Stewmac shims

For help with setups and other technical issues.
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soul1
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Stewmac shims

Post by soul1 » Thu Jul 09, 2020 1:51 pm

I was hoping to grab a Stewmac wood shim for my Jaguar. They offer three sizes, 0.25, 0.50, and 1 degree. What size are people using? I'm thinking the 1 degree may be too much?

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adamrobertt
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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by adamrobertt » Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:10 pm

I think 1 degree is perfect but it kinda depends on the guitar and your preference. Some people prefer the .5.

A few of the modern Jazzmasters come with a 1 degree neck pocket, if that helps at all.

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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by Larry Mal » Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:16 pm

I have found the 1 degree to be most useful, but on at least one of my guitars it was the inappropriate size, and I had to go to a .5 degree.

They used to sell them in mixed packs, and that's why. If I was buying only one size, though, I would still take the chance on 1 degree.
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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by Embenny » Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:34 pm

If you don't mind spending the extra money, two 0.5s add up to 1 degree. I've used all 3 sizes during setups on my guitars- 0.75 was perfect for one of my jags, but two 0.5s would likely cover whatever you need.
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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by timtam » Thu Jul 09, 2020 7:15 pm

Buying a 1deg and a 0.5deg probably gives you the most flexibility. I think 1deg will often work best, but if you had to add the extra 0.5 you could, or you can go down to just 0.5 if 1deg is too much. Maybe if I had one of the guitars that already has a 1deg pocket but still I needed a bit more, I would get 0.25 and 0.5.
Last edited by timtam on Fri Jul 10, 2020 1:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by ChrisDesign » Fri Jul 10, 2020 12:48 am

adamrobertt wrote:
Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:10 pm
I think 1 degree is perfect but it kinda depends on the guitar and your preference. Some people prefer the .5.

A few of the modern Jazzmasters come with a 1 degree neck pocket, if that helps at all.
1 degree may be too much. I have a 0.5 degree shim and it is too high. My saddle raised drastically and my Humbucker is cranked to its maximum height. I have pickup rings as well, so if I had the Player’s scratchplate mounting my Humbucker would be too low. I will install a 0.25 degree shim if/ when I order from Stew Mac again.

Maybe my neck pocket is slightly higher than other people? That would account for the difference.
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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by adamrobertt » Fri Jul 10, 2020 2:27 am

ChrisDesign wrote:
Fri Jul 10, 2020 12:48 am
adamrobertt wrote:
Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:10 pm
I think 1 degree is perfect but it kinda depends on the guitar and your preference. Some people prefer the .5.

A few of the modern Jazzmasters come with a 1 degree neck pocket, if that helps at all.
1 degree may be too much. I have a 0.5 degree shim and it is too high. My saddle raised drastically and my Humbucker is cranked to its maximum height. I have pickup rings as well, so if I had the Player’s scratchplate mounting my Humbucker would be too low. I will install a 0.25 degree shim if/ when I order from Stew Mac again.

Maybe my neck pocket is slightly higher than other people? That would account for the difference.
Well, I've built two parts Jazzmasters and I also own two Fender Jazzmasters. Two have 1 degree shims and the other two have 1 degree neck pockets. They're all set up perfectly and they all have similar bridge heights. YMMV I guess.

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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by Flurko » Fri Jul 10, 2020 3:40 am

I bought the 1 degree one, it works well but I had to rise the pickups and the bridge by quite a lot.

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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by adamrobertt » Fri Jul 10, 2020 3:46 am

Flurko wrote:
Fri Jul 10, 2020 3:40 am
I bought the 1 degree one, it works well but I had to rise the pickups and the bridge by quite a lot.
Well, that's kinda the point of the shim - to raise the bridge. The pickups have to come up as a result, but that's to be expected.

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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by Flurko » Fri Jul 10, 2020 3:50 am

adamrobertt wrote:
Fri Jul 10, 2020 3:46 am
Flurko wrote:
Fri Jul 10, 2020 3:40 am
I bought the 1 degree one, it works well but I had to rise the pickups and the bridge by quite a lot.
Well, that's kinda the point of the shim - to raise the bridge. The pickups have to come up as a result, but that's to be expected.
Yes, that was also the point, my bridge was flush on the pickguard, it just felt weird to raise the pickups so far from the body to have a good sound, compared to my other guitars.

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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by jorri » Fri Jul 10, 2020 3:56 am

If you know how much you want the bridge raised, you can approximate with some maths. There are some dimensions in specs.

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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by Mitch T » Fri Jul 10, 2020 9:05 am

On my guitar, I could have a setup without a shim, but bridge ultra low and high E popping out when bending high up the fretboard.
With a. 5° shim and a nice action, bridge is just high enough to get enough tension on the strings.

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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by gila_crisis » Thu Nov 19, 2020 7:01 am

I've ordered a 0.5 shim from Stewmac, shall be here next week.
On my MIJ JM I already have a Mastery installed, but after reading a bit of comment on the net I thought adding a shim will make the setup better.
I did almost order also a .25, but after reading a bit what people are using on JM, I see that most people install a o.5.
I'll let you know my experience as soon I've installed it.

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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by bodhi » Thu Nov 19, 2020 9:53 am

I ended up buying one of each, and buy separate ones to actually use on the guitar once I figured out which ones I need, but I can essentially walk over to a store for these. And have a few guitars planned to build and work with...
Jazzmaster project (got a body, placeholder neck, some pickups and ideas)
Tokai Telecaster Thinline with Creamery Pickups Filtertron and Tapped Tele
Blake Mills-inspired Strat project w/ Gold Foil and slide pickup

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Re: Stewmac shims

Post by Savolover » Fri Nov 20, 2020 3:14 pm

Yes be got three of the .5 ones that be not used. I bought a few of them as I figured the shipping was the same however many I sent for. I’ve found that the .5 ones make a pretty big difference.

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