High action vs. Low

[JonathanD]

What is high action....what is low action. Please measure at the 12th fret so we can get a discussion going on here.
Me
Fretted 5 = 4mm
Fretless 5 = 4.5mm from board to bottom of the string.

***OOPs missed some posts.. Wow you guys are playing super duper low IMO.

I guess I love the sound of pickups distorting before they hit the preamp....thats what I assume is happening.
Jonathan

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by Lo.

Michael Henderson tried Jamerson's bass - he said "His strings were dead flatwounds, and his action was so high, you had to get your friend to help you play Bb! "

difficulty fretting the first two frets has less to do with action and a lot more to do with nut slots...

the other thing that could have been happening on JJ's bass was fret wear....From what I understand, Jamerson was of the "run what you brung" school and didn't do anything in the way of upkeep on his bass..given the shear number of hours that were put in on this bass, I'll bet those first few frets (where he liked to play) were QUITE worn.

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by JonathanD

What is high action....what is low action. Please measure at the 12th fret so we can get a discussion going on here.
Me
Fretted 5 = 4mm
Fretless 5 = 4.5mm from board to bottom of the string.

***OOPs missed some posts.. Wow you guys are playing super duper low IMO.

I guess I love the sound of pickups distorting before they hit the preamp....thats what I assume is happening.
Jonathan

On the 12th-fret E-string of my main bass (Yamaha RBX170) I measure 1.5mm to the top of the fret...that to me is quite low...

On the E-string of a cheap bass that I did my own fretwork on, I measure 2mm...to me, that is still low

ON the E-string of my Carvin AC40 it's also about 2mm...

On my wishbass, it's about 3mm to the board...that, to me is medium

For me, 4mm is beginning to get into the high range...

[Rocinante_x1]

I have my action on my Jazz so low that there's just a bit of buzzing when i play on the frets 1-7. I like it that way, because it gives it more growl and character, i think. It's great.

[Lalabadie]

3.5mm , but about as much tension as butter on hot bread.

[Jeb]

4 or 5 years ago, I would have thought a bass was crap if it wasn't capable of 2/32 (1/16! ) on all strings around fret 12 with minimal relief and light gauge strings. Those days I had somewhat of a light touch with my fingerstyle playing. As I picked up more experience and played with more players in "real musician" situations, I've trended higher and like medium gauge strings.

A quick check of my basses have them pretty consistent at around 4/32 bass side to 3/32 treble side at fret 12.

[PilbaraBass]

here's a little chart for converting from 32nds to inches to milimetres...

if you're action is greater than 10/32", YOU figure it out

32nds, Inches, Mm
1, 0.03, 0.79
2, 0.06, 1.59
3, 0.09, 2.38
4, 0.13, 3.18
5, 0.16, 3.97
6, 0.19, 4.76
7, 0.22, 5.56
8, 0.25, 6.35
9, 0.28, 7.14
10, 0.31, 7.94

[joelc1319]

thanks for the chart PilbaraBass!

ok so that means that my fretless converted Ibanez has 4.76mm on the bass side and 3.18mm on the treble side...something seems a little high about that to me...it's tough to play that bass (probably because of my homebrew conversion)

my 4-string warwick corvette, on the other hand, has 3.18mm on the bass side, and 2.38mm on the treble side....much easier and pleasing to play

have we decided what's considered high, medium, and low action? I propose 1/32-3/32 on the bass side is low action, 4/32-6/32 is medium action, and anything above 6/32 is high action. this all being at the 12th fret (or 12th "position" on the fingerboard). what do you all think?

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by theJello

I prefer very low action. I play with a really light touch though. Your tone will actually be better. Some guys say the complete opposite of this but they dig in more.
Jeff Berlin, Anthony Jackson, and Gary Willis all subscribe to the lighter touch and lower action ideal. Jeff and Anthony both adjust their neck so they are almost straight.
Im not quite sure how Gary does it but I bet its pretty straight. I think this works great. Of course your bass must have an impecable(sp?) fret job or you will get less than disirable results.

I totally buy into this philosophy as well. Playing with low action forces one to lighten his touch and clean up his technique in order to execute cleanly. The reward for doing so is - improved ease of playing that facilitates music-making on multiple levels...

MM

[Jazzdogg]

Originally Posted by steamboat

Everything past the 15th fret buzzed.>

Sounds like you had a little too much bow in your neck - tightening the truss rod helps when the fret buzz is only above the 12th fret, just as loosening the truss rod helps to eliminate fret bezz that occurs only below the 12th fret.

[202dy]

Average set up is 6/64" and 5/64" bass and treble respectively. This is how bass guitars are set up straight from most of the factories. Most players balk at action that is much higher. Much lower and the risk of rattles and buzzes increases exponentially. All of this is dependent on playing technique and what the individual is willing to accept. Deviations from this standard require adjustments in playing technique.

[()smoke()]

i always measure at the 17th fret or stop, with the string depressed at the 1st fret or stop...my fretless action is 7/64" with this method, which i deem a medium action for fretless...i could go as low as 1/16 easily, but i like having some room to go from a 'standard' sound to a 'mwah' depending on how hard i pluck

[Koki]

On my sixer from fret to the bottom of the string:
C 1.2 mm
G 1.2 mm
D 1.1 mm
A 1.3 mm
E 1.5 mm
B higher than 1.5 mm and I don't really care if B buzzes

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by Koki

On my sixer from fret to the bottom of the string:
C 1.2 mm
G 1.2 mm
D 1.1 mm
A 1.3 mm
E 1.5 mm
B higher than 1.5 mm and I don't really care if B buzzes

for those who are wondering...THIS is low action...

[EADG mx]

Originally Posted by PilbaraBass

for those who are wondering...THIS is low action...

also improper balance

[colorblindbass]

E string on my fretless,


12th fret line to string
6 mm

[steve4765630]

Low action is better in most circumstances, but some guys have gorilla hands and just can't deal with it. Intonation up the neck is better and there is less fatigue. You can eliminate 80% of fret buzz by plucking over the bridge pickup. Frankly, I don't know why more people don't play there due to the nice cut you get in your tone. Anyway, setup is so subjective, to each their own.

[dreadheadbass]

all my bass's are set up exactly the same

2.5mm on the treble side
3.5 on the bass side

i've had low and high actions over the years this one allows me to to play fast runs and fills but still allows me to dig in too and make them frets suffer!!!

[KingLucCole]

Of course it all comes down to preference, but I prefer low action for several reasons. 1.) It's less physically demanding, 2.) it's more practical if you find yourself tapping from time to time, 3.) your odds of developing carpal tunnel are drastically lower, 4.) the key to playing fast is staying relaxed, and the lower your action is the more relaxed you can play. Now, to address some of the concerns I've seen on this forum: 1.) don't be discouraged by the, "buzz," factor. If you're getting buzz, it means you aren't playing with proper technique, which you ought to learn anyways. That or it means your bass isn't designed to handle low action, in which case there isn't much that you can do. It's also possible that the neck is warped, so get it repaired. 2.) you shouldn't ever have to, "dig in," too much with your left hand, as far as I can tell. If you want to get a harder attack, you do it by digging in with your right hand; the left should remain relaxed most of the time.

[Operation Skye]

I thought I liked low action until I figured out that the annoying clanking noises weren't supposed to be happening! Im not sure if it's technique so I am working on that end but I just sent one of my basses out to be set up properly. If it goes well I plan to send the other two out also! I am a fairly new player and all of my basses were purchased through ebay so I didn't get to try them out first. It will be nice to see what a properly set up bass feels like! If the clanking continues then it is probably safe to say that it is my technique!