Quote:
Originally Posted by Gostwriter
I finished doing a basic set up on my older Guild D16 and it feels and plays great with no buzzing. However in checking the string height at the 1st and 12 fret I found it to be:
1st fret - 1/16 and 12th fret - 2/16 on Low E
1st fret -1/32 and 12th fret - 2/32 on the High E
with the first fret capoed and the 12th pressed down it looks like 1mm on the high E and barely readable in mm's on the low E at the 6th fret
Doe the low string sound like it is too high or too low based on the 6th fret reading?
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I'm not sure what you are trying to determine from your measurements.
Usually, folks measure the string height at the 12th fret of an open, un-fretted string. They also measure the gap between the top of the first fret to the bottom of each string, or simply the gap from the top surface of the fingerboard to the bottom of each string where it leaves the nut. Doing so provides a standard measure for numerical comparison. It's rather like checking auto tire pressures when the tires are cold.
Once the air in the tires heats up, it's just a guess what the correct tire pressure is, when measured hot/warm.
Measuring string heights at the 6th fret and at the 12th fret with a capo on the first fret is like gauging warm tire pressures: you've left the standards behind.
That said, for measurements at the nut/first fret, you'll need more precision than the nearest 32nd of an inch - typically measured in thousandths. Any $10 set of automotive feeler gauges will work well for that.
It is not uncommon to have a 12th fret string height for the low E at 3/32 and a little less for the high E. Depending upon how you play, what you play, the particulars of that instrument... it may or may not allow going that low, or lower.