Action too stiff without capo, too low with

[SGFletch]

What do you think? I have a new guitar. The action with no capo at the 12th fret is .080" it feels a little stiff to me without a capo. The neck is set for almost no relief.

When I put a capo on it, the relief issue seems to be more apparent. I get some buzzing and it is quieter overall. I did add some relief for a while and it mitigated this when capo'd - to some degree - but I would like it to feel more comfortable. So, I took most of the relief out.

What I'm wondering is. Does it sound like I need to address the nut?

I have tried the usual "fret at the 2nd/3rd and check for a gap at the 1st fret" method. It has a little clearance. Nothing huge, though.

Any ideas? Ordinarily, I would take some off the saddle if the action were still stiff with a capo. However, that is not the case, so wondering if I need to address the other end of the neck. I've never really filed nut slots for height.

Thank you!

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by SGFletch

What do you think? I have a new guitar. The action with no capo at the 12th fret is .080" it feels a little stiff to me without a capo. The neck is set for almost no relief.

When I put a capo on it, the relief issue seems to be more apparent. I get some buzzing and it is quieter overall. I did add some relief for a while and it mitigated this when capo'd - to some degree - but I would like it to feel more comfortable. So, I took most of the relief out.

What I'm wondering is. Does it sound like I need to address the nut?

I have tried the usual "fret at the 2nd/3rd and check for a gap at the 1st fret" method. It has a little clearance. Nothing huge, though.

Any ideas? Ordinarily, I would take some off the saddle if the action were still stiff with a capo. However, that is not the case, so wondering if I need to address the other end of the neck. I've never really filed nut slots for height.

Thank you!

Capo the first fret and play it. If that cures your problem then the nut slots are too high.

If you are using the standard recommended procedure to check the nut slot depth do remember that we're talking about JUST seeing daylight under the string. The thickness of a piece of paper is what you're looking for.

[SGFletch]

Cool. Thank you for the tips!

[redir]

It definitely sounds like the nut which is very typical even on expensive guitars. But .08 at the 12th fret is a nice low action.