To Shim or Not To Shim

[FUBTAG]

... that is the question.

 

Alas, poor fellow forumite, I am in need of tutelage. Why does one shim the neck of their guitar? Is it when the bridge can't get the strings low enough to the neck, or is there a different reason? Is there a basic principle I should follow when shimming? I am going to be playing around with my '51 (fret finishing, shimming, whatever else comes to mind) and just looking for some friendly advice on the mechanics of shimming.

[thebrownkey]

there are different reasons one would do so-

 

 

ive used a shim on the side, to shift a neck sideways in the pocket slightly when it was needed.

 

 

also, sometimes frets can cause problems. lets say youve got the action at a spot not too low but when you fret the 15th fret you get a dead note/buzzing. if you find out that the buzzing is a result of a taller or uneven fret higher up the neck - well a permanent fix is have the needed fretwork repairs. but you could temp. shim it so the action is raised around that area getting rid of the dead spot.

 

also, if the neck is warped or just not working with you a little shimming can go a long way.

[paul44]

Verily......Methinks this a useful page which might bring unto thee enlightenment.

 

http://projectguitar.com/tut/nckshim.htm

[angus_old]

you shouldn't need to shim a 51 - shimming reduces the neck/body contact area so it'll deaden the guitar a little bit. only do it if you absolutely have to

[peavey_impact]

 

you shouldn't need to shim a 51 - shimming reduces the neck/body contact area so it'll deaden the guitar a little bit. only do it if you absolutely have to

 

 

You do realize that many guitars (especially Fenders and probably Squiers too) come from the factory with a shim already installed? I'm gonna call bull{censored} on what you said. I can't hear a difference in my guitars, thats for sure.

[FUBTAG]

I would agree that the tone thing is a bit over blown.... I think there are too many factors that go into tone, thereby making shimming a relatively negligible one. There is still contact between neck and pocket, just a slightly smaller ratio...

 

and anyway... tone is in the fingers!!!!

[leftystratman]

 

You do realize that many guitars (especially Fenders and probably Squiers too) come from the factory with a shim already installed? I'm gonna call bull{censored} on what you said. I can't hear a difference in my guitars, thats for sure.

 

they shim some of the guitars at the factory because they screwed up the neck pockets so that the they got very loose fit or don't line up properly.

[dcooper830]

yeah.. I have a Gibson Sonex 180 where the bridge was bottomed out but the action was still too high.....

 

I had never shimmed a neck before.... so it was a lot of trial and error...

 

First I put a folded up business card in there.... that was WAAAAYYYY too much. So I would take a little material out..... string it up......... try it..... take the neck back off.... take a little more material out........ put the neck back on... string it up........take the neck back off.... take a little more material out........ put the neck back on... string it up........take the neck back off.... take a little more material out........ put the neck back on... string it up........take the neck back off.... take a little more material out........ put the neck back on... string it up........

 

Finally I got it right!! And now it plays like BUTTER!! GOD I love that guitar!!

 

And, as far as the shims separating the neck from the body and taking away from the tone........ I didn't experience that at all. My guitar still sounds PHAT!!!!

 

Here's a clip:

 

 

[egelmett]

Loved the video. Good playing!

 

The rockabilly stuff was really well done.

 

I took a look at the Epiphone Dot video with stock pickups and honestly, I liked the tone of the Epiphone better. There was a little more top end bite, but that could be due to the position of the camera or something.

 

But the 180 sounded great!

[FUBTAG]

yeah.. I have a Gibson Sonex 180 where the bridge was bottomed out but the action was still too high..... I had never shimmed a neck before.... so it was a lot of trial and error... First I put a folded up business card in there.... that was WAAAAYYYY too much. So I would take a little material out..... string it up......... try it..... take the neck back off.... take a little more material out........ put the neck back on... string it up........take the neck back off.... take a little more material out........ put the neck back on... string it up........take the neck back off.... take a little more material out........ put the neck back on... string it up........take the neck back off.... take a little more material out........ put the neck back on... string it up........ Finally I got it right!! And now it plays like BUTTER!! GOD I love that guitar!! And, as far as the shims separating the neck from the body and taking away from the tone........ I didn't experience that at all. My guitar still sounds PHAT!!!! Here's a clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jelvyrhOgis

 

I will be watching and listening to this later -- but exactly the kind of advice/experience I was looking for.... THANKS!

[chriscoleman]

I recently put brass barrel saddles on one of my Tele's and had to shim the neck up as a result (the barrels bottomed out).

 

When I strung it up and played one chord, I could tell a difference in tone and sustain - even when not plugged in to an amp. So I put the six original saddles back on, took out the shim, and it's back to normal.

[dabbler]

yeah.. I have a Gibson Sonex 180 where the bridge was bottomed out but the action was still too high..... I had never shimmed a neck before.... so it was a lot of trial and error... Finally I got it right!! And now it plays like BUTTER!! GOD I love that guitar!! And, as far as the shims separating the neck from the body and taking away from the tone........ I didn't experience that at all. My guitar still sounds PHAT!!!!

 

I had to shim my SX SEG1 STD for that same reason, but you remember all that trigonometry stuff we had to learn in school? I made a couple of measurements, did some trig, and doggoned if my shim didn't make the bridge come out just about where the numbers said!

 

And I agree with what most everybody has said, shims don't affect tone enough to worry about, IOW I couldn't hear it.

[Pope on a Rope]

 

I recently put brass barrel saddles on one of my Tele's and had to shim the neck up as a result (the barrels bottomed out). When I strung it up and played one chord, I could tell a difference in tone and sustain - even when not plugged in to an amp. So I put the six original saddles back on, took out the shim, and it's back to normal.

 

 

Any difference in tone you noticed is most likely attributed to the changing of the saddles rather than adding or removing the shim.