Neck Hole Placement: Is this Normal?

[edsam]

Hi all, greetings from the UK.

I have just received my first PGB kit, a DMS-4 Mustang style bass and proceeded to do a mock build and ran into issues straight away...

The neck seems to be aligned with the pickup routes which is good but it looks like I may have to re-drill the bridge holes but I am fairly sure everything will be sweet once I have done this. However, when bolting the neck on I noticed that the neck holes have been drilled much lower than conventional (see photo below). I am wondering whether this may be linked to the bridge alignment issues or whether this can lead to issues down the line. Also, it just looks kind of strange as usually the plate sits flush to the surrounding edges.Can someone clarify whether this is normal or should I look at getting another kit? Thanks for reading!

Sam

[Sonic Mountain]

I've never had one of these kits, but yeah, that neck plate placement looks pretty weird. So long as they are all well within the pocket so you aren't screwing too close to the edge of the neck heel it shouldn't cause any issues from a functionality point of view. But I would probably shoot Adam an email and see if that's normal on those kits.

Can we see a pic from the other side?

[McCreed]

Can we see a pic from the other side?

^^^
This (and +1 email Adam)

[edsam]

Thanks for the prompt replies and advice, I will ping Adam an e-mail now. Here's a pic of the otherside...

[Fretworn]

From the front the holes look to be in a sensible place. Maybe ditch the neck plate and replace with individual bushings.

[FrankenWashie]

From the front the holes look to be in a sensible place. Maybe ditch the neck plate and replace with individual bushings.

+1 for bushings. I don’t think the plate and screw spacing is right for that style of bass. Perhaps they’ve used a generic plate, possibly from a guitar kit? It jus doesn’t look wide enough.

[edsam]

I think bushings are a good idea, it never crossed my mind. Might even do a slight neck heel contour with the additional material above the holes so it looks more purposeful. Adam replied pretty quick and said he was gonna check the rest of the stock to see if this is normal for this kit. Thank you all for the suggestions

[king casey]

Like on the Fender Squier the neck pocket is set deeper into the body
(probably methinks to counter 'neck dive')
Neck plate position should have been shifted to compensate.

Front:


Back:


cheers, Mark.