Action height question

OffHeGoes29 · February 2010

I got some pickups installed on my Mexican Strat and the guy who installed them said my action is really high. I started playing about three years ago and bought this strat new, it had bad fret buzz right out of the box so I adjusted the height until it stopped.

My question is this, will it affect my playing? I'm still new at this and I'm really comfortable with the current height. He also told me that the only way to stop it is getting fret work done. I think hes just trying to get me to spend more money so I'm a little suspicious that it will fix my problem.

xtremehardy388 · February 2010

Fret work might help, to be honest. Personally, if I had the money, I'd get the guitar "set up" since it's new. Get the intonation and action set for ya. The main thing you want to focus on is how YOU like the guitar and action and what YOU like. If you like high action, keep it.

ScrapeMySky · February 2010

I'd second that. If you like the action the way it is, keep it.
But in case you want to change it:
Have you tried adjusting the neck? Like truss rod and/or neck angle adjustments? I'd bet that would help more than having fretwork done. And even if it doesn't, it's still a lot cheaper and can be reversed. So i'd say, if you haven't done that already (which I hope your guy has before proposing having fretwork done), look into adjusting the neck first.

OffHeGoes29 · February 2010

ScrapeMySky wrote:

I'd second that. If you like the action the way it is, keep it.
But in case you want to change it:
Have you tried adjusting the neck? Like truss rod and/or neck angle adjustments? I'd bet that would help more than having fretwork done. And even if it doesn't, it's still a lot cheaper and can be reversed. So i'd say, if you haven't done that already (which I hope your guy has before proposing having fretwork done), look into adjusting the neck first.

I thought about the truss rod. No, he didn't say anything about the truss rod, he wanted me to pay for it to be set up and fret work. Which I thought was a little crazy. The only reason I paid for someone to have my pickups installed was the fact that I've never done it before and didn't want to learn on a 600$ guitar.

Is there a specific reason why people why their actions as low as possible?

xtremehardy388 · February 2010

I like my action low because it's easier to play and bend. I am TERRIBLE with high action

Again, dressing the frets and intonation isn't a bad idea, in general, but you shouldn't be charged an arm and a leg.

ScrapeMySky · February 2010

The action on my strat is pretty high because I play slide on it occasionaly. But all my other guitars are set up really low. Low action certainly makes for easier playing.

OffHeGoes29 · February 2010

Thanks for the advice! This is always the most helpful board in the pit.

xtremehardy388 · February 2010

OffHeGoes29 wrote:

Thanks for the advice! This is always the most helpful board in the pit.

Here's some more help:

If you're getting bad cell phone reception, it's probably because you're using a fossil. I'm sure if you update your phone, it'll be ten times better. Zack Morris misses his cell phone!

Sorry, just teasing. Saw the profile pic and it made me think of Saved By The Bell, haha

OffHeGoes29 · February 2010

xtremehardy388 wrote:

OffHeGoes29 wrote:

Thanks for the advice! This is always the most helpful board in the pit.

Here's some more help:

If you're getting bad cell phone reception, it's probably because you're using a fossil. I'm sure if you update your phone, it'll be ten times better. Zack Morris misses his cell phone!

Sorry, just teasing. Saw the profile pic and it made me think of Saved By The Bell, haha

Chicks dig it.......don't be jealous

DewieCox · February 2010

I've always read that higher action can beef up your tone.

Action height question

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