Very first kit guitar- Explorer style

[Michael]

Hey,
First post in this forum.
I'm trying to assemble my first kit guitar and been having some issues with it.
It's a set neck and the neck is very loose in the neck pocket plus the neck angle needs to be raised as the action will be too high. I thought about gluing shims (just 0.5mm veneers) on both sides of the neck and sanding them to get the neck to fit and aligned with the fretboard using the high and low E strings as reference.
How can i fix the the high action problem ? will the stewmac tapered shims help?
Another issue is that the strings alignment is fine at the bridge pickup but is off center the closer they are to the nut-it looks like the low E nut slot is closer to the fretboard then the high E, could that be the problem?
See picture below.
Maybe i should just buy another kit from a better seller next time.

[Diane Kauffmds]

I assume this is an electric guitar. I work on electric guitars, but I don't build them, so I'm going to allow others who are more familiar with building electric guitars help you.

It would be helpful if you would post more photos. Include the whole fretboard, the whole guitar if possible.

There are 3 types of electric guitar necks, one that's a part of the body, one that's set into a pocket, and the last is a bolt-on. I'm assuming you have one of the later two types. Is it held in entirely with glue, or is it a bolt-on?

[Diane Kauffmds]

As far as string height, it's correct for your treble e to be closer to the board than the bass E. This adds to playability; a string that's too high, especially coming off of the nut, is hard to play easily. Also, I would expect the treble e to be a bit closer to the edge of the board, vs the bass E.

[TEETERFAN]

On the question about the loose neck pocket, adding wood veneer to the pocket would be effective. For a clean job, glue the shims to the sides. Extend the veneer past the body a bit, then sand level after the glue dries.
On the neck angle, I assume you have a tune-o-matic type bridge. Typical Gibsons bridge heights normally range betwen 14mm to 15.5mm to the top of the saddle. 19 mm about the highest you want. Shim the neck to put you in that range. You can play with homemade shims to determine your needed thickness, then order the Stew Mac shim that matches. You will have to read all the thickness specs to find the closest one. The full length taper of their shims would be good for the set/glued neck, providing more gluing area.

[Michael]

On the question about the loose neck pocket, adding wood veneer to the pocket would be effective. For a clean job, glue the shims to the sides. Extend the veneer past the body a bit, then sand level after the glue dries.
On the neck angle, I assume you have a tune-o-matic type bridge. Typical Gibsons bridge heights normally range betwen 14mm to 15.5mm to the top of the saddle. 19 mm about the highest you want. Shim the neck to put you in that range. You can play with homemade shims to determine your needed thickness, then order the Stew Mac shim that matches. You will have to read all the thickness specs to find the closest one. The full length taper of their shims would be good for the set/glued neck, providing more gluing area.

That's the work process i was thinking of.
Hope everything will work out.
Thank you for your advice!

[Michael]

On the question about the loose neck pocket, adding wood veneer to the pocket would be effective. For a clean job, glue the shims to the sides. Extend the veneer past the body a bit, then sand level after the glue dries.
On the neck angle, I assume you have a tune-o-matic type bridge. Typical Gibsons bridge heights normally range betwen 14mm to 15.5mm to the top of the saddle. 19 mm about the highest you want. Shim the neck to put you in that range. You can play with homemade shims to determine your needed thickness, then order the Stew Mac shim that matches. You will have to read all the thickness specs to find the closest one. The full length taper of their shims would be good for the set/glued neck, providing more gluing area.

That's the work process i was thinking of.
Hope everything will work out.
Thank you for your advice!

[Michael]

On the question about the loose neck pocket, adding wood veneer to the pocket would be effective. For a clean job, glue the shims to the sides. Extend the veneer past the body a bit, then sand level after the glue dries.
On the neck angle, I assume you have a tune-o-matic type bridge. Typical Gibsons bridge heights normally range betwen 14mm to 15.5mm to the top of the saddle. 19 mm about the highest you want. Shim the neck to put you in that range. You can play with homemade shims to determine your needed thickness, then order the Stew Mac shim that matches. You will have to read all the thickness specs to find the closest one. The full length taper of their shims would be good for the set/glued neck, providing more gluing area.

That's the work process i was thinking of. Hope everything will work out. Thank you for your advice!