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I recently set my string height a little lower for quicker playing but I was wondering if anybody knew an exact way to set string heights as far as lowest possible action without fret buzz and what not. If so what can it be measured with and what not. I play an American Standard strat with stock saddles if that helps any. I will be switching out with some graphtech saddles soon so I'm really worried about putting those on and not being able to get my action set.

The lower limit for buzzing depends mostly on the condition of the frets, the guage of strings, and how hard you tend to hit the strings.

If the frets are not crowned properly, they will buzz no matter how high you set the action.


Originally Posted by LiquidSkyI recently set my string height a little lower for quicker playing but I was wondering if anybody knew an exact way to set string heights as far as lowest possible action without fret buzz and what not.

Yes.

Take it to a professional technician and pay him to do it.


Originally Posted by octavedoctorYes.

Take it to a professional technician and pay him to do it.

Setting the action is a relatively easy procedure, I'd personally tather avoid bench fees and do it myself. Then again I've done it before .

I would recommend getting Dan Erlewine's book. Guitar Player Repair Guide. I used it to teach myself how to do a setup. The book points out problems you should probably have a professional solve.

If you have room to work on your guitar near your computer these setup tutorials at Project Guitar are good. Before lowering strings they advise
1) making sure the nut is cut properly.
2) getting the neck relief correct.

For string height I bought a 6 inch metal rule at a hardware store (measurements in 1/64th inch on one side, 1/32nd on the other) and used the setup guide at Fender's website for measurements.

A setup is not hard to learn but the first time it probably took me hours to do what a pro could have done in minutes.

Assuming that your guitar is set up correctly, why measure? I just do mine by feel. I don't really ever measure the string hieght unless I'm making some kind of change like installing new pick ups or whatever. Whenever I change strings I can pretty much tell if the action needs to be raised ro lowered by checking it visually and by feel. There's a sweet spot when I know its right... what's the measurement? I don't know. But I do know its very low, without any fret buzz, but still very comfortable to play.

Why measure? I'm an engineer, I trust a physical measurement more than my feel. I measure some thing today and later I think something has changed and the measurement is different I know I need to make an adjustment.

I just replaced my E B G saddles with GraphTech saddles on my Am Std Fat Strat. I just eyeballed the screw adjustment to get the old and new saddles at about the same height when off the guitar. To avoid confusing my middle aged brain I did the saddles one at a time.

Neck radius comes in to play here as well. An American Standard Strat has a 9.5quot; radius. Truss rod adjustment will affect how low you can go too. There has to be some relief though.

On my Strat, I can't get the action as low on my Kramer (which has a 12quot;-14quot; radius) because it will buzz some and bent notes on the high E and B strings will fret out.

There's some setup guidelines on the Fender site under the Support section and I use them as a starting point but it all comes down to preference.


Originally Posted by FretFireSetting the action is a relatively easy procedure, I'd personally tather avoid bench fees and do it myself. Then again I've done it before .

I'm not blowing my own trumpet here but i have honestly never seen a player set their own guitar up properly and i have never known one not to admit to an improvement after I have I have worked with them using my experience and knowledge of string dynamics and the instrument's spatial geometry. However you could try the procedure I outlined in another thread, if only I could find it...

here it is:
quot;This is the technique i used to use when i had to set up thirty cheap Hohner planks a day.

Put a capo on a high fret, say 9 or 10.

Play the guitar. If the action feels high, lower it. if it feels too low, or frets out, raise it. When you find a point where you are happy with the balance between the the amount of fret buzz and ease of playing, move the capo to the first fret.

Play the guitar. If the action feels stiff around the middle of the fingerboard, tighten the truss rod. If the strings start to buzz anywhere betwen capo and 7th fret, slacken the truss rod until it stops doing it. Find the best compromise between these two extremes.

Take the capo off. If the action feels high at the 1st fret the the nut is too high. This is best left to a pro because if there are no shims under the nut the the guitar needs minor surgery to correct the nut height.quot;

This allows you to get the guitar's action as low as possible for your technique but it isn't guaranteed to give you the lowest possible action as the guitar may require extra work like fret dressing and certainly will require work on the nut.
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