Axis Bridge to high! ? What to do with the neck shim

[valvereaper]

Hi Guys

New to the forum and had my music man axis a few months now. Restored bits and pieces on it. But have issues with the setup.

I had to raise the bridge to stop the fret buzz. But as you can see from the photos the bridge is ridiculously high. And i want it almost to the body.

There is no shim in the neck pocket. Will a shim work to make the angle of the neck better to stop the buzzing. Where would the shim have to go? deep in the pocket or too the edge?

Hope you experts out there can help as i really need this guitar singing.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

That is not a real music man or even a sterling or olp for that matter, but i would sayyou should lower the bridge back to where its flat and loosen the truss rod.

 

[DennisS]

i would sayyou should lower the bridge back to where its flat and loosen the truss rod.

My opinion is that changing the neck relief by adjusting the truss rod is never a substitute for shimming and raising or lowering the bridge.
I would say you adjust the neck relief to what it needs to be (which might have a factor of personal preference), and when all is good (also fretboard and frets), determine what kind of shimming you need.
In this case it looks like the shim needs to be lower at the neck pickup side than on the opposite side.
Or you do some routing on the neck or neck pocket.

 

[DrKev]

You need to take it to a guitar tech or repair person to do a proper set up for you.

Sorry bro but that is not a Music Man guitar (headstock and body shape is off, truss rod adjustment is not in the right place). It's a poor copy. If it was sold to you as Music Man, you probably have legal recourse (assuming you can prove purchase etc.) and might be able to get your money back.

Good luck!

My opinion is that changing the neck relief by adjusting the truss rod is never a substitute for shimming and raising or lowering the bridge.

Indeed, they do entirely different things. Shimming should only be necessary if string height cannot be correctly achieved by adjusting the bridge/and or saddles. Might be appropriate in this case but as its not a Music Man guitar, I have no idea what the neck or neck pocket depth is like. It may not be possible to get an Axis-like setup without some luthier wood work to the body and or neck.

You are more than welcome to hang out as a member of the forum but as this is not an EBMM instrument I need to close the thread.