Pickup screw holes in body stripped.

[Ghost Signal]

My Jazz Plus V's screw holes in the pickup cavities are stripping one by one. The bass is over 20 years old and has aftermarket EMGs installed, so I assume the pickups have been installed, taken out, and reinstalled multiple times over the bass' lifespan. Tonight I unscrewed them to put some new foam in the cavities in order to raise the pickups a little and now one screw in each pickup won't bite into the body.

What can I use to fill these holes that'll last? How would I go about doing it? I'm not a woodeworker in the least so I'm hoping it's not a difficult fix...

 

[TinyE]

I've used toothpicks and wood glue before. Jam as many in the hole as it takes to stuff it, then clip them level, and let dry.

 

[Calexia13]

Or use wood putty, hell you can even use gorilla glue, it will hold the screw, personally I would use some sort of glue with the toothpicks as they tend to crawl back up in time. Good luck.

 

[tuckomf]

Another vote for toothpicks. I've done it successfuly without wood glue. Having that extra bit of wood will make the screw fit snugly again.

 

[wizerd]

Another vote for toothpicks. This trick helped to secure a bridge back in place, the pickguard should be no problem.

 

[Ghost Signal]

Cool. Thanks for the tip. It actually appears as if that method had already been used in one of the screw holes that's still holding firm, so I'll give it shot with the others.

That brings me to another question though. Since I have a show in 2 days and a packed schedule between now and then, I went ahead with the Spring cleaning of my bass, and then put new strings on anyway. I've heard that taking strings off and the putting them back kills the sound due to the tension being lost and then reapplied. Can anyone confirm or deny this for me?

If it's just an urban myth, I'll take the strings off after the show and attempt the toothpick method. Otherwise I'll have to wait until my next string change which, at this rate, will be sometime in 2014.

 

[MoBe]

Cool. Thanks for the tip. It actually appears as if that method had already been used in one of the screw holes that's still holding firm, so I'll give it shot with the others.

That brings me to another question though. Since I have a show in 2 days and a packed schedule between now and then, I went ahead with the Spring cleaning of my bass, and then put new strings on anyway. I've heard that taking strings off and the putting them back kills the sound due to the tension being lost and then reapplied. Can anyone confirm or deny this for me?

If it's just an urban myth, I'll take the strings off after the show and attempt the toothpick method. Otherwise I'll have to wait until my next string change which, at this rate, will be sometime in 2014.

I`ve never heard that one about strings,it sounds like something you`d hear at a music store to get you to buy a new set of strings.

 

[MrLenny1]

wood toothpicks & Elmer's glue.

 

[guy n. cognito]

That brings me to another question though. Since I have a show in 2 days and a packed schedule between now and then, I went ahead with the Spring cleaning of my bass, and then put new strings on anyway. I've heard that taking strings off and the putting them back kills the sound due to the tension being lost and then reapplied. Can anyone confirm or deny this for me?

No....no.....no.

 

[96tbird]

Ah hah hah hah hah ha. He he he, ah hah hah hah. Aheh heh he ah hah hah hah hee haw heh he he ha eh heh heh hmhe ah heh heh hm ahem. Ahem. Hmm mmhmn hmm.

No. Have never heard such tripe. Losing sound. Mhmm mmhmph heh.

Toothpicks. With or without glue. If you choose to glue, screw it in wet. Glue squishes into all gaps and makes a perfect threaded insert that will last for decades to come.

 

[Ghost Signal]

I thought it sounded like bull as well, but considering that I'm truly the straving artist type, I figured I'd check before potentially ruining the first new set of strings I've had in over a year.

As for screwing the pickups in when the glue is wet, will it hold with the pressure of the foam pushing the pickups up? Or should I screw in wet without the foam, let it dry, and then put the foam in and screw it back down?

 

[Ghost Signal]

Before anyone else gets a good chuckle out of my question about the strings, I just read this posted by someone named Mmbongo over on the string forum:

"It's not really the boiling that ruins them, it's the removing/reinstallation/retensioning that ruins them.

I still think that since new strings are $13-ish it's useless to boil."

 

[Zooberwerx]

I thought it sounded like bull as well, but considering that I'm truly the straving artist type, I figured I'd check before potentially ruining the first new set of strings I've had in over a year.

As for screwing the pickups in when the glue is wet, will it hold with the pressure of the foam pushing the pickups up? Or should I screw in wet without the foam, let it dry, and then put the foam in and screw it back down?

You can do it with the foam & pickups in place...it will hold with no problem.

As far as boiling strings: add some olive oil to the water, drain, and toss lightly with your favorite Alfredo sauce.

Riis