Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Neck Shim - best options


tonyclaret

Recommended Posts

27 minutes ago, yorks5stringer said:

On the subject of using playing cards for a shim, does it matter what suite or indeed is a higher number better than a lower one...discuss!

Surely the only card that should ever be used is the ace of spades, the ace of spades, the ace of spades...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/18/2017 at 16:27, discreet said:

Just to be argumentative, I don't think neck construction, neck joint, bridge construction and/or attachment or tuners make any difference to how a bass sounds either, but that's just my opinion of course. When I swap out stock tuners for Hipshot Ultralites there is no difference in 'tone' and they are very different, engineering-wise.

In my view its strings, pickups and the position of the pickups that make the difference. Most basses sound a lot like... basses. :)

Well, again, just to be argumentative, I have a bad tuner on one bass that keeps coming loose, and you can tell.  It just kills the string when it does.  I don't think you need exotic materials or components, but you need components and a neck with some sort of structural integrity.  I had a bass with a big wide shallow neck once, and the whole thing felt whippy and dead compared to deeper, stiffer necks.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, converse320 said:

I have a bad tuner on one bass that keeps coming loose, and you can tell.  It just kills the string when it does.

That's a clear case of a faulty component. It's not going to do its job properly if it's broken. I still say that tuners make little or no difference to tone - if they're functioning and properly fitted, that is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reading through this thread, certainly shows a massive amount of over thinking the subject. O.o

 

I had a P bass in for repair yesterday. It needed a shim as the bridge saddles were all the way down and the action still too high.

Had the neck off, a piece of laminated card in there and all back together, perfectly adjusted within about thirty mins. Guess what? No loss of tone/sustain/volume and the action is just lovely now.  Maybe, just maybe, the card will compress a bit in a few years time and then the whole complicated job will have to be done again. xD

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, gary mac said:

.. Maybe, just maybe, the card will compress a bit in a few years time and then the whole complicated job will have to be done again. xD

Therefore, I recommend an interesting bit of card which can be guaranteed to amuse oneself or a luthier or another owner when the time comes to re-shim.

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 23/12/2017 at 10:35, gary mac said:

Reading through this thread, certainly shows a massive amount of over thinking the subject. O.o

I had a P bass in for repair yesterday. It needed a shim as the bridge saddles were all the way down and the action still too high.

Had the neck off, a piece of laminated card in there and all back together, perfectly adjusted within about thirty mins. Guess what? No loss of tone/sustain/volume and the action is just lovely now.  Maybe, just maybe, the card will compress a bit in a few years time and then the whole complicated job will have to be done again. xD

The human ear isn't the most reliable way to test if a shim makes a difference or not. The accurate way would be with a good mic and an oscilloscope plotting the data that can be analysed scientifically.  Set-necks and through-necks wouldn't exist if there was no benefit.

All that said, isn't it a matter of what's good enough?

If you're playing a solo virtuoso performance all this might make a difference. If you're in a punk band with everything going through effects playing 1/16 notes all night, who's going to care about minimal loss of sustain?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Grangur said:

The human ear isn't the most reliable way to test if a shim makes a difference or not. The accurate way would be with a good mic and an oscilloscope plotting the data that can be analysed scientifically.  Set-necks and through-necks wouldn't exist if there was no benefit.

All that said, isn't it a matter of what's good enough?

If you're playing a solo virtuoso performance all this might make a difference. If you're in a punk band with everything going through effects playing 1/16 notes all night, who's going to care about minimal loss of sustain?

 

I think you're overthinking it.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi @mcnach , 

Yes, I know I'm being a pedant.  I hope @gary mac also appreciates this. There will almost certainly be a change in the sound, but it's really so minute it's immaterial also in most bass-playing, does it matter?

If you're going to distort the sound as well, that takes it into another area again where the difference matters even less.

No offence meant to anyone, honest!

Edited by Grangur
Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Grangur said:

Hi @mcnach , 

Yes, I know I'm being a pedant.  I hope @gary mac also appreciates this. There will almost certainly be a change in the sound, but it's really so minute it's immaterial also in most bass-playing, does it matter?

If you're going to distort the sound as well, that takes it into another area again where the difference matters even less.

No offence meant to anyone, honest!

 

why would anyone take offence? We're just chatting :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/1/2018 at 09:37, Grangur said:

The human ear isn't the most reliable way to test if a shim makes a difference or not. The accurate way would be with a good mic and an oscilloscope plotting the data that can be analysed scientifically. 

You'd also have to test first whether simply taking the neck off the bass and replacing it made any difference to the sound.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

You'd also have to test first whether simply taking the neck off the bass and replacing it made any difference to the sound.

Very true. I once stripped down a Warwick. With the neck bolts removed I could still pick the bass up by the neck and the body stayed firmly attached. When re-assembled, it's very possible the sound was never the same again.

On a side-note: if the neck/pocket is tight, a shim at one end will cause damage to one or the other as the neck is forced to spoil the fit of the neck in the routed body. 

On another site someone tried to tell me that a sloppy-fit pocket didn't matter. Each to their own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...