Shimming neck pocket to raise neck

[shoulderpet]

Hi all

I have just ordered the first part for my upcoming bass build, the neck.

 

I hate satin finish necks and particularly if they are untinted pale maple and the only reasonably priced tinted gloss neck I could find has a heel access truss rod.

 

I know sometimes with this type of neck you can just take off the pickguard to get to the truss rod but my Fender that has the same type of truss rod access I have to remove the whole neck.

 

With this in mind I am anticipating having to shim the neck to raise it in the pocket so that I can adjust the truss rod without having to unscrew the neck.

 

I would just like to raise the neck a bit without affecting the neck angle if possible, what is the best way to shim to achieve this?

 

Thanks

[mybass]

Any shim will change the angle and Fender bass owners used to stick a piece of 'lollipop' stick in the neck pocket to raise the neck a little and help with the string height/action/playability.

Shims of various thickness can be bought online (Ebay or Stewmac USA). Or....if the look doesn't bother you, route or drill out a channel in the body (and pickguard) to facilitate access to the truss rod.

Heaps better than unscrewing the neck all the time. 

[BigRedX]

Any shim that raises the neck enough to give you access to the truss rod adjustment will require you to also raise the bridge by an unfeasible amount.

 

You are much better off routing a slot in the body at the end of the neck pocket to give you access.

 

And TBH unless you live somewhere with extremes of weather (I don't think Croydon is quite there yet), or you regularly change the makes and gauges of the strings you fit, once you've got the relief right you should never need to touch the truss rod again.

[fretmeister]

Definitely rout out a slot for rod access.

 

You'd have to raise the neck in the pocket by at least half a centimetre, maybe more otherwise.

[shoulderpet]

Thanks for the replies, sounds like a truss rod access rout is the way to go

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

If the truss rod adjustment is of the type with a cross at the end rather than a hexagonal hole for an allen key, once you have the appropriate cutout in the body (and pickguard) it can still be tricky to get a screwdriver in there for adjustment without causing damage, but there is a handy tool available from Stewmac that makes adjustment a doddle:

 

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-truss-rods/truss-rod-crank-for-tele

 

I use one for my JMJ mustang. Mine came via a UK seller on ebay who had a few of these for sale.

[shoulderpet]

17 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

If the truss rod adjustment is of the type with a cross at the end rather than a hexagonal hole for an allen key, once you have the appropriate cutout in the body (and pickguard) it can still be tricky to get a screwdriver in there for adjustment without causing damage, but there is a handy tool available from Stewmac that makes adjustment a doddle:

 

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-truss-rods/truss-rod-crank-for-tele

 

I use one for my JMJ mustang. Mine came via a UK seller on ebay who had a few of these for sale.

Thanks, I have one of these that I got for my classic 50s P bass and was hoping to be able to get to the truss rod with it by removing the pickguard as some people have been able to do but im about a mm shy of being able to get to it

[NancyJohnson]

On 20/06/2022 at 16:34, fretmeister said:

Definitely rout out a slot for rod access.

 

You'd have to raise the neck in the pocket by at least half a centimetre, maybe more otherwise.

 

Absolutely 100% this ^^^

 

There clearly are instances in early Fenders where Leo didn't get it right.  I can understand it from a design perspective; it just keeps everything smooth at the headstock end, but it is a major ball-ache to take the neck off, tweak, put the neck back on, set up, swear a bit, and repeat.

[shoulderpet]

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

Absolutely 100% this ^^^

 

There clearly are instances in early Fenders where Leo didn't get it right.  I can understand it from a design perspective; it just keeps everything smooth at the headstock end, but it is a major ball-ache to take the neck off, tweak, put the neck back on, set up, swear a bit, and repeat.

Yep, really in hindsight what he should have done if he wanted it to all look neat is had the bodies fitted with a rout to adjust the truss rod and left the pickguard without a truss rod notch, that way it covers the rout and keeps it looking neat and you just have to lift the pickguard to get access to the truss rod, much less hassle than having to remove the neck, put the neck back on, check the relief and then remove the neck again if you got it wrong the first time

[neepheid]

19 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

There clearly are instances in early Fenders where Leo didn't get it right.

 

Blasphemy!  Burn the witch!

 

Etc.

 

[Maude]

Taking the neck off a Fender to adjust the trussrod is an even more stupid idea than the intonation adjustment screws on a classic Rickenbacker bridge. 

[BlueMoon]

2 hours ago, Maude said:

Taking the neck off a Fender to adjust the trussrod is an even more stupid idea than the intonation adjustment screws on a classic Rickenbacker bridge. 

Yes....totally agree, a real PITA in both cases. I'm amazed at how long both design limitations stayed on their instruments when it was clear that alternative (better) solutions could be engineered. Tail lift on the original Rick bridge is another "unique" design feature.