Neck gap. Should I be concerned?

[-Asdfgh-]

I think we're saying the same thing.

Not quite.

I want the base of the neck to be in full contact (flush) with the neck pocket providing maximum rigidity which will also result, in my experience, with the ability to feel the neck and body vibrate.

Rigidity good, vibration bad. Maximum rigidity, lowest vibration is the ideal, IMHO.

 

[Gluvhand]

The holes in the body are too small. The screws have threaded the wood. Not good. The screws need to pass through the body cleanly and easily.

 

[Grinderman]

I’m really grateful for all the responses.

Well, I took the neck off. I’m no luthier, but doesn’t appear to be any cracks in the body. The paint is lifting away some how..
View attachment 4570703 View attachment 4570704 View attachment 4570705 View attachment 4570706 View attachment 4570707

Here we can see that neck screws--or least that one--are cutting and biting into the body through-holes; too small.

 

[Dave Leighton]

Thanks for the new pics.

 

[roccobladr]

Here we can see that neck screws--or least that one--are cutting and biting into the body through-holes; too small.

View attachment 4570711

Pulling stuff out of the air, but could the holes have “shrunk” over time due to humidity? I moved into a new house a year ago and the basement gets water in it during heavy rains. Though it’s raining today and humidity monitor says 43%. Again, I never noticed this gap issue until recently.

 

[Grinderman]

Here

and here,

and here too.

So, all 4 of them!

 

[Gluvhand]

Pulling stuff out of the air, but could the holes have “shrunk” over time due to humidity? I moved into a new house a year ago and the basement gets water in it during heavy rains. Though it’s raining today and humidity monitor says 43%. Again, I never noticed this gap issue until recently.

I doubt the wood would shrink enough to do that but I’m often wrong.

 

[Dave Leighton]

One thought as well. If the paint is lifting under the neck plate it will not have a stable mating surface...

 

[Grinderman]

Pulling stuff out of the air, but could the holes have “shrunk” over time due to humidity? I moved into a new house a year ago and the basement gets water in it during heavy rains. Though it’s raining today and humidity monitor says 43%. Again, I never noticed this gap issue until recently.

That, merely from humidity in a house, strikes me as dubious, especially to such a degree. 43% humidity isn't even high.

Nonetheless, I generally wouldn't store my guitars in a basement, let alone a known leaky one that gets standing accumulation.

 

[iammr2]

Looks to me like that bass has been dropped and landed on its neck.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

I doubt the wood would shrink enough to do that but I’m often wrong.

It shouldn't shrink THAT much.

Guitars are made from stock dried to furniture grade standards. A home is built from lumber that is far from dry, often with twice the moisture content, so it shrinks quite a bit more than furniture stock.

 

[Gluvhand]

The stress on the body from those threaded holes is the cause of everything we see.

 

[enormungus]

When screwing two pieces of wood together, you want the second piece of wood, in this case the neck, to be threaded and the piece the head of the screw or plate is pressing against, the body here, to allow the screw to rotate freely within it so the screw pulls it tight against the neck when tightened. If it threads through both pieces, it not only places a lot of strain on the wood as the screw tries to pull them together, it could push the neck away from the body slightly before threading into the neck. If this happens, the screw will hold the neck away from the body(small gap) even when tightened and could strip the threaded area out of the neck if overtightened to try to pull the pieces together by force.
Have the holes on the body drilled out slightly so the screw drops through freely then just spend a little more time making sure the neck is aligned when tightening it.

 

[SJan3]

Not quite.



Rigidity good, vibration bad. Maximum rigidity, lowest vibration is the ideal, IMHO.

Hmmm, that equates to, in essence, a dead instrument. I prefer an instrument that resonates. To each his/her own.

 

[jeff62]

One thought as well. If the paint is lifting under the neck plate it will not have a stable mating surface...

Paint lifting will not destabilize the neck plate in any way. Once the neck plate is properly torqued down through the action of bolting up the neck, it's solid.

Have the holes on the body drilled out slightly so the screw drops through freely then just spend a little more time making sure the neck is aligned when tightening it.

This. Drop a drill bit into the holes where you can see evidence of threading. When you find the drill bit that doesn't drop through cleanly, use that drill bit to gently enlarge the hole. It should go without saying but it is preferable to be working with drill bit graduations in 1/32 of an inch. Or you could pull out your micrometer and measure the width of the screw threads and pick the correct drill bit.

 

[Dave Leighton]

Paint lifting will not destabilize the neck plate in any way. Once the neck plate is properly torqued down through the action of bolting up the neck, it's solid.



This. Drop a drill bit into the holes where you can see evidence of threading. When you find the drill bit that doesn't drop through cleanly, use that drill bit to gently enlarge the hole. It should go without saying but it is preferable to be working with drill bit graduations in 1/32 of an inch. Or you could pull out your micrometer and measure the width of the screw threads and pick the correct drill bit.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[H K]

This is a nailbiter....

 

[Lesfunk]

I really don’t know but it looks like…
The bass took a major thump
Or
The finish is failing in a big way
Or
The body wood moved and the paint didn’t.

…7ender

hope it gets solved

 

[Bikeguy57]

A week from now, on page 26, someone will come up with the brilliant idea of enlarging the body screw holes. Why are you wasting your time here if you can't be bothered to read the posts?

 

[roccobladr]

Thanks everyone for the advice! I’m going to try enlarging the body holes a little bit and see what happens. I’ll update afterwards.

I’m just befuddled as to why this gap would appear after all these years? The bass was made in 2004 and I bought it used in 2009. The paint cracks have always been there (have grown larger over time), but just strange to see this gap. I’ve never taken the neck off or anything. Oh well!