I've got a Robert Cray MIM Strat that I just love the tones I get out of it compared to the Les Paul Studio I used to use. It's a hardtail with a set of grapite saddles that I'm not to sure if I like on it or not. Anyway, I wanted to shim up the neck a bit because I think the action could be better around the 12th fret and higher. I used an old credit card, cutting off a strip about a half inch wide and placing it in the neck pocket closest to the body end. That ended up being too much of a change, and I fretted everything out even with a lot of adjustment on the individual saddles. What do you guys that do this using for a shim, and can you give me any pointers?

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

My luthier prefers the plastic lids that come on tubs of marjarine or cans of Crisco. The material cuts easily and compresses uniformly as the neck is screwed to the body. I think it's about 3/4 the thickness of the material used for credit cards.

HTH

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I use a metal automotive feeler gauge cut to fit. I believe it is 0.010".

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Bill

The string height is set from the nut slot height and the saddle height. There is absolutely no need to shim a neck whilst there is still play in the saddle adjustment screws. It achieves nothing that lowering the saddle wouldn't do anyway.

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No no and no

when I feel it necessary to shim, I use a matchbook flap, or if I'm feeling extra frisky, an old concert ticket stub!

^^^ Only other reason I can think of to shim a neck is because of a neck pocket routed out incorrectly, in other words not on a flat plane to the body.
CBS era Strats were notorious for neck pockets being out of kilter...
In this case I would either get the pocket routed out correctly or if it is so horrendously screwed up, I would get another body...

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

or if the neck was a little too thin ...

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Yeah I sideways shimmed the neck on my black strat. And glued it too.
All because of the baggy pocket.


No it hasn't affected the tone.

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No no and no

I use pencils because upon tightening the neck to the body, the pencils are crushed and that 'gets the lead out'.

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You dig?

Try using a simple folder post-it note - you will be amazed!

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

I replaced my MIM neck with a 85 MIJ neck
had to shim it a bit, and i always use aluminum foil folded and cut to shape.
as the neck was quite a bit thinner than what the guitar came with.
I did not shim it to raise the whole neck, but to add a tilt to it.
this lets me set the bridge saddle screws to the proper height

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1986 Kramer Baretta
1989 Samick "The Samick" Les Paul
2007 Fender Strat MIM Deluxe / 1985 MIJ neck
1990 Epiphone Strat
Marshall JCM 2000 DLS 50 watt / Marshall 1960a 4x12

https://soundcloud.com/jim-slimjim-cassi

I use brass foil avalaible at any hobby shop . Easy to cut and many tickness. And good tone transfert.

But we need a shim ONLY if we can't adjust action with the saddle.

Brass foil ;

http://www.whimsie.com/brass%20embossing%20foil.html

I have an issue with my newest build, the Candy Apple Red Strat....
The neck pocket is off so shimming will not be the solution.
Instead I will re-rout the pocket to the correct degree of bevel.
This will allow the saddle to be adjusted without the grub screws being visible from the top or catching on my palm.

In addition the neck screws will be discarded in favor of wood inserts and fine thread stainless steel screws.

(...I would add that shimming the neck pocket is really not the correct solution to a misaligned neck to body plane..( I know it is the common remedy but it really is not a correct woodworking procedure as many other problems arise from shimming..
Doing so relieves the contact of the neck inside the pocket, in the section the shim is at. The wood screws used to secure the neck are not designed to be shimmed. Their holding strenght depends on complete contact of the neck inside the entire pocket, not angled.
Also the holes in the body thru which the neck screws pass are usually loose enough for the screw to move about.... )

This in turn will increase the sustain or tone since the neck is now fastened more rigidly.
This is a problem with bolt-on necks ( which technically are not bolt-on's at all ) are just screwed on , often with undersized screws and oversized drilled holes.

If anyone wonders as to why your Strat or Tele seems to have a temperament all it's own with weather changes than that is why. Compare a set neck to a bolt-on neck and the tuning issues are more problematic with the bolt on...

I know the question is " Well... If that is the case than why doesn't Fender correct this.. "
Reason (IMHO) I suspect is cost of production, this is not as easy as lining up the bodies on the drill press and templates and off you go...There is the requirement of all 4 inserts to be exactly perpendicular and placed correctly in the pocket as well as increased costs in both materials and labor. That being said I would also guess that in the Custom Shop Dept. ordering a Master Built with this feature should be possible since they will build you what you wish.
So I'm referring mostly to production models.....

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "