Read the guide to learn everything you would want to know about truss rods. Adjusting the action on an electric guitar depends on what type of bridge it has. Imagine removing this saddle and replacing it with a shorter one. It’s important to make sure your bridge is properly set up before you adjust for action. The guide explains how string gauge and tension affect your guitar and will help you understand what gauge strings are best for you. Some electric guitarists prefer lower action than this while others prefer higher. Bridges with individual saddles give you the most control over action height, but require the most work to set up properly. Some guitarists like to use an under string radius tool as shown below to adjust the action on each string to perfectly match the radius of the fretboard. Higher action … You measure guitar action height with an action gauge or ruler. If your guitar’s bridge allows you to adjust each saddle’s height, you need to measure the action on every string. Comment document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a3ae56afe709b4af753b888923b2ed26" );document.getElementById("a5ad79eae5").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); © 2021 Stringjoy, LLC. Guitars with a Gibson Tune-o-Matic bridge give you two points where you can raise or lower action. Finding the right action for you and your instrument is the key to getting your guitar or bass sounding, playing, and feeling the way you want. From ACOUSTIC GUITAR, 07/2006. This Ultimate Guide on Truss Rods explains how to check if your truss rod is set properly and how to adjust it for the best results. Because of all these factors, electric guitar action can be set far lower than that on acoustic guitars, typically anywhere from .15″ to .05″ lower, on average. Of course, this is a comfortable starting point and different guitars … More information can be found in the last chapter of Dan's book, including a detailed "10-step Fender Setup." Later in this guide, we will look at different types of bridges so you can figure out whether you need to measure all of your guitar’s strings or not. In order to raise or lower the saddle on an acoustic guitar, it is necessary to remove the strings, take out the saddle and then either sand it or glue on a shim. At Stringjoy, we tend to look at the action at the 12th fret, but if you’re more comfortable using a different reference point, that’s fine too. If you play an acoustic guitar and then pick up an electric guitar in a store, you will probably notice the lower action on the electric guitar. Because every guitar player has their own unique style, and players’ use profiles differ considerably from one to the other, there are no hard and fast rules about string height, just some general rules of thumb. The second way is to adjust the height of the nut. If you … If you hear a difference between the two notes, it means your intonation is out. Well, because this is one of the most principal factors in defining both how the guitar feels and how it sounds. 2) Check string height at the nut by using a feeler gauge between the bottom of the string and the top of the first fret, it should be .022 +/- .002 for acoustic guitars as a starting point. This height … Before you start adjusting your guitar’s action, it’s a good idea to measure it. If you use a guitar slide on your acoustic guitar, you will likely prefer high action. On electric guitars, adjusting the saddle height is usually a simple matter of carefully measuring the height and then using a screwdriver or allen wrench (depending on the bridge) to raise the strings appropriately. It is easy to tell when the action is too low. Find out about intonation and how to adjust it in this guide. Changing the nut is cheap and easy to do. This gives the player a great deal of control, but it also means that you will have to pay special attention to maintaining the correct radius so that the action is even across each string. For most guitarists, buying this tool is overkill as you can properly set the action for each string with careful measurements. If you change the string gauge on your guitar, it will change the tension across the neck. Thanks to the invention of the magnetic pickup, a player is able to transmit virtually unlimited sound to an audience with a minimum of physical exertion upon the strings themselves. To use this tool, start by adjusting the action for the high and low E strings. The mechanism by which the truss rod affects the string height above the fingerboard is quite simple: loosening the truss rod allows the strings to exert more force, causing a forward-bowing effect, while tightening the truss rod counteracts the strings’ tension, straightening the neck (and of course if over-tightened the truss rod can also cause back-bend in the neck). The distance you push the string causes the note to bend out-of-tune. Totally awesome!!!!! Particularly high-set strings are generally considered by players to be cumbersome and uncomfortable to deal with. This gives you a clearer tone and allows you to strum chords without ending up in a buzzing mess. If it doesn’t, find out which string is touching the tool and raise that string’s action until the tool can rest against both E strings. If you’re having issues with your guitar’s action height, make sure you fully understand truss rods and how they impact action. The factors that cause action to shift over time (wear and tear, saddle height shifting, expansion and contraction of wood) tend not to have as substantial of effects on the nut than they do on the bridge or neck. Article #1728989. For electric guitars, in our opinion, a good default string height at the 12th fret is typically about 6/64th of an inch (2.38mm) on the bass side and 4/64th of an inch (1.59mm) on the treble side. There are two ways to tell if the action on your guitar is too high: intonation and feel. Marking the saddle with straight lines also helps you keep your filing straight. So typically when it comes to regular action adjustments, players can leave the nut as-is. I didn’t even know what action was last week, and I just changed a pre-slotted nut in a Strat copy. As with all things guitar, what makes your guitar play the way you want it to is the only thing that matters. Unlike electric guitars, any buzzing due to low action is obvious on an acoustic guitar. The ideal string height according to most guitar makers and players is about 3mm for the high E string (plus or minus about .5mm) and about 4mm for the low E string … When a guitar isn’t plugged in, even the slightest fret buzzing is instantly noticeable. A ruler that starts the measurements from the very end allows you to press the ruler flush against the frets and get an accurate measurement. Action measurements are typically taken using a ruler with its end sitting on top of the 12 th fret. The fret most widely used for action measurements is the 12 th fret. Changes in truss-rod tension has as a consequence a change in strings action, but it is not intended as a way to adjust it. Find out more about Floyd Rose bridges in my ultimate guide here. A typical action on an acoustic guitar is at around 5/64″ (2.0mm) on the high E string and 7/64″ (2.8mm) on the low E string. Adjusting the action height on acoustic guitars is a bit of a pain and you need to be careful that you do it properly. How to measure your guitar’s action using StewMac measurement tools Today we're only talking about how to measure your guitar setup. There are three ways you can control the action on an acoustic guitar. A standard string height on classical instruments is 6/64″ on the bass side and 5/64″ on the treble side. Let’s look at how to raise or lower the action of an acoustic guitar. While the ideal setup is to have zero buzzing, electric guitars can get away with some slight buzzing. If the bridge is imbalanced, you will see a big change in action. You need to measure the distance between the top of the fret and the bottom of the guitar string. Guitar action or guitar action height is the height of the guitar strings over the fretboard. Sign up to get tone advice, playing inspiration, early access to new products and more. As we’ll talk about below, string height plays a critical role not just in the feel of the strings but also in the way that the guitar actually sounds. If Unsure, Engage a Professional to Do the Job If you … Once your guitar’s truss rod is set up properly, you can then measure your action height and make adjustments. For acoustic guitars, the default action is typically 7⁄64 in (0.28 cm) on the bass side and 5⁄64 in (0.20 cm) on the treble side. Simply turn the screw on the bridge post next to the low E string and slightly lower the post. Rest the end of the ruler against the 12th fret on your guitar and hold it against the string. Use a string action gauge to measure the height of the strings. Action, or string height, plays a crucial role in how comfortable it is to play your guitar. If the string buzzes against the tool, it means the action is fine for the radius. The aggressive playing style causes the strings to vibrate wide and low action would cause serious buzzing issues. But when you plug the guitar in, you may notice that the amount of buzzing you hear decreases significantly. The FretGuru 2 action gauge shown below is more expensive than the above version but also measures fret height, fret wear and nut height. For guitar players, the term action can similarly be used to describe the general feel of the instrument when played, but it also has a much more precise definition—the height of the individual strings. While this is a lot more work, it may prevent filing off too much and having to start again on a new saddle. The third way is to adjust the truss rod, which should be set up to an ideal position before you look at action height. Important: if you want to raise the action on your guitar, keep in mind that this will cause the strings to raise in pitch. As seasons change, so do guitars. This is also how so many players can make downright massive sounds with super light guitar strings. So use a pen and ruler to mark a line on the saddle (shown below) so you can easily see how much you have filed off. This gives you some control over the action on your guitar but not complete control over each individual string. That is typical American solipsism. Unfortunately, acoustic guitars present a far more challenging situation. Action at the Nut. Rest the end of the ruler against the 12th fret on your guitar and hold it against the string. Great article, Stringjoy Staff! High action on an acoustic guitar not only affects the intonation, it can make the instrument difficult, if not painful, to play.

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