The second way is to adjust the height of the nut. But when you plug the guitar in, you may notice that the amount of buzzing you hear decreases significantly. High action can also be a result of a poorly set truss rod. There are many electric guitarists who are happy to have some slight buzzing in exchange for super-low action height. This center measurement gives a good point of reference to tell how high the strings actually are. So if you’re experiencing an open-string buzz, your strings might be too low at the nut. Otherwise, you’ll need to make adjustments to keep your guitar in an ideal condition. If you play fingerstyle on your acoustic guitar, you will be able to play with a lower action compared to a guitarist who strums chords. This can affect the bow of the neck (explained in this guide on Truss rods) as well as the guitar’s action. Marking the saddle with straight lines also helps you keep your filing straight. This guitarist would likely prefer a higher action so he can hit the strings as hard as he wants without the notes fretting out. Let’s look at how to raise or lower the action of an acoustic guitar. In this video we learn to measure action of an acoustic guitar using a 2mm thick coin. For electric guitars, the default action is typically 6⁄64 in (0.24 cm) on the bass side and 4⁄64 in (0.16 cm) on the treble side. Sure, tightening the truss rod will lower the strings, but that’s not why you do it. 3/32" from the top of the 12th fret to the bottom of the low E and 2/32" for the high e are standard middle-ground measurements. ... mark the saddle under the low and high strings and connect them with a straight line. We're going to set our outside E strings before we start messing with the radius for our saddles. Firstly, your action measurements are actually really good–what most acoustic players would consider “low.” To lower the action on an acoustic guitar (or electric), the truss rod isn’t what you want to adjust. The following tables show typical action for guitars and bass guitars at the lowest and highest strings. Simply turn the screw on the bridge post next to the low E string and slightly lower the post. Find out more about Floyd Rose bridges in my ultimate guide here. This gives you a clearer tone and allows you to strum chords without ending up in a buzzing mess. This is the measurement of the action at the nut; NB: You are not pressing on any strings when you do this as you did in the preliminary check above. That’s the limitation with this type of bridge. String Height At The Nut. File off a small amount, replace the saddle in the bridge, tune-up the strings and measure the action again. If you file too much off or accidentally create a curve in the bottom of the saddle, you’ll need to buy a new saddle and start again. If the action is too high, the guitar will feel uncomfortable to play. Raising the action can remove the buzzing and clean up your playing. 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. What Should the Action be on an Acoustic Guitar Unlike electric guitars, any buzzing due to low action is obvious on an acoustic guitar. Once your guitar’s truss rod is set up properly, you can then measure your action height and make adjustments. Adjusting the action on an electric guitar depends on what type of bridge it has. Adjust the string action. Be sure to check the bow of your neck before you start making adjustments to the action. The guide explains how string gauge and tension affect your guitar and will help you understand what gauge strings are best for you. Imagine a jazz guitarist playing some fast and soft passages with gentle picking and a soft touch on the strings. Was this page useful? You will likely want the action height to be as low as possible without creating any buzzing. Initially appeared: June 03, 2014 ... Read moreHow to adjust the action on an Acoustic Guitar The following tables show typical action for guitars and bass guitars at the lowest and highest strings. The Martin guitar factory considers a low ‘E’ bass string to be within specification if the distance from the 12th fret to the bottom of the low E string is between 2.38 mm (3/32″) minimum, to 2.78 mm (7/64″) maximum. If you are soft when picking the strings, the strings aren’t likely to buzz against the frets. If you notice that the changes in seasons affect the action of your guitar, you may want to consider how you store your guitar and the condition of the environment you keep it in. The winding on a guitar string can act like a file and slowly lower the strings at the nut over the course of time. Check your guitar’s intonation by playing a 12th fret natural harmonic and compare the pitch against the fretted 12th fret note. Re-tune your guitar (every adjustment will impact your guitar’s tuning) and re-measure the action. This is why acoustic guitars usually have higher action than electric guitars. If the action is too low, you will hear string buzzing. Changing the action on an acoustic guitar is a painful process as you first need to slacken the strings enough to slide the saddle out. Changing string gauge doesn’t always impact action, but if you notice a change in action after changing your set of strings, the new strings may have thrown your guitar out of balance. Measure string action (the height of the string above the fret) at any point by placing the gauge behind the string. Because this is a delicate process, here are some tips to avoid mistakes: Mark your saddle before you start filing: once you start filing, it can be hard to tell how much material you have taken off. Guitars with a Gibson Tune-o-Matic bridge give you two points where you can raise or lower action. Liutaio Mottola Lutherie Information Website, Mottola's Cyclopedic Dictionary of Lutherie Terms, Quantifying Player-Induced Intonation Errors of the Steel String Acoustic Guitar. With this type of bridge, you need to go through each string and check the action height for each one. Then you can adjust the heights of these two posts as needed. Guitar action also plays an important part in your guitar’s intonation. The right action for your guitar depends on two things: the type of guitar you have and your playing style. When a guitar isn’t plugged in, even the slightest fret buzzing is instantly noticeable. So even if your guitar has high action, you may not notice it if you always use a capo and play mainly open chords. The below photo shows what is meant by the height of the strings over the fretboard: Guitar action is important to get right because it can completely change how a guitar feels to play. There is a factory spec for 12th fret action measurements … The issue with adjusting the action on acoustic guitars is that it requires you to modify the saddle. Read through this guide to learn about Truss Rods and how to properly adjust them. Be careful not to apply too much pressure on one side of the saddle or you’ll end up with uneven action across the strings. If the neck has too much relief, it will cause high action. The distance you push the string causes the note to bend out-of-tune. Let’s say you have measured the action on your low E string and you want to lower it. If the string buzzes against the tool, it means the action is fine for the radius. If you have an appropriate tool (covered above), measuring guitar action is simple. It’s common to see acoustic guitars warp due to a big change in humidity, so keep this in mind if you have an acoustic guitar. Subscribe to Acoustic Guitar on . If you hear a difference between the two notes, it means your intonation is out. A typical action on an electric guitar is at around 4/64″ (1.6mm) on the high E string and 6/64″ (2.4mm) on the low E string. This gives you some control over the action on your guitar but not complete control over each individual string. If you aren’t sure if your action needs adjusting or not then read on to learn when you need to adjust the action on an acoustic guitar.. The lower the action height on your guitar, the higher the chances your strings will buzz. 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. Floyd Rose bridges use two posts to adjust the action and are similar to the above Tune-o-Matic bridges. How To Adjust The Action On An Acoustic Guitar. Try to find the limit on how low you can set your action to, then decide what the ideal height is for you. If your guitar’s bridge allows you to adjust each saddle’s height, you need to measure the action on every string. Low action will probably suit the guitarist as it will make the guitar feel easier to play. Last updated: Customers call us every single day asking how to adjust (usually lower) the action on their acoustic guitar. Before lowering the guitar action, some guitars require you to adjust the truss rod first. Find out about intonation and how to adjust it in this guide. Guitar action is important to understand and know how to adjust. Do this carefully! An action gauge like one of the above versions is handy to have if you have multiple guitars. Before you start adjusting your guitar’s action, it’s a good idea to measure it. If you have an aggressive playing style, you may find that low action causes a lot of fret buzz. ... take some action measurements at the 12th fret on the two outermost strings while your guitar is strung up to pitch. Because that distance increases the further away from the nut the measurement is taken, we typically just measure this at a single fret for representational purposes. September 11, 2018. But how do you know if the action is too high? The fret most widely used for action measurements is the 12th fret. So if you hear some slight buzzing while testing your unplugged electric guitar, plug it in and test it out again. Here are the Specs for the string action Listed are suggested measurements for the 1st fret and a higher fret on the low E (bass) and high E strings. The aggressive playing style causes the strings to vibrate wide and low action would cause serious buzzing issues. Before we look at how to adjust action, let’s look at how to properly measure it and what your action should be set to. If you lowered the action at the nut, you must also lower the action at the bridge or your tone will be off. The below ruler starts the measurements from the very end, which is perfect for measuring guitar action height. They’re easy to use and give clear readings in inches or millimeters. If your guitar’s intonation is out or the guitar feels awkward to play compared to other guitars, the action may be too high. Measure from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string. Most guitarists tend to prefer lower action compared to a higher action. 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