StewMac Neck Shim Shop Set of 12
Full contact, precisely tapered
To change the angle of a bolt-on neck, players and repair shops have used shims for years. We've seen everything from matchbook covers to guitar picks stuck in neck joints.
Those kinds of shims create an unwanted gap under the heel of the neck: a dead air space where humidity condenses to swell the wood. As Dan Erlewine describes in his Guitar Player Repair Guide:
"This gap may cause an upward kink in the neck. And many players feel they lose tone unless firm contact is maintained between the neck and the body."
Dan creates tapered shims that cover the entire heel of the neck. With these ready-made shims, that work is done for you. We've even lasered a line to make it easier to fit the shim in a pocket with a squared bottom.
"My Jazzmaster needed a better string break angle over the bridge. The 0.5-degree shim let me raise the bridge to the height I needed. And it fit the neck pocket perfectly."
—Erick Coleman, guitar repairman and StewMac tech advisor
The Shop Set includes 12 hard maple shims for guitar and bass:
- 3 shaped shims for guitar: 0.25° + 0.5° + 1°
- 3 shaped shims for bass guitar: 0.25° + 0.5° + 1°
- 3 blank shims for guitar: 0.25° + 0.5° + 1°
- 3 blank shims for bass guitar: 0.25° + 0.5° + 1°
Dimensions
Guitar shims:
2-3/16" x 3" (55.56mm x 76.12mm) shaped
3" x 2-1/4" (76.12mm x 57.15mm) blank
Guitar Taper specs
- 0.25° shims taper from approx. 0.030" to 0.019" (0.76mm x 0.48mm)
- 0.50° shims taper from approx. 0.028" to 0.008" (0.71mm x 0.20mm)
- 1.00° shims taper from approx. 0.060" to 0.010" (1.52mm x 0.25mm)
Bass shims:
2-1/2" x 3-7/8" (63.50mm x 98.43mm) shaped
2-3/4" x 3-7/8" (69.86mm x 98.43mm) blank
Bass Taper specs (approximate)
- 0.25° shims taper from approx. 0.030" to 0.019" (0.76mm to 0.48mm)
- 0.50° shims taper from approx. 0.044" to 0.010" (1.11mm to 0.25mm)
- 1.00° shims taper from approx. 0.078" to 0.010" (1.98mm to 0.25mm)
Repair shops: Making a quality shim takes time. Keep these on hand for a quick turnaround on this common repair.