dubstar Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 after adjusting the truss rod to increase relief in an attempt to eliminate a few string buzzes on the low E and A strings (weather related?), I added a small hard plastic shim (from insurance card) under these strings...definitely worked and cleared up 99% of the problem, although I'm not sure things are really the way they should be...string height at nut might be a little high, maybe a high fret between the 8th and 14th frets... anyway, this is the best I can do for now due to lack of $$$ and access to the luthier who works on my guitars...so the question is, do shims noticeably impact tone / sustain in a negative way? I've read both opinions... thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ship of fools Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 The short answer is yes that it does take away from the tone and sustain of a guitar, its always better to have the saddle as a whole rather than something that does not lay flat against the bridge of the guitar.however I undersatnd that sometimes money and lack of a compitent tech or luthier, you do what you have to do to continue to play. As for a high fret well if you have a steel ruler just check across the frets you might have a lower fret also and its not unusal for a hump at the 14th fret sometimes also, which can cause you some grief at times.And you may find that at times you will have a buzz on some string(s) due to weather and may need to leave the guitar to re-climatize it self, its always good to have several guitars to avoid these things, but as you mentioned money can be tight so you may find that you might need to give your girl a couple of days of rest, good luck and I hope it works out for you.Ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted December 13, 2008 Author Share Posted December 13, 2008 thanks...yes, I think the 14th fret is a problem...there is a slight hump, unfortunately...this became less pronounced when I loosened the truss rod...I feel like its a combination of things, such as maybe the saddle height, nut height, and relief were absolutely perfect for the late summer / fall, but now that my house is usually between 64-68, problems are occurring... one thing however troubles me...over the course of several days, I loosened the truss rod about 3/4 of a full turn, maybe more like 85%...you read all these juju cautionary tales about truss rods, and that you should only adjust so much... action is slightly over 2mm low E at 12th, and slightly under 2mm high E 12th neck relief looks to be between 1/64" and 2/64" string height at nut maybe 1/64" frets seem level (except that slight hump, which I never noticed before last week) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theDeuce Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Shims are kind of a necessary evil. Your action seems very low, is 2mm correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sangemon1281734057 Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Don't shim it, make a new saddle. They're not very expensive and you won't be ruining your guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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