Fender & Ibanez Guitar Neck Screw Sizes — The Complete Guide

By the time you strip a neck screw, you wish you had found this guide sooner.

Your Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazz Bass, or Ibanez RG uses specific thread sizes and screw lengths that are not stamped anywhere on the guitar. Most guitarists discover this the hard way — while trying to replace a stripped or rounded-out screw, or during a setup where the neck suddenly will not seat right.

Here is exactly what you need, by model.

The Problem: Why Guitar Neck Screws Strip

Bolt-on necks use wood screws threading directly into the end grain of a maple (or occasionally rosewood) neck heel. Wood end grain is weak in tension. Every time you remove the neck — for a setup, a repair, shipping — you are asking the same wood fibers to catch the same threads. The fit gets slightly looser each time.

After enough cycles, the screw spins freely. The hole is stripped. The neck joint loses rigidity, and you can feel it — slightly reduced attack, a hint of buzz, less sustain. Not catastrophic, but real.

The fix is threaded inserts: metal sleeves that create a permanent machine thread inside the wood. But before you order, you need to know the thread size that fits your guitar.

Fender Neck Screw Sizes

Fender uses M4 thread (4 mm diameter) on virtually all bolt-on guitars — Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Mustang, Precision Bass, Jazz Bass, and most Squier and Mexican-made variants.

The key variable is length, which depends on body thickness at the neck pocket.

Critical note for Fender basses: Fender bass bodies are approximately 24 mm thick at the neck pocket — meaningfully thinner than guitar bodies (~28 mm). A 45 mm screw will run too deep. Always measure your existing screws before ordering. 40 mm is typical for P-Bass and Jazz Bass, but individual instruments vary.

M4 Thread — What That Means in Practice

M4 means the screw shank is 4 mm in diameter. To install threaded inserts in M4 holes:

• Pilot drill: 5 mm
• Main drill: 6.5 mm (same spec for roasted maple)
• Max drill depth: 11 mm
• Insert length: 10 mm
• Insert material: zinc-plated carbon steel

Ibanez Neck Screw Sizes

Ibanez is different. Most RG, S, JEM, RGA, and SA models use M5 thread (5 mm diameter) — notably thicker than Fender M4.

This is partly due to the All Access Neck Joint (AANJ) that Ibanez uses on higher-end models, which gives a deeper cutaway contour but requires a slightly beefier fastener.

The AANJ kit uses a mix of 35 mm and 40 mm screws — not a uniform length — because the neck pocket geometry varies across the four screw positions. The Nectite Ibanez kit ships both lengths.

Budget Guitars and Big Head M5

Some budget bolt-on guitars — Harley Benton, some entry-level Squiers, and various copies — use M5 thread but have larger body holes that standard M5 screws pass through too loosely. Nectite makes a Big Head M5 kit with a 9 mm screw head diameter for these.

Measure the diameter of the body holes (not the neck heel holes). Standard M5 head diameter is 9 mm. If the body holes are significantly wider, you need the Big Head variant.

M5 Thread Specs

• Pilot drill: 5 mm
• Main drill: 8.5 mm (9 mm for roasted maple)
• Max drill depth: 12 mm
• Insert length: 12 mm
• Insert material: zinc-plated carbon steel

Fender vs Ibanez — Side-by-Side Comparison

Imperial-to-Metric Reference: What M4 and M5 Mean in Inches

If you are used to US hardware sizing, metric guitar screws can feel abstract. Here is a rough translation — close enough to orient yourself, not close enough to swap hardware without checking.

Thread diameter (shank size)

These are not exact matches — the thread pitch differs — but the shank diameter is in the same ballpark. An M4 is just a hair under 5/32 in. An M5 is very close to 3/16 in.

Screw lengths

In practical terms: if you are replacing screws on a Fender Strat, you are dealing with a roughly 1-3/4 in screw in M4 thread. For an Ibanez RG, the short screws run about 1-3/8 in and the long ones about 1-5/8 in, all M5.

Note: All Fenders — vintage and modern — leave the factory with wood screws, not machine screws. M4 refers to the Nectite threaded insert system you install as an upgrade: the insert bites into the wood, and the M4 machine screw threads into the insert. The ~4 mm wood screw diameter on original Fender hardware is why the M4 insert system fits. If you are working on a vintage instrument, measure the neck heel hole diameter before drilling to confirm fit.

Why Threaded Inserts Solve This Permanently

When you install threaded inserts, you are replacing a wood thread with a machine thread. The insert — a metal cylinder with external thread that bites into the wood and internal thread for the machine screw — is a permanent fixture. The screw now threads into metal, not wood.

The results:

• The neck joint does not degrade with repeated removal
• Metal-to-metal contact improves vibration transfer
• You can remove and reattach the neck dozens of times without any wear to the connection

The install takes about 20 minutes. You need a drill, the correct bit, and the mounting tool included with every Nectite kit. The full process is covered in our step-by-step installation guide.

Which Nectite Kit to Buy

For Fender guitars (Strat, Tele, Jazzmaster):
Nectite Stainless Steel Neck Kit — M4 — select 45 mm, M4. Zinc-plated steel inserts, stainless steel DIN 966 machine screws. Available in stainless, black, gold, nickel, chrome, and relic finishes.

For Fender basses (P-Bass, Jazz Bass):
Same kit, but select 40 mm, M4. If your bass has a non-standard body thickness: measure your existing screws first, then choose the nearest matching length.

For Ibanez RG, S, JEM, RGA, SA:
Nectite Ibanez AANJ Kit — M5 — includes both 35 mm and 40 mm screws with M5 thread. Specifically designed for the Ibanez neck pocket geometry.

Prefer hex socket drive over Phillips?
The Nectite Hex Drive Kit gives you ISO 7991 countersunk screws with a 3 mm hex socket — cleaner look, no cam-out risk, available in M4 and M5.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size screws does a Fender Stratocaster use?

A standard Fender Stratocaster uses M4 neck screws, 45 mm long. The M4 refers to the thread diameter (4 mm). Most Strats and Teles share this spec. When replacing with threaded inserts, you will use a 5 mm pilot drill, a 6.5 mm main drill, and 10 mm M4 inserts. The body at the neck pocket is approximately 28 mm thick, making 45 mm the correct screw length.

What size screws does an Ibanez RG use?

Most Ibanez RG, S, and JEM models use M5 neck screws — 5 mm thread diameter — with a mix of 35 mm and 40 mm lengths for the four screw positions due to the AANJ joint geometry. The Nectite Ibanez AANJ kit includes both lengths. For the insert installation, you will need a 5 mm pilot drill and an 8.5 mm main drill; max depth is 12 mm.

What is M4 vs M5 in guitar neck screws?

M4 and M5 refer to thread diameter: M4 is 4 mm, M5 is 5 mm. Fender-style guitars use M4. Most Ibanez bolt-on models use M5. They are not interchangeable. The easiest way to check: screw head diameter is 7.3 mm for M4 and 9 mm for M5.

Can I use a Fender neck screw in an Ibanez (or vice versa)?

No. Fender uses M4 thread; Ibanez uses M5. The threads are different diameters and pitches — they are not interchangeable. Even if a screw appears to fit, the thread engagement is incorrect and the joint will not clamp reliably. Always use the correct thread for your guitar.

Do I need to measure my existing screws before ordering?

Yes — especially for basses and non-standard models. Fender Strats and Teles are almost always 45 mm M4. But basses vary between 40 mm and 45 mm depending on body thickness. Remove one existing screw, measure the total length from tip to the underside of the head, and order the nearest matching size.