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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Hey everyone. I play rather softly, and have been able to get away with pretty low action. Lately it seems I have kinda been playing a little harder, and I get some buzzes but nothing major. I was wondering, can you guys tell me how you have your guitar action set? I am use to a low action, and I really don't want to raise the action on my guitars, but how do I find the happpy medium between string height and ease of play? My Adamas naturally is a loud guitar, so that one I can leave alone, but my Custom Balledeer acousticly is not as loud, so I find myself playing that guitar harder. Please give me your thoughts on action, and how to achieve the elusive balance of low action and minimum string buzz. Thanks |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | i use moderate to high action. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | If you are happy with the action at the nut & saddle you need to check the neck relief. If the neck is too straight the guitar will tend to buzz in the lower positions, especially with anything but light picking. Capo the guitar at the first fret & fret the 6th string at the 14th. You should see some clearance between the crown of the 5th fret & the string. There's no absolute correct setting for the amount of clearance, it's conditioned by string gauge, action, playing style & personal preference. If there's too little clearance the guitar will buzz in the lower positions. Let the truss rod off a quarter turn & let it settle for a while, continue till it looks, feels & sounds right. Bear in mind that it's damn-near impossible to achieve a very low action & not have fret-rattle, especially on an acoustic guitar
[ December 03, 2002: Message edited by: Paul Templeman ] |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Paul, I think that is a big part of my problem. I am always thinking the action could be a little bit lower. My Adamas has wonderful action. I think the deal with my Custom Balladeer is that it has kind of a chunky neck. My hands are not all that big, and that neck has taken me awhile to get use to. |
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Guitar action question
