Telecaster Neck Angle

Devil#20 · September 2023

How do you go about setting the neck angle on a Telecaster (either with a micro tilt neck or shimming)? Obviously it has to be set strings off but once under tension it's going to change again isn't it.

guitarfishbay · September 2023

I prefer shimming and I usually start with one piece of business card cut to size and go from there. If you have to add another you have to add another. 1 has pretty much always been enough on my own instruments though

lewisanderson · September 2023

A 0.5° tapered wooden shim usually does the job on Fenders. On Micro-tilt guitars, I slacken the strings, undo the lower neck screws and adjust the tilt until the neck runs parallel to the strings.

ICBM · September 2023

Plain shim across the end of the pocket.

That said, probably 90% of Teles set up correctly without one.

Devil#20 · September 2023

I'm still not entirely sure what I'm measuring against what. What is the proper neck angle (either under tension or not under tension)?

elstoof · September 2023

“Proper” neck angle is 0 degrees. If you can’t set action low enough to your tastes at the bridge, then you shim it and readjust the bridge.

string tension won’t change the neck angle, which is the angle the heel sits in the pocket. Tension will alter the relief, which you then counteract with the truss rod

WezV · September 2023

Proper neck angle for me is when the bridge is set-up to optimum height and the action is good. This can be zero.

On fender's, good bridge set-up means having the saddles set high enough that the grub screws won't cut into your hand. If the saddles are set low, the grub screws protrude. In that situation it makes sense to shim the neck angle slightly to raise up the saddles

on top loading bridges this can also improve downward pressure on the saddles and help reduce rattles... but that isn't as much of a factor on string through body designs.

elstoof · September 2023

The only instances where you’d really need to shim are when the pocket has been routed too deeply, the neck’s heel isn’t thick enough, or you have a top loading bridge like a Bigsby and want to increase break angle by raising the bridge. In todays CNC production, the first two are less likely to be an issue, an accurately machined telecaster neck and body should just work

BillDL · September 2023

You can buy thin wooden shims in different degrees of taper that fit the whole floor of the neck pocket and with enough leeway for differently placed screws. Stewmac has sold these in maple for a long while, but they are £4 to £6 each and postage from America would make it very uneconomical. The only UK supplier I have noticed selling the same kind of thing (although there are likely to be others) is Reid Timber in Glasgow.

3 x beech wood shims 55mm by 76mm for £5.24 in 0.25, 0.5, and 1 degree.

https://www.reidtimber.co.uk/guitar-neck-taper-shims

They also sell a set of 4 x thin brass shims designed to go across the neck pocket at the back or the front, depending on requirement. £4. 10mm by 52mm with holes on 35mm centres. Thickness: About 0.2 mm (2 x), about 0.5 mm (1 x), and about 1 mm (1 x):

https://www.reidtimber.co.uk/guitar-neck-shim

With no string tension on a maple bolt-on neck, if you set the truss rod so that it is absolutely straight, the string tension will usually pull it up just enough for a satisfactory relief, or a good starting point for very minor adjustments to the truss rod. If the neck is straight without having tightened the truss rod at all, it is still best to snug up the adjuster until it bites and no more rather than leaving it absolutely loose, otherwise the string tension might pull it into too much relief.

If the neck is off and you don't want to be screwing and unscrewing the neck screws, you should be able to firmly hold or carefully clamp the neck into the pocket flat to the floor of the pocket and use a long straightedge resting on the tops of the frets to see what height it sits at the bridge saddles. You are really just looking for the bottom edge of the straightedge to line up a very small amount below the tops of the saddles when they are set to a height that still allows some upward and downward travel to compensate for the slight changes caused by the string tension on the neck. The most common reason for people shimming a Tele or Strat neck for a slight back tilt is so that the saddles can be raised to cover the sharp ends of the grub screws, but an easier solution to this "problem" is just buying shorter saddle grub screws and leaving the neck unshimmed. It is quite unusual for the neck pocket to be routed out to an angle or too deeply.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Telecaster Neck Angle

Comments