Action on acoustics....

[jeffrey827]

for acoustic guitars in general. do most play better with lower action or higher action?

[AfterDarkMusic]

I've been wondering this myself lately; since I got my GAD in march, actually. The action near the 12th fret is not quite 2 times as high as the action on my telecaster, but I have no difficulty playing on it. I just wonder if it would feel even better if I took the action down a bit.

I'm not really sure if my action is too high on my acoustic or if its just really low on my tele, or if theres even a problem at all. Both guitar are comfortable enough to play so I try not to worry about it too much haha.

I know for a fact that if you have a heavier hand its a good idea to either keep the action higher or leave a bit more relief in the truss rod to avoid buzz, but how high is high enough? I'm sure it comes down to personal preference.

[larimar]

Originally Posted by jeffrey827

for acoustic guitars in general. do most play better with lower action or higher action?

I imagine playability depends on the person. The tone is def' effected by an acoustic guitars action. Of course plugging in an acoustic does change the mix so........

[jeffrey827]

well. i tried changing my action just enough so that it's right there. like on the verge of buzzing but it doesn't..but then not enough to warp the neck(i think).

[mcdes]

i set mine so it is low by the frets but no buzzing at all, makes it easier to play the chords up the neck.

[Boobala]

It depends on how you play it.

For finger-style, a low action is nice. For Flat-picking and heavy rhythm, a higher action prevents buzz.

[jeffrey827]

well i'm not really getting much buzz at all even when i changed it. i'm just looking for a better sound so i duno.

[dave251]

IN general terms....the action on your acoustic needs to be higher than on an electric.

Setting the height of the strings at the saddle is the LAST job when setting up your acoustic guitar. First is getting the amount of "relief" in the neck correct. For most acoustics, this will be around .006" to .010" at the sixth fret.

Then the nut needs to have each slot set to the correct depth.

That will be followed by setting the bridge height. Common acoustic action on a flatpicked guitar would be 4/64" treble, 6/64" bass. Higher for a bluegrasser, lower for a delicate fingerpicker. Lighter strings usually have to be higher to get the tone/volume potential from the instrument. Medium strings can actually have a bit lower action, while getting all the tone from the guitar. But proper string gauge really depends as much on the construction and style of the guitar rather than the "style" of the player.

[jeffrey827]

do u no where to buy a ruler to measure those small increments?

[mike80]

Any hardware store should be able to sell you a machinist's rule that measures in 64ths. That is what I have been using. Stewart-MacDonald also sells a nice luthier's rule.

FWIW, I just adjusted the action on my Fender 12 string to 4/64 on the bass side, and it plays great. No buzzes at all and easy to play with medium strings.

[jeffrey827]

i c. thanks.

[re-animator]

what will higher action do to the tone?? is it going to open up a little more an give fuller bass for rhythm chording??

[dave251]

In a word....yes.