Question re: "standard" action measurement....?

[StringFive]

I generally measure the action by observing the height of the strings where the neck joins the body. I recognize that it’s a matter of taste, but is a distance of 1/8th to 3/16th of an inch a good place to start? What, if any, is the generally accepted standard?

[HHP]

Standard measure is top of the 12th fret to bottom of string. preferences vary but it is generally under 1/8".

[kydave]

3/32" top of 12th fret to bottom of low E string.
2/32" top of 12th fret to bottom of high E string.

Those are pretty good middle of the road acoustic settings.

But you want the relief set first or second. Get it as flat as possible without buzzing for your style of attack.

AND you really want the action at the nut set first or second. TINY bits too high there and you are starting off in a poor playing situation.

I say "first or second" between those two, as different people attack the set up different ways. The relief would have to be drastically off to change the way you set up the nut height action and the nut height action has no bearing on the relief. Also during a large part of my playing days, the relief was not adjustable. Martin set it right at the factory with a non-adjustable truss rod. I've never had an issue with relief on my 41 year old '71 D-28. Neck reset after 38 years, but not a change in the relief...

P.S. HHP is absolutely correct. For those of us who are math challenged at times: 1/8" = 2/16" = 4/32" = 8/64". All of which are higher than even most bluegrassers want their low E and WAY higher than they want the high E. 3/16" is worse.

1/64" increments are frequently used in action adjustments, rather than 1/32". 1/16" is a pretty gross jump in set-up land.

[Misty44]

KC, as you're primarily a fingerstyle player (and a very good one at that) you may be able to set your action to the "lower" side of average.

Dave's numbers are a good starting point and are pretty much what the boys with the slide rules at Martin came up with, but sometime experiment with going down a bit from 6/64's to 5/64's.



Using a stiff 6" steel ruler calibrated down to 64ths and measuring from the top of the 12th fret to the bottom of the E/e strings will tell you the action.

[kydave]

Speaking of tools; If you have a hex wrench set, you likely have a 3/32" hex wrench, as measured across the flats. That wrench makes an excellent tool for ballpark measurement on your low E string.