OffsetGuitars.com

I've been mucking around with the setup of my Jaguar. It came with the the little crimson-coloured thing plus a thicker piece of plastic under the heel. I measured those and concluded that they were equivalent to 1.0 + 0.25 degrees of maple shims. Dropped that in but the bridge then needed to be as high as possible. It was OK, but seeking a better compromise, I removed the 0.25 degree shim, thus leaving the 1.0 degree. Adjusted the bridge and it's pretty-much perfect.

Interested to know what others are running.

I started out with a 1 degree on my JM and came down to a .5 but I’ll likely drop to .25 once I finish putting my neck together and try some Tenorio strings on it. I want just the right balance of tension and aesthetic and felt 1 and .5 were too steep for my liking. The other factor you need to balance is if the strings clear the intonation screws on the bridge.

I used to think a one degree was ideal and now I'm questioning that. Each guitar seems to need something different. And now that full length wood shims are cheap and available, fuck you StewMac, I'm reconsidering some guitars.

Larry Mal wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 03, 2024 10:11 am

I used to think a one degree was ideal and now I'm questioning that. Each guitar seems to need something different. And now that full length wood shims are cheap and available, fuck you StewMac, I'm reconsidering some guitars.

I tend to shim all my Fenders, even non JMs, but I agree that each guitar can be different.

I’ve got two JMs, one has a 0.5 deg and one a 1 degree.. or was it 0.25 and 0.5… but yeah.

And who else makes full length wood shims now!?

RocknRollShakeUp wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 03, 2024 3:13 pm

And who else makes full length wood shims now!?

Muspor and Tosicam have branded shims. Beware of the unbranded ones - they're flat despite the angle labels. Muspor may not be exactly the angle they say, but within the ballpark.

Discussed here:
viewtopic.php?t=125036

I tend to default to a 1 degree shim, when I first assemble a guitar. That said, a lot of those guitars would be fine with the 0.5 degree option. The 1 leaves plenty of adjustment range for the bridge though, and creates a good break angle, so I'm not inclined to buy a whole bunch of new 0.5 shims and take off a bunch of necks.

I have gone between 0.5 and 1 degree on Jazzmasters depending on the guitar. Each one needs something a little different, especially with different bridges, etc.

Also usually 0.5 or 1 degree for me, depending on the guitar.

timtam wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 03, 2024 4:51 pm

RocknRollShakeUp wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 03, 2024 3:13 pm

And who else makes full length wood shims now!?

Muspor and Tosicam have branded shims. Beware of the unbranded ones - they're flat despite the angle labels. Muspor may not be exactly the angle they say, but within the ballpark.

Discussed here:
viewtopic.php?t=125036

Thanks !

A 0.6 Tortex is all I have in my main JM. I could easily run without anything but it's set up so perfect now I daren't touch anything.

I bought two sets of those Muspor shims but having a hard time with them as their width and length don‘t exactly match the neck pockets I‘m currently working on (but would have matched the VM Jaguar I sold recently).
Does anyone know? Do they offer different sizes?

That said, I have one guitar that Rexter made for me using a 3D scan of the Johnny Marr Jaguar (which I believe has an 1 degree angled neck pocket) - and it‘s such a joy playing! So that probably is my favorite angle.

But different guitars need different degrees I think. No such thing as a bulletproof recipe - but „default“ to start working from, like ThePearDream put it so nicely.

Just enough, but not too much.

Every guitar is a little different. I have 0.25° in a couple, 0.5° in a bunch, 1.0° in at least one, and I have one where... I'm not sure what the heck is going on but I've got a 1.0° and a 0.5° in there.

Usually between .25 and .5 a lot on offsets. I hate the shipping cost so often I'll add a set to an order from Stew Mac. They make the best I've come across but I'm willing to check out others. I've tried the wood ones on Amazon and some from eBay but they weren't really good quality like Stew Mac. Idk if it's the bridge but to date I've not found a need to shim Strat's or stock Tele's.

B.T. wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 06, 2024 2:02 pm

Usually between .25 and .5 a lot on offsets. I hate the shipping cost so often I'll add a set to an order from Stew Mac. They make the best I've come across but I'm willing to check out others. I've tried the wood ones on Amazon and some from eBay but they weren't really good quality like Stew Mac. Idk if it's the bridge but to date I've not found a need to shim Strat's or stock Tele's.

I've had good luck with these.

3pcs Guitar Neck Shims Shim Made of Canada Solid Maple Wooden, For Bolt-on Neck Bolts, Shaped 0.25 0.5 1 Degree (0.25 0.5 1 Degree) https://a.co/d/fWjscyz