The Great String Height Debate

ThomasTronics

ThomasTronics

Nov 21, 2011
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#1
What is low action? What is high action?

My Lakland is setup 6/64
The Kubicki at 5/64
Measuring the E string at the 12th fret. Sometimes i set them as high as 7/64.
I like some rasp when i dig but don't like a ton of buzz.

The argument is... is this low action or high action? Is 8/64 high action? What is low action? Whatsv the consensus?

Was wondering what everyone's experiences are and personal setup height.
 
#4
Same here. I’ve never measured string heights, just set it to whatever felt right. I didn’t care for a low-as-possible approach, wanting a little forgiveness for my heavy-handed fingering style.

Lately, I’m on a mission to play lighter, so I’m trying to set my actions just a little lower so I’ll get a warning if I dig in too hard. That’s going fairly well.
 
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#10
On my basses, a Sire P7, and a Yamaha TRBX304, I can’t get lower than 6-7/64” on the G, a little higher on the lower strings. I like to dig-in with virtually no fret-buzz.

I recently learned that hex-core rounds don’t buzz as much as round-core rounds. Just dumped my DR Sunbeams for some D’Addario EXL165s for this reason.

I seem to recall flats let you have lower action than rounds, but I may be mistaken.
 
#13
Everyone has their own preference. Doesn't matter if you measure it.
But if your string height is 7/64" - I think most would agree that's high action.

String height is only one part of the equation.
I didn't measure for 30+ years.
Now I do - I like the reference/comparison between basses.
I use to take what a bass would give me. Now I know enough about "setup" (and more) to get what I want.

Also, I set up basses for a couple of buddies; I measure and keep track of their preferences.
One likes .022 relief and 7/64" min string height. (he doesn't know it) That is HIGH Action.
I would consider; 6/64 to be medium.
Anything below 5/64 and .010 relief to be low action.

As to my personal preference; I spent the last 18 months during covid tweaking all my basses;
.010 or less releif <5/64 string height (17th fret)
Then I started gigging (outdoors) this summer.
That quickly got changed to ~ .012 relief & > 5/64 string height. ;)
 
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#15
How much can your string action height bench press?

If I want--I've done it--I can get my low E down to 3/64" and high G down to 1/32" with 0.12 and have no fret buzz on the Fender type basses I have. The problem with that, for me, is if or when I dig hard on the low E and A side, those two strings clack against the 20th frets, a distinctly different sound from buzz.

The Fender standard of E set near 6/64" and G set near 3/64"--I'm not strict or super precise about the heights as long as they follow the fretboard radius--with 0.12 neck relief removes my string clack issue.
 
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#16
ThomasTronics said:
Do people even play with high action anymore?
Click to expand...
Depending on the majority of music being played in any band, I had two setups I'd switch between.

High (relative term, I know) action with flatwounds or low action with roundwounds.

High action with flats for predominately older country, blues, older jazz type music. Though this past band was mainly modern country, I was lazy, and still used the high action flatwounds. It was fine. I like the feel of having to work for those notes, digging in, and pushing them out. Might be just me... :)

Lower action with rounds were for other types of music.

Probably didn't matter in the long run, but it's a quick reference for me depending on what project/band I was getting into.

Now that I'm not playing due to covid safety concerns, switching between the two depends on my mood LOL.

I used to measure decades ago. After awhile, I just drifted away from it as I understood the neck/string geometry better and listened to what my hands were telling me.

If I were setting up other folks basses regularly, I'd be measuring like crazy.

Ain't nothing wrong with measuring. I think it's a good step at first. And when one plays long enough, they'll probably decide they don't need it anymore. Makes string/gauge/brand changes alot faster when they can just whoop out a setup to their liking.
 
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