Guitar Action

Where you guys at on this? I am always curious to what guys are doing for their set up. You like it high? You like it low? Straight neck or no. If you guys could give measurements that would be great.

Nut: the most underrated part of a set up. I like my slots cut super low. Below average for sure. I want it so low that a tech might recommend replacing it

Neck: straight! I make it 100% and back it off a slight hair.

Action: with the 1st fret depressed the 12th fret High E measures .040 thousandths. The only way I can get a clean 64th measurement is to go to the 17th fret. That will give me 3/64ths. My bass side is on the low side of .050 These measurments are a average of my guitars. But I usually stay pretty close to these.

Pickup Height: All over the place. I raise the pickup so close it warbles. I play the 12th fret and lower the pick up until the warble stops. Then I give it a half more turn down. I use the B string and the A string to do this. I find it puts all my guitars in the "sweet spot" when I do it this way.

Fretwire: I prefer some sort of jumbo style fret. In my opinion large fretwire makes a "pro guitar". It seems so many old guitar heroes and modern heroes use large fretwire as well. This also helps me bend with low action. And it just feels pro to me. When I play small wire I feel like I am playing a lesser guitar.

Radius: 12, that is my average radius. I have some that are not 12. But If I had to pick one for the rest of my life. It would be 12"

I love talking about set ups. I hope I am not alone in this. Let me know what you guys like

Last edited by JimmyJames on Sat Oct 24, 2015 5:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Medium to medium / high action for me, too low and I can't bend. I also tend to pick near the neck, and I also pick with the side of the plectrum, both of which move the string a lot more than using the tip of the pick near the bridge. So basically if the action is low I get lots of fret buzz. I can't say I've ever measured the action, I usually set it by eye and ear.

As for pickup height I like them close to the strings, especially with a Duncan JB. I set it as close as possible and then lower it just a little.

Medium to medium / high action for me, too low and I can't bend. I also tend to pick near the neck, and I also pick with the side of the plectrum, both of which move the string a lot more than using the tip of the pick near the bridge. So basically if the action is low I get lots of fret buzz. I can't say I've ever measured the action, I usually set it by eye and ear.

As for pickup height I like them close to the strings, especially with a Duncan JB. I set it as close as possible and then lower it just a little.

Do you have a way to measure it? I would be curious to what the measurement is. I had a guy tell me once "I want real low fast action". I told him I would set it up that way. And if it wasnt low enough we would go farther. I did 3/64ths on the action. And I cut the nut slots low. When he picked up the guitar he said "This is way beyond low. I need it much higher". Point is everyone's definition of low, medium and high are different.

If you could measure it that would be awesome. Also, do you use the side of the pick because of tone? I know sometimes when I am going for a Allman Brothers lick I sometimes use the side of the pick and play closer to the neck for that lick. Seems to get it a little in the ball park without having to switch pickups or changing the tone.

I've never actually measured a guitars action. Nearest was when I got a used '97 strat in 2000, the previous owner had the action very low indeed, fret buzz every where. I used a steel rule to set that one up by comparing it to my '93 strat. To be honest I wouldn't know 3/64ths if it bit me in the @rse

I started using the side of the pick maybe 10 years ago, it wasn't a concious thing I just started doing it. Later I realised it was because when picking over the pickup I was hitting the pick off the p'up. Also holding it that way enables me to get closer to the strings for palm muting. And because more of the pick is in the grip I can easily vary the attack and tone by loosening or tightening my grip, changing the tone on the fly. I use D'Andrea Pro Grip 0.6mm, the orange ones. I still hold the pick as normal when strumming an acoustic.

This is the only photo I have that shows a guitars action, a Heritage 535 and Prospect in side view. The closeness of the lense may have distorted the view though



.

This guitar look amazing. I use Jazz 3's. The red ones. We'll I actually use Eric Johnson Jazz picks. Only because they have raised lettering on them. They don't slip in my fingers as easy when I am playing on stage. Some of the stages around here use old school lights. They are also really close to you when you play. So a few places I am drenched in sweat.
I also sometimes use Stubby Jazz 3 mm. The purple super fat picks. But I use a cheap solder iron and melt some small holes in it to make a grip.
I use the side of my picks rarely. If we are improving I might throw out a Allman Borther style lick. I will play it with the side of my pick to change the tone for that lick. It is a handy trick.

I'm always wrestling with this...
Currently:
Action is about 1/8 off fret 12, with string depressed at fret 1. This is about as low as I can go without catching other strings in my bends.
Neck is as straight as I can get it. I'd play with a back bow, if I could figure it out -lol
Pick-ups are set fairly low with MFDs and my Gibsons, they have pretty strong magnets. About 1/4 off a depressed string, with the bridge being up to 1/32 higher, which I may lower -lol. On the other hand, I've a repro Fender Tele with no high end, I can't get the p/ups close enough.
Fret wire is "horses for courses". I like the tall-skinny, but I've an old 345 that's a fretless wonder. I can get into real trouble catching strings if the action's too low on that, I bend a bit -lol
Radius: I've always played 12, but the Tele I mentioned has a 9.5 and it's damned nice. A friend of mine has a ( 7.25, is that it ? ) Again, I get into trouble bending over the curve.

Larry Carlton and Robben Ford are two players I love. I often make fun of them for having action so low, the strings slap off the fretboard ... a trait used to great effect sometimes. I may have to buy one of those Blackmore / Malmsteen things with scalloped fretboard and bend under the other strings -LOL

-best,
Mike

I like my action low. I don't have measurements, though. I consider the action on a new, out of the case G&L to be high for my tastes. That being one with their standard medium jumbo frets.

Just curious if other players like that action?

I like my action low. I don't have measurements, though. I consider the action on a new, out of the case G&L to be high for my tastes. That being one with their standard medium jumbo frets.

Just curious if other players like that action?

I'm the same way , and most of the new ones require a neck shim to get the results

For me, it really depends on the guitar. I will say that with too much relief, it's pretty much impossible to get a good setup. I want a BIT of relief, but not too much. I usually eyeball it with the string held down at the first and 13th fret. at most a thin pick worth of relief.

Action depends on the guitar. Usually around 1/16 at the 12th fret on the treble side, sometimes lower. Maybe a bit higher on the bass side.

Mine are all over the place and I seem to end up with different guitars set differently. Generally speaking, with a new guitar, or one that's changed a bit in its case, I'll try to straighten the neck just about flat, set up the saddles and see how it's playing. Often, there's a fair bit of buzz that way and a slight loosening of the rod will cure it and leave the action about where I'd want it. I tend to set up my 7.25" guitars a little higher to avoid choking out notes on bends -- I've even taken to setting some of them up with the high E a little higher than its neighbor, as it's usually the only string that really chokes out, being that it travels the farthest across the radius of the board.

As far as action/bending goes, there's a happy range where the pad of my fingertip will catch the next lower string and both mute it and move it out of the way of the string being bent under it. Too low and my fingertip tends to slide past it, until the string being bent under it touches it and they bunch up together. Too high and my fingertip actually slides underneath it, with the string rolling up over my fingernail.

I usually like my pickups pretty low. I tend to play with a heavy hand and really hate that swelly/growly magnet-too-close sound. Strats usually start with the bass pickup just a hair above the pickguard -- with my SC-3, I've got the tremolo raised way up and the neck kicked back just to get the pickups as low as I like them.

My Asat is the only guitar that I have done my own setup on. I'm pretty happy with the results but it definitely needs some tweaking. I'm just so damn lazy.

I don't get too deep into the weeds on set-up usually, but I have a few guidelines just to keep my guitars feeling similar.
- Neck as close to straight as possible.
- Set bridge height by measuring the unfretted E strings at the 15th fret - 3/32" from the fretboard on the bass side, and closer to 1/16" on the treble side. Might go a bit higher on jumbo frets if there's a buzz issue. I use a radius gauge to match the fretboard radius for the remaining strings.
- If there's any fret buzz, I'll adjust neck relief a tad. If that doesn't fix it, I'll take it to a pro and have him adjust the nut and do a proper set-up. (Usually not necessary.)

I generally keep my neck and middle pickup height low and raise the bridge pickup so the volume is slightly higher than the neck. If the pickups are really weak, I'll raise them accordingly.
I'm pretty flexible on fretwire, although, I steer clear of vintage wire. Fretboard radius can be anywhere from 9.5" to 12". I don't think I could tell the difference.
I prefer 1-11/16" nut width. 1-5/8" is my second choice. Don't care for 1-3/4", especially on the 2015 Gibsons.

Forgot about the fret size aspect of this discussion. I don't have a real preference, although the skinny frets feel "right" to me on 7.25" necks and thicker necks, for whatever reason. I have an old St. Blues strat with a really big V neck and the skinny frets on it feel right to me. Similarly, I have enjoyed the low/wide frets on '70s Gibsons in the past, medium ones on many a guitar, etc. Oh, and I have an ancient Supro Ozark with a real baseball bat neck (like an 1/8" roundover on the edges of the neck) that has like mandolin wire. It feels right, too.