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StewMac Neck Shims – The Professional Solution for Perfect Neck Angle Adjustments.
For decades, guitar players and repair shops have used makeshift shims—such as matchbook covers or guitar picks—to adjust the neck angle on bolt-on guitars. However, these create gaps under the neck heel, leading to potential humidity issues and a loss of tone.
StewMac’s precision-crafted maple neck shims solve this problem. These full-contact, tapered shims fit the entire heel of the neck, ensuring a solid connection between the neck and body. No more guesswork—these shims provide a professional setup with reliable results.
Three Shims for Perfect Adjustments:
- 0.25° Shim: Ideal for fine-tuning neck angles. Stack multiple shims for customized adjustments.
- 0.50° Shim: The most commonly used shim, perfect for Fender-style guitars and other solid-body instruments.
- 1.00° Shim tapers from 0.060" to 0.010" (1.52mm to 0.25mm), best for guitars with high-action bridges like Tune-o-Matic or Floyd Rose
Precision Tapering for Consistent Results:
- 0.25° Shim: 0.030" to 0.019" (0.76mm to 0.48mm)
- 0.50° Shim: 0.028" to 0.008" (0.71mm to 0.20mm)
- 1.00° Shim: 0.060" to 0.010" (1.52mm to 0.25mm)
Designed for Universal Fit: Shaped shims measure 2-3/16" x 3" (55.56mm x 76.12mm) and fit most neck pockets with a rounded heel. For flat-heeled neck pockets, such as Tele-style guitars, simply trim along the lasered guide line.
Trusted by Professional Luthiers: Save time and ensure a quality neck angle adjustment with these ready-made shims. Perfect for quick repairs in the shop or DIY setups at home.
Built to Last a Lifetime – All StewMac products are backed by our Lifetime Promise.
Grandpa
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2025
I built an sg style guitar with a tune o matic bridge. The action was too high and the bridgeWas at its lowest position. I used the 1 degree shim and everything is good now. Another great product.
Jennifer Tuminello
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2025
I had to get these to adjust the neck angle on a Telecaster kit guitar. Worked perfectly.
The Dutchman
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2022
The action was very high on my Squier Vintage Modified Mustang. I adjusted the bridge height, saddles height and truss rod but still could not get the action low enough to play it comfortably. After some research online, I ordered these shims. I used the 1 degree shim first and presto! the action was almost perfect. A couple of tweaks to the bridge and it’s now setup the way I like I wanted it to be in the first place.The shims are just very thin pieces of wood. You get 3 different sizes which is good because you really don’t know how big of a shim you will need until you start working on the guitar.Shipping from Stew Mac via Amazon was very quick.Overall, I’m very happy with this product. I’m glad that I was able to do the install and setup myself.
DJ
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2022
I used these SM shims in lieu of the business cards formerly residing in the neck pocket of my 48 year old Japanese strat knockoff. The shims keep the neck firmly in place and help the tuners and tremolo work as they are supposed to. That said, the cost of these shims is a bit much.
catheryn c harper
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2021
I used all of them on my homemade Jazzmaster it allowed me to raise the bridge and lower the action all at once . Once I did I realized I had fret buzz at the 8 th fret of the high E . I had played this guitar for two years and it didn’t show up until I got the action low. I file’ed the fret and it works great. Sustainability is the same as before with the wood transferring vibration perfectly. You bridge will have to have the ability to rise high enough to overcome the tilt. This works great for me and allows my tilting bridge to rock as designed by Leo Fender and not go out of tune using the tremolo.
Sundance
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2021
I bought an SX mahogany Strat type guitar, with a tune o matic bridge, and p90's. It's very well made, but, tune o matic bridges are a lot higher than strat type bridges, and the action was rediculously high, even with the bridge bottomed out, SX put it together as though it had a normal Strat bridge. . I used the 0.25, and the 0.5 degree shims, for a total of 0.75 degrees to put the neck in a perfect position for the bridge. It worked out very well, the guitar plays like a dream, the action is adjustable from on the frets, to quite high now, and intonation is well within the range of the bridge. These shims might seem expensive, I do not feel they are, they are made near perfect, and it would be impossible for me to make them, and very difficult, even for someone with the tools to do it, as precisely as these are made.
Brett
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2020
Product is quite a bit expensive, but it got the job done.My guitar's neck was way too far forward, and it was caused the intonation to be so out of whack. I needed way more adjustment on the bridge than what I had, so I figured I would need to get the neck more in line with the body by shimming it.So I first tried just slapping it in there, but then my neck was too high for the strings to actually get over it (even with the action ALL the way up), so then I sanded the heel down. It's still a bit high, but I was actually able to get the strings to not sit on the frets.Magically, once I set the action [somewhat] appropriately, the guitar's intonation fell right into line.To get it to be perfect, i still need to sand the heel a bit more, and then I need to set the action a little bit better. I just wanted to see if I could salvage the guitar and it appears that I can. Needs more TLC, but I think I can get it there.
Customer
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2019
These are bit pricey, but when you need to properly adjust the angle of the neck these are the right way to do it and get accurate results with a solid neck to body connection (do not use matchbooks, playing cards, guitar pics or other plastic shims).If you use do not use matchbooks, playing cards, guitar pics or other plastic shims, you do not get solid neck to body contact and lose a lot of tone and distort the neck pocket and the neck overtime. I would only use one of these methods in a pinch while on the road gigging to get me through a show but then replace it with stew mac neck shims to do it right and not cause damage to my axe. (fyi - I carry a set of these with me wherever I go now so I can do neck angle adjustments properly while on the road gigging).
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