Some opinions on a guitar...

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Something about it struck me as wrong. You're right, it was probably best that I just walk away.

It's cool man, if you can forget about it I sure can. I didn't intend it to come across as a "dick" comment so if it did to Nor or anyone else, I apologize.

It's not a bad idea. A shim is a shim, whether it's a business card, wood, guitar picks, etc. Whatever gets the job done to get the angle you're looking for.

Now that, we'll have to agree to disagree on. I take Dan Erlewine's word on this, which is that if you're using a shim, the full length of the heel should be supported in the neck pocket, otherwise you risk causing a rise/hump in the end of the neck.

[Grandturk]

My Model 4 has a shim - and I imagine most did because the neck pocket was not angled, so in order to get the bridge setup right and low action, you've got to add some angle to the neck.

[warlok]

Personally, I agree about the neck tilt adjuster being an "iffy" thing on a strat. I know that it may not make as big a difference on a guitar using high gain, effects, and anything else to distort/color the sound, but alot of why I wanted a strat was the cleaner "strat tone" I get from the woods, electronics, etc. It seems to me that if you have basically a point (adjuster screw) holding the back of the heel at the angle you want, you lose the tonal quality that a secure bond between the neck and body gives you. If it's gonna be a bolt on, I think it should have full contact in the pocket. Now, I don't think it matters if you use paper, wood, etc, just full contact. Just my opinion..