele resonated noticeably more (10-20%) after the trick. It works. And the more a guitar resonates like an acoustic, the better is sounds through pedals and a tube amp.
Brilliant idea. And Bob, your playing was awesome, as ever
Thanks 👍
I always remove the rubber gasket thing from under the neck plate too if it has one.
I intentionally put rubber gaskets under neck plate, did you notice a difference? I want to try this screw hack, but maybe I should remove gasket first?
I have one bolt on guitar and I will give this a shot - Thank you!
Yup. I've been doing this for a long time.
I first came across the improvement while loosening the screws to better align the neck with the bridge.
The little 'crack' noise as it it shifted told me that there had been some 'free play' to be taking up.
A little revisit to the intonation adjustment had the guitar ringing like it should.
Great stuff.
It works! just did this on my Cimar strat which i thought was perfect but as I was watching your video I realised my Silver Sky SE has a bigger acoustic sound and the whole guitar vibrates-they all do-so PRS obviously already know this trick. Now my cimar does it as well. Sounds great!
Filing the tip off cross-point screwdrivers can make them fit better. If it doesn't work it might be because the pocket is too deep. In those cases a shim between the end of the neck and the body might help, but at the risk of changing the intonation.
Great tip. Learned this a few years ago. Sounded like just another guitar myth, but I tried it. Each of my bolt on necks made an audible 'pop' when i loosened the screws, which was the neck popping into hard contact with the body due to the tension of the strings. The guitars all needed to be retuned, too, indicating that the neck did in fact move.
Yes, the guitar being out of tune after the adjustment is a good sign, not a bad one. It means the adjustment worked. All you have to do at that point is make sure the neck is aligned and then re-tighten the screws properly.
Thank You
Just did it to my Strat, took 3 minutes maximum. It lacked sustain so I'll check it tomorrow when it's not late at night and hopefully it'll improve things a little. Thanks for the upload, much appreciated.
Thank you
Great tip!
Cheers 🍻
I’ll try it, thanks
Great hint! It works on basses too...🤓👍
Dirty trick to fix worn out screw holes: Thin bamboo tooth picks...short pieces of them "filled in" the holes"! No glue or something lihe that. No joke, works fine not only for the neck screws!👋
Yes!
I've done this with my guitars too, and agree, it's a good idea. An even better method is to fit threaded neck inserts, and use machine screws instead of woodscrews, because then the neck joint can be made even tighter. On a related note, the screwdriver in this video looks to me like a Posidriv 2, which is not a good fit in guitar neck screws. A Phillips 2 is a better fit. You should never use the wrong screwdriver type, or you _will_ damage the screws.
Yes, you are right. That was a bummer!😊
Excellent video! Had a guitar that would not properly intonate. It was because the neck was not seated properly into the pocket. Did this little trick and boom! It just needed a little movement into the body and this was the issue. Cheers!
Wow, great story 👍
Yep. I saw this trick years ago. Works well. I also saw PRS mention using a wood block and lightly tapping the back of a tremolo bridge to seat it better. I don’t play trem guitars. So I’ve not done it. And I would def use a light tap. But it makes sense.
Fwiw I also tend to take my bolt neck guitars apart and clean any excess paint out of the pocket. It’s amazing how much can be in there. I just use a single edge razor like a card scraper. And I don’t worry too much. Just the big stuff.
Great Tip
Glad it was helpful!
If you have a pickguard that touches the neck heel, make sure you loosen the pickguard screws before doing this.