Question for the boltie experts...

[Hellbat]

I bought a new bolt-on strat type guitar yesterday. It was super cheap and I basically just picked it up because it played decently at the open chording end of the neck and sounded nice acoustically.

The only issue is the action starts out very low (around .7mm) and gradually gets higher till it's around 2mm at the 21st fret. I put a straightedge on the neck to see if it was trussrod adjustment necessary but the neck only has the right amount of relief so I don't think there is anything to be gained there. It's a Fender style hardtail stringthrough and I don't think saddle height adjustment is what I'm looking for because I like the action from 1-7 or so.

So, this means my only adjustment left would be to shim the neck correct?

I'm guessing to lower the action at the higher frets you'd want the shim at the deep end of the pocket correct? Will a business card thickness shim make enough difference on a 1-1.5mm difference in action height? I could always experiment but I figure I could gather some group wisdom here and go in at least a little bit prepared.

I'm not ready to post pics yet because the guitar isn't "finished". I'll put some up when it's done though.

[ulijdavid]

You need to experiment. But, yes a business card will affect it more than you would imagine.

[MetalMedal II]

First try lowering the bridge. This will affect the action on the higher frets more so than frets 1-7. If you start to get too much buzzing try loosening the trussrod a hair to get more relief.

Shimming of the neck is only needed when you run out of adjustment of the top 2 parts or if you want the bridge to sit higher or lower.

[Newc]

Take one of those magazine subscription cards and cut a 1/2" wide strip across the short end of the card (end to end), fold that in half, and cut it at the fold. That's your shim.

Put it at the base of the pocket and remount the neck.

[Hellbat]

I tried lowering the action a ways and it helped some but I think it's going to end up either with me just adjusting to it (likely) or me shimming it. (Not out of the realm of possibility.)

[toejam]

You probably have a 9.5" or some other small, round radius like that. If you lower the action too much, you're not going to be able to do a lot of bending up high without fretting out.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I tried lowering the action a ways and it helped some but I think it's going to end up either with me just adjusting to it (likely) or me shimming it. (Not out of the realm of possibility.)

As MetalMedal II already said, shimming the neck does the same thing as lowering the saddles as far as how the strings lie on the neck. There is no need to shim the neck unless you run out of adjustment or the bridge is "too low" (or you just don't want 1/8" of grub screw stabbing you every time you palm mute.)

[Hellbat]

Yeah its a cheap 9.5" radius so I will be balancing out action height and the ability to bend. I'm a bendy guy so high action for the 12th fret up it is!