high action

[angeldogleslie]

i understand that high action is caused by the strings being too high from the frets. can i noe how much i shld lower it ?

 

[BF109E]

You can lower them to such a point where they do not cause any string buzzing when you press the strings anywhere along the fretboard.

However, in some cases, some string buzz is ok if you play with distortion most of the time.

Hence, for an electric guitar, lower the action with the guitar plugged into the amp, so that you can check for sure if the buzz is too prominent or can be tolerated when you play. For acoustic guitars, string buzzing is not so acceptable.

8)

 

[angeldogleslie]

but mine is a bass haha so izzit the same ? can i just lower it till anylevel ?

 

[fretless6]

but mine is a bass haha so izzit the same ? can i just lower it till anylevel ?

String relief (action) is very much a personal preference. Go with what feels right for you. Some people like it high, some low. As far as bass is concerned, alot has to do with your technique and style of music. If you play with a light touch, low action is great, but if you play agressively, low action will buzz alot (even if it doesn't buzz normally, it will once you really dig in).

Low action can make certain techniques like slapping, tapping and doing fast runs a little easier, but however, you also lose some dynamics as you can have only a certain amount of string attack before your strings start clanking all over the place.

Pros & cons for either. Just go with what you need/prefer.

 

[subversion]

otherwise, refer to the default action in your product manual & lower/ raise the height accordingly, to your preference.

 

[mulyadi]

yeah...for guitars, not very sure about bass, when the action's too low, the tone's lost if you are doing string bendings and stuff, but its really a matter of personal preference, like what sub said... you can lower it yourself, or get a professional guitar tech to do it...around $20-30 should do it..

 

[cherns]

As mentioned earlier, it's up to your preference... but then if you've never tried it you won't know if you like it right??

Anyways, a easy way to measure how high the action (or relief) is on your bass is to
1) fret at the first fret (i.e. F, Bflat, Dsharp, Gsharp) for the string you're testing
2) use your right thumb to fret at the 21th fret and...
3) use your index finger to tap on the 12th fret.

The space that is underneath the string above the 12th fret is how high your action is. Mine is just about the thickness of a credit card.

There are 2 ways to adjust the action on your bass
a) Adjust your truss rod
b) Adjust the height of your saddles
I think I've posted here before, but I'll do it again anyways. This is a great site to learn more about it - http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html

Just remember to check the intonation of your bass once you are done fiddling with it