 What is this
action thing anyway?
Action is the most inportant setting which affects playability. Simply put, it is the
height of the strings above the frets. A guitar which has a large space between the
strings and the fretboard is said to have a "high action".If the strings are
close to the frets, the guitar has a "low action".Why set the action?
A guitar with higher action will be louder, have better tone and be harder to play.
With low action, the same guitar will be easier to play, but have less tone and volume.
The exact setting of a guitars action is mostly an individual player's choice.
So how high should the strings be?
Using feeler guages, measure the distance between the bottom of the string and the
"Body Fret" (where the neck joins the body - 12th for a classical, 14th for most
steel strings and +/- 15th for electric guitars). The following figures are a good rough
indication of what the action should be.
| Type Of Guitar |
Bass E string |
Treble E string |
| Electric |
2.4mm |
1.6mm |
| Steel String |
3.2mm |
2.4mm |
| Classical |
4mm |
3.2mm |
You can add or subtract about 0.5mm to these
measurements for a "high" or "low" action respectively.
Whoops. Mine doesn't measure up. Now what?
Electric guitars have some kind of screw, allen key or thumbwheel
on the bridge. Strats and most other guitars have individual screws/allen bolts for each
saddle. Les pauls and Many archtop electrics have two thumbwheels, one on either side of
the bridge. Some older telecasters have one saddle for every two strings, while most Floyd
Rose systems have two large screws or bolts for the entire bridge. Once located, turn
these devices and you will see the bridge/saddle move up or down (depending on the
direction you turn 'em).
Acoustic Guitars require either a shim
(piece of wood under the saddle) or a new saddle to raise the action. The saddle must be
filed down to lower the action. Preferably the top of the saddle needs to be filed,
especially if you have an undersaddle pickup (the bottom of the saddle must be perfect for
these to operate properly).
If you have a compensating saddle ( where the top of the
saddle is staggered for intonation purposes), then you must file the bottom of the saddle
- taking care to keep it as flat as possible. I use 80 grit waterpaper laid on a piece of
plate glass, and then I rub the saddle over this to bring it down evenly.
If you file the top of the saddle make sure to round it off
and smooth it, or you are going to break strings.
Next month, we'll look at setting the nut action of your
guitar. |
