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How can I get lower action without buzz?

Herman

Herman

Dec 25, 2005
395
1
65
Lynchburg, VA
#1
I have a G&L L-2000 and have been working on it trying to get it setup so the action is low without fret buzz. The relief is no more than a business card and the action is 3.8mm from top of fret to bottom of E string on the 12th fret; it's about 3mm on the G string. This seems to be the lowest I can get without buzzing all up and down the neck when played softly.

A few questions - is the action I've described considered low, med, or med-low? Can I expect to get it lower than stated on an L-2000 without fret buzz? If so, what do I need to do?

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
#5
When you mentioned relief, are you referring to a credit card's thickness, or a super-thin business card?
If it's the credit card thickness, that's about right, although I usually set just a touch less. If it's the other, you might not have ENOUGH relief.
I've found that if I have too little relief, that I have a hard time finding a low action without some buzz. I know this can happen with too much relief too.
String gauge can have a big effect on how tight a string is and feels. It seems the tighter the feel, the lower you can go without buzz.
Different strings (same gauge) can have a very different feel too.

Just a few thoughts.

Mag...
 
#7
Magneto said:
When you mentioned relief, are you referring to a credit card's thickness, or a super-thin business card?
If it's the credit card thickness, that's about right, although I usually set just a touch less. If it's the other, you might not have ENOUGH relief.
I've found that if I have too little relief, that I have a hard time finding a low action without some buzz. I know this can happen with too much relief too.
String gauge can have a big effect on how tight a string is and feels. It seems the tighter the feel, the lower you can go without buzz.
Different strings (same gauge) can have a very different feel too.

Just a few thoughts.

Mag...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I adjusted the relief from about one business card's thickness to about twice that, let the neck settle in for a couple of days, and just now tried to lower the action. Well, I've got it down to about 3mm on the E, 1.8mm on the G with no buzzing and it feels and sounds very good. I'll probably leave it this way for a while and see if this is the setup that works for me - thanks again for the help.
 

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