shimming neck for bigsby

[LipstickTUBE]

i want the telecaster bigsby kit for my tele, the one that comes with the tele plate. I read that if you put one of these on your tele you have to shim the neck of your guitar. I think this is done by putting small pieces of wood in betweent he neck and heel. Is there a place hat walks you through this? Is this difficult? has anyone ever done this?
all ideas are appreciated
thanks
nolan

[0le FUZZY]

<li>Hope this helps !!
<li>Thickness may vary !
<li>Cardboard or plastic will work jess fine.

[LipstickTUBE]

yes this makes sense now. thanks you
what is the purpose of this and is it neccesary for all teles
maybe i could use a credit card or something
my tele is a top loading design mim fender so i think it would be a perfect canidate for a bigsby as it will leave no loading holes.
thanks
nolan

[0le FUZZY]

<li>Many came from the factory with them however.
<li>This shim gives a slight tilt to the neck (back or down depending on reference) that allows the bridge tew be raised whilst keepin the action low on the fret board.
<li>I like my strings high in the bridge so most of mine are shimmed.
<li>Once inna while one must shim the front tew screws ta tilt it up or forward but this is rare and I haff only hadda dew it on tew TELECASTERs in the past.
<li>Good choice of TELE fer a Bigsby IMHO. I haff a few Bigsby equipped TELECASTERs here and don't care for them at all and wish I could remove them without a fill and refin.
<li>I alwayz suggest folks find one already with a Bigsby and play it fer a spell tew make sure they li kit and really want one.

[Slim]

I'm sure Ole Fuzzy's right, but I put a Bigsby on my Tele and I didn't have to use any kind of shim. Is yours a flat bridge plate or an ashtray?

[0le FUZZY]

<li>If yew use a standard, non-roller or no-original Bigsby bridge yew may not haff tew shim.
<li>Sumetimes even iffin yew dew use the Mustang style Bigsby bridge yew dont haff tew use a shim.
<li>It all depends on the depth of the neck in the pocket and other slight varaibles on a specific TELECASTER such as the bridge support shafts depth.
<li>About 80% of the ones I haff put tew gather I done hadda shim. of course YMMV HEE! HEE!
<li>Good luck!!

[Poppatwang]

Fuzzy, you can send me all your Bigsby Teles. I can see
it's causing you much aggravation.

I used a Fender style Bigsby with the new pup plate
and bridge ferrules etc. had to shim. Used a piece
of mylar. A little thickness goes a long way.

[T-Joe]

Jokers from a deck of cards. Seems to work well for me.

[LipstickTUBE]

all of this input is great!
i might just have to go to the guitar center and try a bigsby'd tele for myself. my bridge is he flat one but that woulkd be replaced anyways.
thnaks
nolan

[Wally]

The best method of shimming is to build a full shim to fit the entire contact area of the neck/pocket....tapered from the body end to the other end of the pocket....so as to support the entire 'heel' of the neck.
Other than that, I sometimes use window screen for the shim material. This minimizes the tendency of a bolt-on neck to shift due to the grip of the wire of the screen into the wood.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally Posted by Wally

The best method of shimming is to build a full shim to fit the entire contact area of the neck/pocket....tapered from the body end to the other end of the pocket....so as to support the entire 'heel' of the neck. ...

Absolutely the way to go for full and direct contact - and make the shim with a goodly hard material - I use hard rock maple veneer.