wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. It is important to note that a guitar is made from wood and wood changes shape with the climate. The only way to increase the action at the nut is to have a new nut installed. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. My Personal Experience! Guitar action means the distance between the strings and the fretboard. Electric guitars already have thinner fingerboards than acoustic guitars, so just by playing guitar, you’ve made a good choice for your small hands. If you have a non-adjustable truss rod and need to fix a bowed neck, take your guitar to an experienced luthier. The action height will change with a proper truss adjustment; however, if the action is too high lower it at the saddle. If you opt to do this, be sure that you repeat this on your next setup as well. Tune the guitar to pitch and ensure that your neck relief has been properly adjusted. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. I am certainly no pro. We discussed the following topics in detail: Generally speaking if your guitar has high action then you want to go and get a good set up as having a higher action. In this article, we looked at the basics of guitar action and why it is important consideration. The guitar itself has to be reasonably light to ensure smaller shoulders can cope. The standard measurement at the 1st fret is 0.30 in (0.76 cm). Tip: Typically, you want to lower the action at the nut, if necessary, before adjusting the action at the bridge. I am actively updating these articles daily and so I will see any comments made within a few days of posting! Low action is preferred for comfort and the output of what you play will generally sound better across most styles. When going into the recording studio you definitely need to go in with a guitar that is properly set up. If this is your first time making this adjustment, you may have to go through this process 4 or 5 times before you get a straight neck. If you sand too much, you could ruin your guitar or snap your bridge. If these parts are not adjusted in parallel then it could lead to uneven across the fretboard. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. Height, Evenness, Comfort, Tone & More! Fret slap is a horrible noise that is present when releasing you finger from frets. Overall, if the intonation is changed then the action must be checked and vice versa.Â. More experienced luthiers can tell exactly how much they need to turn the truss rod just by sighting the neck. Tip: Extreme changes in temperature or humidity can cause the neck of your guitar to bow or warp. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. However, these terminologies can be confusing because it is dependent on context. For example, if you were discussing the action of a steel acoustic (designed for slide blues) then a good action would mean the opposite. Measure your Guitar’s Action. As the intonation is set, and increase the height of the nut or saddle, when you press down on any fret the distance will because greater whereby as you press down you are lengthening the string and this will sharpen the note. Products rated by our researchers and current customers. Action is the most important part of any guitar setup. There are generally, two things to consider when dealing with action and that is the height of the action (this can be broken down into low action and high action), and the evenness of the strings. Some Luthiers will install a capo at the first fret in order to prevent the nut height from being a factor in their measurements. If you were to say your guitar had good action, then you would generally be stating that the action is ‘low’ (meaning it is closer to the frets). It may be only affect it ever so slightly that you cannot notice it but there are times it can be more noticeable. When doing this take note of the overtones and fret slap as this will really stand out when you’re in the studio. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc.
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