Shimming

The practice of correcting a guitar's geometry with one or more inserted shims rather than re-cutting the parts involved.

The most frequent case is a bolt-on neck whose angle leaves the bridge out of adjustment range: a tapered shim placed at the back or front of the pocket tilts the neck a fraction of a degree and restores the range. A shim can also raise a nut that was cut too low, or space a pickup. It is a repair technique rather than an ideal, and its quality lies in matching the shim precisely to the pocket so contact is still full and even.

Example: a guitar whose action cannot be lowered further because the saddles are already on the deck is a candidate for neck shimming.

Shimming

See also