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Shim neck or not? - need opinions on that.

#43
I did this with my Warmoth fretless. It worked out perfect for me. The action is consistent from the nut to the end of the fingerboard ( I simply cut one of my old business cards to about 1/2" and folded it in half, and put at the body side of the heel.

I'll admit that it felt like cheating for some reason, but before I did that, I was having trouble setting it up for a perfect balance of "muah" without sounding like a Sitar.
 
#44
Lo-E said:
Here is the data the OP provided: Bridge saddles lower than he'd like. Neck relief fine (he says he's comfortable/experienced with truss rod adjustments).

He's made no mention of any problems with the bass' playability other than his desire to have the saddles up higher. A shim will provide exactly that, won't harm the instrument in any way, is 100% reversible and won't cost anything. What would lead one to believe anything else is required here? Don't we have the data we need?
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^ This 100% agree.

electracoyote He says that the whole thing plays great and there are no problems with the bass save for the nearly bottomed out saddles. Your obsession with doing all sorts of other work, including fret leveling (way to serious for this tiny problem), are not going to do anything about this.

One of my basses had this exact issue. did and re did setups to fix it and nothing fixed it, always bottomed out. Pulled off the neck to find that the manufacturer already had a strip of sandpaper as a shim in it to get it to a playable level. Replaced it with a couple pieces of maple veneer and BOOM. best setup I've ever had and no bottomed out saddles.

BTW if you want I'll send you some of my maple veneer. I figured it was the bast shim to use as my bass has a maple neck and maple body. It even sustains better with the wood shim than with the sandpaper. Just PM me is you want it. a pack like the one i got cost me like $15 which isn't much but it gave me way more veneer than I needed.
 
#45
The OP is happy with the way it plays. But "he senses" that the strings could go lower. He does not indicate that this is a goal because he is already happy and does not want to "risk the setup."

He is concerned that the height adjustment screws poke his hand. This may speak more to technique. It doesn't matter. The remedy is to swap out the screws.

He knows that inserting a shim will involve a new set up. Above, he feels that this is a risk. We do not know why he feels it is risky.

Given the parameters of the question and lack of data, the only remedy that can be recommended is to change the screws. All else is conjecture.
 
#46
Technotitclan said:
^ This 100% agree.

electracoyote He says that the whole thing plays great and there are no problems with the bass save for the nearly bottomed out saddles. Your obsession with doing all sorts of other work, including fret leveling (way to serious for this tiny problem), are not going to do anything about this.

One of my basses had this exact issue. did and re did setups to fix it and nothing fixed it, always bottomed out. Pulled off the neck to find that the manufacturer already had a strip of sandpaper as a shim in it to get it to a playable level. Replaced it with a couple pieces of maple veneer and BOOM. best setup I've ever had and no bottomed out saddles.

BTW if you want I'll send you some of my maple veneer. I figured it was the bast shim to use as my bass has a maple neck and maple body. It even sustains better with the wood shim than with the sandpaper. Just PM me is you want it. a pack like the one i got cost me like $15 which isn't much but it gave me way more veneer than I needed.
Click to expand...

My apologies. I guess I've had a couple basses where the frets weren't level, the nut was not filed correctly, and I thought having those things done improved the set-up potential of my bass. I was not saying these were certainly the problem with OP's bass, I merely asked whether he had them done. So sorry to offend with my innocent suggestions and speculations.
 
#49
electracoyote said:
My apologies. I guess I've had a couple basses where the frets weren't level, the nut was not filed correctly, and I thought having those things done improved the set-up potential of my bass. I was not saying these were certainly the problem with OP's bass, I merely asked whether he had them done. So sorry to offend with my innocent suggestions and speculations.
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I have no doubt that the moment that frets become a problem on my basses I will probably loose my s**t. I check my frets all the time cuz I'm kind of afraid of doing a fret leveling. I feel like that would be a life ender for me.
 
#50
pacojas said:
please don't discount my suggestion,... it worked flawlessly for me. but, i will add... YMMV!;)

hint: a couple of precise strokes go along way just like shims. no messy set-up issues that are typical when adjusting necks!:(
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It is true that filing the saddles will change the geometry. So will shimming the neck. One is reversible. The other is not. Those that understand make an informed choice.
 
#53
Technotitclan said:
I have no doubt that the moment that frets become a problem on my basses I will probably loose my s**t. I check my frets all the time cuz I'm kind of afraid of doing a fret leveling. I feel like that would be a life ender for me.
Click to expand...

fret leveling is not a big deal if you know what you are doing, or know a reputable repair person/tech.


Now resurfacing a fretless board, that's another topic ;)
 
#54
I have played brand new Fender basses (and other vendors) that have neck pocket shims installed by the factory. This isn't a new thing.

High mass bridges call for a small shim to allow for the extra thickness of the base plate.

It should be easy enough to search the forum for information on this.

Simple way to shim...

Use a business card. Cut a piece about 1/2" thick and the width of the pocket. Put it in the pocket at the very end nearest the bridge (I trim mine to exactly fit the pocket) and away from the headstock.

Reset string height.

You're done. It was good enough for Leo, who can argue with that.

All the best,

Bob
 
#55
202dy said:
It is true that filing the saddles will change the geometry. So will shimming the neck. One is reversible. The other is not. Those that understand make an informed choice.
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why would anyone want to reverse perfection?!!:confused:

in my case, a shim and the correct file made my dumb pile of wood and metal into an amazing bass. the final touch was the file to a bottomed-out bridge. my bridge saddles are now adjustable to the low, low action that i desire. YMMV:)
 
#56
Don't change anything that you can't change back - unless you are 100% sure that is the best way to solve your problem. Even then, look for other alternatives.

If it needs a shim, try it. Nothing is changed permanently.

If you whittle on the saddles and it's not needed, you have permanently changed the saddles and should replace them.
 
#57
Hi ... Shimming is the way to fix that ....New Fenders come with shims.. My 6 string Modulos did..

Only question I have is when looking at the pic of the bridge (I'm assumming it is a right handed bass) why is the g string saddle higher than the E string? I've never seen that in a properly set up bass.. I think I would look into that first fix it and then shim the neck....

Hope this helps..
 

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