So, I bought a used bass...

[StingRayzor]

Man, what a long ordeal. I bought this used SR4 a while back, that until this morning was just not feeling right.

So, the neck needs to be refinished. Gunstock oil feels great, but it does not last forever. I remove the neck and what do I find? A shim, a very poorly installed shim to be more precise. This shim is about the size of the magnetic stripe on a credit card and was placed at the neck screws closest to the bridge.

So, I immediately took the thing out. I was wondering why my bridge saddles seemed so high.

I am really hoping that this poor shim job does not have a long term negative impact on the neck. I put the neck back on without the shim, tuned and adjusted the saddles, and voila, the bass plays and sounds ten times better than before.

Why was this bass shimmed to start? And if you are going to shim a bass, do it right or not at all.

Anyway... Just thought I would share.

 

[RitchieDarling]

Why was this bass shimmed to start? And if you are going to shim a bass, do it right or not at all.

Because some people can't leave well enough alone!

R

 

[robobass13]

you know, EBMM shims the necks on just about every bass they make, and a shim should go closest to the bridge. the shim that EBMM uses is blue or a pink color and has two holes in it for the screws closest to the heel will go through it, these shims are there for a reason, it for proper neck angle.

 

[mynan]

you know, EBMM shims the necks on just about every bass they make, and a shim should go closest to the bridge. the shim that EBMM uses is blue or a pink color and has two holes in it for the screws closest to the heel will go through it, these shims are there for a reason, it for proper neck angle.

I've never taken mine apart, but I thought I heard here that they don't shim their basses. Hmmmm...

 

[ooglay]

I don't mean to bud in here, but, awhile back I was cleaning my SR4 and took off the neck to take a look, etc.

Not knowing there was a shim there to begin with, I didn't recall which holes the shim went under. SO, I decided to re-bolt the neck with the shim off to see if it was still ok.

I find that the bass has better action and relief without the shim there; I guess for my stingray, it just worked.

I'm not suggesting you try taking the shim out, because it's there for a reason; I'm just explaining what happened to me.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[robobass13]

I promise you, you can achieve lower playable action with the shim in than with it out, I have been working on guitars for about 20 years and have owned numerous EBMM basses and still do, I have tried them without the shim and always end up putting it back because it plays better with the shim. I think the EBMM folks know what there are doing.

 

[robobass13]

I don't mean to bud in here, but, awhile back I was cleaning my SR4 and took off the neck to take a look, etc.

Not knowing there was a shim there to begin with, I didn't recall which holes the shim went under. SO, I decided to re-bolt the neck with the shim off to see if it was still ok.

I find that the bass has better action and relief without the shim there; I guess for my stingray, it just worked.

I'm not suggesting you try taking the shim out, because it's there for a reason; I'm just explaining what happened to me.

Just my 2 cents.

I mean no offense by this but, let me set your bass up with the shim in and I guarantee I can make it play better. I have yet to have an EBMM bass that didn't play like butter from the factory, I have on the other hand had a few EBMM basses that I bought second hand that played horribly until I took them back to factory spec.

 

[Musicman Nut]

Man, what a long ordeal. I bought this used SR4 a while back, that until this morning was just not feeling right.

So, the neck needs to be refinished. Gunstock oil feels great, but it does not last forever. I remove the neck and what do I find? A shim, a very poorly installed shim to be more precise. This shim is about the size of the magnetic stripe on a credit card and was placed at the neck screws closest to the bridge.

So, I immediately took the thing out. I was wondering why my bridge saddles seemed so high.

I am really hoping that this poor shim job does not have a long term negative impact on the neck. I put the neck back on without the shim, tuned and adjusted the saddles, and voila, the bass plays and sounds ten times better than before.

Why was this bass shimmed to start? And if you are going to shim a bass, do it right or not at all.

Anyway... Just thought I would share.

Shims have been used for man years on all sorts of basses. It won't melt the neck or cause the frets to fly at you, these are common.
your bass is normal, just play it.

 

[bovinehost]

Shims have been used for man years on all sorts of basses. It won't melt the neck or cause the frets to fly at you, these are common.
your bass is normal, just play it.

Words to live by.

Hey, at least we don't have to deal with that Tilt-O-Matic stuff.

 

[StingRayzor]

First off, don't take this the wrong way, but here we go again...

Well, having been playing bass for 25 years, I know what I like and this bass plays better without the shim. I play with ridiculously low action (.009 relief, 3/64" on the E and 2/64" on the G) and I can get it lower now without the shim because the strings are no longer buzzing out in the upper registers.

When saddles are set too low, and the neck relief is set right, strings should buzz all up and down the neck at every fret, right? With the shim in, the strings buzzed in the upper frets first (19,20). Now, with the shim out, when I take the strings lower, they buzz evenly up and down the neck (EDIT: I did not adjust the trussrod at any time during this operation). That is how I setup my basses. Take em down to nice even buzz all up and down the neck, then raise em up ever so slightly, until there is an "inaudible through the amp" buzz. I could not set my bass up this way with the shim present. The lowest I could go with the shim in was 5/64" E string and 4/64" G string before it began buzzing in the upper frets. I was thinking that I had a few bad frets until I took the shim out. What else would have explained that buzzing?

Plus the break angle over the bridge was negatively affecting the tone of the bass, to my ears at least. You know what I mean? It sounded almost choked.

With the shim out, and my action that low, I still have room below my G saddle to go lower. So, given those numbers, and my subjective opinions on tone, why was it shimmed? I guess that once again it comes down to personal preference. But, really, I thought necks got shimmed if I you had lowered out the saddles all the way and could still not get your string height low enough. Or, if you prefer the difference a more extreme break angle has on your tone.

Also, correct me if I am wrong, but I really thought that a shim was supposed to cover a larger portion of the neck pocket? I have heard up to 2/3 of the pocket should be used and that the shim should go from .0000 to the desired height causing more of a ramp in the pocket than a bump.

Sorry if this thing is stock. I would never have mentioned it on this forum if it is. In the end, I really feel that the shim was too extreme and was causing too much tilt in the neck pocket, hence giving the bass problems. Seriously, I was ready to ditch this bass or see if it needed fret work. Now, I am going to do neither of those things.

But, serioulsy, PM me if you really wanna know why I think this shim was in the bass.

 

[Big Poppa]

OK If you feel better without it great. Whatever it takes to get you happy. Not a contest or a challenge. You have improved your action by 2/64th of an inch and somethimes that is all it takes for happiness.

Now the rest of your theories regarding shims are not in line with ours. I think me may understand maybe a little more...You need shims because the instruments and necks are sanded by hand. If you could have both come from production without any sanding then you could dial it in. But if we did that you could not have any adjustment room because we think that the "math" is correct with the shim. THe fact that there was a shim allowed you adjustment room. We use two shims and sometimes none. they absolutely should not cover the entire neck pocket.

Factory spec is not the absolute lowest possible action. We would not sell a fraction of the instruments if we did as the average Joe would play it like a truck driver..(im not sure truck drivers play hard...but it makes the point) and say this think sucks it buzzes. THe set up from the factory is loower than the competition and is usually very good for even advanced players. I play hard. I like the factory spec (I wonder why?)

Playing a bass is not the same as makin them and I respect your opinions on playing but hope you are open to learning the making side before you spread misinformation here via pm....

 

[StingRayzor]

No disinformation will be spread from me and any PM's that may come my way would have asked another question. A question that would have led to me gaining more knowledge of the building process. It would not have been to spread disinformation.

People on this forum need to realize that there are no objective rules in instrument setup when it comes to the individual bass player. Should there be rules for leaving the factory? Hell yes!! It is called QC and I have not in any way shape or form questioned EBMM QC. I am just asking questions and relating my personal experiences and preferences as concern my setup.

I truly appreciate your honesty in this matter. So, which one of you building guys will please PM me? I really do have a question that I do not want to ask here or anywhere else for that matter.

 

[mynan]

Is it a rash?

 

[StingRayzor]

You are getting close!!

 

[robobass13]

OK If you feel better without it great. Whatever it takes to get you happy. Not a contest or a challenge. You have improved your action by 2/64th of an inch and somethimes that is all it takes for happiness.

Now the rest of your theories regarding shims are not in line with ours. I think me may understand maybe a little more...You need shims because the instruments and necks are sanded by hand. If you could have both come from production without any sanding then you could dial it in. But if we did that you could not have any adjustment room because we think that the "math" is correct with the shim. THe fact that there was a shim allowed you adjustment room. We use two shims and sometimes none. they absolutely should not cover the entire neck pocket.

Factory spec is not the absolute lowest possible action. We would not sell a fraction of the instruments if we did as the average Joe would play it like a truck driver..(im not sure truck drivers play hard...but it makes the point) and say this think sucks it buzzes. THe set up from the factory is loower than the competition and is usually very good for even advanced players. I play hard. I like the factory spec (I wonder why?)

Playing a bass is not the same as makin them and I respect your opinions on playing but hope you are open to learning the making side before you spread misinformation here via pm....

Bp I agree, I am an advocate for your product and I probably come off a little strong when I hear something that sounds a little like misinformation about the setup of EBMM basses, I meant no disrespect to anyone. I was simply stating my belief that every EBMM bass I have ever had had a shim and I think it was for a good reason, and I think you backed that up in your post.

 

[StingRayzor]

Man oh man, what a strange set of events. I change something that was negatively affecting the playability of the bass and I am wrong?

Like I have said, drop me a PM if you want to continue talking about this, because bashing me, when you do not know the whole story, is getting to be a little bit like "spreading disinformation".

My hypothesis about the shim may be incorrect, but someone should step up, PM me, and teach me why.

 

[mynan]

Man oh man, what a strange set of events. I change something that was negatively affecting the playability of the bass and I am wrong?

Like I have said, drop me a PM if you want to continue talking about this, because bashing me, when you do not know the whole story, is getting to be a little bit like "spreading disinformation".

My hypothesis about the shim may be incorrect, but someone should step up, PM me, and teach me why.

No one has bashed you... No one has said that you are wrong for removing the shim...

 

[StingRayzor]

Yeah, you are right. My wife calls me sensitive.

BTW, I totally love this bass.

 

[StingRayzor]

Yeah!! 100 posts!!!

 

[mynan]

Congrats.