Bass neck shim

[johnbsharp]

I want to install a better bridge on a fender mex bass and need to shim popsicle sticks to raise to the needed height .Will this effect resonance/sustain?Any advice is appreciated! I'm converting to a string through body.

[Brian]

Personally I would consider putting in a custom wedge shim, it may take you longer to make by hand sanding down a piece of wood but once you have shimed it in the first place to see how much you need, you'll know what thickness to make the leading edge of the shim.

The more contact area, the better the resonance and vibration will travel.

Your going to gain a bit converting to a string through body as well

[soapbarstrat]

I use a router to make full-sized tapered shims, but it's a lot of set-up work. You can use just about any hardwood, but maple is real dense, so the thinner end of the shim is a little tougher than something like mahogany. I never made one out of mahogany, but I would assume it would be very very brittle when sized that thin.

There's also the issue of a partial shim causing the neck to "kink". Some say it happens. Worked on some guys cheap chinese squire bass a few years ago that got on my nerves because he wanted his action lowered. The only way to do that was to shim the neck. He didn't want to pay what I charge for a full-sized shim, so I said I wood stick a partial shim in there. Then he says he doesn't want that because he had it like that but removed the shim because he heard the neck can 'kink' from it. But he still wanted the action lower (bridge adjustment wouldn't do it alone). I got tired of his crap and put a partial shim and charged him a very low price since I couldn't perform the impossible for him. I guess he thought I would eventually "give in " and do the full-sized shim dirt cheap, but forget that. I wanted that bass off my bench to make room for the next job.

[johnbsharp]

I have aquestion about wedge or tapered shim?Won't this change the parralel distance between strings and neck at the thick end of shim vs. a flat shim that won't change the pitch? Thanks alot on your help!