rogerzilla

2002 to 2003.

He might call it The QAnon League.

I got my first bass last weekend and the first instinctive thing I did (as a guitar player) was to use my thumb, but it wouldn't be fast enough for many songs - it's ok for slow ones, or for pounding out the root note, which is all some bands want the bassist to do. I am learning as many techniques as I can (pick, fingers, slap) because the best one to use depends very much on the song.

Question - what do you use the tugbar for? I know they were on the earliest Fender basses, but Fender thought people would play with their thumb - this was a long time before slapping came in!

There's an actual photo here of what can happen if you shim with just a piece of card or wood at one end. https://hazeguitars.com/blog/the-perils-of-bad-neck-shims

You must have different ones to.mine, then. Mine are branded Muspor (no, me neither). The 0.5° shim measures 0.93mm at one end and 0.52mm at the other, which is reasonably close to 0.5° given these are made from wood (trig says the difference should be 0.66mm and it's 0.41mm). The shim I have is definitely one piece of wood as the grain runs through to the other side.

The OP says "some sort of ply". Without a photo from the side, I wouldn't know if they really weren't tapered, but I would be surprised if they weren't. It's not easy to see a 0.5 degree angle (the most commonly-used shim) by eye - the difference in thickness is only 0.5mm from end to end. The thick end should be upwards if you hold one so you can read the printing. Anyway, I bought the eBay ones, have used them on two Teles, and they tilt the neck just as you'd expect. They just need a little trimming/sanding of the edges, as they're too wide and overhang the pocket.

The taper is incredibly hard to make yourself. I believe one method is to attach the full-thickness shim to a thicker piece of wood with some kind of non-permanent glue, then sand it, but it's a lot of work and you probably still won't get an even angle.

I have used these shims on Teles. They are tapered, they absolutely do the job (allowing you to raise the bridge without also raising the action) and they can't be ply if they're that thin - think about what plywood is. The edges usually need a bit of sandpapering to get them to fit with no overlap. I think they are a compromise Strat/Tele fit, and the pockets of these guitars have different corners. The advantage over a piece of card is that you get full body to neck contact with no gaps, and no risk of a kink in the neck over time.

Agave Blue MIM Jazz Bass from 2003, when they still used rosewood fretboards.