What action height?

[bruzanhd]

I’m wondering what action height everyone here sets up on warmoth necks. I’ve got an R10-16 that’s been fret levelled with action down to about 4/64ths @ 12th fret, could probably even lower it a bit. What does everyone here prefer?

 

[PhilHill]

Action height is like string gauge, it all depends on personal preference and what type of playing you do. !/16 at the 12th is fairly low. Do you play lead or rhythm ?
Rhythm usually calls for it to be a little higher to avoid buzzing. But if it plays well now without buzz I'd say your fine.

 

[TBurst Std]

Like he said. And also what relief are you running.

For E to e guitars a good rule of thumb I follow is 3/64 for wound strings , 2/64 for unwound.

 

[mayfly]

I run that sucker pretty high.  I like the instrument to fight me a bit.

 

[PhilHill]

While I never examined one of his guitars, I've always heard that Stevie Ray preferred heavy gauge strings and rather high action. He felt it gave more dynamics to the notes.

 

[bruzanhd]

Action height is like string gauge, it all depends on personal preference and what type of playing you do. !/16 at the 12th is fairly low. Do you play lead or rhythm ?
Rhythm usually calls for it to be a little higher to avoid buzzing. But if it plays well now without buzz I'd say your fine.

Personally more on the lead side. I agree it’s a very personal thing, I’m more so interested in the spectrum of what people prefer just for intellectual curiosity. I’m using 9-40 gauge tuned to e flat so very slinky.

 

[bruzanhd]

Like he said. And also what relief are you running.

For E to e guitars a good rule of thumb I follow is 3/64 for wound strings , 2/64 for unwound.

Wow that’s very low! Is that Measured with strings open? I run roughly 0.008” of relief.

 

[Rick]

Low?  Check out dan erlwines books, the guitar player repair guide and how to make your electric guitar sound great.  You’ll find measurements the pros use and tips regarding setting your action.

 

[alexreinhold]

My personal rule: alap (as low as possible). I.e. provided a straight truss rod setting, I set the bridge to the lowest possible point where the low E string has no buzz when played normally but a slight buzz when i hit it really hard. All other strings shall have no buzz whatsoever. Another thing I do is test-bendings on high E, B, G strings on frets 12 and higher to double-check, I won't get dead notes.

This simple rule has served me truly for 20 years and I don't intend to change it. But yeah, it's a matter of taste.

 

[DaveT]

While I never examined one of his guitars, I've always heard that Stevie Ray preferred heavy gauge strings and rather high action. He felt it gave more dynamics to the notes.

I know somebody that bought one of the Fender Custom Shop Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute Stratocasters.
It was setup exactly how Stevie liked it.
However, he found the guitar damned near unplayable with the high action!
He was torn between hanging it on the wall, selling it, or possibly destroying the value of the guitar by having it tweaked to a more normal setup.

I always start out with published Fender and Gibson measurements and take it from there.

 

[ValeBliz]

I use 10-46 with 2mm at the the low E and 1.2-1.5 at the high E, at the 12th fret. I found out for me it's more about having even action throughout the neck and little neck relief than having super low action.

possibly destroying the value of the guitar by having it tweaked to a more normal setup.

Lol what?

 

[bruzanhd]

My personal rule: alap (as low as possible). I.e. provided a straight truss rod setting, I set the bridge to the lowest possible point where the low E string has no buzz when played normally but a slight buzz when i hit it really hard. All other strings shall have no buzz whatsoever. Another thing I do is test-bendings on high E, B, G strings on frets 12 and higher to double-check, I won't get dead notes.

This simple rule has served me truly for 20 years and I don't intend to change it. But yeah, it's a matter of taste.

Yeah thats similar to how I think lots of people setup their guitars. But your touch may cause a clean note, but the next guy who is more heavy handed might buzz on the same setup. What height does this method usually get you to?

 

[Seamas]

I typically hit the strings fairly hard, I bend a lot and frequently play slide, so 4/64 on the low E is about as low as I ever need. I set the relief at .010, and use .10-.46 gauge strings

 

[bruzanhd]

I typically hit the strings fairly hard, I bend a lot and frequently play slide, so 4/64 on the low E is about as low as I ever need. I set the relief at .010, and use .10-.46 gauge strings

I would think that’s quite low considering you occasionally use a slide. Very interesting!

 

[TBurst Std]

Like he said. And also what relief are you running.

For E to e guitars a good rule of thumb I follow is 3/64 for wound strings , 2/64 for unwound.

Wow that’s very low! Is that Measured with strings open? I run roughly 0.008” of relief.

Not really.  If you read Dan’s book, it’s about the average of his setups at the end. Relief I run on E to e guitars normally about .006 to .007. 

Easiest way to measure relief.  Get an old school auto feeler gauge set. Slap a capo on fret 1 and another on the highest fret you can.  Now slide that sucker under the strings at fret 7.

Been doing this a lot recently as I mad a move to a different climate (and the resulting lack of humidity due to heater running.  Even running a humidifier in the room, I can’t equal FL humidity LOL)

 

[Strat Avenger]

I like no lower than 4/64"  and no higher than 5/64" @ 12th fret.

 

[bruzanhd]

I like no lower than 4/64"  and no higher than 5/64" @ 12th fret.

This seems to be the perfect happy medium. I’ve been runnin about 4/64 at the 17th and I consider that low

 

[Strat Avenger]

I like no lower than 4/64"  and no higher than 5/64" @ 12th fret.

This seems to be the perfect happy medium. I’ve been runnin about 4/64 at the 17th and I consider that low

Yeah, 4/64" @ the 17th is a tiny bit lower @ the 12th.