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How high is your action?

Evil Undead

Evil Undead

Oct 31, 2009
3,844
587
#1
Preferably in mm at the 12th fret please :)

And if you can provide your relief measurement that would be cool as well

I'm asking because I am wanting to see if I'm excessively fussy with the setup of my basses, or if my demands are reasonable!
 
#3
My action just took a huge hit of Grandaddy Purple - so I'd say it's pretty darn high!
:rolleyes:

-=-

Distance between top of 12th fret and bottom of Low-E = 7/64" or 2.778125mm

12th and G string = 3/32" or 2.38125mm

Is that the info you're looking for?
 
#4
t77mackie said:
My action just took a huge hit of Grandaddy Purple - so I'd say it's pretty darn high!
:rolleyes:

-=-

Distance between top of 12th fret and bottom of Low-E = 7/64" or 2.778125mm

12th and G string = 3/32" or 2.38125mm

Is that the info you're looking for?
Click to expand...

Thanks, that was exactly what I'm after.

But, erm, what's Grandaddy Purple? Sounds like something rude...
 
#9
The best setups I can do on mine for me....

Three 5 strings, 34" Scale, 24 fret, neck through
String height @ 12th fret = 1.5875mm (.062" = 1/16")
Relief @ 7th/8th frets = .203mm (.007 to .008" = 1/128")

Two 4 strings, 34", 24 fret, neck through
Same as above

Two 4 strings, 34" scale, 20-21 fret, bolt on
Same as above

Three four strings, 34" scale, 20-21 fret, bolt on
(the necks on these are less than exceptional and could be helped with fret leveling or a ski jump removal on one, but they're not worth the $$)
String height @ 12th fret = 2mm (.0787" = 1/13")
Relief @ 7th/8th frets = .203mm (.007 to .008" = 1/128")

String brand: Ernie Ball or SIT
String gauge: B = .130" , E = .105", A = .085", D =.070", G = .050".

If the string brand/gauge/tension changes, the setup will change from a little to a lot, relatively speaking.

One of the biggest factors in setup is the player's technique. There are some really good players in my area who have difficulty playing my instruments due to the low action. Conversely I have a difficult time on theirs due to the action being too high for me, but they play them well. If you pound your bass the action will need to be on the higher side.

Also the action height will change with temperature as the system expands and contracts so what your setup is this afternoon will not be the exact same as it will be in the future. If you try to constantly tweak things back to perfect you'll be at it forever.

The thing I do is to have the setup where the action height can stand a taste less relief to avoid excessive fret buzz (I can stand a little). This will occur when the instrument goes from a cooler to warmer environment, IME. Your experience may be different.

mech
 
#10
Best I can do with what tools I have (vernier & some cardboard shims), so might not be uber-accurate. Both measured on the E, fretted first & last for relief.

Aria SB-1000 Fretless:— 2.1mm @ 12th, 0.3-0.4 mm relief @ 12th
Aria SB-900:— 2.2mm, 0.3-0.4mm

.045-.105 Rotosound Pressurewounds on both.

The fretless was setup & the board skimmed at The Gallery last summer; As for the 900, I've not touched the truss rod since Bernie Ecclestone laid hands on it at a BC Bash in 2010.

Your Black 'n' Gold ought to be just as grief free, but might benefit from having the frets stoned level & crowned if it hasn't been done in the last few years.

Pete (Bloodaxe on BC).
 
#11
I like a little relief. At least enough to know that neck isn't backbowed. Probably around .010-.015 at fret 7 with the first and last frets fretted. You'd need a capo and a feeler gauge to precisely measure it, but I just eyeball it. With some relief the action is lowest at the first and last frets and highest in the middle (where the most string flexibility is). Then my string height (at fret 12) is set at about 3/32" on the bass side and and 5/64" on the treble side. On a good neck you shouldn't get any buzzing with that setup, even if you dig. I play US Fenders, EBMM (and now US Peavey basses). They are all a breeze to set-up and play very well.
 
#12
I like my necks as straight as possible with the action low enough to buzz on the frets. This is mostly because I developed tendonitis in my right arm. I had to learn to play with a lighter touch, and that meant lowering the action significantly.

As a side note, a good fret levelling by a good tech will help! :hyper:
 
#14
Jeb said:
I like a little relief. At least enough to know that neck isn't backbowed. Probably around .010-.015 at fret 7 with the first and last frets fretted. You'd need a capo and a feeler gauge to precisely measure it, but I just eyeball it. With some relief the action is lowest at the first and last frets and highest in the middle (where the most string flexibility is). Then my string height (at fret 12) is set at about 3/32" on the bass side and and 7/64" on the treble side. On a good neck you shouldn't get any buzzing with that setup, even if you dig. I play US Fenders, EBMM and now US Peavey basses. They are all a breeze to set-up and play very well.
Click to expand...

Agreed with all of the above...


- georgestrings
 
#16
I go with between 6/64" E to 5/64" G to 5/64" E to 4/64" G at the 12th.
On fretted basses I like .010" of relief give or take, fretless is set flat.

I used to go for the lowest possible action but I have found that with a nice medium height I can play with a light touch or really dig in thus expanding my dynamic range.
In addition to this it also means that the vast majority of basses I pick up don't feel so bad because I'm not used to butter.
 
#17
Evil Undead said:
I like my action at 1mm on the G. Increasing to 1.5mm on the E. and I like my neck absolutely flat, no relief at all.

I've been told that my demands/preferences are... well, ridiculous. I don't think so though.
Click to expand...

FYI that is pretty low action so much so that the vast majority of basses off the shelf probably won't work so well at that level.

That's not to say it can't be done though, as others have stated a good fret level might just be the ticket.

Also if you ever have a bass leveled make it clear that you want those specs, if they say it can't be done find another tech/luthier
As well, ask what kind leveling jig they use.
Different people will use different systems for leveling frets.

A lot of people won't use any kind of jig that holds the neck under tension while being leveled which probably won't fair so well in getting you to low action land.
I'd recommend someone with a good jig, if they don't have a tension jig like before find a better tech/luthier.
 
#18
The answer to a perfect action height are is completely player-dependent IME, and almost impossible to generalise.

Personally, I play very aggressively with my right hand (just can't get the same sound any other way). Even on the best set up of necks, it'll fretbuzz intolerably with anything less that 2.5mm 12th fret clearance. I've played basses with 1-1.5mm 12th fret clearance, which other players find very usable, and they are completely unusable in that state for me. But then they can't make the tones I can with the way I play.
Before you all start coming back at me about technique and dynamic range, logic would tell me that I have a greater dynamic range than the majority of players. I can still play quietly, but many others cannot play as loud or as punchy, when the need arises.
 
#19
I have no idea, it is probably slightly different from bass to bass, The 'rule of thumb' I use is to lower the action until I just start getting fret buzz then raise it just ever so slightly beyond what is necessary to do away with it. I tend to use a fairly heavy attack so a little higher action helps me avoid slamming the strings into the pups.
 

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