Are those pictures with the shim in?
FWIW, the nut seems way too high! But that can be solved later.
PitBull Builds: FVB-4, LP-1SS, FBM-1, AG-2, TB-4, SSCM-1, TLA-1,TL-1TB, STA-1HT, DSCM-1 Truckster, ST-1, STA-1, MBM-1, MBM custom, GHR-1 (Resonator), FH-5V (Acoustic).
Scratch Builds: Pine Explorer, Axe Bass, Mr Scary, Scratchy Tele's.
The little voices in my head keep telling me "build more guitars"
These are picture of it without anything in the pocket, straight to neck. I tried again with the shim kit I bought off eBay, it only improved to about 7mm so this is where the block from donner neck comes in. I'm at a loss to how to move forward, if I buy more shims the angle will increase but if I transpose the angle it can be reduced, although how many shims will I be putting into the pocket to correct this?
Once again I'm at a loss more parts means more money, of which I have nothing. The block does correct the issue but it is too large and at an angle which I'll have to correct with sanding down. Part of me wishes I never have bought this kit but on the other hand if it is finished and works correctly it will be one of kind, my very own baritone.
Last edited by Pendragon; 27-09-2023 at 02:41 PM.
Try Simon's credit card (or any hard plastic, even thick card should work!) solution. You may need to have 2 (or 3) layers. For 2 layers, Cut a strip of card to fit into the end of the pocket and be just over half the length of the pocket long (about 4 cm). For the next layer cut the card to fit the end of the pocket and be about 1.5 cm long. So, when in position they create a sequence of steps to rotate the neck angle around the top of the neck pocket. If you can lift the end of the neck by about 2 mm, the headstock will drop by about 8 mm - which hopefully will be enough.
I have needed to shim the neck of a couple of my builds - and I always used strips of plastic. Not fancy, but it worked.
Out of interest, what type of eBay shim do you have?
Last edited by Trevor Davies; 27-09-2023 at 06:26 PM.
PitBull Builds: FVB-4, LP-1SS, FBM-1, AG-2, TB-4, SSCM-1, TLA-1,TL-1TB, STA-1HT, DSCM-1 Truckster, ST-1, STA-1, MBM-1, MBM custom, GHR-1 (Resonator), FH-5V (Acoustic).
Scratch Builds: Pine Explorer, Axe Bass, Mr Scary, Scratchy Tele's.
The little voices in my head keep telling me "build more guitars"
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/26631770...mis&media=COPYOriginally Posted by Trevor Davies
Was it the 1 degree shim?
PitBull Builds: FVB-4, LP-1SS, FBM-1, AG-2, TB-4, SSCM-1, TLA-1,TL-1TB, STA-1HT, DSCM-1 Truckster, ST-1, STA-1, MBM-1, MBM custom, GHR-1 (Resonator), FH-5V (Acoustic).
Scratch Builds: Pine Explorer, Axe Bass, Mr Scary, Scratchy Tele's.
The little voices in my head keep telling me "build more guitars"
The pictures make things a lot clearer. I think I see a potential solution that is not expensive, but may be time consuming.
If I am seeing this right, the neck would be just about right if you had a Tele or hard-tail-strat bridge. You have a Fender neck, and Fender pocket. You have Gibson style pups and a Gibson LP style TOM bridge. The TOM bridge sits much higher than a Fender bridge would.
What would fix it is a block sitting between the neck and the bottom of the pocket. I don't think it should be angled or wedge shaped. Just a plain block. The block will need to be pretty thick, maybe around a centimeter or even a pit more. It will need to be shaped so that it fits the neck pocket pretty much exactly.
If it were me I'd rough out the block out of something like poplar or basswood. Something cheap, tight grained and easy to work. You'll need to get longer screws as well.
Once you have everything you need to mount the neck, I would try to do a setup on everything but the nut, using a capo at the first fret. If you can get it set up to the point where it feels about right with the capo in place, I'd paint the block's visible sides, put it in place and do the nut setup.
OTHER things you might try...
You may be able to find a low profile tune-o-matic made for Tele's with Bigsby style trems. They exist, but I had trouble finding one, and that may mean they are expensive.
Another simple approach might be to find a Telecaster "short bridge" that you can cut slots in with a rotary tool so that the strings can go to your trem. You'd have to figure out what to do about the holes where the posts were, but there are several options for that, particularly on a solid finish guitar.
But I'd try the block first, since it's the cheapest ;-)
You should not give up. It will be a cool and unique guitar, and one way or another this problem is probably solvable without breaking the bank!
Last edited by fender3x; 28-09-2023 at 11:24 AM.
wow, your nut is stratospherically high. Shave it off at the bottom. The string height at the first fret shout be .020 over low E and .010 over high E. This is regardless of what you do with the bridge or neck relief or anything. If you press 3rd fret, there should be very little movement at the 1st, barely noticeable. Then make sure your neck is straight, there is 0 relief. Then I would get the mustang bridge instead. another 20-25 bucks you'd need to fork out unfortunately.These are picture of it without anything in the pocket, straight to neck. I tried again with the shim kit I bought off eBay, it only improved to about 7mm so this is where the block from donner neck comes in. I'm at a loss to how to move forward, if I buy more shims the angle will increase but if I transpose the angle it can be reduced, although how many shims will I be putting into the pocket to correct this?
Once again I'm at a loss more parts means more money, of which I have nothing. The block does correct the issue but it is too large and at an angle which I'll have to correct with sanding down. Part of me wishes I never have bought this kit but on the other hand if it is finished and works correctly it will be one of kind, my very own baritone.
another thing you can do is to drill bigger diameter holes under the studs to sink them lower. I've seen that done
Yeah, the nut looks high, but when doing a setup the nut is either the last or next-to-last thing to adjust. That is particularly the case here, because the action is high everywhere. The first thing to address to get the height correct at the bridge. Since the stock bridge will not adjust lower, if you are going to use it, you have to raise the neck first.
But the point Paul is raising is a good one. It's the reason for putting a capo between the nut and first fret while you get the action at the bridge sorted. The capo takes the nut out of the equation. Next step will to be to get the truss rod set. Then you can address the action at the nut using the method Paul suggests or by cutting the slots deeper or both.
That could be done, but I'd be inclined to use longer screws first. Less invasive, and it's generally a good idea to replace the stock screws (that are cheap metal) with stainless steel anyway ;-)another thing you can do is to drill bigger diameter holes under the studs to sink them lower. I've seen that done
Wilkinson makes a very cool replacement bridge (model WBTBR3) for Teles that might solve your problem without a shim.
https://wilkinsondirect.com/collecti...alist-bridges/
It has individually adjustable saddles, roller saddles, and a low back to work with a trem. I often like Wilkinson because they are generally good quality at a reasonable price...but in this case it's about $200 US. You could make a lot of shims for $200 so if it were me, I'd still shim. The good parts about starting with a shim are that they are an easy fix and all other approaches are still open to you afterwards if you don't like the result.
I do it first. Set and forget so to say. Then I go as per TRAIN system and never go back to nut. But I guess it can be done at any time.
I strongly advise against cutting dipper slots in the nut. Only if you 100% know what you're doing and have done a million nuts before. The shape of the cut, its angle etc are super important. It's part of the whole playability and tone equation (or coupling as pros call it). I use actual strings, short pieces of them glued to paddle pops' edges, to slightly deepen the wound strings slots if they are too shallow and can potentially pop off.
I just compared the bridge heights. Tunomatic bridge has 15mm from bottom to saddle top, Mustang has 9mm. Tells you everything you need to know. These design features are there for a reason. Leo arrived at these figures after a long and careful research. Some people think they know better. Oh well. I find that yes, you can fiddle with the original design and sort of make it all work by cutting, shimming, trimming etc. But it will inevitably effect tuning stability, playability and possibly even your tone.
an interesting book to read about guitar design I would recommend "electric guitar and bass design". The guy really knows his stuff
Last edited by PaulFromSydney; 03-10-2023 at 06:49 AM.
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