action tips

[stein]

read a few post on action problems and thought i might try and help. while there are poeple that are truly expert at setting action and worth the expence of paying, action is also a matter of tast. also, while there are lots or great vids on how to set up action, each guitar is different on how it vibrates as well as each player plays a little different, so ideal action is always different. so, the ideal action is something fine tuned beyond any herd measurements. here is some tips how to get in the slot-

1st, have the gauge of strings you want and strecthed. it changes everything. next you want to check the overall height. if all the strings buzz all the time, it is too low. the neck should be mostly straight to a slight bow, no back bow. if it is, adjust ever so slight for relief. (1/8 turn at a time, and give it an ever so slight flex to be sure it is set).

don't assume the nut is to deep or not deep enough. not yet. the key to good action is having the nut cut so the strings are as low as they can get-the lower the strings are when not fretted, the lower the action will "feel" on any fret you play. ideally, the nut should be cut so low as to be no higher than would be the case fretting the 1st fret. (it never can be because it would end up too low when changing string gauge). unless the strings do not buzz when playing the first fret and only buzz open, the nut is not the problem. also, note that the lower the nut is cut the lower the strings will be when fretting anywhere on the neck, and this will make it "feel" faster as there is less stretching of the string to hold it on the fret. the action will NOT be the same height along the fretbaord because of this, so that is not what you are shooting for. as you move away from the nut and the string gets higher, the action will "feel" easier because it takes less effort to hold the strings down the further to center of string you get.

next, how do you know if the neck has the right bow? this is actually real easy. 1st make sure there is no back bow, as this will screw with this technique, but if it is at least flat, play along the fretbaord. buzzung on the high frets and none on the frets closer to the nut is too much back bow, and buzzing further down toward the nut and none up high is too little. pretty easy huh? it really is that simple. make adjustments to the bridge as you do this until you have equal buzzing along the neck and just raise slightly until the buzzing (or lack of) is to your taste.

trouble shooting tips-if at the nut the strings are so high as to have a hard time playing, or you can tell they are much higher than what you would feel barring a chord at the first fret, then that hieght will be added to the action anywhere on the neck, and you would do well to have it lowered. if you notice when checking for buzzing and the next frets above and below are fine, it is the fret. try tapping it back down (in older gibsons it is actually quite common for frets to be a little loose that way). oh, check the string at the location by running your fingers there to make sure there are no kinks in the string.

 

hope this helps some folks. action is often a matter of tase, and as i mentioned, im not making it up, different guitars vibrate differently and the way gibsons vibrate it lends itself to really low action, and therefore some choose gibson for low action and tend to get picky the way they like it to play. also, mahogony necks have a tendancy to change quite a bit with the wheather. i would'nt be afraid to adjust tho..the tom bridge is a dream for that, and you can always put it back.