Very Low Strat Saddles- Grind screws or shim neck?

[Sean]

I have a parts strat where the saddles on the bridge are very low. The low E is almost on the bridge plate. This leaves the screws sticking up very high out of the saddles. The guitar plays pretty well aside from the screws sticking out the saddles- they will be quite uncomfortable if the guitar is played for any amount of time.

My question is: should I grind the saddle screws down so they won't cut the s&^t outta my hand, or should I shim the neck so the saddles must be set higher? I'm just wondering what you more experienced guys would do.

The guitar currently has 11's on it, and I am leaning towards grinding. I'm not sure how much more tension I want with 11's. If I shim, I may have to go to 10's.

Opinions?

[zombiwoof]

I had the same problem and shimmed the neck. I think those saddles have to be at normal height to sound right. The guitar sounded better after the shimming. If the outer saddles are almost hitting the plate, they're too low.

Al

[testing1two]

There is a balance to be had here. On one hand, having lower saddles gives a slinkier feel to the strings and a more stable point of contact to the bridge plate. On the other hand, you need to have some room to adjust the action in both directions. If your saddles can't go any lower, you should add a shim so you can fine tune the action.

Also, Fender sells replacement screws with staggered heights. You could get 2 sets and just use the shorter screws from each set.

[Boris Bubbanov]

I would not shim, and I would not change to a lighter guage either.

I'd increase the number of trem springs, and/or tighten down the trem claw so the bridge plate is close to being decked. You can also get the shorter 1/4 inch and 5/16ths 4/40 set screws from Bill Callaham as part of your order.

If that isn't enough take a look at your neck pocket and the underside of the heel, clean the extra material out of the way so the neck seats properly, and reassemble. Sometimes the neck simply does not seat right the first or second time the parts go together.

Shims are temporary remediation, they're not an ideal solution to anything. YMMV.


Bubbanov

[Sean]

Thanks for the opinions. Sometimes its good to get a few opinions when you have a problem.

I wound up putting a small shim the the bridge side of the pocket (a thin piece of sand paper). It enabled me to get the low E saddle off of the bridge plate enough for my satisfaction. Guitar plays well with 11's still.
I understand that shims are a work-around fix for a problem, but the neck just sat low in the pocket despite several reseatings and waiting numerous days for things to settle. I guess that is the price to pay when you gather a bunch of parts and slap them together.

It's also amazing that such a small shim can produce a rather drastic result change in neck angle.