Floyd Rose saddle shim question

[DimMak]

I have a 12" radius jackson soloist (I guess its a compound?) I just put a new schaller in the guitar and had a luthier do a setup. I got it back and it seems the D and G strings are farther off the fret board than the rest at the 12th fret.

The low E and high E are 1.25mm from the bottom of the strings to the 12th fret, the D and G are almost 1.75mm off the 12th fret. I know it seems small but I can feel it when playing stuff that is harder to play. I have another jackson soloist with an original floyd and the radius of the saddles feels flatter. I can see some shims under A and B string saddles on the guitar I just had setup. There must be some under the D and G as well. Is there a reason he would do this? I like all the strings being closer to the same height off the fret board.

I had a new r2 nut put on as well and that looks and feels perfect, all string evenly distanced off the fret board.

I feel like if the bridge is 12" radius without shims and the fretboard is 12" there shouldnt be any need for shims right?

 

[ASoC]

if your fingerboard has a compound radius then it's most likely 12" at the nut and 16" at the end of the fingerboard. Your bridge should be shimmed to somewhere around 18" (maybe more, I haven't actually done the math) in order to match the conical radius of the board. If the board is a straight 12" radius the whole way through then yes, 12" at the nut and bridge would be correct

 

[Goblet of Gore]

I've shimmed all my floyded guitars. What worked for me was buying the string height gauge and shimming all the strings to the same height. Also, remove the shim that comes stock under the saddles, that thing is worthless.

 

[StringPluckery]

Is it possible the saddles weren't installed in the correct order?

 

[Hollowway]

I've had the same things come from luthiers. It's like some of them can literally make a whole guitar, but are unaware of shimming saddles. I usually A) Make sure the saddles are in the correct order, and B) shim the outermost saddles a lot, and the next set in a little, so that it matches the radius correctly. A pain in the ass, but doesn't take too long. I just cut them out of soda/pop cans.

 

[DimMak]

All good points. I just seem to get the high and low E strings at the correct height for me but the rest are a touch to high with the D and G being the highest (again we are talking a very small amount). I play pretty low action, like lower it until I get fret out and the come up just enough to make the fret out go away. I think I am going to have to take the saddles off I hate paying 180$ for a setup and then having to do this. I won't be paying for any setups anymore, I can do it. I just had the guy do a fret job and I figured why not have him set it up too. He did a PRS setup for me and it was perfect.

He was the end of the line setup guy for Jackson in the late 80s, then BC Rich, then ESP, then Anderson, then Suhr....

I play some stuff with a pretty light touch and have some arthritis/carpel tunnel from being a touring death metal drummer. For me 1.5mm is to high to really shred. I have a USA soloist with an OG floyd with no shims and that thing plays pretty much exactly as I want it to and I set it up.

Am I wrong for wanting all the strings to be almost the exact same height from the 12th fret? Maybe with the low E a c hair higher (being accomplished with the bridge post adjustment). If they are all the same height at the 12th then they are following the radius correct?

 

[NoodleFace]

Have you tried contacting him?

I don't pay for setups, but the one time I did the shop told me if it didn't play right after a few days with it to bring it back in and they'd adjust it for free.

I think the spec on Jackson is 1.5mm, so there's a chance he may blindly be going for that number rather than feel

 

[cardinal]

Yeah just pick a fret (12 or 24th) and match the heights. Some people lower the bridge so that the highest strings are just touching the 24th and then add shims to the rest until they are the same.

I've oddly found that the high B needs the most shims. But it varies by guitar.

I've had so many expensive guitars with no effort to radius match the Floyd. I just expect to have to do it always.

 

[Hollowway]

Am I wrong for wanting all the strings to be almost the exact same height from the 12th fret? Maybe with the low E a c hair higher (being accomplished with the bridge post adjustment). If they are all the same height at the 12th then they are following the radius correct?

Yeah, as @cardinal said, it's good to follow the radius. But, I also leave the lowest string or two a tad higher just to make sure it's not buzzing. I am OCD about having the trem completely level with the body (as opposed to the baseplate higher on the bass side) so I always shim the lowest string or two a little extra.

 

[DimMak]

Have you tried contacting him?

I don't pay for setups, but the one time I did the shop told me if it didn't play right after a few days with it to bring it back in and they'd adjust it for free.

I think the spec on Jackson is 1.5mm, so there's a chance he may blindly be going for that number rather than feel

I probably will soon. I didn't mention low action to him because the last guitar I had him do came out perfect. Thinking back I may have said something to him about low action when I gave him that one.

 

[elkoki]

Gotta wonder if the guy put the saddles back in the right order

 

[rexbinary]

I feel like if the bridge is 12" radius without shims and the fretboard is 12" there shouldnt be any need for shims right?

There would be no shims installed on the bridge on your Jackson from the factory. A new Floyd would come with the shims pre-installed out of the box.

It sounds like they didn't remove the pre-installed shims before installing it into your Jackson. The D and G would be too high as you describe with the shims installed compared to factory.

Personally, I just removed the shim to match the factory install when I upgraded my Floyd on my Jackson so it feels the same.

Saddle Height Adjustments

Q: How do I shim my saddles to match my guitar's radius? A: The standard radii on Floyd Rose six string systems are 10" with the preinstalled shim and 12" without. To change the radius on a tremolo, it is recommended that you shim the individual saddles to match the preferred radius on your...

www.floydrose.com

 

[EVH-5150]

Like others have said, you can verify if the saddles are in the right order but I doubt your tech messed that up. But after that, you need to follow something close to this: Place 2 stacked shims under the high E and low E string saddles. Then place 1 shim under the B string and A string saddles. There shouldn't be any shims under the D and G strings saddles. Some new Floyds and Schallers come pre-loaded with factory shims under the D and G strings for a 10" radius neck. Those definitely need to be removed (if they are there) and then follow the recipe above.

 

[c_hamrick23]

I agree with one of the earlier replies in here, you may want to double check that the correct saddles are in the right places if you end up taking it apart, or if you have your luthier look at it.

I have a Dinky that came from the factory with the saddles in the wrong places, which lead to my G and B strings buzzing even with very high action. I know that’s opposite to what you’re experiencing, but could be the same cause.

Definitely start by making sure saddles are correct. There should be 3 different size saddles. Highest go in high and low E. Mid height goes A and B. Lowest goes D and G

 

[EVH-5150]

Definitely start by making sure saddles are correct. There should be 3 different size saddles. Highest go in high and low E. Mid height goes A and B. Lowest goes D and G

Don't you mean the highest 2 saddles go in the middle D and G, mid height goes A and B, and lowest saddles go on the high and low E??? You have to follow the arc of the fretboard.

 

[Toejam]

Don't you mean the highest 2 saddles go in the middle D and G, mid height goes A and B, and lowest saddles go on the high and low E??? You have to follow the arc of the fretboard.

This. The two higher saddles are in the middle, then going flatter towards the outside, with the E strings the lowest.

 

[DimMak]

There would be no shims installed on the bridge on your Jackson from the factory. A new Floyd would come with the shims pre-installed out of the box.

It sounds like they didn't remove the pre-installed shims before installing it into your Jackson. The D and G would be too high as you describe with the shims installed compared to factory.

Personally, I just removed the shim to match the factory install when I upgraded my Floyd on my Jackson so it feels the same.

Saddle Height Adjustments

Q: How do I shim my saddles to match my guitar's radius? A: The standard radii on Floyd Rose six string systems are 10" with the preinstalled shim and 12" without. To change the radius on a tremolo, it is recommended that you shim the individual saddles to match the preferred radius on your...

www.floydrose.com

I bought a new Schaller that I had apart to install a push in bar and fat brass block, I noticed it had the solid 1 piece shim that goes from A to B string. When I got the guitar back from the luthier it had individual saddle shims, the Schaller shim was in the bag of extra parts.

 

[ASoC]

Like others have said, you can verify if the saddles are in the right order but I doubt your tech messed that up. But after that, you need to follow something close to this: Place 2 stacked shims under the high E and low E string saddles. Then place 1 shim under the B string and A string saddles. There shouldn't be any shims under the D and G strings saddles. Some new Floyds and Schallers come pre-loaded with factory shims under the D and G strings for a 10" radius neck. Those definitely need to be removed (if they are there) and then follow the recipe above.

This is how I have the Gotoh (default is ~14" radius) shimmed in my parts caster with a 12-16" compound radius board and it plays correctly