High Action Marvin

[chaddopete]

Hi all, whilst on lockdown I've taken to playing my Marvin quite a bit. The action on it is really high, about 3.5mm at 12th fret. Can't adjust saddles any lower and trem plate is level with plastic guard at the back. There's just a gnats of relief and it's got 9 -46 s on. I think I'll have to shim the neck. Has anybody else had to do this, or am I missing something?
All suggestions welcomed
Thanks
Pete
Keep Safe

[bor64]

Hi Pete,

A shim is the best solution and a easy one.
A other option is to sanding the bottom of all saddles and shorten the hex-screws, so the top level comes down.
I've done it on tele's with the compensated saddles...

Cheers Rob

[JimN]

Don't cut, sand, file or shorten any part of your guitar.

Never do anything irrevocable until you have done everything possible to merely adjust.

Adjustment in this case is a question of making and fitting a shim. As an alternative, is your Marvin one of those (like my 1965 model) which has a tilt-neck mechanism?

[bor64]

Hi JIm,

Not every Marvin is created equal, the bulk of all original Marvin's are not equipped with a tilt mechanism.
Apparently Peter's Marvin isn't one with such devise, because he is thinking about a shim.
The sanding off of the saddles, is a last resort option....not one to think light about(but he asked for all options are welcome).
I assume Peter have done, all the common options and started with adjusting the neck relief first.
Then the the trem unit.
Shimming is the way to go...but if you maxed out...aka the shim becomes to high or much worse the shim is to high and to short.
Danger is you create the famous hump above the 15 fret, with a to high/short shim and create more problems!
I'm not a big fan of sanding the saddle bottom... but there are some after-market compensated tele saddles that are to high for some tele's .
Common practise is to sand of some brass beneath both E string sections of the saddle to keep the string radius in line with the neck radius.
On YT somebody does a demo on a anniversary tele and he makes a compensated nut by hand from a blanc pre-fab nut...
That geezer knows his stuff!
But again if nothing else helps, the saddle sanding is a last resort and to be honest, I never encounter somebody who had to do that on a Marvin.


Cheers Rob

[nosiB]

Shimming is easy. It will solve your problem.
I do not believe in the horror stories about what can go wrong.
A Strat of mine is shimmed with a piece of credit card (width fits perfectly, length cut to approx 1,5cm) for 10 years now.
Everything is fine still.
Also shimmed my Bison. Even better with that one because the neck screws are nearer to the end of the pocket and pull the neck directly onto (thru) the shim.
If you do it with consciousness everything should be fine.

[roger bayliss]

If the saddles are too low then shim the neck pocket this will cause the saddle height to raise . Also check the neck relief before you do anything that it is around 12 thou . The neck shim will probably be about the thickness of a business card and best made of veneer or card..

[chaddopete]

Thanks for all your help. Looks like a shim job next week then.
Never had this problem before in about 55yrs of playing.
Is it poor quality control at Burns or can this thing happen now & then?

Cheers Pete

[bor64]

Hi Pete,

Yes a shim is the way to go.
What you witness with your Marvin, happens many times and with many guitars.
I've set up hundreds of guitars of all kind and I encounter a few dozens with trouble above the 15th fret....despite somebody doesn't belief it, because he never seen it...apparently.
When the neck is made of wood with the grain in certain direction or wood that's dried in "a hurry" or to fresh and to fast going in the process.
With a to thick/high/short shim it can go wrong. I have also a few guitars with a shorter shim and nothing happened...
But I have levelled a pretty bunch of frets from the 15th up, sometimes one or two... on investigation always shimmed to much to short and with very thigh-ned neck screws...
When the 2 neck screws in the neck-pocket are close to the body, so a shim could be to short/small, there is a trick to use a wider shim.
Make a H pattern shim or make two holes exactly where the screws go true the shim...so you can make a wider/longer shim.
Stew Mac sells ready made wooden shims with different angles.
Guitars with a neck glued to the body can developed a different angle, were the neck touched the body....and needs also some work to get it right.

Cheers Rob

[chaddopete]

Hi
Thanks for all your help. Neck shimmed up, I made a parallel shim, thus lifting the entire neck up.
Action's now pretty low, it's like having a new guitar.
If I get back on the road after all this lockdown it might be promoted over a Strat
Cheers
Pete
Keep Safe

[JimN]

I am glad to hear that it's sorted out - without the use of any cutting tools!

Did you simply line the bottom of the neck pocket with a uniform-height spacer?

That would shift the neck upwards bodily without changing its angle to the body.