StewMac - Neck / Heel Shims for Guitar for custom heel shape
Please use the tabs below to read through the information about this product.
About
It is incredibly common on bolt on neck guitars to need to shim the neck to further refine/improve it's setup. This may be simply because the pocket is a little deep, too parallel to the body, to dial in setup after a bigsby install (for example), to improve bridge/string break angle or simply to better dial in setup to suit personal preferences.
You will often see small paper shims nestled in the heel of the pocket even from the factory on many Fender guitars, it's that commonly done/needed. Shimming the neck pocket is incredibly normal to see, and is so often beneficial to get the very best from a specific instruments setup. Particularly so on offset Fenders (Jazzmasters, Jaguars etc) due to their floating bridge/ vibrato design where shimming neck improves bridge height and therefore break angle over the bridge. So there are a number of reasons why you would need to shim the heel/pocket on your 4 bolt neck. But there are bad, and good ways to do it;
More often than not, people do this with paper, veneer or plastic shims cut and placed at the very heel of the pocket, which although can initially work, isn't the best solution (particularly not in the long run). This is because of gaps that will be made in the neck heel to pocket mating surfaces, which isn't ideal. One of the very best solutions on the market today, is the full pocket neck shims made by StewMac, and as an authorised StewMac wholesale partner, I am proud to offer these shims here at the Home of Tone! For us in the UK, this helps as ordering these from StewMac directly puts many players off due to international postage and import duty costs.
These ingenius shims are actually tapered, and cover the full neck pocket.
Small, paper, veneer or plastic type shims create an unwanted gap under the heel of the neck: a dead air space where humidity condenses to swell the wood. As luthier Dan Erlewine describes in his book "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 tapered shims, that work is done for you.
They may seem pricey, especially when you compare to throwing a card or veneer shim at the heel, but trust me, your guitar will thank you in the long run for using a StewMac shim.
Specs
Full contact and precisely tapered: we have 3 different degrees for changing the pitch of any bolt-on neck.
- 0.25-degree shim offers the most versatility. Stacking them will let you really dial in the neck angle you're after.
- 0.5-degree shim is the one you'll reach for most often. It works great on Fender and many other solidbodies.
- 1-degree shim is great for guitars with a Tune-o-matic bridge or Floyd Rose.
Can I stack them? Yup, you can if you need to!
Taper specs (approximate)
0.25-degree shim tapers from 0.030" to 0.019" (0.76mm to 0.48mm)
0.5-degree shim tapers from 0.028" to 0.008" (0.71mm to 0.20mm)
1-degree shim tapers from 0.060" to 0.010" (1.52mm to 0.25mm)
Dimensions
Blank: 2-1/4" x 3" (57.15mm x 76.12mm)
Blank shims were designed for odd screw spacings, smaller neck pockets, and custom designs like the Fender Micro-Tilt™.
Shaped shims fit most neck pockets with a rounded heel. You can(will likely need to) make fine adjustments/trim it for optimal fit, and also will need to trim along the lasered line to fit the shim to a pocket with a flat heel, like a Tele.
Ordering/shipping
Local pickup - If you are local and wish to collect any items or order in advance for collection on a specific day, then you can still place an order online and select local pickup at the checkout. Or drop me a message and I'll reserve the items ready for your visit.
For online ordering and dispatch - In stock, non made to order items are processed and dispatched 4 days a week; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.
For orders that are placed on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday I have an order cut off time of 14:00GMT (with Royal Mail shipping services only) to allow me chance to process, pack and dispatch your order same day.
For non dispatch days (Saturday, Sunday, & Thursday) there is no order cut-off time, and these will be processed, packed and shipped on the closest following dispatch day.
I will always endeavor to fulfill orders as quickly as I can and if you have specific requirements for a delivery date please do let me know and hopefully I can help.
If you have more queries regarding order placing, processing, fulfillment or general shipping then please see the FAQ page HERE
Please use the tabs below to read through the information about this product.
About
It is incredibly common on bolt on neck guitars to need to shim the neck to further refine/improve it's setup. This may be simply because the pocket is a little deep, too parallel to the body, to dial in setup after a bigsby install (for example), to improve bridge/string break angle or simply to better dial in setup to suit personal preferences.
You will often see small paper shims nestled in the heel of the pocket even from the factory on many Fender guitars, it's that commonly done/needed. Shimming the neck pocket is incredibly normal to see, and is so often beneficial to get the very best from a specific instruments setup. Particularly so on offset Fenders (Jazzmasters, Jaguars etc) due to their floating bridge/ vibrato design where shimming neck improves bridge height and therefore break angle over the bridge. So there are a number of reasons why you would need to shim the heel/pocket on your 4 bolt neck. But there are bad, and good ways to do it;
More often than not, people do this with paper, veneer or plastic shims cut and placed at the very heel of the pocket, which although can initially work, isn't the best solution (particularly not in the long run). This is because of gaps that will be made in the neck heel to pocket mating surfaces, which isn't ideal. One of the very best solutions on the market today, is the full pocket neck shims made by StewMac, and as an authorised StewMac wholesale partner, I am proud to offer these shims here at the Home of Tone! For us in the UK, this helps as ordering these from StewMac directly puts many players off due to international postage and import duty costs.
These ingenius shims are actually tapered, and cover the full neck pocket.
Small, paper, veneer or plastic type shims create an unwanted gap under the heel of the neck: a dead air space where humidity condenses to swell the wood. As luthier Dan Erlewine describes in his book "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 tapered shims, that work is done for you.
They may seem pricey, especially when you compare to throwing a card or veneer shim at the heel, but trust me, your guitar will thank you in the long run for using a StewMac shim.
Specs
Full contact and precisely tapered: we have 3 different degrees for changing the pitch of any bolt-on neck.
- 0.25-degree shim offers the most versatility. Stacking them will let you really dial in the neck angle you're after.
- 0.5-degree shim is the one you'll reach for most often. It works great on Fender and many other solidbodies.
- 1-degree shim is great for guitars with a Tune-o-matic bridge or Floyd Rose.
Can I stack them? Yup, you can if you need to!
Taper specs (approximate)
0.25-degree shim tapers from 0.030" to 0.019" (0.76mm to 0.48mm)
0.5-degree shim tapers from 0.028" to 0.008" (0.71mm to 0.20mm)
1-degree shim tapers from 0.060" to 0.010" (1.52mm to 0.25mm)
Dimensions
Blank: 2-1/4" x 3" (57.15mm x 76.12mm)
Blank shims were designed for odd screw spacings, smaller neck pockets, and custom designs like the Fender Micro-Tilt™.
Shaped shims fit most neck pockets with a rounded heel. You can(will likely need to) make fine adjustments/trim it for optimal fit, and also will need to trim along the lasered line to fit the shim to a pocket with a flat heel, like a Tele.
Ordering/shipping
Local pickup - If you are local and wish to collect any items or order in advance for collection on a specific day, then you can still place an order online and select local pickup at the checkout. Or drop me a message and I'll reserve the items ready for your visit.
For online ordering and dispatch - In stock, non made to order items are processed and dispatched 4 days a week; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.
For orders that are placed on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday I have an order cut off time of 14:00GMT (with Royal Mail shipping services only) to allow me chance to process, pack and dispatch your order same day.
For non dispatch days (Saturday, Sunday, & Thursday) there is no order cut-off time, and these will be processed, packed and shipped on the closest following dispatch day.
I will always endeavor to fulfill orders as quickly as I can and if you have specific requirements for a delivery date please do let me know and hopefully I can help.
If you have more queries regarding order placing, processing, fulfillment or general shipping then please see the FAQ page HERE