Commercially Available Saddle Shims?

guitaniac · #1 04-10-2006, 08:15 AM

I'd like to get some commercially available Tusq shims of precision width and thickness, - if they aren't prohibitively expensive. Has anyone heard of a commercial supplier of such shims?

Gary

nhsmitty · #2 04-10-2006, 09:04 AM

Once visited a local music store and asked about saddle shims. The tech handed me a handful of paper business cards, "Take what ya need."

Not sure Tusq shims exist. I have made shims from credit card plastic. The credit card shims worked great to gage proper saddle height before cutting a new saddle. They didn't sound too bad, either.

What types of material have others made shims from?

rick-slo · #3 04-10-2006, 09:11 AM

You can use aluminum foil. Fold it over as many times as you need. Cut carefully with scissors. It sounds just fine (can't tell a difference). However usually when I want to raise the saddle it is really just some of the strings, not all, I want higher, so the best solution is a reshaped saddle.
Rick

ljguitar · #4 04-10-2006, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitaniac

I'd like to get some commercially available Tusq shims of precision width and thickness, - if they aren't prohibitively expensive. Has anyone heard of a commercial supplier of such shims?

Hi Gary...
Shims usually imply pieces that are a uniform thickness, but often only one end of a saddle needs raised.

In those cases, it is good to glue a shim to the saddle and sand it to shape.

mtmikey · #5 04-10-2006, 10:20 AM

my ovation celebrity whatever-it-is shipped with saddle shims. three different ones, iirc. you might see if kaman makes any available... they weren't tusq... but they were plastic.

guitaniac · #6 04-10-2006, 10:29 AM

Thanks for the ideas, folks. I'm looking for uniform thickness shims so that I can a) maintain my present saddle height while experimenting with a thinner UST (the ultra-thin PUTW Stealth UST) than what's currently in one guitar, and b) try a slightly lower shim than the one which is currently in another guitar. In both cases, the saddle "witness points" were expertly shaped by my tech, so I don't want to mess with that end of it. If I end up replacing the saddles, he'll be doing that job.

Thanks again for the ideas. I'm also getting some good feedback on the AG Mag gear forum, if anyone is interested.
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi...c;f=1;t=023328

Guyute · #7 04-10-2006, 10:40 AM

Well if your tech is going to eventually shape the saddle for you, have you asked him about your idea?

Roman · #8 04-10-2006, 01:39 PM

I've actually used the metal strip that is installed in most wooden rulers. They are a perfect width for a standard saddle and can be cut to length real easy.

dberkowitz · #9 04-11-2006, 06:04 AM

Cut up credit cards are uniform in thickness and hard enough to transmit sound. Paper is absorbent and as such doesn't work all that well. In the shop, I use maple or rosewood veneer when necessary.

David D. Berkowitz
Berkowitz Guitars

guitaniac · #10 04-11-2006, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guyute

Well if your tech is going to eventually shape the saddle for you, have you asked him about your idea?

My tech occasionally uses maple shims, as does luthier David Berkowitz who was kind enough to comment in the previous post. I was hoping to find something commercially available which would save me most of the cutting (which I can't do very precisely), but there apparently isn't anything (specifically cut for shimming) that's commerically available. (As somebody mentioned, Ovation apparently supplies shims specific to their guitars. I've also gotten a special brass shim, from the Godin folks, for use with their RMC hex pickup-equipped guitars.)

Thanks again to all for the many ideas and suggestions.
Gary