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Just curious how you thickness your saddle shims and what you use? I need to make about a .020" shim

Thanks
Richard

The accepted method of raising the height of a saddle is to replace it with a taller one. Shimming would only be a temprorary fix, but some B/W purfling would be about .020 so you could use a bit of that, in a pinch. Over the years I have found everything from toothpicks, matchsticks, bits of paper,tinfoil, pieces of guitar picks, and the list goes on, in the saddle slots of numerous guitars. Anything placed in between the bottom of the saddle and the bottom of the saddle slot will affect the acoustic tone and volume of the instrument, to some extent. Music store sales people are probably the worst offenders, "Gee, if I raise the saddle the guitar will stop buzzing and maybe I can sell it." If the guitar is for a customer, don't shim the saddle. I don't mean to sound like a grump but I've just seen too much of this type of quick fix stuff.

Cal

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Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!

IMO a well made shim of the right material is acceptable so long as it doesn't cause any tilting of the saddle.

I usually make them from Brazilian rosewood veneer. I glue a slightly oversized shim to the bottom of the saddle and trim it to the footprint of the saddle.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I use slices of a business card to adjust and test the saddle height... then I make a new saddle.
Michael

I thickness with my Gilbert drill press sander (http://www.specialtytuners.com/). I've glued both ebony and bone shims to the underside of the saddle. I don't see any issue with doing that at all as long as the fit is snug and the bottom of the saddle is dead flat.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

That right there is an awesome, spot-on question! Reminds me of Bob Taylor's answer to the Dovetail/Bolt-on neck feud...."Duh, how does it SOUND"?...That said, if it's one of my guitars I make a new saddle...if it's an "off the rack" one and the customer's on a budget, a strip of an ebony or rosewood headplate or some BW purfling....

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

BRW veneer .. ala HK .. been doing that for ages. Crazy glue it on, trim, sand if required.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Just the mention of saddle shims makes me *shudder*. Not that there's anything wrong with using them. But when I was a young man and needed a job, and worked as a setup tech at washburn, I had a box full of saddle shims on my workbench. All the techs did. They were made out of strips of purfling, various colors and thicknesses. Those worked well, if you use only one. I couldn't tell you how many times I set up a guitar, fresh off the plane from asia, and removed a saddle only to find a tall mound of shims under there.

If you have an under-saddle pickup the shim or shims can definitely hinder how well the pickup works. Just having gone thru that early experience, as a result I will always make a new saddle now. It's just better, even if it arguably isn't "better." Always go the extra mile, and you'll become known for doing so.

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

That's a good idea I was thinking more along the line of trying to thickness something down to .020" then drop it in the slot.
This is one of Gerald Sheppard's guitars that I own and I took the saddle down just a little too much.

Thanks
Richard

[quote="TonyKarol"]BRW veneer .. ala HK

HK?

I agree with you Howard, to the point of not causing the saddle to tilt, but really, how much more time does it take to make a new saddle of the correct height? 5 more min. or so for a straight saddle? A bit longer to make an intonated saddle, of course I am referring to repairing descent quailty instruments not junk. Don't you think the customer would pay a bit more for a new saddle than for a shim? I know I would. Again this is my opinion, and we are all entitled to that.

Cal

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Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!

I have no problem at all with a shim when made from the same material as the bridge or the saddle. I usually send guitars out with a small shim in place knowing that it is something the customer can adjust easily when the top raises up a bit after a few months of playing. I don't glue them in place, there is plenty of pressure keeping it tight. I have not experienced any noticeable (to me at least) change in sound when adding or removing them.

I make them with the thickness sander, double taped to a sacrificial board you can send them right through. A little solvent wicked underneath and they will pop right off.

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

I see no harm in a saddle shim made of hard wood. I've never been able to hear any difference in tone. In fact set up all of my new guitars with one .020 shim under the saddle. With my new guitars it's normal for the saddle to need to be lowered a little after a few weeks. Having a shim under there makes it easy for my customers to do that. They are usually very grateful that they did not have to take the guitar to a tech !!

Mark

Howard Klepper sorry I thought HK was one of the tonewood companies

yeah, I meant Howard .. as in the post a couple above me ...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I don't usually shim saddles, but old ivory keytops from pianos make nice shim material.