Shims

Vince · 07-19-2006, 05:36 PM

I was about to part out my 6-string Ibanez S and sell it. About a year or so ago, I replaced the neck on the guitar with a prestige neck. The original neck played great, it just was an average neck, so I loved the look of the prestige neck & when the opportunity came for me to land one, I did.

The new neck always had a slight problem with it, the bass strings were always a bit more off the board at the higher frets than they should've been. The bridge was at the lowest point, and I'd adjusted the truss rod properly, yet I still had this problem. I played the guitar live & with the band, and I just overlooked it, because it was no real big deal.

Well, the other day Burt came over (Flesh-Eating Monkey on the board here), and we looked at some ideas. We adjusted the truss rod to have more of a bow than it had before, and Burt came up with the idea of using a business card as a 'shim' placed between the neck & body to raise up the neck. So we cut up a business card, folded one piece in half, & put it between the neck & body, then re-attached the neck. It took us a couple tries with various amounts of card to use, but once we got it right, it really improved the play on the guitar.

I had to do some minor adjustments to the trem springs, and it could use some minor intonation tweaks, but oh man, it plays amazingly well now. So well that I'm definitely keeping the guitar.

jacksonplayer · 07-19-2006, 05:51 PM

Yeah, shimming the neck is a very good and easy way of fixing a lot of problems with bolt-on necks. I even shimmed the side of the neck pocket on a 7620 on which the trem had been installed slightly off-center.

Mykie · 07-19-2006, 05:54 PM

I do the same thing to strap locks, sooner or later the peg on the guitar will loosen so you have to tighten it, so you use tooth picks and put then in the whole and break them off at the tip and skrew the strap thing back in, never again did it come loose.

Vince · 07-19-2006, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mykie

I do the same thing to strap locks, sooner or later the peg on the guitar will loosen so you have to tighten it, so you use tooth picks and put then in the whole and break them off at the tip and skrew the strap thing back in, never again did it come loose.

I had the same thing happen & took a slightly different approach... wood glue

Dylan7620 · 07-19-2006, 09:31 PM

good to hear the neck is workin out for ya vince. i had friend that stripped out his strap pegs on his les paul, we used some super glue (the real super glue that take no more than 2 drops for just about anything) and that made a synthetic thread to make it good as new.

good thing, as we had to sell it on ebay the next week.

thepunisher · 07-19-2006, 09:52 PM

i fill the holes with gorilla glue. man does that stuff kick ass

Elysian · 07-19-2006, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thepunisher

i fill the holes with gorilla glue. man does that stuff kick ass

doesn't it expand a lot for something so small? its also pretty costly...

rgsuperstrat · 07-20-2006, 04:10 AM

That customized 7 I did needed some shimming. I always use pieces of playing cards because they dont break down after time, moisture, and smoke.

metalfiend666 · 07-20-2006, 04:27 AM

Neck shims are very useful for "tweaking" indeed.

As for fixing strapbuttons, I just epoxy resin the screw in!

thepunisher · 07-20-2006, 09:55 AM

it expands slightly, and you use so little of it in the holes. but i use the glue for other things. as far as expense goes yea it cost some money, but man, there is no substitute for it

07-19-2006, 05:36 PM	#1
Vince Vince is X!!! • Super Moderator • Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Tempe, AZ Posts: 5,609 Real Name: Vince Main Seven: Ibanez Rig: Rocktron / Mesa Thanked: 112	Shims I was about to part out my 6-string Ibanez S and sell it. About a year or so ago, I replaced the neck on the guitar with a prestige neck. The original neck played great, it just was an average neck, so I loved the look of the prestige neck & when the opportunity came for me to land one, I did. The new neck always had a slight problem with it, the bass strings were always a bit more off the board at the higher frets than they should've been. The bridge was at the lowest point, and I'd adjusted the truss rod properly, yet I still had this problem. I played the guitar live & with the band, and I just overlooked it, because it was no real big deal. Well, the other day Burt came over (Flesh-Eating Monkey on the board here), and we looked at some ideas. We adjusted the truss rod to have more of a bow than it had before, and Burt came up with the idea of using a business card as a 'shim' placed between the neck & body to raise up the neck. So we cut up a business card, folded one piece in half, & put it between the neck & body, then re-attached the neck. It took us a couple tries with various amounts of card to use, but once we got it right, it really improved the play on the guitar. I had to do some minor adjustments to the trem springs, and it could use some minor intonation tweaks, but oh man, it plays amazingly well now. So well that I'm definitely keeping the guitar. THE ASYLUM VINCELUPONE.COM

07-19-2006, 05:51 PM	#2
jacksonplayer New album out now! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 3,756 Real Name: Chris Main Seven: Jackson CS Stealth-7 Rig: Fractal Audio Axe-FX Thanked: 19	Yeah, shimming the neck is a very good and easy way of fixing a lot of problems with bolt-on necks. I even shimmed the side of the neck pocket on a 7620 on which the trem had been installed slightly off-center. www.myspace.com/councilofone

07-19-2006, 05:54 PM	#3
Mykie Fatal Havoc Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,191 Real Name: MyK1E Main Seven: Ibanez S7420FMTW, RG1527BK, RG7421 Customized Rig: Vetta II & Boss GT-8 Thanked: 0	I do the same thing to strap locks, sooner or later the peg on the guitar will loosen so you have to tighten it, so you use tooth picks and put then in the whole and break them off at the tip and skrew the strap thing back in, never again did it come loose. 6-string guitarist to a 7-string guitarist

07-19-2006, 09:31 PM	#5
Dylan7620 50w of fury Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Snohomish WA Posts: 1,599 Real Name: Dil Rye Master Main Seven: RG7620GN & S7420FMTT Rig: Mesa DC-5 Thanked: 0	good to hear the neck is workin out for ya vince. i had friend that stripped out his strap pegs on his les paul, we used some super glue (the real super glue that take no more than 2 drops for just about anything) and that made a synthetic thread to make it good as new. good thing, as we had to sell it on ebay the next week. "are there gonna be snacks? i heard there were gonna be snacks."

07-19-2006, 09:52 PM	#6
thepunisher just another hairy viking Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 242 Main Seven: 2004 halo bh-vii Thanked: 0	i fill the holes with gorilla glue. man does that stuff kick ass it's true there were better ones that led their people it's true there were better ones to lead their country it's true there were better ones who cared for this world but who are we to change -unearth

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07-20-2006, 04:10 AM	#8
rgsuperstrat ss.org Regular Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Boise,ID Posts: 38 Real Name: Paul Main Seven: 1998 Ibanez RG7621 Main ERG: Dreaming of an 8 Rig: HK Vortex Half stack Thanked: 0	That customized 7 I did needed some shimming. I always use pieces of playing cards because they dont break down after time, moisture, and smoke.

07-20-2006, 04:27 AM	#9
metalfiend666 Mod Britannia Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Basildon, Essex, England Posts: 9,615 Real Name: James Main Seven: Death Warrior/KXK Sii-7 Rig: Dual Rec->Trace 3x12 Thanked: 43	Neck shims are very useful for "tweaking" indeed. As for fixing strapbuttons, I just epoxy resin the screw in! Ibanez 540S7 for sale

07-20-2006, 09:55 AM	#10
thepunisher just another hairy viking Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 242 Main Seven: 2004 halo bh-vii Thanked: 0	it expands slightly, and you use so little of it in the holes. but i use the glue for other things. as far as expense goes yea it cost some money, but man, there is no substitute for it

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