Stud screws carry or kills your tone?

[jackson1]

Is the wood the same on the guitars being compared? Maple to maple or basswood to basswood, and same neck woods as well?

No, they are different. And the body shapes are different too, so Zerb is right; this is not a very scientific way of comparing things. Too many variables.

[jackson1]

Ho, Dave is talkin' liquid super glue.

[fett]

Exactly. Wood glue does not bond to metal.

-a

He was talking Super-Glue. A few dabs in there and a few turns would put enough Super-Glue filler to make the grooves tight and still adjustable. I think.

[HoWheels]

Eh, even super glue is not going to bond to metal. Hell, the only non-welding method I found to bond an adhesive to metal securely is JB Weld

-a

[Budman68]

Yes, I'm sorry, I don't mean for you to glue the posts in there. What I meant was to screw your posts in so that the wood forms around the threads normally. Unscrew it from the hole, then put some of the glue in as instructed in my first post. It will "wick" into the wood since it's the a nice thin consistency and strengthen the wood "form" made from the screw.

As for backing the screws out to raise the action, good luck with that with or without any glue anyway because the screws are tapered and the further in depth you go, the larger the opening gets, which in turn (pun intended), means that if you try to back them out, you're screwed (pun intended again) anyway because then the hole is going to be too large to support the posts.

Thanks for the help guys, I believe you understood me -

[jackson1]

Ah, good point on the tapered thing. You are an intelligent man, Budman

But take a look at the (newer) screws at the top. They are pretty even (non-tapered) by the looks of it.

[Budman68]

agreed, they don't seem to be as tapered, if at all, as compared to the older type, you actually would have better luck with those I would imagine.

[savage]

I beleive there would be a difference but honestly when you crank a high gain amp to 10 with a emg loaded guitar i doubt you would ever HEAR IT!

[Model1VH2]

Yeah ... I'm sure there may be some difference, but for me, that would be like trying to compare pickups mounted directly to the body vs. mounted on rings. My ears can't tell the difference.

[jtr]

Each guitar will reacted differently. No one is the same as the next one even if they were made the same day right next to each other. The way a body resonates with screws or studs is subject woods in the guitar some will work together and be very loud . The ones that don't vibrate well together will cancel each other and sound quieter, thinner,or at the worst dead.

[Postal]

I use superglue to strengthen wood thread all the time... but I do it different.

flood the glue in, insert screw all the way in, remove, insert, remove.... etc... quite a few times. Dont stop with the screw inside! After doing this several times, leave the screw out, and let dry for a while.

This forces glue into the wood without clogging the hole, and not glueing the screw itself in place.

[Budman68]

I use superglue to strengthen wood thread all the time... but I do it different.

flood the glue in, insert screw all the way in, remove, insert, remove.... etc... quite a few times. Dont stop with the screw inside! After doing this several times, leave the screw out, and let dry for a while.

This forces glue into the wood without clogging the hole, and not glueing the screw itself in place.

That's a good idea but the problem is that the glue doesn't "reach" to the top of the rim of the screw opening which is where most of the problems occur because that's where most of the pivoting stress is located.

[DonP]

If he floods the hole, I think a bigger concern would be superglue flowing out of the hole onto the finish of the guitar.

For my bare wood unfinshed project axe, I have a great acoustic and electric tone with the screw-in studs. I think they are screwed either into the maple neck-thru or the alder wings.

Would you guys just leave it as-is, or take a chance by putting bushings and studs in there. I will mention that since I hand-drilled the hole, the screw on the low E side is ever so slightly tilted a degree or two toward the headstock. Doesn't cause issues, but it's just a little "unsightly".

BTW, I do have a drill press now, but I'll probably send the axe to GMW to have it completed.