Do You Use a High Action?

[john grey]

Why would one use is a high action? I frankly couldn't think of a really good reason for it but some folks do.

I was in a mid-level music store in town and noticed that they had several EBMM Bongo Basses on display. Their action height was unusually high. The factory string height is typically about 3/32" or 2.4mm between the bottom of the string to the top of the fret on both the E and G strings at the 12th fret. The G string is generally .5mm lower in most cases. In this case the action was close to twice that!

The guy there told me that was the way they came out of the carton but I found that tough to believe. The Bongo is what I would consider to be a high end bass. Any instrument over $1200-1500 is no longer a “mid-priced” guitar. Yet there they were; actions MUCH higher than factory spec.

There are (IMO) 4 elements to a low action in a guitar; nut, bridge, neck relief, and string configuration / type. With those 4 elements I had generally been able to bring almost all action height down to LESS than 3/32” on the E & A string. There ARE some necks that have a deep “D” shape that simply don’t adjust well when they flatten to drop string very low due to a deep curvature on the fret board face. But those are the exceptions. After some years I was able to adjust the action on most every guitar - down SO low that it took the barest pressure to make a clean note. It allowed for a faster left hand and in a Slap-style allow for a better “pop” on the D & G and an easier ring on the heavy strings.

I have never known what reason someone would want high action. Ever since I began play I had sought a lower and lower string height. I started taking lessons about 25yrs ago & the guy I went to told me often that the lower the action height the faster one can move and the less tension was needed to make a clean note & no buzz. Yet I have also found folks who set their string SO low that they would buzz; however they rarely did becasue those guys had a wonderfully light touch.
I had also learned to play with my thumb (“Slap”) & certainly didn’t need a high action then either. I was told by several people that a lower action made for a better technique and that in a “Slap” playing agenda, a taller string height would eventually wear a dent in the frets fairly fast due to the higher pressure needed and the distance making for greater kinetic energy upon impact. Sure enough; I found this to be true. I frankly haven’t found a reason to ever maintain a high action. I had always considered a low action the sign of a well set-up instrument; yet here were high end units with very high actions.
And that is my question to those of you who do use a high action…..What advantage would a high action give? I am very serious in finding out if there is something I am missing.....OR if this is simply a habit that some folks retained.

[jaywa]

Low action + light touch = better tone, better speed, more dynamic headroom, greatly reduced risk of carpal tunnel, tendonitis etc.

Not sure why anyone would roll any other way... the exception possibly being folks who slap exclusively or almost exclusively.

[joeyl]

I agree with you. I personally don't see any benefits to high action. Some people say that they dig deeper or play aggressively hence the need for high action, but I would say that they are wasting a lot of energy and possibly hurting themselves in the process (of course IMO) My current setup is 2mm height above the 12th fret for the E string, and a little less on the G. It makes for a cleaner slap sound, although I don't really slap, and reduces fatigue on my fretting hand.

[lokikallas]

I know he is a guitarist, but have you ever seen Stevie Ray's setup? He used incredibly high action. I believe it was so he could get a more aggressive tone. I have found that slightly higher action will get me a more thick, heavy tone, and let me play more aggressively on my bass. It's for different sounds. Why do some people use thin picks and others use heavy picks?

[Jumbotron]

I actually use a pretty high action. Some music that I do demands to be played with authority, and doing so with low action without fret clank is basically impossible. And I can't abide fret clank or buzzing of any kind.

[jaywa]

The fret clank thing is a good point and I would be curious to know if the seasoned pro bassists might tend to run a little higher action in recording situations vs. live for that very reason.

Irregardless, I have to agree with the OP in that the majority of basses I have played "off the rack" in music stores have had the action much too high for my liking. In fact at my local mom-and-pop a couple of times I have asked them to re-set the action right there in the store on basses that I was seriously considering buying.

[Rebop]

The action on my fretted bass is so high that most players that sit in on it hate it. The nut action is very high as well. I like this setup because I go back and forth between upright and electric and tend to dig in a bit harder than most. Most basses at music stores have the string height far too low for my liking and tend to buzz a lot when I play them because of it.

[Phalex]

I wouldn't call my action low, but I like it. Some folks like to dig in with their right hand, and low action sounds like strings on fret wire.

I do what I do with what I do it with.

[shawshank72]

I have a hard time with high action, i usually go as low as i can before fret buzz.

[jaywa]

Originally Posted by Rebop

The action on my fretted bass is so high that most players that sit in on it hate it. The nut action is very high as well. I like this setup because I go back and forth between upright and electric and tend to dig in a bit harder than most. Most basses at music stores have the string height far too low for my liking and tend to buzz a lot when I play them because of it.

Also a good point. I dabbled in upright bass for a couple of months last year and alternating between that and my low-action P-Bass was an extreme transition to say the least. With the hand strength I built up on the upright it was very easy to "overpower" my P.

James Jamerson also favored a very high action, and for the same reason (background on upright).

[Jazz Ad]

When I play with low action it sounds like crap. This alone justifies high action to me.

Higher action (not mile high, just higher) is more comfortable, it leaves more room for different touches, from barely touching the strings to heavy digging.
I never get annoying fret buzz and since the instrument is a bit more difficult to play I avoids useless noodling.
Higher setup leaves room for detuning, too.
Unless you're into complex tapping or machine gun double thumb slapping, both techniques for which I have no use, I see no reason to prefer super low action.

[Babaghanoush]

Generally, higher action gives a wider range of articulation and often times will "speak" better than lower action. I've read that Marcus Miller raised his setup for those reasons and that Will Lee has a very high action for the same reasons.

To each their own I say. I've experimented with a broad range of heights and found that a moderate height works best for me. Pickup heights, etc. all factor into the tone equation so don't be afraid to mess around and find what best suits you.

[jaywa]

Maybe just an urban legend but I remember reading one time that the reason the "standard" for electric bass action was higher back in the day was that when the strings got too close to passive pickups you actually lost tone quality. The advent of active pickups did away with that anomaly, allowing for action to be lowered for easier playability without the corresponding loss of tone.

Like I said, maybe this is all wack... but that's a theory I heard once upon a time.

[Jazz Ad]

This theory hardly makes sense. Action and pickup height are set independently.

[Stingray89]

On my first bass I had the action set very high so I could strengthen my finger muscles and learn to play on a "harder" setup. Then after I got somewhat decent I decided to buy another bass and the action was very low. I havn't looked back since.

[rymiraflores]

I have always used very low action...1.5 mm B and 1mm G, I use TI flats and flats do buzz and rattle less than rounds...I agree with everything said ,above, about reasons for low action with a couple of additions.... first...very low action with flats ...very little pressure and consequently absolutely no disernable fretwear after almost 7 years with the bass , I´d also be pretty sure that high action affects the intonation of the strings as they are being stretched for every note.

[remainthesame]

Originally Posted by shawshank72

I have a hard time with high action, i usually go as low as i can before fret buzz.

i go to right where the fretbuzz starts, i actually like the tiniest bit of buzz

[klaus486]

I can attest that most basses come out of the box in a state that I consider unplayable. Especially Fender basses, they always have a huge amount of relief and really high action. Most if not all basses require some sort of set up out of the box. Each individual player is different though, I like low action in the Garry Willis tradition. I play fretless pretty much exclusively though. However I do find that most buzz, fret clank, string noises in general are caused by lack of proper playing technique.

[loinmute]

I like it very low. I have a 12'' fingerboard radius. 1.9mm at the low E and 1.5 for the high G. I like clack n clank a la Steve Harris. It takes minimal effort to finger and imo a light touch is preferable.

[dogofgod]

I use to play high action in in high school jazz band, I liked the thump it gave me. But man, that thing sucked to play and was super hard to do complicated runs. I have now lowered the action and it is great. but i do play higher action every once in a while to have a change of pace.