Is it possible to lower the action to 5/64 on a Gibson???

[SkyRider]

Is it possible to lower the action at 12th fret to 5/64 on Gibson and still have plenty saddle above the bridge???

 

I ask because I lower 5/64 on both Collings and Taylor and it's prefect. Matter of fact, I believe Taylor factory spec is 5/64. I learned that 7/64 is factory setting for Gibson. I went to my local Gibson dealer last week and most looked higher than 7/64 and lowering to 5/64 would leave slim to no saddle above the bridge.

 

Hence my question. Any of you have your action to 5/64 at 12th fret on your Gibson?

 

thanks!

[j45nick]

I have a couple of my Gibson acoustics set to 4/64 on the treble side, and 6/64 on the bass side. The neck angle is one determinant of how much saddle will be left when you lower it to 5/64. Unless the nut slots can be cut a little deeper, all the lowering is going to come out of the saddle. Providing the strings aren't touching the bridge, you can take the saddle down as much as you want, although you are reducing the string break angle over the saddle at the same time. In some cases, you can improve the break angle slightly by ramping the bridge pin holes.

 

No two of my Gibsons have the same amount of saddle left, because their neck angles and bridge designs vary as well.

[zombywoof]

Like J45Nick I find 5/64 too low and generally go for a a bit over 6/64 on the low end. Problem with your question is there is no way to answer it without knowing your guitar. You should be able to eyeball the guitar and figure if you can knock the action down or not. I would also make sure to have something laying around you can make a shim out of as it is not all that hard to remove a bit too much of the saddle.

[sbpark]

I don't think you can make a generalization and say that "x-brand" of guitar will go to 5/64" while another won't. It's an instrument made of organic materials assembled and crafted by human beings so every example will be different. What you'd have to do is take the instrument you're interested in, measure it's current action at the 12th fret. let's say it's 7/64", and you want it 5/64". subtract what the action is from where you would like it, then double that number, so 7/64" -5/64" = 2/64", then double that number, so you're left with 4/64", this is how much material would need to be removed from the saddle. So measure the saddle and see if this much material can be removed or not. Unless you have a really light touch, 5/64" is pretty darn low, and it's going to kill a lot of the dynamics and overall "oomph" of the instrument. The instruments dynamic range will probably sound choked.

[58 Relic]

I have mine to Gibson specs 3/32" on the bass and 2/32" on the treble . Due to using a capo a lot above the 3rd and 4th fret the action would be really low .

[BigKahune]

I have mine to Gibson specs 3/32" on the bass and 2/32" on the treble ....

 

According to a setup article ( http://www2.gibson.com/Support/Tech-Tips/Basic-Guitar-Setup.aspx ) on the Gibson website, Gibson acoustic specifications are:

1st fret- treble side- 1/64"

1st fret- bass side- 2/64"

12th fret - treble side- 5/64"

12th fret- bass side- 7/64"

 

I like my 12th fret clearance a bit lower, but it depends on the guitar - as it should.

 

 

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[OldCowboy]

All the above is excellent information - remember that just because you're comfortable going by the numbers doesn't mean your guitar will be.