Bought a bass from o/seas with neck off...

[shanmag]

Is there anything I should look out for when putting it back together?

I've never done this before so I don't wanna stuff anything up.

[Busker]

Don't over-tighten the neck screws.

And now is the time to check for neck angle, and put a thin shim in the neck pocket if necessary.

[shanmag]

there is a shim already in place.

How tight should the neck screws be?

[62bass]

Originally Posted by shanmag

there is a shim already in place.

How tight should the neck screws be?

Quite tight when tightened by hand, but not enough to strip the wood or break the head of the screw off. It's hard to say without doing some sort of scientific measurement. If the shim is fixed in the same place where it was attched in the factory, everything should be fine. If it's loose you'll have to experiment to see where it should be.

Make sure the screwdriver you use is the right size for the head so you don't strip the slots out

It's pretty easy to do actually so don't sweat it.

[shanmag]

Awesome, thanks for your help! It's up and running and it's awesome!

The screws are hand tight (to me) for now but when my car is fixed I'll be taking it in to get a set up done.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by shanmag

Awesome, thanks for your help! It's up and running and it's awesome!

The screws are hand tight (to me) for now but when my car is fixed I'll be taking it in to get a set up done.

Learn to do your own set ups. It's not all that hard and the tools you need are minimal.

[Pilgrim]

The answer is that the screws ONLY need to be tight enough to keep the neck from shifting. Just don't bear down hard enough to strip the wood in the neck. And as noted above, use a Philips with a #2 tip in good condition so that you don't damage the screw heads.