'78 P string height problems

[jumbodbassman]

if the shim doesn't work trying sinking  the bridge into the body.  can't go to far down or you will have to route channels to get the string balls to sit right. 

jim

[Iome]

No, i'm not going to route the body. Anyway, i shimmed (if you can say that) it last night with a business card. I've cut it to fit the end of the pocket until 5 mm behind the rear screws. It helped, i've got a pretty nice action now, but the saddles are still at their lowest. Tonight i'll try to fold a card and cut it to fit like the first, so i have some height left to move the saddles, i'll make some pics for some comments/advice. Thanks

[exiledarchangel]

You've got to shim harder then. Shim is not a sin, brotha!
If I were you, I'd put a straight thin of wood under the whole neck route, and then put a shim on the bridge side of the neck route. I'd call it "a shim sandwich".

[Iome]

AMEN BRO',
i was thinking about usinng a straight piece of wood to raise the whole neck...hmmm...donno, i'll try tonight when the kids sleeps..

[rahock]

Have you ever seen a business card made of wood? Some cabinet makers and carpenters use them around here. Real thin shaved piece of wood for a card. I think they would be perfect.
Rick

[Iome]

I've never seen a business card of wood, but i know that carpenters has some thin wood they use for similar purposes. Last night i looked for some  veneer wood down in the basement, but couldn't find any, i know i have some, somewhere.

[Pilgrim]

Shim it!!  Adding a shim is standard procedure - some basses come from the factory with shims.  I have never understood why some folks think they are bad.  They're just one of the necessary tools.

[Iome]

i know Pilgrim, but you know people won't buy a bass that need something between neck and body. What bothers me is that my bass hasn't an angle issue between neck and body, the neck is just too thin...

[dadagoboi]

i know Pilgrim, but you know people won't buy a bass that need something between neck and body. What bothers me is that my bass hasn't an angle issue between neck and body, the neck is just too thin...

Don't Ask Don't Tell.  You have a nonstandard neck, it obviously came from Fender that way. They shimmed it, somebody bought it.  Hell, I've got shims with Ibanez STAMPED on them.

Shim Ain't No Sin...It's a design feature

[Highlander]

Credit cards make extreme shims, too...

I had a couple of sixpences (small obsolete British coin used by Brian May as picks) in my first to try and sort out neck issues...

There is an old expression... what the eye don't see...

As long as she plays well what's the problem...?

[Iome]

Ok, I must find an old american business card or, even better, a fender card from the seventies, at least if the buyer finds it i'll tell him it's an extra value, a vintage shim  Now theres a card in from the baker in front of my office...

[Highlander]

I've got some cardboard boxes in the shed...

[Dave W]

i know Pilgrim, but you know people won't buy a bass that need something between neck and body. What bothers me is that my bass hasn't an angle issue between neck and body, the neck is just too thin...

Since when won't they? You would be surprised. And that's with basses and guitars that were made to go together. In your case, you have a neck that isn't the thickness that was meant to go with the body, so all the more reason to shim.

[Hornisse]

Back in the '70's I used one of these on my P bass.  Worked like a charm!  Put the flat side towards the body and it was a Fender Thin pick.

[Pilgrim]

i know Pilgrim, but you know people won't buy a bass that need something between neck and body. What bothers me is that my bass hasn't an angle issue between neck and body, the neck is just too thin...

I respectfully disagree.  First, there is no need to tell them, because it's a normal adjustment.  Second, they're not going to know. Third, it's not really a relevant concern - because it's a normal adjustment and therefore unremarkable.

I would not mention a shim in the neck of any of my basses to a buyer - because it's nothing worth mentioning.

If there were a structural flaw in the bass that some kind of unusual shim was correcting, I'd mention it - but a normal shim is simply not remarkable.