To shim or not to shim

Buco · September 2016

pdg wrote: »

I have come up with an adjustable height bridge for GJ guitars. I'm fine tuning it for tone, but the volume is there completely -- even louder than with regular bridges. I use aircraft grade aluminum posts and thumbwheels, which weigh next to nothing, so the bridge doesn't end up weghing more than a traditional GJ bridge. I'll mever look back . . . .

Hey you must be Paul. Jeremy told me about what you two were thinking about doing. It's really great to hear that you have the prototype.

rgrice · September 2016

@pdg sounds great! I know folks around here would love to see and hear!

Jsndlng · April 2021

Thanks for the add. I looked up this question, and found this site, because what appears to be a badly enhance picture of Django appears on an album cover and I thought I could see shims beneath his bridge.

it’s a colourised photo of him looking dapper, with an ancient pickup in his hole and I felt the shim would not have lasted the cleanup unless it was important.

so, if Django shimmed ... I’m gonna shim if the need arises.

oh. I bought a maple back and sides Altamira last week - I named my son Django 14 years ago but have been pursuing flamenco all these years and am just taking my first steps into the style.

Buco · April 2021

Hey welcome! And try to get your son into playing guitar too.

Jsndlng · April 2021

Thanks! He plays trumpet at the moment (7 years in) but I reckon he’ll head for my guitars when the girls start chasing him 😂 ...:

Bones · April 2021

Tuba is the real chick magnet

Buco · April 2021

Or he becomes like Aussie Chris Botti and his old man joins his band.

Gouch · May 2021

My (excellenté) 2017 ALD Original didn't seem to need shims until this year. I keep the guitar in the case with good humidification-control in the room, but alas, in Wisconsin, we have annual temperature swings of 120f, so guitar action is a constant adjustment exercise.

My bridge is ebony, and as discussed earlier upthread, it is tapered underneath toward the moustache, so the contact points are smaller than the visible feet. I found in my stash a piece of old black ebony that I tapered to almost zero, and then rounded the bottom of this shim slightly so the contact is pretty close to the bridge-foot contact area (e.g., if it isn't under the bridge-foot contact surface, the shim isn't contacting the top). And the shim is about 2cm long so it isn't adding a lot of weight. I made 2, so far I'm only using one shim, on the treble foot.

So far so good- with the treble shim in, the action is way better (just a little higher) and the tone is noticeably louder and fuller. Totally worth the effort. I fully expect this will be an ongoing, easy adjustment, depending on climate.

tr3topflyer · July 2022

What are anyone's thoughts on using black fiber sheets (like used for purfling and lamination) for shimming bridges? I've heard that rosewood as a shim material can break down over time and leave marks on the top.