'78 P string height problems

[Iome]

Hi lads, i hope somebody can help me with my problem.
I have a '78 P bass on which i've had a Squier baseball neck for 10+ years. Now i've used that neck on my homebuild Fenderbird and wanted to put the original neck back on the P. The problem is that it's much thinner than the Squier neck and, although it's the original neck, i'm unable to lower the string action, the saddles can't get lower while touching the plate and the action is still way too high. The neck pocket hasn't been stripped down and neither has the neck heel (they both have the original stamps).
I don't think the bridge is original so i would like to know if someone gould give me the minimum height of an original Fender bridge. The one on my bass has a 2 mm plate and 8 mm saddles making the lowest possible string heigh,t at the bridge, 10 mm (1 cm/0.3937"    ).
I wanted to sell the bass because of economic issues, but i sure can't get much out of a bass that needs extra wood to raise the neck. I'm open for suggestions, thanks. Here's a pic that says it all.

[exiledarchangel]

A wood shim can do wonders here. I used a piece of a business card in my p clone.

[Iome]

Yes, but that's what i wanted to avoid... 

[exiledarchangel]

Maybe it had a shim in the first place? I know alot of fenders had shims from the factory.

[godofthunder]

I would put a shim in and forget about it ! Biz cards work well.

[dadagoboi]

Shimming a bolt on neck is standard procedure in. You may need more than 1 thickness of business card on that one.  Sometimes I use a shim made of 6mm x 45 mm sandpaper.  The lower the grit number the thicker the shim.

[Iome]

Damn, i guess the shim is the only solution then..  Nobody know's about a super low bridge? I guess it doesn't exist then.. I'll probably have to sell body and neck separatly. Thanks for the replies guys.

[OldManC]

If you shim the neck and it's set up well I don't think anyone buying it would care at all that it had that shim. As was mentioned, they sometimes needed one from the very start. As long as the neck isn't warped you're much better off selling the bass whole and you wouldn't be 'cheating' because of that shim.

[dadagoboi]

Damn, i guess the shim is the only solution then..   Nobody know's about a super low bridge? I guess it doesn't exist then.. I'll probably have to sell body and neck separatly. Thanks for the replies guys.

NOT NECESSARILY.  You'll be surprised at how much the angle changes with a business card thickness shim in the right place.  More than likely it came with a shim from the factory.

Do you have an excessive amount of relief in the neck?  Your P most likely needs a tuneup, not a major overhaul.

[Iome]

The neck is "straight as a gunshot" (as we say around here), the problem is that usually a Fender neck is 2.54cm (1") thick, mine is around 2.10cm (0.827"). Thats quite a difference. Would you suggest to insert a shim only in the lower part (at the end of the neck) of the pocket, making a kind of home made micro tilt, or should i raise the whole portion within the pocket? I'm afraid that tilting the neck could damage it over time.

[jumbodbassman]

A small shime at the far end of the neck works wonders.  it will tilt the neck back like a gibson normally is.  Lately i have been using a strip of "mesh sheetrock sandpaper" (the black stuff  with the holes - not sure what they call it).,     a peice about 2 inches long by about 3/4 inch wide.  the mesh will also help stop any sideways movement if the pocket is not snug enough as it will grip both sides even on laquer.  you might want to add some toothpicks and glue into the neck holes to also give it a little more grip  as i find the holes will get wider each time you screw them. 

[rahock]

Yeah, using a shim is not a sinful thing.
Rick

[Dave W]

Since the problem is that the neck is thinner than usual, I would start by shimming the whole neck pocket to raise it up. If it turns out that you also have a neck angle issue, then you can step the shims to create a better angle.

FYI, most business cards are .010 or .011 in. thick, at least over here. Bicycle brand playing cards are .011 in. thick.

[dadagoboi]

.022 inches is about .6mm.  IMO it is better than using a 4mm  (1/8+") complete shim simply because with .022 of shim once the job is done it won't be noticeable. it also doesn't reduce the effective depth of the neck pocket as much.  You can just fold the business card in half.  I've used up to 1mm without it affecting the neck down the road.  Don't overtighten the screws that don't have shim under or close to them.  Pros like Dan Erlewine recommend a tapered shim, I tried to do it once but it was too much of a hassle.

[Iome]

I'll try the card tonight, hoping it's enough because i need to rise it pretty much.