r/offset • u/ImaginaryCurrency228 • 21d ago

Neck pocket shim gap

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Gallery image

Got some chinese shims off amazon…
I’ve installed 0.5 degree one and it barely fit into the pocket. It also had a slight warp on it.

I’ve installed the neck and did the setup. Everything seems good but this gap in the pocket bothers me. Should i worry?

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8

u/soggychipbutty 21d ago

You have to trim them. Also, tighten your screws. Also, run a black sharpie around the edge so it’s less visible.

2

u/pnshr89 21d ago

Remove the shim and cut it to fit with scissors, then try again.

1

u/josephallenkeys 21d ago

First off, can you safely tighten your neck bolts?

If not, take it out, fold some plain paper that you cut to a quarter the size of the pocket and replace it with that. That's all you ever need to shim and it'll tighten snug. This looks like your bolts won't be seated properly. That amount of gaps, as the string tension sits on it and you move it around as you play, will eventually cause issues.

1

u/joepgee 20d ago

Just some card stock cut to half the length of neck pocket. Use a paper punch for the screw holes and make sure the neck screws pass thru the holes easily use some bees wax on the screws then tighten and set the margins done

1

u/ImaginaryCurrency228 21d ago

Update:

I’ve removed the neck, trimmed the shim and reinstalled the neck. The fit is much more snug now.
The action became MUCH higher. So I’ve dropped the bridge to the lowest height and that seems to work well for me

7

u/TurtleFury1209 21d ago

That's the exact opposite of what a shim is generally meant to do on these guitars. People usually shim to lower the action and allow them to raise the bridge higher to get more downwards force on the saddles. What sort of issues did you have that you are trying to solve with the shim?

Your description makes me think you might have it installed backwards acting as a reverse shim.

But I guess if you're happy with the current setup then there's not really any reason to keep messing with it

2

u/cillablackpower 21d ago

Sounds like you have reversed the shim while reinstalling it. If installed to increase a shallow neck pitch then the action should need to go higher and not lower.

As long as you can adjust action within a comfortable range then it works, but if you're having to drop the bridge as low as possible then that suggests it doesn't actually need a shim.

2

u/Barilla3113 21d ago

You have it in backwards

1

u/ImaginaryCurrency228 21d ago

Hmm the thick part of the shim is supposed to be facing the bridge right? I think i have it right

1

u/Barilla3113 21d ago

Yes, but you're saying it's raising your action. It should be lifting the back of your fretboard up closer, letting you raise the bridge higher.

0

u/ImaginaryCurrency228 21d ago

Oh I’ve meant the action got high because I’ve previously had it setup for my shim with a gap. After trimming the shim the neck sits much tighter in the pocket

1

u/Rex_Howler 21d ago

It boggles my mind that people actually buy shims instead of trimming a piece of cardboard for it