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How low is your action?

How low is your action? (string height measured at 12th fret of lowest pitch string)

  • Total voters
    179
#46
J Wilson said:
OOPS!

.012" is a pinch over POINT 3mm.

Thanks Eddy, but why would I measure open string height over the 12th fret if I'm measuring action? I measure that over the last fret.
Click to expand...

🤷‍♂️

OP asked,

How low is your action? (string height measured at 12th fret of lowest pitch string)​

I guess OP is looking for a certain reference point.?

Personally, I consider the definition of "action" as an overall combination of string height and relief, divided by the tension coefficient,
minus actual fretting effort, resulting in an unmeasurable adjective 😁
 
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#48
Don’t know for sure, never measure. I think it would likely fall somewhere around 2.5-3mm. I used to play lower action until I listened back to some recordings of live gigs and heard a LOT more fret buzz than I heard while on stage playing…
 
#52
Ritter667 said:
Same.

2mm seems to be just the right amount of action for me.
Click to expand...
Just actually measured, and it is spot on 2mm, and just about 1.5mm highest string.

Could go lower, probably could get it down to 1.5mm without any fret buzz, I got a relatively light touch and the fretwork is pretty much perfect on my main.

But 2mm just feels just right.

So it doesn't surprise me that the poll shows that the majority prefers their action just about there +/-, but 1mm or lower is absolutely insane, as is 4mm or more, and it surprises me anyone can actually play like that, but I guess to each their own.
 
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#54
I’m also a by feel guy. Typically as low as practical giving clean notes at lighter touch and clank when harder, at my choice.

A year or two after I got my new G&L L-1000 in ‘83 I took it to a shop for a setup and asked for “as low as possible without buzz” and got back fender spec highish action.

Then I learned to set up my own bass!
 
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#57
Stylee Mousse said:
I’m also a by feel guy. Typically as low as practical giving clean notes at lighter touch and clank when harder, at my choice.

A year or two after I got my new G&L L-1000 in ‘83 I took it to a shop for a setup and asked for “as low as possible without buzz” and got back fender spec highish action.

Then I learned to set up my own bass!
Click to expand...
I’d like to learn how to do this. You adjust the saddle for string height? At what point do you know to adjust the truss rod?
 
#59
Hey Taylor, I’m sure there are different approaches to this goal.

I Start with normal relief, get the action reasonably low so everything plays well, then very gradually remove relief until clank manifests.

So little incremental turns on a single action rod.
 
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#60
lacking a handy metric ruler, I dug up two dimes under the driver's seat and tried them under the E strings of my three basses ...

solid/fretted ESP: 2mm
solid/fretless Yamaha: also 2mm
hollowbody Dean fretted: 2.75mm

A couple surprises here, as I had regarded the Yamaha as feeling a bit high, but evidently it is not.
Also, the one that feels most fun to play is the Dean, with the highest action ... but also the shortest scale.
 

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