Neck Shim

DDR4LYF

Hi all you forumites!

I would like to shim my guitar's neck and modify the headstock to match the rest of the body from my previous upgrade. Could you guys recommend a wood to use and where to find it? I would like to raise the neck by about 2-3mm. The saddles are almost right up against the bridge.
Any other suggestions from people who have tried this before?

Gearhead

This has been discussed here before but from the question two things jump out to me: firstly you want to angle the neck back rather than just raise it, secondly the most popular way to do this seems to be not with wood but with some hard plastic like a credit card.

Attila

I see some guys using ice cream sticks, which are easy to come by for neck tilting, 2-3 mm is quite a lot.

For the headstock maybe a veneer http://www.primroseply.co.za/

guidothepimmp

Yes, as above.. sounds like an angle rather than entire neck pocket shim.
Can you post a pic of the guit from the bridge up to neck to see? Plus 1 on shimming material, typically thin plastic is used for angling.. even firm cardboard. I almost exclusively use the cardboard backing of the mightymite parts packaging because its nice and firm, and more often than not, just about the right thickness too

DDR4LYF

Will post pics when I get a chance.

So is shimming used for neck angle rather than for raising the neck in the pocket?

V8

I've been working (err, probably hacking away at is more accurate) at a tele with a similar issue to what you've described - I found this and thought I'd give it a try : http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/19686-guitar-shop-101-how-to-shim-a-bolt-on-neck.

What do the experienced hands think of this fellow's approach?

Action is much improved, but getting the neck angle right is trying my minute resources of patience though... :-[

AlanRatcliffe

DDR4LYF wrote: So is shimming used for neck angle rather than for raising the neck in the pocket?

Exactly, yes.

V8 wrote: What do the experienced hands think of this fellow's approach?

It's a good approach, IMO. I've long preferred full pocket wedge shims because done right they keep full contact between heel and pocket. I don't agree with his assertation that partial shims or micro tilts warp the neck though - so if making a full shim seems a bit ambitious, there is nothing wrong with stacking a few narrow veneer strips at the body side to tilt the neck a little.

Action is much improved, but getting the neck angle right is trying my minute resources of patience though... :-[

Doesn't have to be perfect as it just gets you in the range where you can do more with the saddles to tweak to perfection. And don't forget to tweak your pickup heights to suit...

Attila

DDR4LYF wrote: So is shimming used for neck angle rather than for raising the neck in the pocket?

Correct, however, that said in the case where your pocket has been cut to deep, maybe as a result of swapping out a neck from a unknown source. One would have to raise the whole neck with a full shim as Alan sez, it may or may not be flat shim.

V8

Alan Ratcliffe wrote:
V8 wrote: What do the experienced hands think of this fellow's approach?
It's a good approach, IMO. I've long preferred full pocket wedge shims because done right they keep full contact between heel and pocket. I don't agree with his assertation that partial shims or micro tilts warp the neck though - so if making a full shim seems a bit ambitious, there is nothing wrong with stacking a few narrow veneer strips at the body side to tilt the neck a little.

Action is much improved, but getting the neck angle right is trying my minute resources of patience though... :-[
Doesn't have to be perfect as it just gets you in the range where you can do more with the saddles to tweak to perfection. And don't forget to tweak your pickup heights to suit...

Sweet, that's great news - thanks Alan! I'll preserve with the approach. I've managed to make a reasonably tight full shim from maple veneer and the saddles have gone from completely flat to having scope for adjustment...but angling it has required patience personified.

It's the 'micro tilt' that is getting to me, rather ambitious of me to try and get it as my Gareth setup strat plays... :?

I'm a little way from setting pickup height, which will be interesting experiement - I replaced the very muddy neck humbucker with a coil spilt tonerider.

But you've inspired me to apply more patience and try, try again.

AlanRatcliffe

If you were happy with your pickup balance before (and you haven't angled the neck extremely), you can do a rough by just raising your middle a mm or so and the bridge double that. Raise bass and treble sides of each pup the same and you should be roughly in the right ballpark.

But pickup heights is something you have to learn to do yourself, IMO. Everyone has different tastes, so even if you take it to someone else to set up, you still need to know exactly what you like to tell them what to do - and by that point you might as well do it yourself. Some pickups, particularly the lower gauss ones (Kinmans, DM Airbuckers and Areas, EMGs), are extremely sensitive to height, so you can end up fine tuning them for a week to get to the perfect balance for you.