squire5 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Bass is a 5 string MM clone by Harley Benton.Maple neck/fingerboard,21 frets.I had this bass playing lovely,albeit with the bridge nearly bottomed out.I've had it about 6 months and love it dearly,but 2 days ago I lifted it from its 'Ultimate' stand and knew instantly something was amiss.I can tell instinctively when something is wrong,just by the 'vibes'.The action had raised to an unacceptable level,by itself.On checking for backbow I did the 1st fret/15th fret thing and at the 8th fret,clearance was just a bawhair short on credit card thickness.Truss rod seems to be OK.I gave a quick tweak which helped,but not much.I had to bottom out the bridge to get a 'sorta' acceptable action but its not what it was. Now...The neck has a 6 bolt fixing resulting a larger than usual (longer) neck pocket.If i were to shim it,where should I locate the shim?In the usual place? Halfway along the pocket? I dont particularly want to shim it but for the purposes of (a) getting the action back to what it was and (b) future adjustments should they be required,I'll need to. Has any body any ideas how or why the the strange action thing happened in the first place?.Sorry for the diatribe guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Are all neck bolts tight, is the bridge tightened? I just had some funny sounds from my dear Vigier. Strings were old enough, and while I changed all at once, the bridge (Schaller) was loose. It moved from side to side. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire5 Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 Checked all that itu and right enough,the bridge screws needed a very small tighten.Although I'd have thought a wonky bridge would put the bass out of tune,but it wasnt.I'd like to shim the neck but not quite sure where to locate the shim,as the neck pocket is bigger than normal.Cheers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Unrelated, afraid I can't help you with your issue, but a credit card thick relief is a lot, it ought to be closer to just a business card thick relief. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 11 hours ago, squire5 said: Checked all that itu and right enough,the bridge screws needed a very small tighten.Although I'd have thought a wonky bridge would put the bass out of tune,but it wasnt.I'd like to shim the neck but not quite sure where to locate the shim,as the neck pocket is bigger than normal.Cheers! A very thin piece of card at the body end of the neck pocket should do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire5 Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 8 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said: Unrelated, afraid I can't help you with your issue, but a credit card thick relief is a lot, it ought to be closer to just a business card thick relief. I accept that but my problem is why has it changed from what it was? It went from a very comfortable action to very uncomfortable.I've managed to tweak the truss rod a bit,and lower the strings to their max just to get the original action back as best I could but I'm needing to shim the neck now in order to get a bit of adjustment back to the bridge,should I need to in the future.I cant think what could've caused this.I know its a HB but Its still a very good bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire5 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 While I'm grateful for the input guys,I'm just wondering if I could have some opinions re shimmimg the neck.A friend has recommended a full neck pocket shim to raise the neck uniformly along the full length of the pocket,which is actually 10cm front to back due to the 6 bolts.Spyder has suggested a 'normal' shim at the body end of the neck pocket,so I'm not too sure which one to follow.In truth,thats the one I would have gone for,but the full length shim sounds safer.Input welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebassmusic Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 I've shimmed a number of basses in the past and usually use something akin to a business card for approx 1/3 the length of the neck pocket and 95% full width. The shim can pretty much be anything as long as its not too compressible. I also make 2 holes in the shim for the screws to go through. I've read a number of threads on shimming on "the other bass site" where some would say that unless you use a full pocket length tapered shim made from unobtanium then you'll ruin the tone of your bass. Methinks this should be taken with a modicum of sodium chloride.🤣 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 (edited) I’ve successfully shimmed my basses before because I play with a really low action, I do the same as Acebassmusic, a strip of business card should be well enough, it’s surprising what difference it makes, I’d try that first squire5 Edited January 15 by Reggaebass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 16 hours ago, Acebassmusic said: I've read a number of threads on shimming on "the other bass site" where some would say that unless you use a full pocket length tapered shim made from unobtanium then you'll ruin the tone of your bass. Methinks this should be taken with a modicum of sodium chloride.🤣 "Talking pish" to become Olympic sport at next games? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebassmusic Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 4 hours ago, neepheid said: "Talking pish" to become Olympic sport at next games? I'm up for the Gold I think 🤔 🤣🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire5 Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 Ach awa' an dinna talk pish,the baith o'yiz.😆I'll try a full size shim and see how that goes.I'll use thin card.Should be OK. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebassmusic Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 47 minutes ago, squire5 said: Ach awa' an dinna talk pish,the baith o'yiz.😆 Very eloquently put if I may say so. 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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