software

If there's no buzz, and you don't play with a lot of bends, can the action on a guitar ever be too low?

Actually... no. In the above situation I see no reason for not putting the action as low as possible... although you won't get your arms trained that much

lower action = less sustain, so maybe


Originally Posted by shredaholiclower action = less sustain, so maybe

well spoken, you will lose sustain and harmonics will not be as pronounced. guess if you dont care and you dont have a trem equiped bridge than it realy doesnt mater all that much.

I consider tha action too low when it starts buzzing... as long as it´s not buzzing, it´s just fine

It's all a personal preference.

It's all about how comfortable you are with it.

I have big hands and big fingers...low action's no good for me. I need the extra space to move things around!


Originally Posted by shredaholiclower action = less sustain, so maybe

I'm not saying you're wrong, but that doesn't make sense to me. If the strings aren't buzzing, it means they're hitting nothing but air when they vibrate. What difference does it make if they have 1 mm of air space around them instead of 2 mm? Or am I completely missing the point?

Yep. Go to from : localhost/and check out the sample called quot;Sustainquot; that I just did on my very, very low actioned guitar. Terrible! Maybe if I raised it, I could get that note to last a bit longer.Originally Posted by shredaholiclower action = less sustain, so maybe
playing fast sounds better on a guitar with low action, I prefer low...but like half a millimeter is too low, lol.

Sure, I guess. But no bends? -what kind of life is that?


Originally Posted by Hot _GritsSure, I guess. But no bends? -what kind of life is that?
Well, I do bends - but they're a low priority and are usually pretty subtle. Basically, it's good to keep higher action to make bends easier - but I don't care about the bends being easy.

It's very easy for the action to be quot;too lowquot; IMO. In fact, the action on my newest axe is just a smidgen too low for my style at the moment and will be raised soon. It feels great for legato runs and overall zipping around the neck, but when I go to dig in for a bend and try to get the tips of my fingers underneath the neighboring strings... there's not enough room. Also, the string I'm bending tends to slip or fret out, which will go away as soon as I bump the action up a touch. These aren't insane bends either, maybe a full step or so.

To me? Yes. I hate a guitar with such low action that it's hardly playable. If I can bend a full step up, that's as low as I want to go. I'm not sure if you lose a considerable amount of sustain over action, but it has to effect the sound somehow.

Right right right, higher action is required for bends. However, easy bends aren't at all a priority for me.

This is why setups need to be personalized....

i find that sustain is better with higher action, it doesnt have to be silly high but if its too low (even if it isnt buzzing) it seems like the guitar doesnt ring as well. i prefer my action high but that has as much to do with playing slide as it does with sustain and tone

Why does the higher action sustain better?

If it because the pickups are too close, couldn't you lower the pickups the same amount you lower the action? Otherwise I couldn't see anything that would rob it of sustain as long as it isn't hitting frets or anything. Help me out, I could be loosing alot of sustain.

Also, how low are we talking? Are we concidering 'factory' action to be medium?

I'm pretty sure it's the tension. We had a talk about this in an old post.


Originally Posted by theboatcandreamIf there's no buzz, and you don't play with a lot of bends, can the action on a guitar ever be too low?

If there's no buzz, that means you can go a little lower, and just notch up the gain a bit

Seriously, though, in answer to your question, absolutely not. The lower your action, the more in tune your notes will be.

low action doesn't need as tedious an intonation job than high action for obvious reasons.