Are these measurements considered high, medium or low action?

[Rosewood99]

7/64" low E at 12th fret while holding down first fret
6/64" high E at 12th fret while holding down first fret

[pagedr]

It's all relative, but I would consider that high.

[Matts67]

That's high to me. I like in the neighborhood of 6/64" low E and 4/64" high E - this is comfortable and with proper neck relief, I can have a pretty strong attack with no buzzing.

[Rosewood99]

Thanks for the info. I was told it was considered medium action and that didn't sound right to me.

[brencat]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

7/64" low E at 12th fret while holding down first fret
6/64" high E at 12th fret while holding down first fret

If you're holding down the first fret and still getting those measurements, that is ridiculously high!

6/64 low E and 4/64 high e not holding anything is considered "Medium" action.

[DebbieE]

Are you supposed to hold down the first fret when checking the action on your guitar?

[brencat]

Originally Posted by DebbieE

Are you supposed to hold down the first fret when checking the action on your guitar?

No you are not

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by brencat

No you are not

Well, not entirely. Some notable luthiers/repair people do, in fact, hold down the first fret when measuring action to eliminate the effect of nut height. Lewis Santer would be one such person.

However, it’s pretty unusual to do that and, I think, probably not that important. The common measurement is with no frets depressed, so it can be confusing giving people action specs with the first fret depressed.

Per your question, 7/64” on the low E with the first fret depressed would be consider very high by most people. My guess is without the first fret depressed, you’d be looking at 0.120” on the low E. That’s unplayable for most people.

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by DebbieE

Are you supposed to hold down the first fret when checking the action on your guitar?

You'll find differing opinions. Many people do hold down at the first fret to take the height of the nut slots out of the equation. It's all a little squishy since the "right" action depends on your playing style.

[Robin, Wales]

When doing a set up you can't take the action at the 12th fret in isolation. That measurement (in terms of saddle height adjustment) only comes into play after the relief has been set and nut slots adjusted. It is meaningless to measure the action at the 12th before setting the relief and the nut slot heights.

You'll get yourself into all sorts of trouble if you try and adjust the saddle height out of sequence. Measuring the action with the strings held down at the 1st fret still leaves the effect of the relief in play.

Originally Posted by Matts67

That's high to me. I like in the neighborhood of 6/64" low E and 4/64" high E - this is comfortable and with proper neck relief, I can have a pretty strong attack with no buzzing.

This would also be my medium action as measured without holding down the strings at the first fret (although I may be a shade higher on the treble side at 5/64). With the nut slots just a hair above fret height and a relief of 0.006 to 0.008 at the 7th. If your frets are level, than that's OK for bluegrass flatpicking.

Every guitar will be a little different in what it will allow in terms of set-up - and some players will have a preference - although, in my experience, most players just want something that feels good and plays clean; the numbers are not important to them.

I think I've done somewhere around 800 set-ups for players. I did two last week for local players and following that sequence of - fret check/level, relief, nut slots, saddle height - give consistent results.

[Silly Moustache]

High, when I was bashing it out in bluegrass bands, about .110-.090 would have been pretty typical.

Later, as my music changed a little, I went for Collings "factory spec" which is 3/32 = .9375" and 2/32 = 1/16" = .0625".

These assume that nut height and relief is set to your preference.

Action will vary a little seasonally, and with a RH of 50% or more this year, most of my guitars are around 105-.090.

It is worth investing in a Stewmac Action Gauge, truss rod adjuster (plus knowing how to adjust seasonally). I do have a set of saddles for my Collings guitars, but do not adjust my nuts and saddles myself - I usually drag 'em along to my tech.

[Robin, Wales]

Andy,

I'm not sure that I understand your figures? 3/32" is not .9375"

You would be able to hang your washing off of an action of 0.9" at the 12th fret - that's almost 24mm !!!!

EDIT: Ahh - I think you have missed out a 0

It does get confusing when we use fractions of an inch, decimals of an inch and millimetres to measure the same thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[llew]

I can get a little heavy handed at times and the 3/2 setup is my standard. (strings open) Really it depends on the guitar and how well the neck is set. I just built a dread at The Henderson school and not wanting to carve a saddle I brought along several old Martin compensated saddles I had since the radius is the same. The tallest one worked but it's just a hair lower than I'd prefer so I'm gonna have my local luthier make a second one a bit taller for summer and higher humidity.

[lowrider]

Is this another one of those old Harmony's?

Most of them are like that. The seller is hoping that you'll miss the fact that he's holding the strings down at the 1st fret. In other words; he's trying to screw you!