Kenan Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Just wondering (and yeah, I know these have been posted before but hey.. :D). For a very short period of time I used low action and 9s..but always felt (apart from easy playing) the sound was kinda..meh..(and there was a bit too much fret buzz). Then, I switched to 10s (D'Darrio) and raised the action to be 2mm on the 12th fret (6th E) and 1.2mm on the 12th for the 1st E..and while in the begining was kinda hard to adjust (more finger powah!) I realized I like it more like that..gives fuller, richer sound..and it's more forgiving when doing some strumming.. So..how bout you guys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 This is for ALL my guitars. I set them up for the lowest action that I can achieve without fret buzz. In other words, I get the neck flat, I set the action down to just where it wants to buzz on the higher frets, and I raise it just slightly. Then I set the intonation properly, and make minor action adjustments as necessary from there. I don't want to work too hard, and pressing down terribly-hard to achieve barre chords is a no-go. I generally use extra-light Slinky's on my electrics, and I use extra light D'Addario's on my acoustics. I hope this helps!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve112 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Just wondering (and yeah, I know these have been posted before but hey.. :D). For a very short period of time I used low action and 9s..but always felt (apart from easy playing) the sound was kinda..meh..(and there was a bit too much fret buzz). Then, I switched to 10s (D'Darrio) and raised the action to be 2mm on the 12th fret (6th E) and 1.2mm on the 12th for the 1st E..and while in the begining was kinda hard to adjust (more finger powah!) I realized I like it more like that..gives fuller, richer sound..and it's more forgiving when doing some strumming.. So..how bout you guys? On all of my guitars I want it as low as is reasonable without excessive buzzing but still high enough to allow some meat on the strings while bending with vibrato. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenan Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 This is for ALL my guitars. I set them up for the lowest action that I can achieve without fret buzz. In other words, I get the neck flat, I set the action down to just where it wants to buzz on the higher frets, and I raise it just slightly. Then I set the intonation properly, and make minor action adjustments as necessary from there. And with such a (relatively) low action you don't get any fret buzzes at all? I can do that on mine too..but I would get at least some buzz and that would kinda bother me. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve112 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 And with such a (relatively) low action you don't get any fret buzzes at all? I can do that on mine too..but I would get at least some buzz and that would kinda bother me. :) I've had many high-end guitars over decades and every one of them with a good low setup had very very minor fret buzz. It's inherent and normal in low action electrics. A light touch also works wonders and improves tone and dynamics. Only medium to medium-high action will eliminate ALL buzzing unless one is hammering the strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenan Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 ^^Well..I'm not exactly hammering it..but I do have a heavy hand.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 While generally I go for medium low action and roundwound .011s on most of my electrics, I do go for slightly higher action and .011 flatwounds on my jazzboxes. That being said, I have a Gibson Melody Maker (2008) that is set with 010 roundwound and super low action so I can get that 1957 Johnny Guitar Watson sound. The strings don't ring as much as they ping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon S. Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 While generally I go for medium low action and roundwound .011s on most of my electrics, I do go for slightly higher action and .011 flatwounds on my jazzboxes. Me too. Except I do have a Tele I use 10 flats on for an extra "plunky" old country tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campbell Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 I tend to use 9's on most of my guitars. My Les Paul currently has 9's. I prefer Fender strings. I've tried just about all the other brands but, have found the Fender strings I use tend to sound best, hold their tune and last longer than the rest. I've been curious to try even lighter gauge strings after hearing the story Billy Gibbons tells of his backstage encounter with B. B. King and Mr. Kings advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenan Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 after hearing the story Billy Gibbons tells of his backstage encounter with B. B. King and Mr. Kings advice. Details please! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 This is for ALL my guitars. I set them up for the lowest action that I can achieve without fret buzz. In other words, I get the neck flat, I set the action down to just where it wants to buzz on the higher frets, and I raise it just slightly. Then I set the intonation properly, and make minor action adjustments as necessary from there. I don't want to work too hard, and pressing down terribly-hard to achieve barre chords is a no-go. I generally use extra-light Slinky's on my electrics, and I use extra light D'Addario's on my acoustics. I hope this helps!! This goes for me also. And like fromnabulax, I use 11 flatwounds (11-50) on my jazz box. I use 10-46 on other electrics. I try to eliminate ALL fretbuzz. I can play all of them on every string at every fret without fretbuzz. However, when playing hard, a small (2% ?) of buzz will typically occur somewhere. Only 2 of my guitars have no fretbuzz whatsoever no matter how they are played. One is a classical Spanish guiter which has a very high action. The other is a solid electric which oddly enough, has the lowest action of all of them, strange but true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Mine is pretty low. both my Les Paul standards are string with 10s. Usually D'Addario XLs, or Ernie Ball M-Steels. Necks are very straight with a very slight amount of relief, (you need a neck rule to see it.) action is set @ 2/64s High E, 3/64s low E I am not a heavy handed player, rather have a light to moderate touch, Notes all ring very clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spamonkis Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 With a good, properly adjusted neck, leveled frets and good playing technique, you can lower your action to the point where tone thins out before you get fret noise. Just above that is the sweet spot where tone and playability are both ideal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesFreek Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 I use a medium/high action on my LP copy(not an Epiphone)and I use .09 Super Slinky EB's. I am not a "shredder" and play traditional electric blues and I play a lot of chords as well as single note soloing. I am used to this type of string action. I hate fret buzz and my LP is pretty cheap and needs a good fret leveling before I can lower the action anymore than it is now. I just haven't got around to it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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