The Soundgear Club

[PDW30]

Ibanez has made literally hundreds of different basses so just saying hey I need a screw really doesn't narrow it down. Also they don't have some unicorn magic screw sizes so there's easily hundreds if suitable replacements. Just trying to help…

Perhaps I should have done this in the first place: here's a photo of the relevant type of cover grabbed from the web:

Now could somebody with a bass with this type of cover and screw measuring equipment please tell me what the spec. of the screw is? Or, if the spec. of the battery box has changed over time, tell me that this has happened?

 

[Zooberwerx]

Is it a wood screw or machine screw with an insert embedded in the body?

Riis

 

[PDW30]

Is it a wood screw or machine screw with an insert embedded in the body?

Riis

It's a machine screw - a wood screw wold be much easier to source, but the machine screw goes into a metal threaded insert, so any screw that isn't exactly right will bind on the insert threads. That's the problem ...

 

[skeeler]

It's a machine screw - a wood screw wold be much easier to source, but the machine screw goes into a metal threaded insert, so any screw that isn't exactly right will bind on the insert threads. That's the problem ...

Machine screws are easy if you have a few known screws or nuts in your house or if you go to the hardware store. Thread the screw into a known nut to get the diameter and pitch. If you only have screws, hold the screws end-to-end to get the diameter. It's probably metric, so it will be expressed in mm, something like M3 or M2.5. Then hold one screw against the other, side-to-side, to see if the threads mate perfectly. If they do, you know the thread pitch. Again, it's probably metric, so it will be expressed in mm, like 0.5 or 0.8 or 1.

You can measure the length easily. Flathead screws are measured overall. Non-flatheads are measured excluding the head.

So you'll end up with something like M2.5x0.5X10.

I hope this helps.

 

[PDW30]

Machine screws are easy if you have a few known screws or nuts in your house. Thread the screw into a known nut to get the diameter and pitch. If you only have screws, hold the screws end-to-end to get the diameter. It's probably metric, so it will be expressed in mm, something like M3. Then old one screw against the other, side-to-side, to see if the threads mate perfectly. If they do, you know the thread pitch. Again, it's probably metric, so it will be expressed in mm, like 0.5 or 0.8 or 1.

You can measure the length easily. Flathead screws are measured overall. Non-flatheads are measured excluding the head.

So you'll end up with something like M3x0.5X10.

I hope this helps.

Thanks, but I don't have any screws of known spec. around, I'm afraid. I'd be grateful if another TBer could do this for me with a screw from their similar battery cover.

 

[skeeler]

Thanks, but I don't have any screws of known spec. around, I'm afraid. I'd be grateful if another TBer could do this for me with a screw from their similar battery cover.

I'm sorry, but I don't have this exact cover. I do have the main cover from a couple of Premium SRs, which also use inserts and are likely the same size. I could measure mine for you when I get home in 8 hours. (I did this measurement recently, when I added inserts to my SRSC805 after it stripped a screw hole.) That said, many hardware stores, at least in the US, have boards with numerous screws and nuts attached and labeled for exactly this purpose.

 

[skeeler]

Can anyone comment on how the Big Breaks compare to the Big Singles and Big Splits?

 

[PDW30]

I'm sorry, but I don't have this exact cover. I do have the main cover from a couple of Premium SRs, which also use inserts and are likely the same size. I could measure mine for you when I get home in 8 hours. (I did this measurement recently, when I added inserts to my SRSC805 after it stripped a screw hole.) That said, many hardware stores, at least in the US, have boards with numerous screws and nuts attached and labeled for exactly this purpose.

I'd be most grateful if you could do a measure for me. Part of the problem is that the last people-who-really-know about-things hardware store here closed a while ago when the owners retired - it's all warehouses now.

 

[Andyman001]

you could take a pic with your phone of the screw next to a rule, even in a warehouse store, someone should be able to match it.

 

[skeeler]

I checked the main cavity cover on two Premium SRs, which use inserts. Both have M3x8 screws. I don't know the thread pitch, but I'll wager almost all M3 screws use the same pitch. I checked and M3x10 also works fine.

I don't know if your battery cover is the same, but it seems likely that it is.

 

[Outbush]

Can anyone comment on how the Big Breaks compare to the Big Singles and Big Splits?

I think that the Big Break is Ibanez's name for the Nordstrand Big Splits which Ibanez make under licence. I might be wrong but I think the upper range basses like the EHB 1500/1505 and the SR Premium range have Nordstrand labelled pickups and the on SR Standard range like the new SR600/605e they are manufactured in-house and called Big Breaks. On my older Soundgear the Nordstrand pickups were called CND - Carey Nordstrand Designed - but were essentially an NP4/NP5 and a Big Single manufactured by Ibanez (and apparently a slightly different size to the standard Nordstrands).

Assuming I am right there are a few comparisons including this one of the Nordstrand labelled pickups. (And if I'm wrong I'm sure someone will chime in.)

 

[PDW30]

I checked the main cavity cover on two Premium SRs, which use inserts. Both have M3x8 screws. I don't know the thread pitch, but I'll wager almost all M3 screws use the same pitch. I checked and M3x10 also works fine.

I don't know if your battery cover is the same, but it seems likely that it is.

Thanks - this is exactly what I wanted.

 

[skeeler]

I think that the Big Break is Ibanez's name for the Nordstrand Big Splits which Ibanez make under licence. I might be wrong but I think the upper range basses like the EHB 1500/1505 and the SR Premium range have Nordstrand labelled pickups and the on SR Standard range like the new SR600/605e they are manufactured in-house and called Big Breaks. On my older Soundgear the Nordstrand pickups were called CND - Carey Nordstrand Designed - but were essentially an NP4/NP5 and a Big Single manufactured by Ibanez (and apparently a slightly different size to the standard Nordstrands).

Assuming I am right there are a few comparisons including this one of the Nordstrand labelled pickups. (And if I'm wrong I'm sure someone will chime in.)

The Big Breaks are not the same design as the Big Splits, since the higher strings are offset from the lowers by 2.5 mm. Also, the Big Splits are not only in the Standard Soundgears; Ibanez is using them in some of the lower Premium SRs, such as 110* and 130* basses. I was interested in how the Big Breaks sound compared to the Big Splits as well as the Big Singles, since I have both of the others in my basses.

 

[Outbush]

The Big Breaks are not the same design as the Big Splits, since the higher strings are offset from the lowers by 2.5 mm. Also, the Big Splits are not only in the Standard Soundgears; Ibanez is using them in some of the lower Premium SRs, such as 110* and 130* basses. I was interested in how the Big Breaks sound compared to the Big Splits as well as the Big Singles, since I have both of the others in my basses.

Good to know! Shows how wrong you can go when joining the dots and surmising!

 

[fourstringbliss]

Good to know! Shows how wrong you can go when joining the dots and surmising!

Yeah, you can tell by looking at Big Splits/Big Singles that the pole pieces are farther apart on these Ibanez/Nordstrand Big Break pickups, but not as far apart as their Big Rig pickups. In fact, the spacing between the Big Singles and the Big Breaks would very likely be neglible audibly, much like moving a J pup 1/8" either way.

Unless there's something different internally between Big Singles and Big Breaks I'll bet they sound almost identical.

Big Singles/Big Splits

Big Break

Big Rig

 

[fourstringbliss]

I just checked and the Big Break pickups are a split-coil pickup, but they would be an inline split coil. The sonic difference between them and Big Singles would more than likely be the same as between Big Splits and Big Singles.

 

[Gorilla Fingers]

I'll join! Ibanez SR886 and SRH505F.

 

[Outbush]

I just checked and the Big Break pickups are a split-coil pickup, but they would be an inline split coil. The sonic difference between them and Big Singles would more than likely be the same as between Big Splits and Big Singles.

Maybe its worth

I'll join! Ibanez SR886 and SRH505F.

View attachment 4548687 View attachment 4548689 View attachment 4548687 View attachment 4548689

Very nice! Welcome aboard

 

[fourstringbliss]

Maybe its worth

My guess is that these are the Ibanez CND version of Big Splits. I'll bet they sound really good!

 

[Oliver Stein]

Seriously thinking about buying a Soundgear Premium five string bass. Have been in some shops last weekend and from what I heard favoured the models with the Big Singles. Would love to have one of the SR1605 in the old natural finish but these are not available in the used market here... The new Carribbean Fade of the 1605 is not my cup of tea though. At the moment the 1345 is my favourite - the 4 string model was hands down one if the best sounding basses in the shop - even compared with more expensive ones. There is something in the tone of the SRs with Nordstrand Big Singles which I can't resist ..