This looks exactly like what I need to do with my Fender Stratocastor for it's similar problem. I have ordered a set of maple shims, to use one of them. Incidently my Stratocastor is the same color as this Squire you worked on. Thank you.
I know this was unintended, but your videos have a particular ASMR type vibe to them. The sounds of your voice, background noises, and tools are all very relaxing. :)
Here's one I made earlier is of course a reference to the children's tv show Blue Peter. Check out Half Man Half Biscuit's 99% of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd for further reading.
Enjoyed the video, very informative. My question is about the Hardwood for the Neck Pocket Shim. In California, locating this type of material is difficult. Is there a particular type of wood (veneer?) that I should be searching for? The guitar I need to shim is a Squire CV VI Please advise, thanks
Any hardwood will do. If you can get hold of veneers then that should be fine, if they are a little too thin you could double it up. Although it's probably ideal to use hardwood for the resonance and transfer of the sound from neck to body, I tend to think of this: if the guitar is unusable because of the high action then surely it's better to shim the neck with whatever you can get hold of than have a guitar that's not usable or inspiring to play... Food for thought maybe.. (I'm sure many would disagree !)
Hey Paul, are we to understand (we know nothing about guitars or musical instruments what so ever did grow up next door to the Fender manufacturing plants in Fullerton California) that the material of the neck warped then? We use the credit-cards in a similar fashion we just notice they have the best thickness to work with and as your did and shared put material into tight places with great hand control.
Your guess is as good as mine. It could have moved over the years, or be poorly set up when it was made, or maybe someone had replaced the neck or modified it at some point in its history.
Good Video. Very informative. How did you get the angle on the shim? Or may be it wasn`t angled at all, just a plain wood surface. Where can I buy such think layer of wood to start with? Thanks
It's quite tricky. Yes it is angled. It was a while ago now, but I think I doubled sided taped a thin piece of wood onto a thinker piece that I could hold safely, then sanded it at an angle on a belt sander. You can actually buy them. I've seen them at stewmac.com
thanks ! would a shim to change the angle in the opposite direction (i.e., angle towards the strings) work just as well? the issue i have is that the strings make too much contact with the neck, even with saddles adjusted
I would have a look at a couple of other things before you shim the neck. How straight is the neck? It may be that the strings touch in one place if the neck is bowed backwards, in which case the truss rod may need adjusting to have less relief. Also if the strings touch nearer the nut, it may be that the nut is worn down, or someone tried to lower it, if you don't know the history. You may be able to replace the nut, or adjust if it is adjustable (there are a few out there that do on bass guitars). One other thing, if it touches at one fret, have a look to see if that fret hasn't loosened up and come away from the fret board a little.
Hi there I'm having terrible issues with my Squier Strat after reassembly due to giving it a relic.. How thick does the shim have to be and does it need to be angled.
Hi Anthony, the size of the shim depends on how much you want the neck angled and therefore the action lowered. Does it definitely need a shim? When you put it together are the strings way to high over the fretboard? Can you lower the height enough with the bridge adjustment screws? If you do need a shim then start with a very thin one, you can start with a small rectangle of cardboard (maybe 1 or 2 mm thick) just placed right in the back of the pocket towards the pickups. This will give you an idea of whether you need a shim or not. As to whether to angle it. If you are making it yourself it's very difficult to angle, but it does give you more contact between the neck and body, which should give you more resonance between the neck and body. You can try it out with cardboard and see if you notice any deterioration of tone. Hope that helps.
Hello there, thanks for the comment. Shimming the neck changes the angle from the nut to the bridge, so there is no difference at the nut, that stays the same, but as you go towards the bridge shimming the neck will reduce the angle between the strings and the fret board. So that has the effect of making the string height closer to the fret board.
Just purchased a Squier FSR Strat in surf green it has a single bridge pickup and a hardtail bridge. It has this exact issue. It's appalling quality control really. I can lower the action however the grub screws on the saddles are already sticking out an with cut my hand to pieces if I play it. It's going to need a neck shim. It's the 1st guitar I've ever purchased that has needed this.
There might be. But trial and error is the easiest way. It takes a little longer, as you have to assemble and restring to bring it up to tension so you can see what effect it has. If you want to find out before you make or buy a shim then I would use a thin card and paper right at the end of the neck (about 5mm to 1cm wide) so that it tips the neck without actually making a shim. Then you can measure the thickness, which gives you the thickness at the big end of the wedge, (that assumes the thin end is practically zero).
I have a Squier Affinity Strat that needs shimmed. I'm looking on Stewmac for shims. By any chance, what angle did you use? I don't wanna overshoot it, but I also want my action lowered quite a bit. My strings also sit almost right at 2.5mm above the frets (measured at the 21st fret).
Hi there, I’m afraid I can’t remember the angle of the shim. But this may help: it will take time, but if you use a temporary shim made from card and only use a strip about 5mm wide placed at the far end of the pocket. Then you can test the optimum height by stacking 1 or 2 bits of card, and strips of paper. This requires you reassembling, restringing the guitar a couple of times. You can then measure the height of the stack of card/paper, which will give you the height "difference" of the shim. From stewmacs website the shim sizes are as follows: Taper specs (approximate) 0.25-degree shim tapers from 0.030" to 0.019" (0.76mm to 0.48mm) 0.5-degree shim tapers from 0.028" to 0.008" (0.71mm to 0.20mm) 1-degree shim tapers from 0.060" to 0.010" (1.52mm to 0.25mm). For example if your stack measured 0.28mm then the shim angle will be 0.25 degrees (calculated by 0.76mm-0.48mm = 0.28mm). You will need some way of measuring the stack though. If you just want to take a chance go for the thinnest one….or buy 2 of the thinnest ones.
@@pauljazzbass awesome thank you! I went ahead and got a 3 pack of various angles to try out 😁 I saw that the .5° was the most common but figured I'd get the pack so that I would have extra on-hand in case I need more. This was very helpful! Thanks again!
@Matthieu Hullodhur no problem! Of course every guitar is a little different. I probably could have gotten away with a mixture of them but the .5 was a happy medium. My only complaint is that when I got my guitar re-fretted, they set it up with a higher action than what I prefer. Other than that though it plays so much better and my picking hand is further away from the body/pickguard
@Matthieu Hullodhur yeah, a shim should definitely help. In my case, the saddles sat REALLY low. like to the point that the saddle height screws would cut TF out of my hands if I wasn't careful in my playing. shimming should create a better angle to have as little screw length as possible coming out the tops of the saddles. And then if your action is too high then of course you should be able to lower the saddles again, adjust the neck, etc. I think in my case since I made my Squier a drop C guitar it kind of limited my luthier when re-fretting and setting it up which is why my strings are still a bit higher than I prefer. I still might ask about it though to see if anything can be done to lower the overall string height without getting a sitar effect on my higher 3 strings
This looks exactly like what I need to do with my Fender Stratocastor for it's similar problem. I have ordered a set of maple shims, to use one of them. Incidently my Stratocastor is the same color as this Squire you worked on. Thank you.
I know this was unintended, but your videos have a particular ASMR type vibe to them. The sounds of your voice, background noises, and tools are all very relaxing. :)
Thank you.....I think😁
This is so relaxing...
Best video my Squire neck is identical to this.
Thanks 👊💥😁
This is the best thing you should do to your guitar, the results are priceless
Thank you.
Excellent video! Thank you so much!
Thank you.
Here's one I made earlier is of course a reference to the children's tv show Blue Peter. Check out Half Man Half Biscuit's 99% of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd for further reading.
Half Man Half Biscuit rule ,first heard them on a Peel session.
I shim everything!
While you were at it you should have oiled the machine heads too.they're literally sqeeking out for it.
Enjoyed the video, very informative.
My question is about the Hardwood for the Neck Pocket Shim.
In California, locating this type of material is difficult. Is there a particular type of wood (veneer?) that I should be searching for?
The guitar I need to shim is a Squire CV VI
Please advise, thanks
Any hardwood will do. If you can get hold of veneers then that should be fine, if they are a little too thin you could double it up. Although it's probably ideal to use hardwood for the resonance and transfer of the sound from neck to body, I tend to think of this: if the guitar is unusable because of the high action then surely it's better to shim the neck with whatever you can get hold of than have a guitar that's not usable or inspiring to play... Food for thought maybe.. (I'm sure many would disagree !)
Hey Paul, are we to understand (we know nothing about guitars or musical instruments what so ever did grow up next door to the Fender manufacturing plants in Fullerton California) that the material of the neck warped then? We use the credit-cards in a similar fashion we just notice they have the best thickness to work with and as your did and shared put material into tight places with great hand control.
Your guess is as good as mine. It could have moved over the years, or be poorly set up when it was made, or maybe someone had replaced the neck or modified it at some point in its history.
@@pauljazzbass Thank you, just learning new things so we ask a question, you are very knowledgeable and we thank you. P & L.
Good Video. Very informative. How did you get the angle on the shim? Or may be it wasn`t angled at all, just a plain wood surface. Where can I buy such think layer of wood to start with?
Thanks
It's quite tricky. Yes it is angled. It was a while ago now, but I think I doubled sided taped a thin piece of wood onto a thinker piece that I could hold safely, then sanded it at an angle on a belt sander. You can actually buy them. I've seen them at stewmac.com
thanks ! would a shim to change the angle in the opposite direction (i.e., angle towards the strings) work just as well? the issue i have is that the strings make too much contact with the neck, even with saddles adjusted
I would have a look at a couple of other things before you shim the neck. How straight is the neck? It may be that the strings touch in one place if the neck is bowed backwards, in which case the truss rod may need adjusting to have less relief. Also if the strings touch nearer the nut, it may be that the nut is worn down, or someone tried to lower it, if you don't know the history. You may be able to replace the nut, or adjust if it is adjustable (there are a few out there that do on bass guitars). One other thing, if it touches at one fret, have a look to see if that fret hasn't loosened up and come away from the fret board a little.
i appreciate it, thank you !!@@pauljazzbass
Hi there I'm having terrible issues with my Squier Strat after reassembly due to giving it a relic.. How thick does the shim have to be and does it need to be angled.
Hi Anthony, the size of the shim depends on how much you want the neck angled and therefore the action lowered. Does it definitely need a shim? When you put it together are the strings way to high over the fretboard? Can you lower the height enough with the bridge adjustment screws? If you do need a shim then start with a very thin one, you can start with a small rectangle of cardboard (maybe 1 or 2 mm thick) just placed right in the back of the pocket towards the pickups. This will give you an idea of whether you need a shim or not. As to whether to angle it. If you are making it yourself it's very difficult to angle, but it does give you more contact between the neck and body, which should give you more resonance between the neck and body. You can try it out with cardboard and see if you notice any deterioration of tone. Hope that helps.
Nice video.. question: how does shimming the neck affect the nut height?
Hello there, thanks for the comment. Shimming the neck changes the angle from the nut to the bridge, so there is no difference at the nut, that stays the same, but as you go towards the bridge shimming the neck will reduce the angle between the strings and the fret board. So that has the effect of making the string height closer to the fret board.
Just purchased a Squier FSR Strat in surf green it has a single bridge pickup and a hardtail bridge. It has this exact issue. It's appalling quality control really. I can lower the action however the grub screws on the saddles are already sticking out an with cut my hand to pieces if I play it. It's going to need a neck shim. It's the 1st guitar I've ever purchased that has needed this.
Is there a calculation you perform to determine the thickness/angle of your shim?
There might be. But trial and error is the easiest way. It takes a little longer, as you have to assemble and restring to bring it up to tension so you can see what effect it has. If you want to find out before you make or buy a shim then I would use a thin card and paper right at the end of the neck (about 5mm to 1cm wide) so that it tips the neck without actually making a shim. Then you can measure the thickness, which gives you the thickness at the big end of the wedge, (that assumes the thin end is practically zero).
Start thinner than you think. It's surprising how much difference it makes.
I have a Squier Affinity Strat that needs shimmed. I'm looking on Stewmac for shims. By any chance, what angle did you use? I don't wanna overshoot it, but I also want my action lowered quite a bit. My strings also sit almost right at 2.5mm above the frets (measured at the 21st fret).
Hi there, I’m afraid I can’t remember the angle of the shim. But this may help: it will take time, but if you use a temporary shim made from card and only use a strip about 5mm wide placed at the far end of the pocket. Then you can test the optimum height by stacking 1 or 2 bits of card, and strips of paper. This requires you reassembling, restringing the guitar a couple of times. You can then measure the height of the stack of card/paper, which will give you the height "difference" of the shim. From stewmacs website the shim sizes are as follows: Taper specs (approximate)
0.25-degree shim tapers from 0.030" to 0.019" (0.76mm to 0.48mm)
0.5-degree shim tapers from 0.028" to 0.008" (0.71mm to 0.20mm)
1-degree shim tapers from 0.060" to 0.010" (1.52mm to 0.25mm).
For example if your stack measured 0.28mm then the shim angle will be 0.25 degrees (calculated by 0.76mm-0.48mm = 0.28mm).
You will need some way of measuring the stack though. If you just want to take a chance go for the thinnest one….or buy 2 of the thinnest ones.
@@pauljazzbass awesome thank you! I went ahead and got a 3 pack of various angles to try out 😁 I saw that the .5° was the most common but figured I'd get the pack so that I would have extra on-hand in case I need more. This was very helpful! Thanks again!
@Matthieu Hullodhur I went with the .5 degree one.
@Matthieu Hullodhur no problem! Of course every guitar is a little different. I probably could have gotten away with a mixture of them but the .5 was a happy medium. My only complaint is that when I got my guitar re-fretted, they set it up with a higher action than what I prefer. Other than that though it plays so much better and my picking hand is further away from the body/pickguard
@Matthieu Hullodhur yeah, a shim should definitely help. In my case, the saddles sat REALLY low. like to the point that the saddle height screws would cut TF out of my hands if I wasn't careful in my playing. shimming should create a better angle to have as little screw length as possible coming out the tops of the saddles. And then if your action is too high then of course you should be able to lower the saddles again, adjust the neck, etc. I think in my case since I made my Squier a drop C guitar it kind of limited my luthier when re-fretting and setting it up which is why my strings are still a bit higher than I prefer. I still might ask about it though to see if anything can be done to lower the overall string height without getting a sitar effect on my higher 3 strings
his is wrong! as a gasket, you need to use an elastic band from your underpants or a cigarette butt! And you offer the way of any stewmac)))))))))))
Cardboard will do just as good 👍