How do you know when you need to shim the neck?

soma1975

Is it just a case of not being able to get a low enough choke free action?

New body coming soon and would like to level up my setup skills somewhat. 

Thanks in advance. 

ICBM

When you can’t get the action right without the bridge saddles being too low.

Ideally you want the saddle height screws to be very close to flush with the tops of the saddles, so they don’t stick up and catch your hand.

soma1975

Cool that is a great rule of thumb I'd not heard before. 

Do you have a fave material for doing it or will some playing cards do? NOS ones obviously. 

guitarfishbay

I’ve used business cards because usually that’s what I’ve had that’s the right thickness 

ICBM

soma1975 said:

Do you have a fave material for doing it or will some playing cards do? NOS ones obviously. 

Any available card or wood veneer depending on the thickness.

I don’t like the full-size wooden ‘wedge’ tapered shims though - they’re unnecessary and in my experience don’t sound as good as a simple shim at the end. Really...

prowla

ICBM said:

When you can’t get the action right without the bridge saddles being too low.

Ideally you want the saddle height screws to be very close to flush with the tops of the saddles, so they don’t stick up and catch your hand.

...if the neck is straight!

1st adjust the truss rod, then the action.

I use cuts of aluminium food trays; you can cut strips and fold them over to suit the required thickness and they compress to a solid piece. (Wash them first!)

soma1975

Thanks all

TTony

ICBM said:

soma1975 said:

Do you have a fave material for doing it or will some playing cards do? NOS ones obviously. 

Any available card or wood veneer depending on the thickness.

I don’t like the full-size wooden ‘wedge’ tapered shims though - they’re unnecessary and in my experience don’t sound as good as a simple shim at the end. Really...

And don't forget that you can increase the angle by doubling up the shims used.

I had one (self-built!) guitar where I needed to shim the neck to get the strings higher at the bridge.  I cut one old business card to fit the front 2/3rds of the pocket, and then another to fit the front 1/3rd.  That made quite a difference to the string height at the bridge.

stickyfiddle

Basically if Strat or Tele type of bridge, it's whenever you're getting the grub screws shredding your right hand. 

For Jazzmaster/Jag, or a Tele with Bigsby - it's always, and don't be afraid of big shims

andy_k

My experience is that because I switch between LP styles and Strat / Tele styles, I have tended to shim my stuff to get the feel more like a tunomatic bridge, sometimes the grub screws aren't long enough.
It is to do with the feel of the picking hand on the bridge / body.
You cant shim a Les Paul.