How to Make Guitar Shims

Making a guitar shim is easy.

Learning a few basic guitar setup techniques makes it possible to improve the quality of a low-priced electric guitar. Electric guitars are available in every budget range but a common problem with some lower priced guitars is that they are a little more difficult to play. Placing a shim between the neck and the body of the guitar is an easy way to improve the angle or tilt of the neck. Guitar necks should be fairly straight but still have a minimal angle so as to avoid string buzzing and intonation problems. Placing a shim between the neck and the body is a simple process as long as the guitar has a bolt-on neck rather than a glued-on neck.

Things You'll Need

• Phillips screwdriver
• Credit card or cardboard
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Loosen and remove the strings from the guitar. The strings must be removed in order to remove the neck of the guitar.

2. Lay the guitar facing down on a flat surface. Unscrew the four screws that secure hold the neck and body together with a Phillips screwdriver. Carefully separate the guitar body and neck.

3. Cut out a shim from an old credit card. The credit card is the perfect thickness for neck shim. The shim should be about two inches in length, which is the space between the two bottom screws.

4. Place the shim on the guitar neck below the holes for the two bottom screws. The guitar neck should still be facing down on the flat surface. Simply lay the shim in place on the neck without gluing it. It may be necessary to adjust the shim or use a thicker shim.

5. Set the guitar body back in place on the neck. Carefully line up the neck and the neck slot of the guitar body. Gently push the guitar body onto the neck.

6. Place the plate cover on the back of the guitar. Insert the four screws and tighten them with a Phillips screwdriver.

7. Put new strings on the guitar. Tune the guitar to standard pitch, E-A-D-G-B-E. Look down the neck from the headstock toward the bridge to inspect the angle of the neck. The neck should be fairly straight with a slight angle. The distance between the top of the frets and the bottom of the strings should be basically the same all the way down the fretboard.

References

• Gregs Guitar: Make Your Guitar Easier to Play
• Electric Guitar Books: Setting Up an Electric Guitar