How to shim a guitar neck to adjust its angle

Sometimes a guitar's neck angle is just not right, and the strings don't clear the frets the way they should. Erick Coleman shows the right way to shim a neck to correct the angle.
StewMac Neck Shims for Guitar
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Precision Straightedges
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[@Slovy_]

I’ve never seen anyone use radius gages unless they’re machinists or an aircraft sheet metal mechanic. I’d never thought I’d need them for a guitar. But it was the smartest way to do it it IMO

[@jedson01]

I used a coin to get close to what was needed when I did mine.

[@ibm_businessman6033]

@@jedson01 Cheap & Effective, Thanks for the tip!

[@bizbizley]

Just chamfer the corner ffs

[@gustavstefansson2476]

This is my favorite type of advertisement because it has two purposes. It shows and demonstrates the products and entertain at the same time.

[@geetarislife2843]

also I, and a lot of others here, learn a lot about Geetar fixin' from these videos :)

[@fitnessguru8012]

This is the best and most professional approach I've seen to doing this.

[@uptopmikep7065]

This is and your other guitar set up and repair videos are far and away the best on KZbin. Thank you. They are extremely helpful.

[@fuzzblender]

Did this with your 1degree shim to my 66’ Jag and it plays flawlessly now. You guys make great stuff. Thanks 🐆

[@JesseJamesGill]

Just used one of these to fix action issues on my P bass. Super easy to install and worked like a charm!

[@donttellthekids2655]

Would be nice to also touch up the edge of the shim with amber or vintage clear lacquer pen....

[@atbglenn]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@stewmac6719]

After the shoot Erick did exactly that!

[@biomcanx1]

My thought as well

[@jackd.ripper7613]

Yeah, that was my thought. If I were looking at this guitar to buy it but didn't know a lot about this issue, it would seem like a hasty repair for some problem. If it were colored to match, it would indicate that some thought went into it. Also, I wonder about the edge of the shim absorbing moisture and oil relative to the rest of the joint.

[@PilferMusic]

meh... you write and play music on it... anyone that close to your neck pocket when you're on stage; well it might be love, because they're chin in on your lap

[@archangelguitarsusa9205]

It’s so cool to see that you guys make these now! I’ve always made my own but they’re a huge pain to make and I usually end up getting my fingers way closer to blades than I feel comfortable with lol

[@james4878]

Good quality demo, editing, camera work and added music. All round good video. Well done guys.

[@NGH99999]

Awesome video, guys. I bought a few of these shims for my Fender basses. Like you say in the video, they work great for compensating for variations in neck pockets, but they also increase the break angle of the strings as they pass over the bridge saddles. This, in my experience, is great for note clarity and sustain - especially on bass strings.

[@handgunner1911]

this is awesome i fixed my lakland jazz 44-60 the action is now perfect it truly plays like butter!!!!!! thanks so much bro its insane that i had to do this to a 3000 bass but now it plays like one

[@HektorBandimar]

Great video, interesting, informative and well presented.

[@danielvalles9554]

Hey, when people talk about fender vs Gibson, that initial point that he made about the angle of the neck relative to the body is NEVER brought up, and I think that's a huge factor concerning playability of the two designs and how it may lend itself to any given player. That, along with scale lengths, which not only affect string tension and therefore, ease of bending, or tuning integrity when striking the strings aggressively, thereby having an influence on string gauges, but also the amount of room between frets on respective scale lengths. I.e. the 15th fret on a fender scale has more room between it and the next fret than the 15th fret on a gibson length.. Anyways, you guys probably already knew that, but it felt good to see that pointed out.

[@silaswintersguitar]

So im kinda trying to just learn how to do my own guitar maintenance instead of having to pay for dumb little things. Stew mac is fr helping my alot here lol. I never realized how easy this stuff really is to do with the proper tools and if you just take your time with it all. Super awesome.

[@hanten10]

i love your works very details. I hope our country has a good guitar tech but we didn't. I always learn to do it by myself on my own guitar. Your video really helps us to learn more. Thank you so much 😊

[@HoiPolloi]

Really enjoyed watching this! All your videos are informative and I learn a lot from your channel :)

[@johnkelly3335]

great vid learned that proper tool and knowledge jobs are quick and easy, using a radius gauge might help with that tricky shielding tape, with shielding i was told try to have it in one piece at a time, and don't overlap or youll have to soldier the overlapped piece so it can get a electrical ground signal,

[@CodeFoxAus]

Great explanation of the technique thanks.

[@sefton1972]

Another quality video of a quality product.

[@normanperkel139]

Transfer punch. Never thought of one, but now I think I need one.

[@jasonivan1726]

Great video on this subject. Thank you.

[@linnspencer9876]

Excellent and informative. Thanks.

[@luther_beckett]

I have an Alvarez 335 knock-off. It had that same thing going on with the pickup at that extreme funky angle. The pickup ring was the problem. It had a pretty steep angle. I turned it around and the pickup was then almost parallel with the strings.

[@jameswallace5967]

Another informant video. Stewart MacDonald is just a wonderful company for all things musical instrumen related.

[@carlmontney7916]

I love these shims they work great. I would have colored the edge of the shim black to match the black stripe in the binding. That way the shim would look like it was put on there when the guitar was new.

[@PastelComGini]

This is a beautiful guitar aesthetically speaking.

[@toneseeker87]

I used laminated plastic as shim. Works fine too!

[@andrearocchibo91]

The most beautiful job in the world

[@mojorisen74]

This was a quick easy adjustment for me. Yeah the stewmac shims are a bit pricey (I only needed one but had to buy a 3 pack for 20 bucks) but when I got it I just threw it in, no cutting or shaping. I 'd just bought a 1975 Fender Mustang off of eBay and when I got it the bridge was too the deck and the action was 7/64 on the bass side. It had a Factory shim in it but obviously it was doing nothing so I got a 1 degree shim, strung it up, got 4/64 on the bass side with a little play in the bridge and it plays like "Buttah"....

[@danielr.schafer9504]

Radius gauges, spare change is mine... work fine almost free!

[@thomastommy1192]

Awesome great video. Thank you for sharing it.

[@philipbrumder697]

Always sound shop practice. Good tools for the job.

[@Jeekinz]

Nice job on that!

[@valencefitness4627]

As an intermediate player many years ago, I learned how to setup my old Squier on my own. For a few years, there was always something a little off, and I couldn't set it up perfectly. One day I took the neck off and found that a previous owner put a silly shim in there. Once I removed that, it became so easy to set that guitar up and make it comfortable to play.

[@valencefitness4627]

Now I just bought a guitar where I lowered the bridge so low it sounds like a banjo - but the strings are still too high off of the high frets. I actually need a shim for this thing.

[@reececamptenmyers6063]

@@valencefitness4627cool story

[@metman3]

Definitely better than using picks or pieces of cardboard/ sandpaper to shim. Makes sense to try to get full contact between neck and bottom of body pocket. Any neck shimming will change the break angle at the bridge (if same action is maintained) , that may or may not cause a difference in "feel" which can be noticeable in string bending in particular.

[@alastairmacdonald6794]

Excellent video ... thank you .... really helped me figure out why I can't sort the action out on a Telecaster copy afteradjusting the truss rod and neck relief accurately and having the saddles at their lowest height ... still the action is way too high .... now I know ... 😀

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

Excellent viddy, learned a lot. I have a Strat with what most players would callba high action and they would be right but the sound it makes is massive. I shimmed it to see if I could even the action out as muchbas possible but it lost it's magic so removed the shim , maybe it's just the way it works best , its great up to the 9th/10th fret but when you play standing up it becomes a really physical scene as you end up having to wrestle with the thing. The acoustic "pingyness" is more present with a higher action. Having ssid all that I may try the .25 and probably remove it again but I will try. Thanks .

[@withelisa]

I'm about to install a shim on a banjo. Thanks!

[@erichuff6945]

Hello from a loyal customer. Love your videos, they are all very helpful.

[@MusiciansReflib]

Truly awesome video

[@stewmac]

Thanks!

[@hubbsllc]

I’m really interested in this product. I have a 3-bolt Music Man bass that I want to do a microtilt conversion on,

[@RobMods]

Whet I live, with the exchange rate and postage, these are far too expensive. But I like the radius gauge idea. I usually take some measurements and use trigonometry to work out the shim thickness. Then I use hardwood veneer, shaped and glued in place.... Thanks again for a nice video.

[@budandbean1]

Enjoyed the video a lot but come on guys... $91 for 12 shims?

[@JohannesLabusch]

That's the price for the complete set. If you know what you need even remotely, you can stay under 10 bucks.

[@budandbean1]

It’s a shim. Come on... if you don’t want to make one, you can buy a bundle of hardwood shake shingles, already angled and ready to use, for $3 and have enough for years. Even selling them for $10 a shim is a bit much. This is what gives StewMac a bad name.

[@editorjuno]

@@budandbean1 -- Moreover, when I asked my late friend -- an industry giant who knew more about how an electric guitar functions than anyone alive today -- what he'd use to change the neck angle of Fender-style bolt-on neck guitar, he immediately answered, "Washers," explaining that there's almost never any benefit to mechanically coupling a solid-body guitar's neck to its body, the sole exception being the very rare such instrument in which the neck happens to resonate at an even harmonic of the body's resonance. He then said that, in most cases, shimming a neck with a large hardwood shim is a best no better than using washers and, when tight coupling results in significant acoustic phase cancellation, those big shims can actually be detrimental.

[@noakwesterberg]

I have made them myself, it is actually quite a bit of work. And when you're finished you may well realize you've sanded too much down... Just sayin'

[@JohannesLabusch]

I'm not going to defend their price policy. If you don't want to spend money, build a guitar from scratch. If you want pre-cut shims, you have cheaper options than the 91$ set you mention. That's all.

[@highlanderdetroit5370]

Great instruction!!!

[@migrationnation8005]

Great job!

[@jrn-olekjeldsen5688]

wauv - that was really good to know - I wil try on my Gibson De luxe - thank you

[@elbenaso]

Great job, indeed!

[@scratchcrafter]

Great work Erick, curious where you got that wood organizing draw in the background on 7:48 super cool!

[@tylerwillison4962]

Love your videos. Is it possible to bring a guitar to guys for a setup?

[@user-eb2jb8om8l]

4:34 That is pentel graphgear 1000 mecanical pencil

[@amdsixtyfour]

thank youuuuuu :bless:

[@garrettraylor4947]

I enjoyed the presentation very much. Question: Would you be comfortable coloring the edge of the shim black to match the color of the binding?

[@BenjiBatavia]

Tolles Video.

[@asad36360]

sounds awesome

[@zetasong]

great video...thanks for your time...liked

[@Xxmeca421xX]

This will fix my strat for sure. It has so much relief already and I've messed with it for years. I hope these are cheap or I'll have to make something. Thanks for the video.

[@stewmac]

You're welcome!

[@edwardpetersen4309]

Emery board works great to round those corners.

[@myyt4382]

Thanks for the video - any idea or thoughts about how to determine the right angle? I have a shim under the neck to compensate but now my bridge is really high and I think it's too high..but how to measure, verify that? thanks in advance!

[@brandonodonnell7308]

Awesome video. Can the shim be used to correct a 'rising tongue" ie a slight rise in the just at the end of the neck (say around 18-20th frets)?

[@fostexfan160]

Very interesting video

[@LePuntano22]

thanx i was going mad with a guitar kit unplayeable after the 12 fret

[@alcantey]

Got a bass to shim up. Excellent tutorial. Thanks!!

[@georgescarlett2320]

Taylor was FIRST to do this!!! Hey Eric, looks like the Pup is mounted backwards!!!

[@faunaflage]

Question: Why not simply flip the neck and trace the heel of the neck on to the shim? Seems easier than micro-cuts and radius gauges with the actual pocket.

[@stewmac6719]

You could definitely do that!

[@lukebable]

@kevin paul halliday Shh ! You're gonna ruin it for them. Stewmac employs lots of people selling and posting their wares. If people find out that most of the tools they sell are not really necessary, then Stewmac will lose money and ultimately have to put off hard working people who are just trying to support their families . I bet you one of these workers has a new born baby they have to feed and nurture , and without work they wont be able to do that. What is it you have against babies anyway?

[@sinjon]

You can do that but how would you know how much to take off? In other words, where would you line up the neck on the shim?

[@bassfishingwiththeantichri2921]

Because that's the best way to do it if you also sell micro cutting tools and radius gauges.

[@jergervasi3331]

That's what I do.

[@AWSMEAD]

Superb!

[@flashy5150]

I have a “huge” question, how do you correct the length or depth of the neck pocket, the distance between the neck entrance of the pocket to the heel ? I routed mine when I was young, too far back towards the bridge., probably 3/16 too much. What can I use to fill the pocket heel to correct the scale length of the nut to the bridge for a 25-1/2” scale neck ?

[@pe7725]

thanks for the video, once shimmed, do I have to drill new neck screw holes (as the angle will be off)?

[@bullwhipjohnson8247]

Once you know that the shim will work, should it be glued into the pocket? And, as many have already suggested, color matched?

[@pir869]

the bare shim edges would absorb moisture,i'd coat it with honey shellac mixed with thinning alcohol so it soaks in deep,and a final thicker viscosity layer so the shim goes hard,a light sand and fit n forget,as long as the sanding is square and true of course. Or make an angle jig to plane or sand new shims from maple.

[@cravinbob]

He said to use a full size shim so clamping the neck on tight will inhibit moisture into the neck pocket.

[@pir869]

wooden wedges are hammered into cracks in rock,which has a far stronger bond than four screws into the neck through the body,to crack and split rock,what then makes the neck/body joint stronger than the force that split the rock. I would seal the wood shim as i said to avoid any warping due to the wood being able to absorb moisture,even when the wood is compressed by a screw joint and not hammered into rock ,which has to be said will compress the wood fibres far more.

[@EamonnSeoigh]

Does the amount of down pressure on the bridge affect sustain? Does changing the neck angle to provide more pressure on the bridge plate make sense?

[@jonnyrocktone9020]

Would installing a neck shim misalign where the neck screws thread into the neck itself? In my guitar the screw holes in the body and the neck are threaded so the screw always threads into the same threads in the wood. Increasing the distance and angle, even by a small amount, seems like it would cause you to be threading into new wood thus boring out the screw holes after a few times. That’s my worry anyway...

[@watkinscopicat]

genius!

[@Rwamos1981a]

I'm wondering if I can use a shim but set it the opposite direction in this video to obtain a higher action on my strat. My new warmoth neck will not give enough relief to eliminate buzz and the saddle heights are maxed out.

[@bigtguitars7312]

Could I use one of these to put the 3/4 degrees on a les Paul set neck style build?

[@ThomasDeLello]

Did using a full sized angled shim improve the sound of the guitar very much over the short shim that leaves a gap...? How much improvement...?

[@Nicko30able]

Hey Erick, very helpful. Where is Dan, is he ok? Peace

[@treborif]

I used the Zig Zag man, he's so mellow...

[@SuriSanJose]

Time to relax

[@KainzMusic]

I used a pair of dimes. Nicknamed that guitar "20 Cents" for a while.

[@evilcowboy]

lol thats great.

[@Xxmeca421xX]

I feel like it should have full contact but I want to use dimes now

[@reececamptenmyers6063]

Stacked on each other or did you put one on the front and the other back?

[@blond339]

didn't you guys have a amber finish for touch ups to use on the edge of the wedge

[@richpowers1618]

Could that pickup be turned 180°? It looks like the top is beveled the wrong direction.

[@tonywatson987]

Nice job Erick, but I would have liked to see a coat of shellac on the shim to seal it against moisture (or are they already sealed?)

[@fs7572]

... indeed! I personal prefer some drops a truoil on the outer edge ... Maybe just for a better feel :-)

[@ThePedroDB]

So, according to your explanation of full neck contact being desirable, the Fender Micro-tilt is a bit of a fail. Since the only point of contact at the base of the neck will be the adjustment grub screw (and the neck screws....)

[@Yeti.Goose.Creature]

@ 0:45 Another reason for a shim on a telecaster is to tilt the neck back to improve the bridge saddle adjustment range. The reason I'm here is because my bridge saddles are bottomed out on the 6th and 1st strings, but the action is still not low enough for me at the upper frets. And those nasty little saddle bolts are digging in to my hand. ;) I could just get shorter bolts and put up with the higher action I suppose. :/

[@kpgpwi64]

Trying to shim the neck to fit a gk-3 pickup on a strat but I have high action on the high frets and buzzing on the low frets, is that underset? If I shim it the other way though it frets out when I bend.. really a pain in the a**

[@ymelfilm]

Easy job, guys. Just take ur hadron collider from the shelf behind you (radius gages) and u r done under 20 minutes. I use thin maple boards to shim.

[@error404m]

If I want to stack two shims, should I glue them together first, or just install them as is?

[@decomputerleraarable]

Shouldn't you treat the shim not against moisture? For example waxing? Rob

[@JackstandJohnny]

What pen or pencil are you using?! I NEED that!

[@samstinkeringaround8961]

So I have a MIM fender jazz bass , the bridge at the E string is on the deck. what degree would you use ?

[@jonedee1022]

I've recently procured an 82 USA Peavey T-15. I noticed it had a built in adjustable neck plate, I thought "sweet, I don't have to make a shim to get the action I want". However I also noticed that raising the angle would leave A: a gap between the neck and pocket and B: leave the bottom of the neck essentially teetering on the tip of the adjustment screw. I don't think I like the thought of either of those taking place. I'm just going to use the adjustment to get it how I like, make a shim to fill the gap and balance the pressure on both sides of the adjustment screws. Any thoughts on this? Am I overly concerned about something the Peavey already considered?

[@heavymetalgoatsacrificer5631]

Can anybody help so my SG's neck Is slightly lifted where the neck meets the body I've adjust the bridge my only assumption would be the truss rod any help?

[@hondadude8510]

Is there any chance the pickup is upside down? The angle looks odd. Cheers!!

[@backlineguy]

would you ever shim the neck using the shim in the opposite direction?...essentially to 'raise' the angle of the headstock, instead of lower it?

[@TheRamsberg]

Whelp, this has prompted me to find and install a neck angle adjustment mechanism on my guitar. Goodness, they should all have one of those, or at least have one as a factory option, so much more convenient.

[@stewmac]

Convenient for sure, but a lot of adjustment mechanisms like Fender has used in the past can often create issues in the neck. We feel a solid tapered shim is the best way to go if you need to change the angle. Thanks!

[@TheRamsberg]

@@stewmac Since then, after reviewing their designs, I'd have to concur. Using wood screws as pivot points and a single contact bolt as an adjustment source would lead to destructive force concentration. Something better would be a U shaped metal plate embracing the heel of the neck, with a stout piano style hinge being the fulcrum, and then a heavy bolt with a rounded head seated in a cup on the U shaped metal sheet doing the adjusting. It'd flop around when unstrung, but be solid when up to sting tension, but would also be a bit destructive of guitar neck and body to install, also probably more hassle than it'd be worth. So, yes, where there's a will, there's a wedge!

[@howardforder4481]

I would like to see how to do the opposite! I have an acoustic Framus with a very high action. I don't need to shim... I need to get those strings back down to a playable level. Right now, anything other than open chords is difficult.

[@shotgun2a]

Put the shim in backwards.

[@deadaccount4268]

Where can I find these archtop guitars?

[@larrythebassist]

Hello. Thank you for this video. Do you guys have shims for bass guitars too? I have this same problem with my 5 string jazz bass...I live in the Caribbean...do u guys ship overseas?

[@reasonbass]

Yes, they make bass shims too.

[@DougHinVA]

use stacked.overlapped business cards at the rear of the pocket. Nearly no cost and small scissors are all you need. 3 cards would be : bottom one about 1/2 pocket length and the other 2 1/2 of the one before it

[@michaelreis8266]

Do you sell those radiused corner gauges?? They would come in handy...👍

[@bbmade]

Amazon has them. Just ordered a set, runs about $5 to $9.

[@BobbleHead90]

You and your dad are like the Steve and Bob Ross of guitars