Double Bass What a difference a screw makes!

[misterbadger]

I was taught to align slot-head screws during my apprenticeship. Mentor had a touch of OCD for sure. I learned also that the extra little bit of turn to align a small brass screw in hard maple (like, say, a pegbox) can spell disaster. Sometimes the slot gets messed up but more often the screw breaks off just at the surface of the wood. There's no easy fix.

 

[Ed S]

...

Kieran o'hara pointed that out to me... I think one of the screws on a bass of mine he was working on had been replaced with a phillips head, and he pointed it out.

...

Reminds me of when we bought our first house. I never imagined such a mishmash of fasteners! If a shelf was held up with 4 screws, they would be 4 entirely different screws and anchors - and a mix of wood/machine screws, wall anchors, std vs phillips, ... And EVERY application throughout that house was the same.

Before that, it had never struck me as unusual that I made some effort to use matching - or at least pretty close - fasteners whenever possible.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

Reminds me of when we bought our first house. I never imagined such a mishmash of fasteners! If a shelf was held up with 4 screws, they would be 4 entirely different screws and anchors - and a mix of wood/machine screws, wall anchors, std vs phillips, ... And EVERY application throughout that house was the same.

Before that, it had never struck me as unusual that I made some effort to use matching - or at least pretty close - fasteners whenever possible.

Observability skills vary widely. By comparison, to most people, music is a wall of sound. Some are able to distinguish instruments. Many would be unable to distinguish the difference between a D plucked on an open string vs. stopping it on the E, A or G strings. It takes the deeper skills and insights of a double bass player to appreciate aligned flathead screws on a scroll plate. I'm sure something about that alignment helps with tone, but that's above my pay grade.

 

[Ed S]

Show of hands - how many folk have the screwheads aligned on their tuners/plates?

I must admit that when I recently received delivery of a newly built Upton hybrid, I noticed that the screws on the plated tuners were not aligned. Just struck me as one incredibly minor detail that COULD have been done, but not at all a big deal. Don't think I gave it a thought since - until this thread.

And my Engle has phillips.

 

[16fuss]

Looking at my bass I noticed this! What do you say now!?

 

[misterbadger]

My tuners have Phillips screws (tuners are a pretty contemporary design, so aesthetically it works), which I'll make sure to align. Trying to decide between the "cross" and "x" formats...

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Doesn't Wasnex have a study on the comparative advantages and disadvantages of the added weight of the flathead screws lack of a second "cut" into the metal?

 

[Don Kasper]

FYI/TMI
I don't give a Ratz Azz about the alignment of my tuner screw slotz... They are there to secure the mechanism to the pegbox. Period.
Hey...You asked.
Thanks!

 

[marcox]

Perfectly matched and aligned. Another fine example of Pfretzschner craftsmanship.

 

[tb-player]

i love that this detail is being addressed more commonly these days.

Kieran o'hara pointed that out to me... I think one of the screws on a bass of mine he was working on had been replaced with a phillips head, and he pointed it out.

ever since then it's something I cant un-see... looks much more elegant, and is more traditional/historically accurate.

nice bass!!

Thanks. It seems a little silly. But then again, it doesn't. I love that Arnold sent me that message. Good to know that Kieran is equally as observant. I hope to use him for any future maintenance, since Arnold is out west.

 

[Roger Davis]

I read through this thread with interest, so I went to look at my Bryant. A lo and behold it has cross head screws on the tuners. They’re not Phillips screws in the strict sense because the cross sits well within the head. But they’re quite decorous little fellas and I’m happy with them.

 

[groooooove]

Thanks. It seems a little silly. But then again, it doesn't. I love that Arnold sent me that message. Good to know that Kieran is equally as observant. I hope to use him for any future maintenance, since Arnold is out west.

i'd recommend him in general. he's fantastic, and a great guy from the few times i've been over there.

 

[misterbadger]

The cross head screws on Roger Davis' bass aren't Phillips drive, but a European variant called "Pozidrive", indicated by the four little ticks around the head. Special drivers are widely available, and a regular Phillips will mangle them badly.

 

[arto alho]

Mr Badger is absolutely right, those are Pozidriv (sic) heads as well as the heads seem to be in the original post, too. It’s a modern version of Phillips, which was patented as early as 1933. So, basses from that period and on should not be ashamed to boast Phillips head screws.
I even have them in the shaft ends

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Oh crap, what do I do?

 

[arto alho]

The man is totally screwless

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Just looked at both of my LaScalas. Both have oval head screws like the OP's new ones, but none are aligned. I'm gonna leave 'em that way so as not to give Kasper any more ammunition.

 

[Roger Davis]

The cross head screws on Roger Davis' bass aren't Phillips drive, but a European variant called "Pozidrive", indicated by the four little ticks around the head. Special drivers are widely available, and a regular Phillips will mangle them badly.

Quite right, misterbadger, they are 3mm Pozies. I should have recognised because they are pretty standard over here but, as I mentioned, the cross didn’t appear to fill the head out as much as I’m used to seeing on the larger sizes.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

The man is totally screwless

And Imbiber Black...

 

[tb-player]

Whoa! The screw head alignment thing took own a life of its own. I just did that because I thought it looked nice. They are all very secure. I didn't realize it would be a hot-button issue. But then again, this is TalkBass. Some of the strangest things become a 'thing'.