I was trying to figure out the best place to post this - Hardware, Setup & Repair or maybe the Luthier's Corner - but then I thought, "Well, I'm mostly just venting so maybe Miscellaneous".
There ought to be a misdemeanor out there entitled "Criminal Misuse of a Screwdriver" or "Operating a Screwdriver Without a License". I'm often surprised by how many used basses there are out there that the previous owner has damaged by carelessly trying to twist the screws in and out of it. Don't get me wrong, I don't need all of my basses to be pristine and I think a lot of basses look great with the heavy wear they've developed over the years, but I hate to see needless damage done to the instruments.
Case in point: I just picked up a used bass from a pawn shop that looked like it had been very well cared for considering it was more than 30 years old, but when I got it home and started working on detailing it and setting it up properly, I discovered the screwdriver malpractice. Practically all of the screw heads had been stripped out badly, and in fact a few of them I thought I was going to have to drill and then remove with a vice grip. The previous owner had also tried to install a pair of Strap Lock strap buttons. I'm not sure how he got the one on the upper horn to go in at such a crazy angle, and the screw was one of the ones that I thought I was going to have to drill out. The screw for the other strap button had been snapped off inside the body and then the new screw had been run into the old hole on top of the broken screw. That pushed it off to such a dramatic angle it came close to coming out of the back of the bass. Then that strap button had been banged around so much that I could almost pull the screw out with my fingers. Yeah, I noticed the problem with that button at the pawn shop, but still...
Anyway, just had to get that off my chest. I feel better now. But still, I know it's your bass and you can do to it what you want, but have mercy and don't attack it with tools unless you're sober and know what you're doing. That is all.
There ought to be a misdemeanor out there entitled "Criminal Misuse of a Screwdriver" or "Operating a Screwdriver Without a License". I'm often surprised by how many used basses there are out there that the previous owner has damaged by carelessly trying to twist the screws in and out of it. Don't get me wrong, I don't need all of my basses to be pristine and I think a lot of basses look great with the heavy wear they've developed over the years, but I hate to see needless damage done to the instruments.
Case in point: I just picked up a used bass from a pawn shop that looked like it had been very well cared for considering it was more than 30 years old, but when I got it home and started working on detailing it and setting it up properly, I discovered the screwdriver malpractice. Practically all of the screw heads had been stripped out badly, and in fact a few of them I thought I was going to have to drill and then remove with a vice grip. The previous owner had also tried to install a pair of Strap Lock strap buttons. I'm not sure how he got the one on the upper horn to go in at such a crazy angle, and the screw was one of the ones that I thought I was going to have to drill out. The screw for the other strap button had been snapped off inside the body and then the new screw had been run into the old hole on top of the broken screw. That pushed it off to such a dramatic angle it came close to coming out of the back of the bass. Then that strap button had been banged around so much that I could almost pull the screw out with my fingers. Yeah, I noticed the problem with that button at the pawn shop, but still...
Anyway, just had to get that off my chest. I feel better now. But still, I know it's your bass and you can do to it what you want, but have mercy and don't attack it with tools unless you're sober and know what you're doing. That is all.
