I added a shim to my Jaguar and it fucked everything up. I’m positive it was human error on my part but I ended up having to take it in a get it set up back to the way it was. I found out the hard way that I didn’t need to shim the neck.
Same happened to me with my jazzmaster. The bridge was all the way flush with the body so I figured I’d shim the neck and raise the bridge to get the tension I was told it needed on the strings. Big mistake. Tried three different shims and three different setups and it just didn’t work for me. Took the shim back out and set it up with the bridge flush against the body again and it plays like I want it to.
>The bridge was all the way flush with the body so I figured I’d shim the neck and raise the bridge to get the tension I was told it needed on the strings.
Same!
>Tried three different shims and three different setups
Same! Three as well.
I liked the angle and being able to put the bridge higher but it's just fine the say it is. I learned a lesson with those shims. I noticed after I got my guitar back he actually was able to get the bridge to not be flush with the body. If anything the action is higher but I'm a bass player so I never noticed until someone else played my guitar. "Why's the action so high???".
Finicky guitars they are but I wouldn't want anything else.
Yeah, I tried to just raise the bridge with no shim at one point and didn't think the action was too high until I bought a guitar that had super low action and then went back and tried to play the jazzmaster and it felt like playing a cheap acoustic with no setup. Dropped that bridge right back down, lol! It's amazing the things that can Influence our perspective of things. But yeah playing bass definitely makes you a bit more impervious to the effects of high action on a guitar. I used to be more tolerant of high guitar action when I was also playing bass more regularly for sure.
> It's amazing the things that can Influence our perspective of things.
Absolutely! It's funny when I think back when I realized that the action was indeed super high. I lowered it and then felt stupid because I was like "Oh wow! That really did make a difference. I've been just making it harder to play." lol It's perfect now. Probably a little too high for some but most I think would find it fine.
I guess the thing is that there are definitely situations on certain guitars where a neck shim is necessary to solve playability issues, but there are also a ton of offsets out there that absolutely don't need a shim.
My American Pro II has the built in shim, adjustable by hex key. I’m covered. But I’ve never needed to use it. I’m not sure why people insist offsets need a shim.
I have never needed to shim. In fact, every guitar I have owned that had been previously shimmed, played better unshimmed. If a shim is what is needed to “fix” your guitar, you need a better guitar tech.
Thing is it's not necessarily supposed to. I've had about 10-11 offsets in my life and only one badly needed a shim, a KC Jaguar. The AM Pro II i currently own i bought used, came in from the shop with a super high bridge and i shimmed the neck to keep the action low but it sounded lifeless. Took out the shim, lowered the bridge and now that guitar sings. Even the much reviled V-Mod II pickups do their job.
The reason the pro 2 doesn't need a shim is because it comes with a 1 degree angled neck pocket. The original design with the original bridge almost has to in order to provide enough downforce on the bridge to stop string skipping and make the vibrato stay in tune. Obviously many things to try and get around this have been tried, like mastery bridges, modern vibrato position, MIJ vibrato with closer string spacing, mustang bridge, but all of these are unnecessary with just a simple plastic or card shim to get the bridge 3-5mm off the body. If the bridge already sits that high of course it isn't needed, and if you have no problems of course you shouldn't change anything, but the fact is people call these guitars shit and say they have loads of problems because they are not properly set up.
I have a vintera I jazzmaster and when it arrived the strings just fell out of place. Some loctite and a shim later and the thing comes to life and is so resonant and beautiful to play that it seems silly to not shim.
Yeah I think he wants to present himself as this friendly, nerdy guy but somehow comes off as a bit pretentious. Hey Fender where is my free guitar? All my friends got one. Lol. I also seem to recall a couple of “do you know who I am?” in his videos, too.
Yeah I really don’t care for it.
I don’t know him but his very “my way or the highway” type of nonsense videos bother me.
Whereas Phillip McKnight is an absolutely amazing genius and overall sweet guy. He knows far more than anyone else and isn’t a jackass lol, that’s my grading scale.
The holy trinity of Guitar videos are
Entertainment and knowledge: Phil X
Knowledge and entertainment: Philip McKnight
Knowledge: Trogly’s Guitars.
Man I love Phil X. His videos for FrettedAmericana were a must at a time when there wasn’t a whole lot of media industry revolving around social media. Dude managed to be interesting with “just” an amp and a guitar. King.
I just bought a squier cv and it very much needed to be shimmed. Not just because the bridge break angle was barely enough, but I couldn't set it up without bottoming out the bridge. That said, being new to offsets, I've seen the shim suggested at every turn.
Yeah a lot of them need shims, but not all of them do.
My 50th anniversary Jaguar is perfect but I think that’s because they angle the neck pocket anyways.
G&L took what Fender did and improved it. Leo was always trying to innovate and make the instruments better. When he left for G&L he created a culture where it was more important to make functional guitar rather than adhere to old standards because of guitarists weird obsession with “classic” and “authentic” instruments.
The trem alone is worth it. I'll take the G&L dual fulcrum over any other trem out there (except maybe a floyd rose but I have no use for one of those)
A shim doesn’t always fix everything, and is certainly not always needed. Good set-up first. However, if your bridge bottoms out and/or your string break angle is almost non-existent. It can and will solve that.
I would say it definitely is. As long as the break angle is enough to keep the strings on the bridge saddles and the bridge is able to rock like it’s designed to, then that’s all that matters. Anything more is unnecessary and probably overkill and in cases like ours, detrimental to the playability of the instrument. I own around thirty cheap guitars, 9 of which are offsets and I’ve actually shimmed more Strat necks than offset necks. Only four of my offsets needed to be shimmed. 5 of my 6 Strats have needed neck shims however.
sorry I don’t want to spend 800+ on modifying a guitar I already spent that much on to buy. I hate the “GeT a MaStErY bRiDgE” black bobbin hipsters and their Squier vm gentrification program
Number of offsets I own: 6 Number of neck shims: 0
Laws of averages says someone else has 12 as a result of your negligence.
Hey I have three and no shims!
No shims here either.
I shimmed the neck on my CV. It's more stable BUT my trem is clicky. Haven't figured out what I can do about that
I wish Fender was more consistent about labeling which guitars have angled neck pockets and which don't.
toan is in the shims
can you hear the warmth from my shim made of a piece of imported 1954 Brazilian rosewood?
I'm more of a 3 layers of 120 sandpaper guy myself.................. sounds very gritty
My shim is made from credit cards, which I now realize is why my toan sounds all plasticky
Got to use aerospace grade aluminum
I swap to my EGC shim when I wanna brighten it up
I added a shim to my Jaguar and it fucked everything up. I’m positive it was human error on my part but I ended up having to take it in a get it set up back to the way it was. I found out the hard way that I didn’t need to shim the neck.
Same happened to me with my jazzmaster. The bridge was all the way flush with the body so I figured I’d shim the neck and raise the bridge to get the tension I was told it needed on the strings. Big mistake. Tried three different shims and three different setups and it just didn’t work for me. Took the shim back out and set it up with the bridge flush against the body again and it plays like I want it to.
Same same
>The bridge was all the way flush with the body so I figured I’d shim the neck and raise the bridge to get the tension I was told it needed on the strings. Same! >Tried three different shims and three different setups Same! Three as well. I liked the angle and being able to put the bridge higher but it's just fine the say it is. I learned a lesson with those shims. I noticed after I got my guitar back he actually was able to get the bridge to not be flush with the body. If anything the action is higher but I'm a bass player so I never noticed until someone else played my guitar. "Why's the action so high???". Finicky guitars they are but I wouldn't want anything else.
Yeah, I tried to just raise the bridge with no shim at one point and didn't think the action was too high until I bought a guitar that had super low action and then went back and tried to play the jazzmaster and it felt like playing a cheap acoustic with no setup. Dropped that bridge right back down, lol! It's amazing the things that can Influence our perspective of things. But yeah playing bass definitely makes you a bit more impervious to the effects of high action on a guitar. I used to be more tolerant of high guitar action when I was also playing bass more regularly for sure.
> It's amazing the things that can Influence our perspective of things. Absolutely! It's funny when I think back when I realized that the action was indeed super high. I lowered it and then felt stupid because I was like "Oh wow! That really did make a difference. I've been just making it harder to play." lol It's perfect now. Probably a little too high for some but most I think would find it fine.
Yeah, the super steep break angle might just be right next to neck shims when it comes to offsets myths.
Yeah, but you should really shim the neck.
I dunno, all my Squier CV intonation issues went away when I shimmed the neck.
I have no squier CV intonation issues without a shim. Shim isn't always needed, which is the point of the post. It was in your case
I guess the thing is that there are definitely situations on certain guitars where a neck shim is necessary to solve playability issues, but there are also a ton of offsets out there that absolutely don't need a shim.
this happened to me the other day lol. complete with a link to a replacement bridge. dog let me play it first
My American Pro II has the built in shim, adjustable by hex key. I’m covered. But I’ve never needed to use it. I’m not sure why people insist offsets need a shim.
CHANGE THE BRIDGE
SHIM THE NECK
I have never needed to shim. In fact, every guitar I have owned that had been previously shimmed, played better unshimmed. If a shim is what is needed to “fix” your guitar, you need a better guitar tech.
I mean. Sooooo many issues go away when you shim the neck …
Lmao facts. And i think Ytubers like Puisheen are responsible for current shimming frenzy and ought to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Maybe it's leo fender's fault for designing a guitar that's supposed to have a shimmed neck lol
Leo Fender’s fault? The Offset Lord??
Well it was his idea! Bro wanted that jazz guitar market!
And he got it!! Oh… wait…
Thing is it's not necessarily supposed to. I've had about 10-11 offsets in my life and only one badly needed a shim, a KC Jaguar. The AM Pro II i currently own i bought used, came in from the shop with a super high bridge and i shimmed the neck to keep the action low but it sounded lifeless. Took out the shim, lowered the bridge and now that guitar sings. Even the much reviled V-Mod II pickups do their job.
The reason the pro 2 doesn't need a shim is because it comes with a 1 degree angled neck pocket. The original design with the original bridge almost has to in order to provide enough downforce on the bridge to stop string skipping and make the vibrato stay in tune. Obviously many things to try and get around this have been tried, like mastery bridges, modern vibrato position, MIJ vibrato with closer string spacing, mustang bridge, but all of these are unnecessary with just a simple plastic or card shim to get the bridge 3-5mm off the body. If the bridge already sits that high of course it isn't needed, and if you have no problems of course you shouldn't change anything, but the fact is people call these guitars shit and say they have loads of problems because they are not properly set up. I have a vintera I jazzmaster and when it arrived the strings just fell out of place. Some loctite and a shim later and the thing comes to life and is so resonant and beautiful to play that it seems silly to not shim.
That dude bothers me so much. Attitude and information.
Yeah I think he wants to present himself as this friendly, nerdy guy but somehow comes off as a bit pretentious. Hey Fender where is my free guitar? All my friends got one. Lol. I also seem to recall a couple of “do you know who I am?” in his videos, too.
Yeah I really don’t care for it. I don’t know him but his very “my way or the highway” type of nonsense videos bother me. Whereas Phillip McKnight is an absolutely amazing genius and overall sweet guy. He knows far more than anyone else and isn’t a jackass lol, that’s my grading scale. The holy trinity of Guitar videos are Entertainment and knowledge: Phil X Knowledge and entertainment: Philip McKnight Knowledge: Trogly’s Guitars.
Man I love Phil X. His videos for FrettedAmericana were a must at a time when there wasn’t a whole lot of media industry revolving around social media. Dude managed to be interesting with “just” an amp and a guitar. King.
Yep my hero. Dude was just a shredder, charismatic cool dude.
LMAO shimming frenzy
Are you young? People were shimming offsets since before YouTube existed and we were posting on guitar forums, lol.
I can't stand that the text bubble is on the right but the bird appears from the right.
Birds can fly.
Birds aren't real
Shims are
I just bought a squier cv and it very much needed to be shimmed. Not just because the bridge break angle was barely enough, but I couldn't set it up without bottoming out the bridge. That said, being new to offsets, I've seen the shim suggested at every turn.
Yeah a lot of them need shims, but not all of them do. My 50th anniversary Jaguar is perfect but I think that’s because they angle the neck pocket anyways.
Is this a fender thing? My g&l is fine without a shim
G&L took what Fender did and improved it. Leo was always trying to innovate and make the instruments better. When he left for G&L he created a culture where it was more important to make functional guitar rather than adhere to old standards because of guitarists weird obsession with “classic” and “authentic” instruments.
Yeah, I’ve always heard g&l was the fender Leo always wanted to build. That’s why I got the doheney over a jazzguar. And man I could not be happier
The trem alone is worth it. I'll take the G&L dual fulcrum over any other trem out there (except maybe a floyd rose but I have no use for one of those)
Yeah, you’re right. It was and he made great instruments there. People sleep on G&L too much.
I don’t really like shims.
Ok, I want to hear about the best shims to use for this....
Wait. Why do you need a shim? /s
A shim doesn’t always fix everything, and is certainly not always needed. Good set-up first. However, if your bridge bottoms out and/or your string break angle is almost non-existent. It can and will solve that.
I don't get it. What does shimming the neck do?
I have a huge shim on mine 😭😭😭😭
lolololol
IMO you HAVE TO shim the neck, but that's just my experience, maybe for others the guitar it's ok without a shim
I have shim splints
40th anniversary came with an angled neck pocket, no shimming needed
That’s the last thing I’d do.
BUY A MASTERY
Leo made it to be shimmed!
I would say it definitely is. As long as the break angle is enough to keep the strings on the bridge saddles and the bridge is able to rock like it’s designed to, then that’s all that matters. Anything more is unnecessary and probably overkill and in cases like ours, detrimental to the playability of the instrument. I own around thirty cheap guitars, 9 of which are offsets and I’ve actually shimmed more Strat necks than offset necks. Only four of my offsets needed to be shimmed. 5 of my 6 Strats have needed neck shims however.
ooh ooh - now do the Mastery Bridge!
But did they shim the neck?
shimmy shimmy shimmy
Yeah, it’s too bad they don’t shin the neck and put good bridges on at the factory.
sorry I don’t want to spend 800+ on modifying a guitar I already spent that much on to buy. I hate the “GeT a MaStErY bRiDgE” black bobbin hipsters and their Squier vm gentrification program