I have heard from various people that adding a neck pocket shim can help lower string action and reduce buzzing at the same time. Is this true? If so how come I don't hear too many people actually doing this mod? Also why wouldn't Fender just start designing their newer guitars with shims in them.

Anyone try this mod or know anything about it?
Thanks

Shims are really for fixing a problem with the neck heel, or pocket. essentially, if your neck seats at the wrong angle you put something in there, so it sits at the right one. Fender uses (or used?) the 'Micro-Tilt' system in place of shims since the 70's.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Shims are really for fixing a problem with the neck heel, or pocket. essentially, if your neck seats at the wrong angle you put something in there, so it sits at the right one. Fender uses (or used?) the 'Micro-Tilt' system in place of shims since the 70's.

Most necks don't need to be shimmed

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

I've had to use shims a time or two. I typically use cuts off of business cards.

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

As 12B said its a solution to neck/ body line problems and not simply a way to address action/buzz issues.

To see if your neck needs shimming you first need to get the body of the guitar lying exactly parallel to the worksurface your using. Then you need to make sure the neck is perfectly straight with a straight edge shaped to go round frets (fret tops being straight just is not accurate enough). I use this


(no i'm not open to offers on the museli and the easter egg is long gone:D )

When that neck is perfectly straight measure from the worksurface to the underside of the neck heel and the worksurface to the underside of the headstock. Both measurements (usually 1,1/4" or 1,3/8s") should be identical, +/- 1/16th" is ok though.

Not an easy job for negligable results. The only guitars i've ever seen benefit from shimming in any noticable way were sub £100 far east wrecks and my Esp Ltd.

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No no and no

I don't have the ruler shown. Could I just get a level and level a working surface. Lay the guitar down on that surface, and use the level on the fretboard? Would that give me a good idea if the neck could use a shim or not? Basically my Fender buzzes like most Stratocasters, so I run the actions pretty high to eliminate the buzz. The frets on the fretboard are not perfect but pretty good. I have a Stew-Mac fret leveling tool that shows frets that are sticking up or down. By running the actions pretty high I got rid of the buzz through the amp and also without the amp.

Mate their easy to make. All i did was buy a 38" aluminium ruler cut it to the length of the board, mark either side of each fret, and cut the slots out myself with a hacksaw. It cost £3 to make not the £20 stewmac charge for theirs. You need the board straight not the fret tops, i cant stress that point enough. Your goal is to have the neck perfectly lined up to the body so any truss or saddle/nut adjustments you make will have the maximum desired effect. For that you need to be able to measure and set parallel the neck in a perfectly straight state. The slightest bow in the neck will throw that measurement off. Even before fret leveling you need the fingerboard perfectly straight. Could your problem be worn frets as some are as you say 'not perfect'? I seem to wear jumbo's and med jumbo's by just looking at them. What condition are the frets in, could they do with a polish? Maybe even a recrown?

Theres a plethoria of things to look at before you start worrying about shimming. That said you can experiment, by using a thin strip of plastic as a shim, just to see the results.

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No no and no

Hi CloseYetFar: as mentioned by the others, shimming is not about reducing buzz.

In fact, in a way, the opposite. In that you shim the neck if the saddles are
already set as low as they'll go and yet the action is still too high. By
putting a shim in the end of the neck pocket you tilt the angle of the neck
back relative to the body, so the strings get a little closer to the
fingerboard. As you can see in this pic of an old Squier body of mine:



In theory, there also exists the phenomenon of reverse-shimming; that is,
putting the shim at the other end of the pocket to angle the neck the other
way. In real life that hardly ever happens. Loosening your trussrod should
achieve that effect.

Which may or may not be what your guitar requires. Buzz comes in many
forms and the trussrod is there to address some of them. Your neck
pocket ain't the issue.

Cheers - C

Thanks for the replys guys. I had a feeling this was not the fix all mod that people made it out to be. It really didn't make much sense to me, to simply add a shim some where and all string buzz disappears. I probably just need a setup. lol Thanks for the info.

If you can get your bridge saddles to the "proper" level (for your playing preferences) without a shim, you don't need a shim.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.