All About Shims

[Benji Peterson]

So the pearl lavender Axis ('99) I bought had a neck and nut (locking) shim when I got it. Before even playing it I removed them because I assumed someone who didn't know better put them there. I then lowered the trem to compensate. The guitar played well in first position, not great. By the time I was well beyond the 12th fret though the strings were too high off the board. Also, I was getting buzz out of the open 'B' string.
It should be said that I hate the idea of a shim. I could be overreacting but I feel like it's going to take away from the natural resonance of the instrument. I've always looked down on them. Honestly, I removed the two right away because I know Music Man has incredible manufacturing standards and everything is built to extremely exacting dimensions. This is why I love them. Anyway, the thought of an Axis needing a crutch bothered me. It should be said though that being that I am not the original owner I cannot honestly say whether or not it had the fitment issues, or shim, for that matter, from the factory.
I first addressed the nut. Limited on resources with respect to materials and craftsmanship I used folded aluminum foil both under the furthest most point to the neck pickup to create some pitch and folded aluminum foil under the nut. After some trial and error I managed to get the strings flat across the board and also alleviated all fret buzz. It plays excellent now, has no noticeable tonal shortcomings and feels as I'd always hoped it would. I should also mention that both shims are very discrete with zero noticeable overhang on either shim.
The only problem now is my OCD. It bothers me that I've 'jimmy rigged' my Music Man. Any thoughts or reassurances on the matter?

-ben

 

[Jack FFR1846]

The correct way to adjust action on an Axis is to shim the neck. I asked about this specifically to customer service when selling my own axis. That is the correct way to do it. If you cannot accept a guitar that may need a shim to be properly set up, might I suggest that you try an Axis Super Sport with a vintage trem. The saddles are adjustable, eliminating any shim need.

I'll follow up that by telling you that I do a lot of work on another guitar brand that sounds like it should be a car body part, and 1 out of 5 of these that I work on needs a shim to even get the saddles in range to be able to correctly adjust the action.

 

[Big Poppa]

shims are bolt on friends not enemies

 

[kimonostereo]

Even with super well made tolerances that EBMM has, every instrument is different and every piece of wood is different. There is really no way to account for every single tolerance for every single piece of the instrument. You might get the neck pocket and the nut rout perfect, but the metal plating on the locking nut or the bridge saddles might have microscopic amounts more plating than normal. Other parts might not be made to the exact specs as well. With the floyd, since there is no way to adjust the saddle height, shimming is the correct way to adjust. The neck and fret levels will change as the instrument is played over time. There has to be a way to compensate for that.

Shims are necessary and if it makes your instrument play and sound good, then why worry about it?

I'll bet there are many rock star musicians who have #1 axes that have shims.

 

[kimonostereo]

shims are bolt on friends not enemies

Exactly.

 

[Benji Peterson]

Very cool to know. And here is was freaking a little. What would you say about my choice of material? Aluminum.

 

[kimonostereo]

Very cool to know. And here is was freaking a little. What would you say about my choice of material? Aluminum.

I've seen all sorts of materials used as shims. Business cards, plastic strips from file holders, strips of wood, even a match stick once.

Some say to only use wood. I say use what works for you and gets the job done.

 

[kimonostereo]

I might add: try to use the thinnest material possible when making a shim. It's surprising how little is needed to get the results you want most of the time. Sometimes just .03 thin plastic is good enough to get the action you are looking for.

 

[Benji Peterson]

That was the advantage I found to the aluminum foil. It is so incredibly thin that it allows you to move very incrementally.

 

[DrKev]

What ever works is fine. I use Paris metro tickets.

 

[TNT]

As BP said; shims are a dream come true for guitar set-up/tweaking (in all respects!!). I wouldn't own a guitar without em'!

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

I did an action tweak on a budget import bass and it required removing the neck and installing a shim. Come to find out the neck already had 2 shims in it... made of emery cloth. I replaced them with a plastic shim of the correct thickness.

Don't be afraid of shims!

 

[Adam_D]

Funny topic actually, I've recently contacted CS about the neck on my JPX7. After a few gauge changes and truss rod adjustments, I just can't get the action even across the board. The guitar was on a commercial airline flight from CA to the UK, but it didn't affect the neck really.

In saying that, Billy at customer services was a great help to me and has offered to ship me out some shims free of charge to try and get my action just how I like it! Great service

 

[yellowv03]

Aluminum foil works great for shims as you can fold it over to get very precise thickness.

 

[DrKev]

Billy at customer services was a great help to me and has offered to ship me out some shims free of charge to try and get my action just how I like it! Great service

Best in the business!

 

[Steve Nukather]

shims are bolt on friends not enemies

Not when they cause ski jump!

 

[GoKart Mozart]

Not when they cause ski jump!

Almost 12 years later...and THAT's the reply?

 

[kimonostereo]

Right? Why even bother replying to the thread?

 

[Steve Nukather]

Right? Why even bother replying to the thread?

Reason being that I keep seeing Lukes with ski jump due to factory installed shims (pink, medium thickness). In all cases, removing the shims, drilling out the body mounting holes, and lowering the bridge corrects the ski jump and significantly improves instrument performance.

The Axis model suffers from a more severe design issue in that the bridge is not adjustable in terms of string height. The only way to lower string height is through the use of shims, then you have to add fallaway to compensate for the jump. EBMM has some great CNC machines, why not cut the pocket at the proper angle and avoid the shims?

 

[DrKev]

Almost 12 years later...and THAT's the reply?

...to the owner of the company who oversaw production and design of every instrument from 1984 to 2020.