A Trick for Fixing High End Action on your Guitar 

Haha thanks Brad. I really hope you enjoy it.

I sense favouritism here. These guys are both clearly Bradists. Shame on you both. Lol.

I'm interested in building kits adhd selling for a profit. Wuart kinda pricing can i expect if mine are as good as this one?

It all depends on whether you have something that a particular person wants I think. I’m not sure though; I generally don’t sell my kits. Dan from Guns and Guitars would be a better person to ask.

The last time we talked turns out I had covid well I tested 3 weeks ago past Saturday and showed positive but it really started 4 weeks ago this coming Wednesday and I'm still fighting it brother I'm a little bit overweight it's quite a bit more than a little bit but I'm not going to tell everybody I'm a hundred pounds overweight oops lol and a 47-year smoker so I hope that I don't have a long lasting effects from this crap it's the second time I've had it and this time it knocked the living crap out of me I haven't gotten anything done since you and I talked. I'll take care of my good friend cheers

Luckily the guitar building community is usually pretty happy to share knowledge, so it’s not too difficult to pick up tricks etc. if you know who to ask.

Thanks Michael!

Thank you

Thank you! It’s been an interesting ride haha. I like this better than standing in front of a big black door with a ton of background noise at least.

Thanks Todd

Thanks Jeffrey

Thank you!

Thank you; I appreciate it.

Thank you Ed

Thank you Simon. Sorry to hear that the dog needed surgery, but I’m glad he was taken care of! Yes, dispelling guitar myths has become a bit of a pastime of mine on occasion haha.

Thank you

Glad to hear it’s good now!

Thank you John

Thank you Ryan

Thanks Dan.

Thanks Paul. Finished maple?

Thank you; I appreciate it. All seems to have gone well.

Thanks Trevor

Thanks Mark

Indeed. That’s a good idea.

Thank you. That is a weird one for sure haha.

I always used my cigarette pack cuz I've been smoking cigarettes from a box pack for years and years and years and that's why I always use the shim them and I just tear a piece of the cardboard from the cigarette box and see what it does. I'd lower the bridges down all the way so I knew I'd have enough movement and then shim it until it fretted out real bad and there you go of course before you put the strings back on you should do a fret leveling job on the neck then put strings back on

Yeah that should work just fine.

For the amount of actual width these have I’m not sure a tapered shim makes any difference, but I can see why they might in theory.

I realize people will do this many different ways and be happy with the results. The thing to remember is that this takes place close to the end by the truss rod. An important end of the neck. Let me put it this way. When two surfaces are going to be bolted together and these surfaces do not have full co-planar contact, stresses are introduced at that point since the material will deform once they are screwed together. This deformation could affect the truss rod operation or damage the heel. The way to avoid this is by using a full contact tapered shim that will give a non deforming, full contact connection. No gaps, no stress, no deformation. It is not a theory, just best mechanical practice for connections requiring shims. There is an old saying, "never time to do it right, but always time to do it twice." I try do get it right the first time.

Fair enough Dennis. I just don’t think a shim this thin has any chance of damaging the heal or impacting the truss rod. I get what you’re saying from a physics perspective, I just don’t think there’s enough there for a practical impact. It seems to me like suggesting that if you park your car with a piece of cardboard under under one wheel for a while it’ll throw the suspension out of alignment.

@@BradAngove I'm a full time guitar tech, I always taper my shims, my personal belief on it's importance, is that the uneven force applied from the non tapered shim can cause issues with the high frets. Ever played an old bolt on guitar which starts to warp past say the 15th fret, coz they usually all do! Making sure the shim is tapered and applying even pressure will mean that this warping, which can cause dead frets, takes a little longer or is never an issue. It's a small thing, but it is the 'proper' way to do it.

Thanks Joe. I’ve played older guitars with warping issues but they didn’t have shims. Wood can change over time; there’s no doubt. I still don’t think a shim like this is going to be any better or worse, short term or long, than a tapered shim. But, as always, to each their own. I don’t worry so much about the “right way” to do things on guitars anymore. There’s a lot of old mythology still governing how people work on guitars. For example, some people still think lacquer sounds noticeably better (or at least different) than poly on an electric guitar haha.

Thank you

Very nice George

I don’t think fender has their stuff really set up to paint necks.

Have you tried adjusting the saddle down on that side?

Thanks Brian. She is improving.

Thanks; I have one. I just tend to use the same drill for everything because it’s fast and handy haha.

@@BradAngove I find that I end up using the drill for holes only. The battery lasts longer in the impact and I get better control over fasteners with a lot less stripping out. I learned this working in swimming pools where most screws go into some plastic or other softer materials.

Isn't the function basically the same on the drill by rotating the torque setting on the neck of the drill? (which I see his drill has) I know the difference between an impact driver and drill, but if we are talking about simply limiting the torque, does the impact driver still have an advantage?

That would probably work just fine.

I think solo and stewmac both sell them.

Sand it back a bit, paint it white again, and then use a clear coat that doesn’t yellow. Acrylic lacquer is probably a good option.

There’s nothing wrong with that option except that you would perhaps see a bit of the shim. People believe a lot of things like that in guitar building for some reason and most of them make no practical difference. Particularly in an electric guitar that gap will not make any difference that we would be able to discern.

Hi Peter, I’ve done a few pickup upgrades and you can see me do them in most of my kit builds. Often I end up doing things like switching for single coils in my tele builds (including this one) to instead putting in humbuckers. I expect I will do more of those types of upgrades, although I am no pickup expert. Dylan talks tone is probably the guy to ask about that.

That wasn’t a song (as far as I know); I was just messing around.

I’m not familiar with those. Do they get mounted under the bridge? I’ll have a look. Maybe fishman will help me out with that, but as you probably know by now I’m not exactly a talented guitarist/songwriter haha. I may have to bring in some help to demo it.

@@BradAngove Yeah it has a pickup which mounts directly near the bridge on the pickup's side. I'm sure Fishman would help you out. Grab another one for me while you're at it. Ha ha ha ha.

Are any of these actually supposed to be questions?

Thanks Michael

Some people would probably argue that changing the angle allows for better contact between parts, which they think will increase sustain. I don’t think it makes any difference as long as you have the skills to do a good job of the angle change and you’re not removing wood that you need (aka neck isn’t too low in the pocket). However, if I were concerned about the value decrease I would do a tapered shim the full size of the pocket, test it, and then glue it in.

@@BradAngove Thanks for taking the time to answer me. I really appreciate it!

Haha yeah I figured the video was plenty long already.

Yeah I’ve done quite a few of those.

Actually I’m usually telling her to get rid of her junk haha.

Hi Jeffrey, yes that’s me. Angoveguitars.com has my “stock” models or you can email me at Brad.angove@gmail.com if you need something bespoke or that isn’t on the website.

@@BradAngove thanks

Glad to hear it.

Cheers; I’m glad you’ve found the videos helpful.

Thanks Terry. That’s a good idea.

I’ve never done a stewmac kit. I’m not sure I could afford one haha

@@BradAngove They had them on sale in July and they weren't bad at all. VERY comparable to the Solo kits. Edit: The Tele-style kit is $189.99 for now.

It could be a truss rod adjustment, but more like needs the bridge raised a touch or some fret work. It doesn’t hurt to level the high frets down a touch either.

@@BradAngove the trust rod on this neck is the one where the neck needs to be taken off to adjust it. It was the 19th 20th 21st 22nd 24 fret rasing the floyd rose from the zero point didn't help I tried 1 through 4 shims.

If you have buzz there then a shim is the opposite of what you need. I’d start by removing the shims, and then if necessary level those down slightly.

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks Rich. I have to disagree with you about the side-to-side element, and I may at some point do a video proving it (I’ve played a guitar with just a “tongue” for the heel instead of a full pocket and it was great). I appreciate your support. I may post a picture of the pet on Instagram if you follow me there.

@@BradAngove "great" doesn't equal "superior" or "beyond improvement" in American English. Not familiar with the Canadian translation.

I didn’t say it was superior. I said the side fit doesn’t really matter; which would make it equivalent. I also didn’t say it was beyond improvement. The proper inference from me saying the side fit doesn’t really matter would be that it is not an improvement or a detriment one way or the other. That goes for every dialect of English that I’m familiar with.

Thanks. I don’t think this creates a gap that is capable of changing anything, so I would stick with this method simply because it is so much easier and doesn’t creat a risk of making the bottom of the pocket uneven. As with all things though: do whatever works for you.

You'll never in a million years achieve a flat surface by filing. Shimming is the best way, unless you can set up a router or similar machine tool to generate a flat surface at exactly the right angle. I agree with the use of inserts and machine screws. They improve the neck joint immeasurably.

@@ParaBellum2024 I get so close it's not even measurable. The string will tell you how close you are so yes you can get as good as any router. Use the right file and it's perfect plus years of experience helps :)

We don’t have coverage. I did the math on one of ours and determined that the premiums didn’t make sense for us. I’m not sure how the insurance policies here in Canada compare to yours though.

It’s certainly an option. Not a typical one for guitars, but I’ve used it on a few for sure.

@@BradAngove and would just crystal clear enamel be a good top layer to protect the paint

Yes, that generally works just fine.

@@BradAngove thanks you helped a lot

I’m sure there are some good videos around about preventing tear out while drilling. Have you tried starting on the bottom side instead?

I've tried it both ways. One video recommended drilling from the top. I did one recently and put tape on the bottom and the hole were clean@@BradAngove

You mean the kit? Or the finished product?

What part of the fretboard are you getting the buzz?

@@BradAngove first 3 fretts E A strings low,,then from fretts 12th 13th 14th onwards buddy it's not the worst but its noticeable and it's not even low action I'm only dropping to 19mm 2mm soon as I go too 2.5mm it goes away but I would like it down to 2mm atleast to feel comfortable

Have you changed the string gauge at all?

@@BradAngove I changed strings same gauge 9s and shim my locking nut height,its reading from frett 1 2 3 about 1,2mm? Is that high,I have jem jr ibenez its brand new frets are all new seems no uneaven fretts checked them,it had all over buzz when I had got the guitar until I raised up the bridge and mucked about with the kneck,not slot of kneck relief to muck about with

@@BradAngove do u think 10s would help if I put em on

If the angle is inadequate the saddles would end up being too low. Either bottomed out, or at least low enough that the set screws would come through the top and may be uncomfortable.

@@BradAngove Yeah, I agree with that. Just wanted to confirm that this is the reason.

It’s kind of you to ask. One of my viewers sent a donation for that purpose to my PayPal, which is in the description (Brad.angove@gmail.com), which was a very nice surprise. To be clear though; I’ll make sure she’s taken care of regardless. I don’t want people to think that they have to help or she won’t get what she needs. She had the surgery. I’m just trying to make sure I can deal with the credit card bill now haha.

Nice!

Thank you; that’s very kind of you. She has had her surgery and is doing well, so I’m grateful for that. Now I’m just trying to make it a little easier on myself to pay the credit card bill haha. I don’t have a site for this in particular, but if you would like to help you are welcome to donate via PayPal to Brad.angove@gmail.com This would usually go to help support the channel, but in this case it would go to paying off the surgery. Either way I appreciate the sentiment and thank you for watching the video.

She is improving rapidly.

The ceramic tile photo?

@@BradAngove Yeah it has that Hospital color.

Good idea; thanks.

That sounds like quite the project. I think BigDGuitars has quite a few videos on things like that.

I bet you’re right haha

You mean a full normal scallop job?

@@BradAngove Yes sir. All w/o using expensive tools. I know you got this.

Yeah, it’s pretty straightforward. I’ll see if an appropriate project arises for it.

@@BradAngove That would be cool. Been watching you since the very start. Best how to guitar channel on the web and RU-vid period

I agree. Bolt on just makes more sense.

Yes. It’s pretty much just bridge height on a set neck unless you adjust it when you’re doing the glue up.

Thanks Christian

Hi George, do you already have the paint for this project or are you looking for recommendations on compatible options?

@@BradAngove thanks a lot for your answer it's 5:45 here right now so when I'm a little more awake here in a couple of hours I'll tell you what I've got if that's okay

@@BradAngove yeah I already have like the clear that I have came from Custom pans in Florida they get it from the UK and that's the paint I was telling you about it's in a rattle can and you pull the pin on the bottom of it and it releases the hardener that's like good for about 24 hours after that cuz I wanted to use some hardener as a sealer so the wood grain would really pop like you said it probably would with what just using a clear on it. They told me down there where I got that at that I had to use a kind of poly with it as a sealer because I wouldn't get the artwork done with your hair brush before that sealer got done because I would still have to put three coats on it and sand it down and put my other three coats on it I wouldn't have time so I better use a different sealer. Now the paint for my airbrush is a water base acrylic which I'm assuming if that Polly is dry the airbrush paint would be okay and as long as I let it dry 100% to where the water was 100% evaporated that I could just seal it inside with the other clear. And I was just wondering if what I'm doing is going to be okay because I'm going to make my lightning bolts wide and not super bright it's going to be more of the glow on my first application the pulley airbrush back you know and put my three coats of clear on it and then move up on lightning bolts with a real brake light and move in closer and follow them in the center with the actual lightning bolt to give it a little bit of a 3d effect and then put my last three coats of clear on it and then do my finish work on it do you think that's going to work out all right I can't find anybody around here this has any knowledge whatsoever about what's going on in the paint world I guess everything I've learned I've learned from you and a airbrush fell out of you probably know who I'm talking about please a fantastic teacher and stuff. Hey I hope your puppy dog or whatever your pet was that you had to have emergency surgery on is doing well! I have my two wiener dogs I think I told you about them before it will with me when my wife was killed and everything back 2012 and they're like children I know how close you can be to him Brad. I hope it's your buddies doing okay. But that's about the size of things going on but I'm just wondering if the poly sealer and the water-based acrylic airbrush paint and the way I'm going to apply it and then put whatever that clear is that is only compatible with polymer base while I would imagine I guess it's probably base clear if they would all be along on my masterpieces LOL I sure do appreciate everything that you've taught me in the last 2-3 years without you even knowing it and that's a damn nice guitar and that's beautiful work you did on it too by the way I'll talk to you later buddy and thanks again for getting back with me Brad I sure appreciate it. Cheers my brother. I'm an old hillbilly that's why I call you my brother LOL cuz in my eyes you are

@@BradAngove no reply I just sent you of course it's talk to text you know always use it but I hope you can make sense because I'm not feeling the best I got some crap in my lungs it just it's got me not feeling too good but I hope you can make sense of what I wrote cuz I didn't proofread it too good I know I said crazy pans instead of crazy cans

Hi George, I think I understand what you’re after. Are you looking to have any tint to your sealer to help the grain pop? If so, I would go with shellac. Get it all sealed up with shellac and give it a few days to dry. Then sand with 600 grit to get everything smooth and then you can do your lightning work. For the clear coat between layers of lightning you’re looking for a mid-coat clear. Spraymax for example makes an acrylic 1k clear that works well as a mid-coat.

I have noticed I get some comments from Americans about how I pronounce the “o” in many words as an “o” instead of an “aw”. Apparently Americans like to “pawlish” their paint haha.

@@BradAngove Maybe something about Polish jokes.

I’m not sure that what you’re saying is mutually exclusive with it being a trick. I didn’t say it was a secret.

@@BradAngove lol .. you basically said " watch my video to learn an AWESOME TRICK to make your guitar play better" .. then crapped the bed with the startling revelation of using a **gasp** shim in the neck pocket . Thanks for wasting my time with your misleading headline .. you rock 👍👍

You’re welcome. Any time buddy.

As many times as I want. My drill has torque settings haha.

I’d be a touch concerned about them just digging into the wood, but they’d still do the job I would think.

@@BradAngove Exactly they'd dig into the pocket and neck.

Care to elaborate?

@@BradAngove Sure instead of being lazy using a poorly sized bit on your power drill , Tighten those neck screws by hand like your suppose to with the proper sized screw driver . There I elaborated :). I like your videos but showing people how to build or fix things poorly is not great practice . Also shimming the neck like that is kinda a last resort and the neck pocket should have been routed out properly to start with ..

Shimming the neck is a fix. That was the point of the video. It works perfectly well. It’s not what you would do when planning the build of a guitar from scratch, but on a flat setup guitar like this it’s a good option to make this adjustment. The screws are fine and I used the right size bit, so I’m not sure what you’re worried about there or what kind of soft metal screws you’re working with. This task doesn’t need to be done by hand if you know how to use a drill reasonably well. The bit jumping once or twice isn’t going to ruin anything.

Possible carcinogenic concerns from exposure due to long term direct skin contact with petroleum products. Low viscosity UPS grade mineral oil might be a better option. It's the active ingredient in just about every fretboard oil out there except for Fret Doctor, which is made from essential oils.