Do you prefer a little relief or a straight fret board?

[JayBee1404]

3/32” and 5/64” at the 12th fret, 0.005-0.006” relief. All my acoustic guitars have this set-up, the Lowdens have Lights (kind to their cedar tops), the Dreads have Mediums, I finger-pick using thumb- and finger-picks, and strum using a BC 35-gauge flatpick - no buzzes anywhere unless I dig in very hard.

Works for me.

[numb fingertips]

Originally Posted by tadol

I think this may tie into the threads on the value of getting a really good set-up - and I think there are too many people who have never had the chance to spend some time playing guitars that are really well set-up to understand -

Yeah, you are probably right. Currently, I'm not a good enough player with enough control or nuance to take advantage of the setup you are talking about. I hope that one day I will be, in the meantime, I'm a strummer that likes to strum hard on occasion. I dislike fret buzz, so my action is high enough to account for it.

[justonwo]

Relief targets the buzzing issues on the lower frets, while the upper frets are driven more by saddle height. If you keep a straight neck, you’ll need very high action to keep the lower frets from buzzing. You’d be better off with a little relief.

[Bear Davis]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Yes and yes. That's why I have multiple guitars.

Pretty much this.