mine recently broke in half and I need one before marching band training starts, I checked with sam ash and they are charging me 30 dollars for just one tiny screw, which is outrageous! I believe it's also called the neck receiver screw, where it tightens and loosens the neck from the rest of the horn.

The price of many spares is outrageous - I have to charge customers the equivalent of about $15US for a Yamaha one otherr brands are only $2 (I'm in UK) & that's without the time spent removing the remains of the old one. Many shops have a minimum price policy. There is no standard thread for neck screws - they vary in diameter & pitch between makes.

Neck screws get broken when players use too much force - when you feel resistance only a small further turn should hold the neck in position. If this is not the case the neck needs refitting to the socket. Maybe what you were quoted includes this - in which case the cost is justified.

My necks seem to fit very snugly & allow me to move them around a little to the most comfortable position when playing, so I rarely tighten the neck screws if ever. But if you want a neck screw then search on google etc & you'll probably find the one you want. Removing the broken one can be a problem however & you may need an expert or someone like that to do the job for you. Usually this entails drilling a small hole in the broken piece & then screwing a tool into it that screws in the opposite direction to the neck screw. As the tool is screwed in it tightens & forces the neck screw to unscrew itself. It would be a delicate job on such a small area so again you'd need an expert to do it for you. In the mean time if the neck is very loose you could perhaps wrap something around it to make it fit more snugly until you get the neck screw fixed?

Take it to your reapirman. If the cost is expensive change your thought about it and realize your checking a complete instrument check out while you're there. Although it seems small and minor the fact is this is a very important aspect of the instrument and the repair needs to be done correctly the first time. If you try and repair it and screw it up the cost will escalate very high very quickly.

Bite the bullet now and it will be done right and you WILL have your instrument in working order in time for marching season.

I broke my screw last time and I was so fortunate that I have tons of clarinet mouthpieces (with ligatures). Some of the ligature screws are good enough to replace my broken alto neck screw.