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Double Bass What a difference a screw makes!

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!
View attachment 4178377
Iona - You're absolutely right. I'm reading this thread and thinking many of the posters are simply "tongue-in-cheek" replies to the original question.
 
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I have noticed that all my basses- past and present- have had slotted screws. For the life of me I can't imagine the difference in sound vs. Phillips. Is it just tradition? Seems to me IF there is a difference in sound it would be the composition of the screw (brass, steel, etc), BTW- I ALWAYS align my screws north/ south in doing electrical work. It's how I was taught.
 
I have noticed that all my basses- past and present- have had slotted screws. For the life of me I can't imagine the difference in sound vs. Phillips. Is it just tradition? Seems to me IF there is a difference in sound it would be the composition of the screw (brass, steel, etc), BTW- I ALWAYS align my screws north/ south in doing electrical work. It's how I was taught.
When Arnold reached out to me about the screws, I think it was 100% aesthetics, not tone or function.
 
I find this funny, because IRL I consider flathead screws to be the devil and inferior to Phillips head screws in every possible way.

I couldn't disagree more! The phillips head was specifically designed to slip out of it's slot instead of allowing the screw to be over-torqued because the power drills of the time, used on thin sheet metal at the Ford factory, were one speed with no clutch.
Outside of that context they are absolutely horrible freaking screws. What could be worse than a screw DESIGNED to be stripped?!? The most common and usually most devastatingly problematic fail mode is BUILT IN, it's a FEATURE. They are unsuitable for power or hand use. Slots are none too reliable, and not self-centering, I'll give you that, so they're not suitable for power drills either, but they work just fine when being turned by hand. Otherwise I will be buying only square and torx screws until the day I day.
 
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That's a beauty. But hmm, no phillips heads on my La Scala tuners - no plates either. My La Scala was made in 2011.

sw.jpg
 
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When I took my then 8 year old son to see Star Wars when it first came out, I was appaled to realize I had taken him to just another war movie, which delineated good and evil, black and white as absolutes.
I felt gratified last week when I did an interview with a film documentarian about my having played sax in the bar scene of "The StarWars Holiday Special", which is argueably the worst TV show ever made. I find a certain pride in being part of a absolute paradigm of mediocrity. You've got grab your laurels when you can.
 
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