Question for those who have shimmed their own necks

[Triangle]

How hard was it? Was it successful on the first attempt? How tight do you make the neck screws?

[yurich]

I had to do it a few times..it's really easy. the hardest part was cutting the paper to the right dimensions

actually mine's not enough. you can actually see the shim from the side, but it's still not enough

[yurich]

speaking of too high, how do the famous guys get their action so high? I find that I play REALLY aggressively, I need at least 3mm. I could of course go to a thicker shim, but I figure I'll lose sustain considerably. Is there another way?

[Rich]

Who needs a shim for high, try raising the bridge!

[yurich]

the bridge is too high already the bottom of the base plate is almost inline with the body

how does Glen do it?

[littlegreenman]

are you shimming the neck at the bottom of the pocket? or the top? if it's at the bottom of the pocket (side closest to the bridge) you're lowering the action, if you're shimming on the top (side closest to the headstock) you'd be raising it. what I wanna know is, how can anyone play so hard you need 3mm action????? LOL

Anyway, as for the shim material, I like to use business cards, I generally cut them the full width of the pocket, and about 3/8" wide. Then, tighten the bolts as tight as if there was no shim in there. They have to be tight. If you need a thicker shim, add a second one, I had to add one the thickness of 2 cards in my UV7BK to get it right, not a big deal. Just don't leave the screws loose in the hopes that it will only take one shim!

[yurich]

I put it in the right place, but not right on the edge...here's a quick diagram:


-----------------------------
| |--| |
| O | S| O |
| | H| |
| | I | |
| | M| |
| O | | O |
| |__| |
-----------------------------

The shim is high enough for a medium-sized pick to get through there roughly 0.75mm

I just pulled the bridge to highest, I can get 3mm. It still buzzes. I'm sorry, but I just can't play Master Of Puppets soft

[yurich]

the thing messed up my diagram

anyway, it's right by the neck-side screws but between the two sets of screws, extending full-length. it's approx 1x5cm

[BrianH]

I'm not one who knows bunches about stuff like this. So whats the point here? The shim can help you get lower action without buzz? Is that the purpose?

[yurich]

you can shim to lower your action if the bridge won't go any lower.

likewise, it the bridge sits too high, you can shim the neck to a bigger angle

personally, I don't like my bridge too high. it's just not comfortable for the palm

[Triangle]

Well I shimmed my neck. I went from 2.3 to 2.0mm on the low side, and 2.0 to 1.7mm on high E. I was hoping to get it to 1.5mm, but It won't go there without fret buzz.