My new Martin's action too low?

[Bridgepin]

Originally Posted by attaboy_jhb

Hi, can you please clear up something for me. I am doing this for my new gibson J 45 studio as it came from the store I purchased it from with a very low action and some drying guitar symptoms.

When i place a straight edge like you say it looks like this:



You can see it isn't straight all the way to the bridge.. does this mean the guitar is dry?

I have a Martin D28 and it is about 6 years old. It too has a similar dip but unlike the Gibson, I have had this one for years.

You would need to post photos of your guitar using the same positions as I used in the photos that I posted to give you a more accurate answer.

[saxonblue]

Originally Posted by fts06

Unfortunately I don't have one. If I buy a set of 13's, maybe I can tell just comparing them by looking? Even if they are 12's on the guitar right now. Would going to mediums affect it badly?

It won't be easy looking at a .012 vs .013 to see the difference but if you're going down that path I'd be comparing the bass strings, it's a lot easier to see the difference between a .052 & a .056. Having said that I'd use calipers anyway, even verniers (not digital) will easily show up the difference on the bass strings.

Maybe you should look at a setup as others have suggested but for the sake of a cheap experiment I'd be putting on a fresh set of mediums for starters. No they won't do one iota of harm to your D-18 because it's specifically built to take them. As Silly suggested EJ17s or I'd recommend Martin MSP4200s. Depending where you are it'll cost you $10-$15 & an hour of your time if you're as slow at putting on strings as I am & if it works you can skip the setup..

[Bridgepin]

Here is a video of Bob Taylor explaining the effects of a dry guitar and how to read these symptoms.

https://www.taylorguitars.com/videos...5603-85342632/

You all so need to be cognisant of not having your guitar over humidified.

Hope this will help you.

[SpruceTop]

It could be parallax but the action does look very low in your Martin D-18 photos.

[fts06]

Very sorry for very late reply. My internet connection was out about a week.


Update on the guitar, I realized that it has no neck relief at all. I placed a capo at the first fret and pressed on the 14th, low E string was aggressively touching the frets. In this case, should loosening the neck a little bit solve my problem? Should I try it, any risks?

[blindboyjimi]

If the strings are touching, I’d turn the truss rod about a 1/4 turn to loosen it and re-check. I do it under full tension and I use a Peterson tuner. If you go the correct way the note should flatten. If the relief is still too low, then I’d do another 1/4 turn and recheck. You really shouldn’t move it more than 1/2 turn a day. So I’d do the same the following day. Ideally you want just enough space above the 7th fret to see light and make a “tink” sound when you tap it. The most you’d want would be about a business card.

[fts06]

Originally Posted by blindboyjimi

If the strings are touching, I’d turn the truss rod about a 1/4 turn to loosen it and re-check. I do it under full tension and I use a Peterson tuner. If you go the correct way the note should flatten. If the relief is still too low, then I’d do another 1/4 turn and recheck. You really shouldn’t move it more than 1/2 turn a day. So I’d do the same the following day. Ideally you want just enough space above the 7th fret to see light and make a “tink” sound when you tap it. The most you’d want would be about a business card.

Thank you very much. I'll order an allen wrench and try it.

[Yrksman]

You will need the purpose made wrench specific to Martin Guitars