How low is your string action?

[John Orange]

Hello there,

I own a Music Man John Petrucci 7 strings guitar. This is a beautiful instrument which I am still figuring how to "use".

One of my serios concerns is related to setting up the action on my strings. Each time I watch Petrucci play this type of guitar I get the feeling he has it set up for very low action.

Obvioulsy, I am also trying to set up my guitar for very low action but I am also very hesitating in doing so. I wouldn't want to damage my guitar simply because I am after an impossible set up.

Since I cannot take my guitar to a specialist (there are none where I live), I have the kind request you give me some help with this issue.

Do you have your guitar set up for law action? If so, could you please upload a picture or two, just to allow me to get an idea of what is low action for another guitar player.

Any other advice is welcome.

Many thanks,
JO

 

[ChrisRocksUSA]

I always have mine set up as low as it will possibly go without buzzing.

I like it low b/c I am a n00b and can't shred with moderately high action.

 

[RR]

Me too, relatively low, fast action. E (.010).

Man, I tried guitars with SRV action "telephone" line high, .011 (at least), I can't handle that type of action.

 

[Guitarzan]

In the weeds!

 

[ytse_jam]

i've my guitar set up for a quite low action, but not too much. I think an overly low action will affect guitar timbre in a bad way (compromising tightness and single note definition when playing)... i'll update my post with a picture as soon as possible.

 

[John Orange]

Many thanks, ytse_jam. Some pictures would be great.

I have been tweaking on my guitar for two hours today and I am still not sure whether the action is indeed low. This process is killing me :lol:

 

[Russ]

I keep my action low enough for decent speed yet high enough to provide clearance for big bends and to allow my strings to sing if hit hard without buzz.

 

[jbird]

For neck relief, fret each string (one at a time) at both ends of the fretboard, (1st and 24th fret, say). Measure the distance at the 7th fret. Should be able to slide a credit card between string and fret. Then, measure for string height at the 12th fret with a machinist's rule (unfretted). Look for 3/32-5/64th's, high to low.

 

[Cheez]

Do yourself a BIG favor & buy one of Dan Erlewine's books on set up & maintenance. It's loaded with tips, and gives exact measurements & specs for a variety of set up options.

My action is fairly high: 5/64ths on the strat, almost 7/64ths on the tele (which has heavier strings) at the 12th fret. Neck relief is almost nil.

Although subjective (there's my disclaimer!), the general guideline is to have as little neck relief as possible... especially for shreddy guitars. with the string fretted at the first fret and the fret where the neck joins the body, the gap from bottom of string to top of 7th fret should be minimal - just barely able to see daylight between 'em.

 

[Dreads]

I keep mine supa-dupa low on all my guitars.. As low as I can go.. Though "they" say not to I use truss rod adjustments as well as shim & floyd rose adjustments and I get it so low that it makes me smile uncontrollably. :lol:

 

[E_R]

I like to keep my strings under my frets. That way I always know where they are :shock:

 

[Blue Gilbo]

For my LP at the 12th fret...

A hair lower than 5/64ths for the bass side and a hair higher than 3/64ths on the treble side.

My neck relief at the 7th fret is about 0.005 inches (almost straight).

I use Ernie Ball Super Slinkies.

When playing with a clean tone there are no fret buzzes and it's very easy to play.

I've tried the high action, big strings setup. Great tone but my smaller fingers can't bend the strings as well.

Took me a long time and a lot of reading/consulting to figure out how to set up my guitar

 

[Cleekster]

I generally stick 2 .73mm picks on the 24th fret on top of each other lower the action to where the low E "touches" and then adjust the other strings accordingly.........in the 80's i would set the action to .25mm

 

[screamingdaisy]

I like a medium action, so I'm no help.

 

[Russ]

After careful consideration, I have come up with this for you:

Do not worry about if your action is low or not. Be concerned with what is playable for you. If you can play it and it sounds good your action is where it needs to be. I am only saying this because you claim not to have a guitar technician nearby. Most guitar shops will have a resident technician that does in-store setups or many guitars will seem unplayable to a lot of people straight from the manufacturer. Though there are some stores (like GC) that take them out of the box and stick them on the wall without monkeying around too much unless you are lucky enough to have a shop or a GC near you that has someone who knows WTF that they are doing or unlucky enough so that they totally F-up the guitar. With all of this in mind, if you honestly do not have a guitar technician within an hour's drive from you then I would suggest following the manufacturer's instructions for setup with exception to the recommended height. This one spec will change from player to player based upon comfortability. However, if you need a nut adjustment or to adjust the relief in your saddles on your bridge you need to see a tech so you do not screw up your guitar beyond your own ability to repair it. I think most would be able to do bridge/saddle height and truss rod adjustments easily enough. Also remember that spring tension if equipped with a floating bridge will alter your setup. Do not forget to re-intonate your guitar after adjusting your action or you will not be able to stay in tune as you move up and down the neck.

 

[MesallicA]

i use to have really low action, but when i got my PGM it was set with fairly high action and it felt really good, didnt hinder any speed at all and the strings ring out fuller, so i kept i that way. Im thinking about going higher still.

 

[JamesD]

I have a sweet spot to me that ins't too low, because to me it is kinda annoying to play too low, but it isn't too high where my fingers bleed to press the strings down. It is just right to me.