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I have two S type guitars and a T type that have perfectly flat setups i.e. no neck angle and they have great actions and bridge/saddles heights that are fine i.e. not too high or low. These guitars are pretty high end so I would expect the neck heel depth to be 'right' and not require any shimming to get the geometry right. I suppose if things were less 'optimal' then shimming a neck would allow this to be changed...
The articles seem to make more reference to tonal benefits than ergonomics however and hence the question.
Si
The question was specifically around the angle of the neck and why introducing a neck angle would have a positive impact.
I can understand that a change in geometry might be useful to say bring the strings/saddles slightly away from the body if they were too close or the saddles were a bit low for effective bridge muting i.e. it was a little uncomfortable ergonomically.
The break angle thing is also of interest - does this impact on the 'stiffness' of a guitar (all other things being equal)?
Si
If so, it is certainly relevant to them as increasing the neck angle helps add tension/ break angle over the bridge and thus improves tuning stability (as mentioned in the article). I have several offsets and have shimmed them all and those with the standard 'shitty' Jag/ JM bridge work fine without having to shell out on Mastery or Staytrem.
It doesn't take much of an increase in the angle but it's a surprising amount of improvement
When you can’t drop the action enough at the bridge you need to shim the neck.
I also like the strings to be away from the body a bit more than usual, as it feels more comfortable for my strumming hand, so that can also be achieved with more neck angle.
As for the actual tone, I don’t think there’s much difference a small change in neck angle will make.
jags and Jazzmasters have always been about shimin’ the neck and raising the bridge to aid setup and help with the break angle behind the bridge.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
http://www.highwood-guitarparts.com/
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I only ask because I far prefer the modern style ergonomically.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
As has been mentioned already, it was common for older Fenders to leave the factory with shims - Leo Fender developed the ‘Microtilt’ to avoid the need for this - though Fender didn’t actually adopt it until after he left the company.
Offsets are a bit more complex, and do most often need some neck angle, why they don’t all come with angled neck pockets in this day and age is beyond me.
Im not a huge fan of the shim, as you may be able to tell.