shim or file

[cheekymunky]

If I have a warmoth  compound radius that is 10- 16 and a Floyd rose wich is a 10" ,
what do I do, do I shim it I don't like the Idea of shiming anything on a guitar wether it be the bridge or the neck like they do on fender strats neck to angle it . I think everything should butt in and have full contact.
So a warmoth strat neck, and body predrilled  for an original  floyd rose. All from warmoth I know there is going to be more to it than just bolting them together, what are you're experiences.

 

[bagman67]

The only way to change the radius on the bridge end with a Floyd is to shim it- it's not a bug, it's a feature!

 

[dmraco]

I have a Floyd on a compound neck.  Plays like a dream. No shims

 

[Ddbltrbl]

I have a Floyd on a compound neck.  Plays like a dream. No shims

Same here! No problems at all.

 

[Cagey]

A 10"-16" compound radius neck ends up needing about an 18" radius bridge. Floyds aren't adjustable, so you have to shim the saddles. You can get a set of 12 shims for ~$10 at GPR.

You only need half of them. 2 each at the high/low E strings, 1 each at the A and B strings. If you don't install them, it's not the end of the world. You just end up with a setup that's a tad less than ideal. The 4 inside strings will be slightly higher off the frets than the 2 outside strings. If you're a shredder, that could bother you. Otherwise, you may not notice. Most people's guitars are set up much worse anyway, if they're set up at all.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Your 10" Floyd Rose bridge already has a shim in it. Before you do what Cagey says, remove that shim.

 

[AutoBat]

I installed mine with the OFR shim in it.  I now know that it's less than ideal, but fortunately my fingers don't know the difference, so it doesn't bother me.  Some day I might get around to removing it.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

When you say your fingers don't know the difference, is it because they've never felt the difference - just one of the options? Like, if I have only ever eaten oranges, I can say that I don't know the difference between an apple and an orange. But it doesn't mean there isn't a significant difference there. I would say I need to eat an apple as well.

I was quite stunned when I got the shims installed in my Floyd over a 10-16. You just cannot get a consistent action across the strings above the 12th fret without them.

 

[guitartom]

Shim it.  Super easy.  I used 3 (.2) shims for the High and low E's and 1 (.2) shims for the A & B.  The D & G do not use shims.  My action is great and the neck is buzz free.

 

[AutoBat]

When you say your fingers don't know the difference, is it because they've never felt the difference.

I only have a sample size of 2 for floyd equipped guitars, the other being a friends Ibanez RG, also that I setup (I would suspect the bridge to be the correct radius though).
Since the RG has such different neck contours and overall feel, I cannot say if the feel of mine is off or not.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Sure. I'd recommend trying it, you can always go back, and it really is nice. Kinda like if you put a layer of velvet over the whole guitar.

 

[dmraco]

I know we are in the discussion of floyds.  What about all the lp style guitars with Tom/stops.  Those have no radius at all

 

[SustainerPlayer]

What about all the lp style guitars with Tom/stops.  Those have no radius at all

A standard TOM is 12" radius. Like this(look under details).

 

[cheekymunky]

thanks no offence But nobody answered the question.
Should I file down the the inner saddles to suit the radius or shim the outer saddles.
As for the neck. would I need to shim that too because that pisses me off I think the neck should butt in with no need of any shim leaving an air space between the neck and body.WTF
damn it really irritates me thinking about that crap design.


 

 

[Jumble Jumble]

thanks no offence But nobody answered the question.
Should I file down the the inner saddles to suit the radius or shim the outer saddles.

Really?

The only way to change the radius on the bridge end with a Floyd is to shim it

A 10"-16" compound radius neck ends up needing about an 18" radius bridge. Floyds aren't adjustable, so you have to shim the saddles. [...]2 each at the high/low E strings, 1 each at the A and B strings.

Your 10" Floyd Rose bridge already has a shim in it. Before you do what Cagey says, remove that shim.

Shim it.  Super easy.  I used 3 (.2) shims for the High and low E's and 1 (.2) shims for the A & B.  The D & G do not use shims. 

There's no reason you should need to shim the neck.

 

[cheekymunky]

thanks jumble But what about the Floyd rose I don't want to shim that either.

 

[Fat Pete]

The harsh answer would be: why ask then? If you don't want to shim it, don't. Leave it alone or file the hell out of it - up to you.

The other answer would be: shim it. That is how radius adjustment is intended to be accomplished on a Floyd Rose. OFRs are usually factory supplied with a shim to allow for 10" or 12" radii. Are you worried about it affecting the tone? It's a thin piece of steel clamped between 2 other pieces of steel and is far less likely (IMHO) to cause problems than an imperfectly filed saddle.

I'll go back to sleep (work) now.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Yeah your worries about full contact don't matter here, the shim covers the full base of the saddle, so the saddle has full contact with the shim, and the shim with the bridge plate.

And like I say - the standard Floyd Rose already has a shim in it when it's set at 10", when you get it from the factory. So they obviously think shims are OK.

However, it seems like your original question would be better phrased as, "to set the radius on a Floyd Rose without using shims, do I shim or file the saddles?".

The answer to that is "file them", although of course beware of the loss of tone involved in reducing the mass of the saddles. I mean, if you think the shims would affect tone, then surely that will too, right?

 

[cheekymunky]

not really, I just wondered what others do.
compound radius 10- 16 then as it gets to the bridge its more than 16
seems simple. but I fkd up before I don't want too f,up on a 150$ bridge just because I hit a blind spot and missed something.
not to mention $500 neck.

 

[bagman67]

Well, look at it this way:


Shimming = reversible, pretty much instantly.


Filing stuff down = you gotta buy replacement parts if you eff it up.