Should I shim my guitar neck?
If your guitar plays well and the saddles offer enough adjustment range for you to set the action correctly, you don’t need to change anything. However, if the angle is too low and you can’t move the saddles down any further, the neck needs a shim.
What does a guitar neck shim do?
Guitar neck shims are usually thin strips of wood, cardboard, or plastic placed between the neck heel and neck pocket of the guitar. Altering the shape and placement of neck shims changes the front or back angle of the guitar neck to the body. This is also referred to as the “break angle” of the neck.
Do neck shims affect tone?
They have been used regularly by the top manufacturers of bolt-on guitar necks for over sixty years. Shims are not evidence of sloppy manufacturing. Nor do they affect tone or sustain of your guitar in any way. Final note – Some luthiers and guitar techs say that only “full pocket” shims should be used.
Does guitar neck affect tone?
The neck wood affects the tone of a guitar by impacting the way that the vibrations produced by the strings behave. Denser neck woods, like maple sound brighter and have less sustain. Mahogany on the other hand, produces a warmer and darker tone with better resonance and sustain.
How thick should a guitar neck shim be?
The 0.5° should be enough for most jobs but it’s nice to have the option of something bigger (the bigger one is useful for the offset Fenders when you’re deliberately trying to raise the bridge height).
How thick should neck shim be?
The 0.5° should be enough for most jobs but it’s nice to have the option of something bigger (the bigger one is useful for the offset Fenders when you’re deliberately trying to raise the bridge height). The shims fit a standard neck pocket and even have a marked line to show where to cut for a squared-bottom pocket.
Does fretboard material affect sound?
What is this? The body and fret board affect the tone of acoustic and electric guitars in the same way that the neck wood does. It really comes down to how dense the wood is. The denser the wood, the brighter the tone will be, and the less sustain it’ll have.
What is a shim on a guitar?
Tapered maple shims used to change the angle of a bolt-on neck. To change the angle of a bolt-on neck, players and repair shops have used shims for years. We’ve seen everything from matchbook covers to guitar picks stuck in neck joints.
How to properly Shim a guitar neck?
This is perfect to properly shim a guitar neck. *It has been possible to buy ‘flat’ shims—a consistent thickness all along. You could use these to shim a neck but, because you’re not angling the neck, you need to add a much thicker flat shim to achieve the same result.
What kind of shims do you use for neck pockets?
Shaped shims fit most neck pockets with a rounded heel. You can trim along the lasered line to fit the shim to a pocket with a flat heel, like a Tele. Blank shims were designed for odd screw spacings, smaller neck pockets, and custom designs like the Fender Micro-Tilt™. Made of solid maple to match the guitar neck.
What is a neck Shim?
That’s a wedge-shaped piece of wood that will angle the neck backwards but will allow good solid contact between neck and body, with no gaps. Now, if you’ve read that previous article, you’ll have learned what a pain in the butt it is to actually make these shims.