memorex
Poster Extraordinaire
I fill loose screw holes with toothpicks and Tite Bond glue and I've never noticed the difference.
Will dowelling or plugging screw holes affext guitar tone?
- Thread starter jazzfreakent
- Start date
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Not the baptism in burning lighter fluid??
Skydog1010
Poster Extraordinaire
Nope, not as much as the color of the Pickguard.
Weazel
Friend of Leo's
I am not so sure about that, to be honest.
howardlo
Friend of Leo's
Actually not all that recently. Many of the very early Fender guitar bodies were made of pine. (And, no, I don’t believe that tonewood stuff).
fjblair
Friend of Leo's
Unless you use an all natural filler the highs will lose shimmer.
I would alleviate all of this and STOP DRILLING HOLES!
Lou Tencodpees
Poster Extraordinaire
I found a box of vintage toothpicks and used them to plug wonky neck holes and pickguard screw holes. Tone for days!
I posted this over in Tele Technical where the OP asked the same question.
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I've been a guitar tech for almost 40 years, and in all the hundreds of repairs I've done and encountered, no properly done doweled screw holes have caused any problems--tonal or otherwise.
The only issues I've seen with this is when a filler or putty has been used instead of a wooden dowel and wood glue. Putty and filler can shrink and pull away from the surrounding wood, leading to the same symptoms as a stripped screw hole. This is especially important when changing or modifying the mounting holes in the heel of a guitar neck.
Some pro tips:
If you need true hardwood dowels to repair neck holes as described above, get a small bag of wooden golf tees. These are usually made from maple or beech and are already pointed on one end. Scuff them up with coarse sandpaper and drill out the bad screw hole(s) to the same diameter as the tee. run a drop or three of glue into the hole using a toothpick to spread it around. Apply a drop or two of glue to the tee, spread it with a fingertip, and press it in all the way. Cut it flush with the surface and allow the glue to dry for 12 hours before re-drilling. The same applies to repairing bridge mounting holes and strap button holes.
Tuner screw holes in the headstock: These can be problematic because many players think the screws need to be super secure; they don't. These little screws keep the tuner body from rotating, and if the hole is even a bit too small, the screw will break or the head will strip when driven into the wood. Apply a little wax or bar soap to the threads and the screw should go in relatively easily. If you need to force it to go all the way in, STOP. Remove the screw and drill the hole to the next size larger.
For stripped pickguard screws, these don't need to be super secure because they're not bearing any load. For these, a drop of glue in the hole and a few broken-off toothpicks will work fine--but only when the repaired hole remains under the pickguard. For a smooth surface that will be visible when the pickguard is installed, drill, dowel, and sand smooth.
Moving a neck mounting hole in a guitar body is straightforward; drill to the diameter of the dowel, glue it in, and cut both ends flush.
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I've been a guitar tech for almost 40 years, and in all the hundreds of repairs I've done and encountered, no properly done doweled screw holes have caused any problems--tonal or otherwise.
The only issues I've seen with this is when a filler or putty has been used instead of a wooden dowel and wood glue. Putty and filler can shrink and pull away from the surrounding wood, leading to the same symptoms as a stripped screw hole. This is especially important when changing or modifying the mounting holes in the heel of a guitar neck.
Some pro tips:
If you need true hardwood dowels to repair neck holes as described above, get a small bag of wooden golf tees. These are usually made from maple or beech and are already pointed on one end. Scuff them up with coarse sandpaper and drill out the bad screw hole(s) to the same diameter as the tee. run a drop or three of glue into the hole using a toothpick to spread it around. Apply a drop or two of glue to the tee, spread it with a fingertip, and press it in all the way. Cut it flush with the surface and allow the glue to dry for 12 hours before re-drilling. The same applies to repairing bridge mounting holes and strap button holes.
Tuner screw holes in the headstock: These can be problematic because many players think the screws need to be super secure; they don't. These little screws keep the tuner body from rotating, and if the hole is even a bit too small, the screw will break or the head will strip when driven into the wood. Apply a little wax or bar soap to the threads and the screw should go in relatively easily. If you need to force it to go all the way in, STOP. Remove the screw and drill the hole to the next size larger.
For stripped pickguard screws, these don't need to be super secure because they're not bearing any load. For these, a drop of glue in the hole and a few broken-off toothpicks will work fine--but only when the repaired hole remains under the pickguard. For a smooth surface that will be visible when the pickguard is installed, drill, dowel, and sand smooth.
Moving a neck mounting hole in a guitar body is straightforward; drill to the diameter of the dowel, glue it in, and cut both ends flush.
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I look for sunken log toothpicks.
jrblue
Friend of Leo's
The change in the mass, stiffness, etc. of the guitar is a shred of a percent, so... no, of course not.
yep, that swamp oak be pretty good, but the Honey Island Swamp Monster know that it's the below the surface wood from cypress knees that produces the most righteous dowel-tone. Word! Of course, some argue for tupelo, but that's just a sticky subject.
posttoastie
Poster Extraordinaire
Using Super Glue will accentuate the highs more than Tight Bond glue.
Monoprice99
Friend of Leo's
At a human auditory perception, No, at a molecular level of the wood, Yes. Sound waves vibrate thru the guitar body at whatever frequencies the notes are, repeated sound waves accumulate randomly, sometimes they cancel, other times they would align and strengthen a decaying sound wave signal. A decayed sound waves do go out of tune for those frequencies. Strum the guitar furiously & randomly, you'll be able to hear that washing machine of sound in the air. The body of the guitar is relatively percussive like a drum in that regard. The pickups do register those aftershock vibrations. At a certain point in the strumming exercise, you may like the sounds, or it just might become annoying & useless noises, relatively & scientifically.
Since what is done is done, there's a choice, leave the wood unplugged or plugged. The other pro/con, weight relief for the screw holes ?
Since what is done is done, there's a choice, leave the wood unplugged or plugged. The other pro/con, weight relief for the screw holes ?
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Monoprice99
Friend of Leo's
Damn varmints got into the music room again ?
Seriously? On a solid, electric guitar? You have to consider how the original holes would affext (sic) it too. Once you’ve messed up anything you do to rescue the situation won’t do a lot to change the tone.
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