Neck screws

[lowrez]

I have read a few times of a hump that can develop on some models from the neck screws being overtightened. I recently removed (and reinstalled) the neck to check the stamps. There is no hump in the neck of mine, but how tight should they be? I don't want to damage this bass.

[metron]

I tighten them all the way down without putting a lot of force into it then I back off slightly. Maybe 1/8 turn. If you have microtilt then you have to be aware of the fulcrum screw tension. I do the same with that except I back off a little more once it is tightened.

[Ken Baker]

Originally Posted by lowrez

I have read a few times of a hump that can develop on some models from the neck screws being overtightened. I recently removed (and reinstalled) the neck to check the stamps. There is no hump in the neck of mine, but how tight should they be? I don't want to damage this bass.

If you have a 6 bolt neck, just be sure that (1) The neck is well seated in the pocket and (2) The screws are evenly tightened. You want them good & tight, but don't go crazy about it.

It isn't a hump that can occur, but a ski-jump looking curve that makes the frets from roughly 12 and up nearly unplayable. While ski-jump can happen to any bolt-on neck (any neck, actually), it was seen more in the older 3-bolt, Precision Tilt, necks. This is NOT a result of a deficiency in the Precision Tilt design! It's a problem of over-zealous cranking on the adjuster. Some folks just can't wrap their heads around the idea that a little bit goes a long way.

Ken...