Changing J-Bass Control plate to metal thread screws for an active bass.

[Thumbpicker]

Some years ago I bought a cheap Squier J-bass that had a good action and played well and converted it into an active bass with some DiMarzio pickups. Sounds great with the better pickups and active bass control circuit. The only issue was replacing the battery regularly strips the wood over time because I’m just using the control cavity wood screws. Yes you can fix it with dowels and redrill or toothpicks etc. however I found these tiny threaded inserts and replaced the control cavity screws with metal threads. A company called Nectite in Germany shipped them to me in Australia. They work a treat so I'm pleased with the solution.

 

[VonBonfire]

Looks like a good solution. I'm guessing you open up the holes a bit to avoid wood splitting?

 

[Thumbpicker]

Looks like a good solution. I'm guessing you open up the holes a bit to avoid wood splitting?

Yes you find a drill bit that matches the barrel of the threaded insert minus the threads that bite into the wood if that makes sense. In this case a 5mm drill bit. I enlarged the hole with a smaller drill rather than jumping right up to 5mm in one hit though because I didn't want to risk going off centre. Also the threaded inserts have a flange on them that sits flush with the body - so you have to countersink the hole as well.