StewMac neck shims - which one(s) do I need?

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So, I’ve got a guitar (Squier VM Jazzmaster) which I’m giving a little TLC to. At the moment it plays nicely and sounds nice with three thicknesses of standard business card at the business end of the neck pocket giving me a break angle at the bridge which seems to work well with the .009 to.046 string gauges I’m using at the moment but I thought I might do the job right and put a proper shaped shim in there.

StewMac offer 0.25, 0.5, and 1 degree variants, can anybody offer any advice (or a handy guide to converting thicknesses of card to degrees of neck pitch change!) to help me pick out the right shim (or combination of shims) to match what I’ve got at the moment?
Don't ask me, I just play the damned thing...
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Comments

  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    edited April 2020
    Ok, so I made some assumptions, that the card is .35mm thick, so your shim is that x3 and the length of the neck pocket is 75mm

    So basic maths...ok a googled calculator give your current angle (if my assumptions are right) at 0.8 of a degree 

    So I guess a 1 degree or .25 and .75 stacked.....

    If my assumptions are wrong, measure what you have and use the attached calculator link.....

     https://www.calculator.net/triangle-calculator.html?vc=60&vx=2.25&vy=1&va=90&vz=75&vb=&angleunits=d&x=72&y=19
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • JayGeeJayGee Frets: 1254
    paulnb57 said:
    Ok, so I made some assumptions, that the card is .35mm thick, so your shim is that x3 and the length of the neck pocket is 75mm

    So basic maths...ok a googled calculator give your current angle (if my assumptions are right) at 0.8 of a degree 

    So I guess a 1 degree or .25 and .75 stacked.....

    If my assumptions are wrong, measure what you have and use the attached calculator link.....

     https://www.calculator.net/triangle-calculator.html?vc=60&vx=2.25&vy=1&va=90&vz=75&vb=&angleunits=d&x=72&y=19
    Hmmm... I’m now feeling slightly ashamed of myself for not working that out for myself... :-)

    My immediate instinct is that allowing for a bit of squishage[1] as the neck screws are tightened .75 might be the way to go, a
    lthough having now seen what StewMac charge for posting a thin sliver of wood to the UK I might actually stick with the card[2] unless anyone can point me at a UK supplier...

    [1] To use the technical term,
    [2] I gather it was good enough for Leo...

    Anyway, thanks very much for that!


    Don't ask me, I just play the damned thing...
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    2.

    My experience is that you will gain nothing and possibly lose something with one of those "proper" wooden shims.

    They actually sound better with just a traditional strip shim across the end of the pocket.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    edited April 2020
    Or get piece of veneer and stack it in varying lengths glued together (like steps)

    If you want to try it I have some veneer I can pop in an envelope, just pm me your address...

    edit...or what ICBM said!
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27345
    +1 for the business card or veneer approach.

    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • JayGeeJayGee Frets: 1254
    Cheers all, so I get to leave things as they are, save my money[1] and not feel guilty about having bodged it. :-)

    [1] Well, apart from the £70 I’ve already spent on the Staytrem bridge, but at least you can see that, it’s a clear improvement on the original in a number of ways, it addresses a specific issue I’ve got with my guitar, and nobody who’s fitted one seems to have regretted it... 


    Don't ask me, I just play the damned thing...
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